We just got back from the Miracle yesterday. There were two of us (both teachers on our Spring Break)and this was our first cruise.

My review of the Miracle is a little different from the ones I have read. I would start by saying that I would recommend this ship to everyone! We will DEFINATELY sail on the Miracle again!

1) Embarkation: Embarkation was very organized and quick! We arrived at the pier at around 1:00. Unfortunately they were a little backed up and we had to wait in the parking lot for about 30 minutes. Upon being dropped off, we were greeted by a very friendly porter who took our luggage and then guided us where to go. The line was extremely long, but went quickly. We were in our stateroom by 2:00 and drinking our first drink by 2:15!! We went back to our room around 3:oo and our luggage had already arrived.

2) Cabin: We received an upgrade and were fortunate enough to be on the 8th floor with a balcony. The room was very spacious (plenty of storage space). We were greeted immediately by our room steward. His name was Jose and he was completely amazing the entire trip! It seemed as if he were there everytime we needed him. The room was kept immaculate (which was difficult to do when you have two women in their 20's staying together...LOL)

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3) Dinner: We ate dinner each night (except Cozumel night) in the dining room. I thought the dining room was very well done. It was absolutely beautiful! We had a waiter the first night who was not very good. He didn't make eye contact one time that evening. Luckily, a family asked us if we would switch with them. We got the better end of the deal. We ended up with an amazing waiter (and very cute!). His name was Ben and he went out of his way to make our evenings enjoyable. The maitre' de (Ken) was very friendly and came by our table quite often. He also sang beautifully! The food was dynamite! I have never eaten so well in my life!

3) Entertainment: The entertainment was amazing! I loved listening and singing along to Cam playing piano in Sam's Club. The disco had all the best dance music. The DJ (Bill) was very friendly and really rocked! The band who played in Frankie and Johnnie's was excellent. My only complaint about the nightlife was the excessive number of teenagers that were in the clubs. I understand that they need a place to go, but I believe Carnival should have a place on each ship designated for them. We complained about the disco being overrun by teenagers drinking and causing trouble....unfortunately we received no reply. You could not get into the disco before midnight if you were over 18, yet they could stay all night if they wanted to.

Staff: The staff was out of this world! I have read about people thinking the cruise director (Todd) was cheesy. I could not disagree more. I thought he was fabulous. He was hysterical, informative, friendly, and we had a lot of fun with him. His staff (which included Big Tex and Karl w/ a K) and he led a "lounge crawl" one evening. We spent about 30 mintes in each bar. That night was terrific! These guys work on the ships for 8 months at a time with little or no contact with their family members. Yet, they seemed to genuinely enjoy being there and pleasing the guests. I hope on my next cruise I meet a staff like the three of them. They definately made this cruise one I will remember for years to come! My recommendation would be to have more than one lounge crawl on each cruise.

4) Shows: The shows were superb! I highly recommend the Beatles Tribute. The singers and dancers were fantastic. (BTW, the lead singers did not look like a mother and son pair). The skit that Todd and his staff put on during the talent show had us laughing so hard we thought we would die! They also did a rendition of "Whose Line is it Anyway"....this was very good also!

5) Debarkation: We opted to put our luggage out the night before. We knew that this would delay us getting off the ship (that didn't really matter-we didn't want to get off). We left our cabin at 8:30 and had our luggage in hand by 9:30. It was fast and very efficient. We actually had to wait on our ride to come get us! :-)

In conclusion: I would highly recommend this ship to anyone interested in having a week full of fun! We have already begun planning our cruise for next Spring Break...on which ship? The Miracle of course! When you have found the best, why would you go anywhere else??!!