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jimswims
Frequent Cruiser
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Posted: Sat Aug 23rd, 2008 03:47 am | 1st Post |
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The short version: Change is Good
The long version is below in sections.
Miracles Can Happen
Carnival Miracle 8-13-08 through 8-21-08
NYC to San Juan, St. Thomas, and Grand Turk
History:
My wife and I just returned from our 13th cruise. It was the 5th cruise for our kids. In 1990 my wife and I took our first cruise with her family on the Carnival Holiday. This was our first taste of cruising and we were hooked. We liked being at sea and traveling to different ports of call. We went on other cruises in the 1990’s but on different lines and quickly ruled out any other Carnival cruise for us. We liked the other lines a bit better mostly because of the physical layout of the other ships that we sailed and felt that the other lines were less gimmicky. Carnival was the party ship and we wanted a more relaxed escape. We also enjoyed the dining experience on the other lines that we have sailed and felt more pampered that our only previous Carnival experience. I exclaimed that it would take a miracle to get me back on a Carnival ship and we began sailing RCCL, Cunard, and later NCL.
We were on a NCL ship last summer enjoying the freestyle dining and the “free to do whatever” attitude that NCL proudly promotes when a couple we met were discussing their cruising experiences. We discovered that we had sailed on many of the same ships. They had been on many more cruises that us and urged us to give Carnival a try and said we would find it very different from our Holiday cruise of 1990. They also said that they thought that our kids would really enjoy themselves. They have been on over 50 cruises, most of them on Carnival. I stubbornly repeated my previous declaration that it would take a miracle for this to happen and we would stick to NCL. We even had our August 2008 cruise on NCL booked so this clearly was not going to happen anyway.
Later on during the same NCL cruise we had a stop in Nassau, we were sitting in our suite and my son called me out to the balcony. He pointed to the ship docked beside us and said that this is the ship that he wanted to go on next. He pointed to the big slide in the aft of this large and good looking ship and said that it looked like it is fun ship to go on and took pictures of the ship with our camera. I looked at the name and see that it is the Carnival Miracle. I told him that we will be going on a cruise next year but it will be on NCL. He said that it was time for us to try another cruise ship and I told him that maybe someday we would go on another line. He mentioned one with a flow rider and an ice skating rink and I said that we would have to see.
We had our August 2008 cruise on NCL booked and we were eagerly waiting to return on a ship that we were on in 2006. However, in January we realized that we had a conflict with our dates of the summer cruise and we needed to change our plans. Since, we prefer to leave out of Boston or New York, we had the options of NCL, Princess, or Carnival. The dates, itinerary, and the price for the 8 day cruise on the Carnival Miracle worked for us and we booked it. The kids were really excited and my wife was up for the change as well. Still, I was a bit hesitant to go back on Carnival and sent and e-mail to our friends, the Carnival experts that we met on NCL last year. They assured us that we would enjoy ourselves.
Pre-Cruise in NYC:
I like to get to New York the day before we get on a ship. We drove down on 8-12-08 and made it to the city in less than 4.5 hours with taking two stops along the way. We were checked in to the hotel, the Sheraton Towers, and set out to explore Times Square and have some dinner. We have been to NYC with the kids before a few times and we always enjoy exploring a few things even when we have limited time. We have stayed at this hotel in the past and the accommodations were again excellent. The next morning, we got up and had a nice breakfast. At about 10:30am we drove about one mile to the pier and saw the Carnival Miracle at pier 88. I drove up and parked the car and paid 240.00 to leave the car there for 8 days. My first impression of the ship was that it looked really long and sleek. I liked seeing all the balcony cabins that the ship accommodates. I was ready to get on-board the ship and begin my vacation.
Embarkation:
This was my first time leaving on pier 88 in NYC since the terminal was renovated. It is a big improvement with nice carpets, new bathrooms, and clean windows. It was bright and sunny. At about 11:00 am it seemed like we were the first people there as it was not crowded at all. The port personnel directed us to the VIP line since we were staying in a suite and we went through security first. This is a big improvement in my book. We were then directed to another person who brought us to the VIP check in person, we received our gold cards and were escorted to a nice lounge area to wait for the VIP boarding. We were not there very long when a representative came and brought us to board the Miracle. We went up the gangway and walked into the atrium of the Miracle. This is when we had our photo taken for our ID. As I looked around this area I noticed that this was a central area to the ship with the purser’s desk, shore excursion area, bar, glass elevators, photography area and the more public areas located both aft and forward. The atrium towers to the funnel with red windows at the top. The design was a bit busy but it was nice. I did not see the neon and stuff that I vaguely remembered from the Holiday. I think it was at that moment that I lost all memory of my previous Carnival cruise over 18 years ago. I was ready to experience the Miracle.
Cabin:
We have stayed in inside cabins, ocean view cabins, and suites with balconies in the past. We were fortunate to stay in a suite on NCL last year. Our 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, living/dining area, and balcony complete with butler and concierge service was an amazing and unforgettable experience. The Carnival Miracle does not have anything like this but we were able to book a Category 11 suite, midship for the 4 of us. I thought that after having about 575 sq. feet, that this would be difficult. Thankfully, I was wrong. This suite has 2 closet areas, plenty of drawers and counter space for our things. The bathroom had a Jacuzzi tub and double sink area that was granite. This bathroom was plenty big for us. We especially loved the large balcony with lounge and two smaller chairs. The storage areas were great and I found that we were very comfortable in this cabin. The wall of windows and balcony door combined with the light wood tones and mirrors made the room seem larger in my opinion. Maria was our Room Stewardess. I cannot say enough about her. The room was immaculate and always kept clean. There was no dust anywhere in the cabin. She did an incredible job and made our cabin feel comfortable and a special place to relax. The beds and pillows were very comfortable as well. We all enjoyed the Carnival robes that were in our cabin.
Outside Public Areas:
Let me start by saying that I love the outside areas on cruise ships. I like to walk around the decks and try to find nice places to sit quietly and look at the ocean. The Miracle wins my award for most outside deck space. There were many places forward, midship, and aft to look at the horizon and enjoy a beautiful sunset or shining full moon. I never felt crowded in the outside areas. However, I have a rule when I am on a cruise. This is that if you want to be by the pool, expect it to be crowded. The three pools were busy since we had great weather and most people were out enjoying the sun. However, I was able to get a chair by the pool or on the upper decks when I wanted one. There were plenty of people saving chairs by the pool. The pool area did get crowded at mid day. However, by going up one flight of stairs I was able to find plenty of options for sitting out in the sun and enjoy the breeze. I also found some shady areas on the upper decks to sit and enjoy the ocean and read. The Miracle has three pools with the aft reserved for adults only. The pool areas were the nicest that I have experienced recently on any ship. I think Carnival designed this area really well on the spirit class ships.
I was very impressed with the cleanliness of the outside areas on the ship. The crew did a remarkable job cleaning, polishing, and painting the outside railings and decks. It honestly seemed to me like we were sailing on a new ship and not one that was built four years ago.
Dining:
I was hesitant to return to traditional dining after having so much enjoyment with freestyle dining on board the newer NCL vessels. I have categorized my dining experiences into four sections, buffet, room service, dining room, and supper club.
The physical layout of Horatio’s was excellent and there are several stations throughout this area to get food and beverages. This design seemed to flow well and although it got busy, I never experienced any big waits to get my food. The staff kept up with keeping the tables clean and supplying the napkins and silverware. I think that the staff working in Horatio’s during breakfast and lunch deserves credit for keeping the area clean and the food hot and plentiful.
I was pleasantly surprised by the buffet food. It was busy for breakfast and lunch but I always found a clean table to sit at inside or by the pool. Breakfast had the typical offerings of eggs, bacon, sausages, pancakes, French toast, and home fries. There were also the cold cereals, yogurt, fruit, and pastry. There was also an omelet station that was very popular. These stations were set up well and at times there was a line to get food. There were several places to get juice and coffee in Horatio’s, the buffet area. I liked that Carnival offers ice tea, fruit punch, lemonade, coffee, and water all day long. There were also juice choices in the morning of orange, apple, and others.
The lunch offerings at Horatio’s were far superior to what I have experienced in the past few years. The stations available were the standard theme of the day (French, etc...), Asian, NY deli, salad bar, dessert area, and a grill for hamburgers, onion rings, and fries. There was also a 24 hour pizza area where you could order a chicken Caesar salad in addition to some delicious pizza. The lunch items in all of these areas were great and I was never hungry and looking for something to eat.
I admit that I like a strong coffee and I drink it black. The coffee on Carnival was not great in my opinion. I have also said this on every cruise that I have been on so I know that it probably my issue more than the four cruise lines that I have sailed on. However, I did enjoy the coffee bar which is located on deck 2 but also in Horatio’s. This was a big plus for me and I was able to have a cup of coffee that met my standards without having to leave the buffet area.
The buffet area also has 3 ice cream stations for soft serve ice cream or frozen yogurt 24 hours a day. This was a huge bonus for my kids. I think that this move was genius on Carnival’s part to have this always available with their excellent 24 hour pizza.
Room service:
I utilized the continental breakfast menu a few times. The service was friendly, prompt and the food was good. I reviewed the extended room service menu offered by Carnival but never had the occasion to get anything. I always used the order form found in the cabin and placed it outside the night before with the delivery time. It was always delivered on time and with a smile.
Dining Room:
My wife, kids, and I chose to eat at 6:00 pm, the main seating. We were given a table for 4 on the upper level in the back near the aft windows of the Bacchus dining room. The room is quite a site and a bit over the top with the grapes that light up. The theme was clear and I recognize this so it did not ruin my appetite.
The food was excellent overall. I thought that the menus offered a good variety of choices and I never was at a loss on what to order. I like the fact that Carnival, like NCL offers classic entrees of steak, chicken, ribs, and salmon in the event that this is preferred over the chef’s recommendations for the evening.
On the first night, I ordered steak, medium, and it arrived very well done. My son’s steak was also served this way. Ana asked me what was wrong and I told her and she immediately took them and came back with two new meals that were much better. I did worry that this was a sign of how the rest of the week would be however, this was not the case. I did order filet mignon, prime rib on the other nights throughout the cruise and they were the cooked to the specifications that I requested. The filet was excellent and very tender. I took a risk and ordered the prime rib on the last night. It too was very good. It was not the best prime rib that I have ever had but I have to say it was delicious. I usually do not order too much steak or beef when I am on a cruise but I guess I broke that rule. I enjoy seafood and I have to say that the salmon, tilapia, lobster tail, and shrimp were all excellent. The lobster tail was a full tail and not a half of one like I experienced recently on another cruise. The seasoning on the tilapia was excellent and I really enjoyed this dish as well. The starters were all good but the portions quite smaller than what I have experienced in the past on other cruises. I tried the escargot, shrimp cocktail, and my wife was a big fan of the cold soups that were offered. I always had a Caesar salad at dinner and this was also good. I enjoyed all of the desserts, especially the chocolate melting cake. The desserts in the main dining room on Carnival were well above what I experienced on other cruise lines. I never left the dining room hungry and the quality of food exceeded my expectations. When I rate my dining experiences I take into consideration that I am sailing on a large mass market line and not the luxury ships of Crystal and Seabourn therefore my experiences are based on this.
Ana was our head waitress and she tried her best to provide us with a good dining experience. However, we had three different assistant waiters during our eight days on the Miracle. I believe that this impacted the promptness of our dinners and twice we were still eating our dessert and the announcement that second seating was going to begin. This meant that our dinner was about 2 hours long. This is fine for my wife and I, but it was a bit hard on the kids. We enjoy a dining experience and have been fortunate to be able to eat at some fine restaurants both local and when we travel.
Ana was an extremely hard worker and seemed to be doing everything from taking our orders to clearing the table, getting the food, filling our water glasses, and making sure we had rolls and bread. She was made sure that the kids enjoyed themselves and I appreciated this tremendously. Ana also knew that there were problems with service and took the time to correct anything that came up. She acknowledged and apologized when something was taking too long. I do not expect perfection and appreciated her effort and also the fact that she cared enough to improve it. I did not complain to the Maitre’d about the slow service. I am willing to bet that he was aware that there was a problem because he or his assistant came over to our section almost every night to check and see if things were going well. The fact that there were 3 different assistants in eight days also gives me this feeling. However, neither he nor his assistant ever acknowledged an issue existed and both had the opportunity to do this privately and chose not to. Therefore, I credit Ana for acknowledging this and improving our dining experience.
I am not a big fan of the singing and dancing waiters that I remember happening every night before dessert was served. I am still not a fan but I did find myself in the “hot, hot, hot” conga line with the other passengers. If you can’t beat them, join them is my new motto on this.
It was an overall good dining experience but we experienced some issues with how long the meals took.
Nick and Nora’s Supper Club:
Nick and Nora’s is located in Carnival’s trademark funnel under the red glass at the highest point of the atrium Walk up the glass staircase to deck 10 and you have entered into a fine dining experience where service and food quality are unmatched by any specialty restaurant that I have encountered. The literature states that there is a cover charge of 30.00 per person and one should expect a 2 and one half hour dinner. My wife and I chose to have dinner at 7:30 pm on the evening that we left Grand Turk. The level of service and attention to detail was outstanding. We felt as though we were the only people there and were served special treats with compliments from the chef. The staff took the time to show a display of all the dinner choices. I chose to have escargot, Caesar salad prepared table side, and a porterhouse steak. Everything was cooked and presented perfectly. The chocolate dessert was amazing and had cappuccino which was also delicious. It could have been the wonderful company but it did not seem like we were there for about 2 hours.
Inside Public Areas:
I am not an expert on cruising but I have been on 13 cruises and sailed on ships ranging from 40,000 tons to 93,000 tons. The Carnival Miracle had the best public areas and made very good use of its 88,500 tons. I never felt crowded in any area and there were plenty of places to sit indoors and read or play games and enjoy the views of the sea. I do not even think that I was in every room after 8 days on the ship. In general, I thought it was very easy to walk around the ship and if you could find the atrium, you could get to just about anything from this well appointed and welcoming space.
I thought that the inside areas of the ship were extremely clean and well maintained. Staff were constantly cleaning and polishing the floors and walls. The public bathrooms were always being tended to and I never encountered a problem anywhere. I was very impressed by this.
Shopping:
I must admit that I am not a person who likes to shop. My wife does enjoy looking around and buying some things both in port and on the ship. The funship stores along the area called the yellow brick road were well organized and had a variety of things to purchase. I was impressed in the selection of things offered and the prices were what I would have expected to see on a ship. The Carnival Caper, the daily newsletter filled with activities and times also included flyers with the store specials so it was easy to know what was available and the prices.
Activities and Entertainment:
Carnival calls their ships “funships” for a reason as there is a lot to do. During the day, there are trivia games, horseracing, pool games, funny contests, and other fun things to do on the ship. These are all organized by the cruise staff. In addition to the games, there is bingo offered at least one per day. I prefer the way that Carnival does this by offering the old poke through cards. I like that one can choose to pay for the cards by cash or on their sign and sail card and found that 20.00 for three cards much better than the other lines that I have sailed on. For those who love to gamble, the casino is open all day and almost all night during sea days. The casino is well laid out and there is a non-smoking slot area in the casino which I appreciated. I never felt that the casino was very crowded but I will admit that I was not there very much.
Carnival has live music and singing, karaoke, and several different shows in their lounges and in the theater. I appreciated the classical violin and piano music in the atrium during the dinner hours.
My wife, kids and I like to attend the various production shows when we are on a cruise. We enjoy good theater and have seen shows on Broadway and many of the latest musicals and stage productions on tour. I was prepared to find the shows underwhelming and I was pleasantly surprised. I do not compare cruise ship shows to Broadway but the quality of dancing and singing of “Generations” and “Ticket to Ride” surpassed my expectations and were enjoyable.
Camp Carnival:
We have cruised for the last 4 years as a family. We like to do things as a family but we have found that the kids programs on ships are a nice way to balance the family time and the adult time. We have appreciated the other kids programs on our past cruises. We feel that we have found the Platinum standard of Kids programs after my children have experienced Camp Carnival for the 9-11 year olds and the 12-14 year olds.
My 10 year old daughter explained that the 9-11 year old camp by saying “Dad, they treat us our age here”! She loved the program and highlights the build a bear, pizza making, t-shirt painting, games, scavenger hunt, and going to the shows with her friends in the camp assigned seating. This group also has a stay up until 3:30 am challenge loaded with fu activities on the second to last night of the cruise. This requires an after-hours fee but is very popular with the kids. The staff also escorts the child back to the cabin at the conclusion of the event. She also liked the fact that she could sign herself in and out when she wanted to. We were apprehensive about this at first but she only did this when she was to meet up with us.
My 13 year old son told me that this was the favorite of his five cruises. He found that the Circle C club had plenty of games and activities that he enjoyed. The camp counselors did their best to make sure that these hard to please kids' were enjoying themselves. They had the opportunity to have free game time in the arcade, played games, had a scavenger hunt, dance in the disco and many other fun things. My son liked the later hours of the club and we liked the fact that he could do structured activities with this age group up until midnight. My praise goes to Carnival for creating a program with hours that are age appropriate and flexible.
Staff:
I commend the staff and crew on the Carnival Miracle for providing a wonderful cruise experience for me and my family. I found the staff that we encountered to be friendly and were always smiling. The staff that we received services from always greeted us by name and went out of their way to be sure that we were satisfied. The staff we met appeared to like their jobs and I never encountered any negativity from anyone.
Uncontrollable Factors:
Carnival, and all other cruise lines for that matter, does not have the power to provide any passenger with smooth seas or good weather. I knew that there was a tropical depression forming in the Caribbean and this could be a problem for our sailing. This was the fifth year in a row that we took a cruise in August so we were prepared to have our luck run out. However, we were blessed with wonderful weather every day on sea days and in port and somehow missed the tropical storm by a day or 2. The seas were also smooth for us and we had no problems with motion sickness.
Carnival has a vacation guarantee and will provide a refund on the unused portion of your cruise if you are unsatisfied with your cruise. You will need to debark the vessel at the first port of call. I am unaware of anyone taking advantage of this.
I make it a point to talk to fellow cruisers about their cruise experience. The people that I spoke with were all having a wonderful time. There was a mix of first time cruisers and experienced cruisers on board and all seemed to be having a great time.
Ports of Call:
We made stops at San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, USVI, and Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos. We were very lucky to have wonderful hot and sunny weather at all ports of call.
We have been to San Juan before but not for many years. We arrived at 3:00 pm and left this port at midnight. We took the kids and walked around Old San Juan for a bit and did some shopping. After less than 2 hours we were back on board.
We have been to St. Thomas before and most recently in 2006. We decided to follow the advice of a fellow cruiser and go over to Coki Beach which is right next to Coral World. We really enjoyed this beach with white sand and clear blue water. The beach has a reputation of being a good place for snorkeling. The locals sell you dog biscuits to feed the fish with and in about one minute there are fish of all sizes and colors all around you. This is a beautiful bay beach and has no waves. We had a wonderful day at Coki Beach and would like to return there some day.
Grand Turk was our third and final port of call. We were at this stop from 1:00 pm until 7:00 pm. The Cruise welcoming center has new shops to purchase souvenirs and also houses Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. This place has one of the largest pools that I have ever seen. The pool has a swim up bar and there is a DJ that plays music and hosts silly contests. In addition to the pool, the place has a flow rider that allows you to show off you surfing skills for a fee right next to the pool area. Margaritaville also has and a nice beach but it is a bit rocky and the water was not a blue and clear as in St. Thomas. We decided to rent a cabana by the pool for the day through Carnival the shore excursion desk. We needed to book these on board the ship and for 99.00 for the day we thought it was well worth the price. These ten cabanas have room for 4, a fresh water outdoor shower, and a place in the shade in addition to some lounges that can be placed in the sun. There is also a buzzer that you push for food and beverage service. Wanting to have a place that offers shade was very important to us and we found that the cabana was a perfect way for us to enjoy the entire day at this fun destination.
Debarkation:
I was not ready to leave the ship and could have stayed longer. My kids were also irritable and did not want to leave. We did not chose the option for self-assist so we were to wait for our number to be called to exit the ship. On NCL we could hang out in our cabin and debark whenever. I was not looking forward to waiting for our number to be called and deal with the massive rush of people all trying to get off the ship. We were given debarkation # 5. Some experienced Carnival cruisers told us that this was a good number. We arrived in NYC at about 7:30 am. We got the kids up and decided to get some breakfast. We made a last minute decision to go to the dining room for breakfast. Since, Carnival requests that we leave our rooms, we took all of our things with us. Ana, our head waiter served us and it was good to see her one last time. I had eggs benedict and it was wonderful. It was a nice way to finish my last cruise meal for this year.
At 9:15 am we left the dining room and went up to deck 3 to wait. The self assist debarkation appeared to be concluding and the Cruise Director announced for numbers 1 through 5 to debark. We walked down the stairs and were off the ship in about 10 minutes. We had the car packed with our entire luggage and things and we left the pier about at about 10:15 am. Debarkation went much smoother than I expected.
Final thoughts:
I enjoy meeting and speaking with fellow cruisers and I find that I can always learn something from every person I meet. I have to say that I did not speak to anyone who was having a terrible cruise. People seemed generally pleased with their cruise experience for the most part. I am sure that there were some problems as no cruise is perfect. However, almost everyone seemed to be laughing and having a good cruise experience.
When I plan a family vacation I look for an experience that is enjoyable for everyone. A cruise vacation fits the bill for us as it has good family accommodations, plenty of dining options, and destinations for fun and exploration. Carnival certainly succeeded in providing an exceptional quality vacation for me at an affordable price for me and my family.
Miracles can happen. I am glad that things happen for a reason and we had the opportunity to experience a second Carnival cruise. Our family cruise aboard the Carnival Miracle was a fantastic experience. We had great accommodations, great overall service, and a fun cruise experience. I am now officially a big fan of the spirit class ships that Carnival has. We plan on booking a Carnival cruise again in the near future and I am hoping to catch up to my friends and reach platinum level with Carnival someday.
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Jim
8/7/09 NCL Spirit, Boston to Bermuda
Previous cruises NCL: 6; RCCL: 4; Carnival: 2; Cunard:1.
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hstrybuf
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Posted: Sat Aug 23rd, 2008 04:12 am | 2nd Post |
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Thanks for taking the time to do a review! The Miracle was probably my favorite of my Carnival cruises. In reading through, I found that we both had very similar impressions of this ship, it's crew and the overall experience. 
____________________
Deb
"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/hstrycrsr
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jimswims
Frequent Cruiser
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Posted: Sat Aug 23rd, 2008 04:53 am | 3rd Post |
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hstrybuf wrote: Thanks for taking the time to do a review! The Miracle was probably my favorite of my Carnival cruises. In reading through, I found that we both had very similar impressions of this ship, it's crew and the overall experience.
You are correct. My DW and I re-read your review and found another similarity, we also could found the wait staff at the supper club attentitive but a bit difficult to understand  .
____________________
Jim
8/7/09 NCL Spirit, Boston to Bermuda
Previous cruises NCL: 6; RCCL: 4; Carnival: 2; Cunard:1.
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nhrich
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Posted: Sat Aug 23rd, 2008 01:21 pm | 4th Post |
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Great review, thanks Jim.
Carnival has definitely GREATLY improved since the 1990's. I'm glad you gave them another chance. It's not even like the same cruise line.
But those ugly grapes....
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Rich, ACC
Carefree Vacations
http://www.carefree-vacations.net
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hstrybuf
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Posted: Sat Aug 23rd, 2008 02:49 pm | 5th Post |
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LOL! Yes, those grapes were something! They were in the process of changing the color when we cruised on the Miracle so we got to see them as both pink and purple. 
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Deb
"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/hstrycrsr
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jimswims
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Posted: Sat Aug 23rd, 2008 04:18 pm | 6th Post |
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hstrybuf wrote: LOL! Yes, those grapes were something! They were in the process of changing the color when we cruised on the Miracle so we got to see them as both pink and purple.
They still kind of look pink as the sun sets and the room gets darker.
Some of the other rooms are also a bit over the top as well, like the Mad Hatter's Ball. The Phantom lounge has a few things going on as well. I would not ask this designer to re-do my house. It works on a cruise ship though.
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Jim
8/7/09 NCL Spirit, Boston to Bermuda
Previous cruises NCL: 6; RCCL: 4; Carnival: 2; Cunard:1.
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hstrybuf
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Posted: Sat Aug 23rd, 2008 05:33 pm | 7th Post |
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| Those Joe Farcus designs are definitely something you don't see on other major lines, although I *hear* he could be doing some designing for other Carnival-owned companies. Let's hope not!
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Deb
"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/hstrycrsr
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jimswims
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Posted: Sat Aug 23rd, 2008 10:49 pm | 8th Post |
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| I guess it works on a cruise ship. If it does not waste space and block windows for a sea view I am OK with just about anything.
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Jim
8/7/09 NCL Spirit, Boston to Bermuda
Previous cruises NCL: 6; RCCL: 4; Carnival: 2; Cunard:1.
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KerCar
Frequent Cruiser
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Posted: Mon Aug 25th, 2008 02:16 pm | 9th Post |
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Jim~
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful review with us
My last Carnival cruise was back in 1996 when I graduated from college, so it's been a while I've sailed the NCL Spirit out of NY the past 2 years and am planning the Dawn to Bermuda next BUT would be completely open to trying Carnival again, especially if I can find something out of NY. The Miracle sounds GREAT!
Last edited on Mon Aug 25th, 2008 02:56 pm by KerCar
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Kerry
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jimswims
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Posted: Mon Aug 25th, 2008 09:27 pm | 10th Post |
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KerCar wrote: Jim~
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful review with us
My last Carnival cruise was back in 1996 when I graduated from college, so it's been a while I've sailed the NCL Spirit out of NY the past 2 years and am planning the Dawn to Bermuda next BUT would be completely open to trying Carnival again, especially if I can find something out of NY. The Miracle sounds GREAT!
You are welcome. I was very surprised and pleased with the entire cruise experience on the Miracle.
Have fun on the Dawn. We liked that ship a lot and went on her last year. We will be on the Spirit next year, Boston to Bermuda. This will be our second time on that ship.
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Jim
8/7/09 NCL Spirit, Boston to Bermuda
Previous cruises NCL: 6; RCCL: 4; Carnival: 2; Cunard:1.
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Welove2cruise2
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Posted: Tue Aug 26th, 2008 04:30 pm | 11th Post |
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Great review, Jim -- got me thinking about trying something new, but unfortunately they're not sailing out of NY/NJ when we can get away (late Feb/March). In fact, there isn't much of anything except the Gem's 7 nighters; EOS has NO balcony cabins left for either their 9 or 12 night cruises.... Grrr! We need more ships sailing DECENT itineraries in the winter!
Okay, I'm done ranting...
Thanks again for the review!
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"I'll take the deck of a ship any time..." Jimmy Buffett
Majesty 10/00 & 01, 7/03 & 04, 5/05, 6/06, 9/06, 7/07 Dawn 11/04, 10/05, 3/07 Spirit 11/06, Dream 7/08 Noordam 10/07, 3/08
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jimswims
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Posted: Tue Aug 26th, 2008 08:21 pm | 12th Post |
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I would also like some other NYC cruise options for either Feb or April vacation weeks. The 7 day Gem itinerary really does not thrill me at all.
I know the Miracle has a 6 day Bermuda cruise in April around April vacation. I think it means missing 2 days of school right before vacation and DW and I cannot do this.
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Jim
8/7/09 NCL Spirit, Boston to Bermuda
Previous cruises NCL: 6; RCCL: 4; Carnival: 2; Cunard:1.
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jimswims
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Posted: Mon Sep 1st, 2008 11:23 pm | 13th Post |
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I am attaching my NCL Carnival cruise comparisons to this review if anyone is interested.
My Comparison of NCL and Carnival Miracle
My wife and I have been on 13 cruises and my kids have been on 5. I decided to create a list of our cruise experiences since we recently came back from a cruise on the Carnival Miracle in August.
Our NCL cruises (6) were on the Majesty twice, Spirit once, Dawn twice (one without kids), and the Dream once. We were on the Carnival Holiday in 1990 and most recently, Carnival Miracle 2008. The other cruises we have been on were RCCL 4 times in the early 1990’s but none in several years and we were on the QE2 in 2001.
So, this does not make me an expert. I have been on more NCL than Carnival but thought that I would share our collective experiences of my family. We were on the NCL Dawn as a family in August 2007. I know that there have been some enhancements to NCL as a part of Freestyle 2.0. We will be back on NCL next year and I look forward to seeing how it has changed.
Part 1:
NCL Kids Crew versus Camp Carnival
For the past few years most of our cruise vacations have been family cruises. My kids have participated in NCL Kids Crew four times and Camp Carnival once. This is their opinion on the programs. I have added my perspective as a parent.
My son (age 13) said that Camp Carnival Circle C was so much better than Kids Crew. He liked that this group was only for age 12-14. They often had their own area in a disco. He liked the computer games better since there was more and were often allowed to play. This was not the case on NCL. He said that they did more active things like sports, stuff outside, and water games. He said that the time that they were open was longer. He liked the ability to sign in and sign out himself as well.
The last time my son was in Kids Crew was last year and he was 12 so he was with the 10-12 year olds. We were on the Dawn. He said that he liked that Kids Crew but remembers it not being as active, no sports outside, no computer games except some limited time on the Wii, and he was not able to sign in or out by himself. He said that he met other people his age on both, had fun on both, but prefers Camp Carnival Circle C.
My daughter (age 10) said that she liked Camp Carnival so much better because “they treat us our age and not like babies”. She liked the activities like build-a-bear, pizza making, scavenger hunts, t-shirt coloring, sandblast, and pucker-powder (candy making). She liked that her group got to play gameboy, play station 2, and Wii. Her group also did outdoor games and had one night that her group could stay up until 3:30am. She liked that she could sign in and out as well.
When she was with the Kids Crew 6-9 group she said that some of the things that they did were similar but they did not do as much and were inside. She said that she liked both but Camp Carnival is better.
I appreciate both programs as a parent. Our kids seemed like they had a great time in the NCL Kids crew and also Camp Carnival. It did seem like the Carnival program was more active and the kids were moving around a lot playing sports, scavenger hunts, and other activities outdoors. I do not ever remember our kids saying that they ever had a bad time in either program. My son did say a few times that the activities on NCL were a bit boring last year. My wife and I were a bit concerned about the kids having the ability to sign themselves out. This was an option for both of the programs that both of our kids were in. However, a parent can opt that kids do not have this privilege but it will limit their ability to participate in the scavenger hunts. We mandated that both kids go immediately to the cabin if they ever signed themselves out of camp. Both kids complied with this and it worked out great for all of us.
As parents, we appreciate both programs. The times that the kids program was open seemed better on Carnival. The Circle C program had late night activities past midnight and this was part of the program with no babysitting fees. This is great in my opinion. The program really caters to the 12-14 age. For example, this group went up on the sports deck in the “net area” playing dodge ball at midnight.
Camp Carnival offers supervised supper time for the kids on most nights. This was around 5:30-6:00 pm. We did not take advantage of this because our kids liked going to the dining room with us. I could see how this would be a nice option for families. I do believe that NCL also offered this on one or two occasions as well.
Both Camp Carnival and NCL Kids crew do offer paid group sitting after 10:00 pm for the younger groups (up to age 11) and I believe that the fees were similar to that of NCL.
We have found that the staff was great on both NCL and on Carnival. The Kids program is important to us because we want our kids to have the ability to have some time to do things with other kids in a structured and supervised environment. We are thankful that the programs are available on both lines as it creates a perfect family vacation for us.
Part 2: Cabins and accommodations
We have stayed in inside cabins, oceanview, and suites on NCL and oceanview and a suite on Carnival. I am talking about our experiences with having 4 people (2 adults and 2 kids) in a cabin. We have had the opportunity to visit several categories of accommodations on the both lines which I know is different than actually staying in the cabin. It seemed to us that the oceanview and inside cabins that we saw on the Carnival Miracle were larger than those of the same category on the NCL Spirit and Dawn.
NCL family cabins:
We were in an inside cabin on the Spirit in 2006. I would never choose to stay in an inside again after this experience. I found that the 3 lower beds and one upper configuration was not a great set up for us. I did like the large bathroom and shower door instead of a shower curtain. The bathrooms for the inside cabins on the NCL Spirit are set up differently than the oceanview and balcony cabins on the same ship. There was an open area that housed the sink and the toilet then the shower area. The oceanview and the balcony cabins have three separate areas. There was a lot of storage space and this was great. There were plenty of drawers and closet space which made a difference. However, we could not get our suitcases to fit under the beds on the NCL Spirit. This was a problem but the cabin steward stored them for us.
When we were on the Dawn in August of 2007, we stayed in an AB Penthouse suite. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this cabin. It was 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with an incredible master bath with Jacuzzi tub and separate shower, dining and eating area, and balcony. The suites also have the option of utilizing a butler and concierge. The butler is responsible for your dining wishes in your cabin. You can have a hot breakfast delivered to your cabin as well as lunch or dinner from any of the restaurants on the ship. The concierge is responsible for making your dining reservations for the week. I addition, he or she offers you, as a VIP guest, things like priority tendering and debarkation.
Our oceanview experience on Carnival was in 1990 and the only things that I remember were that it was a pretty good sized cabin with a big window. We had 4 people in the cabin and we all had enough space. Most recently, we were in a category 11 suite on Carnival Miracle, which is a spirit class ship, and I was surprised at how much we liked this cabin after our experience with an NCL suite. This one room cabin had a large king bed, convertible couch and upper bed. There was a dressing room area and bathroom with double sinks, and Jacuzzi tub/shower. The cabin had two double closets and plenty of drawer space. We had plenty of room in the cabin. The balcony had room for one lounge chair and 2 smaller but adjustable chairs. The balcony on the Miracle was much larger than the balcony we had on the Dawn. We did not have the butler or concierge services that NCL offers had but found that we really did not miss it as much as I thought we would. The beds on both were comfortable with an edge to Carnival. We had a chance to explore a Cat. 12. This cabin is also nice, was bigger and set up slightly different than our Cat. 11 and had a larger balcony.
Our suite on the Dawn and our suite on the Miracle were both kept clean and the room stewards on both always made sure we had what we needed. We all felt that the room stewards that we had on both Carnival and NCL were outstanding.
Carnival’s Spirit class ships offer two types of suites, a category 11 and a 12. NCL offers mini-suite accommodations and several other types of suites (AE-AA) with the largest being the Garden Villa. Some of the newer NCL ships have a private courtyard with suites.
I will admit that I was dreading the cabin on the Miracle after experiencing the AB penthouse suite on the Dawn. I was pleasantly surprised. We found that we liked the cabin on the Miracle and it was plenty of room for the four of us.
Part 3: Public Areas
We are people who like to cruise. Therefore we know that there will be a lot of people on a ship and it does get crowded in the public areas. I will comment about the outdoor public areas and indoor public areas.
Outdoor and Indoor Public areas on NCL and Carnival
The NCL Spirit and the NCL Dawn are so much better than the NCL Dream and NCL Majesty in my opinion in terms of outdoor areas. That being said, I will only talk about the Spirit and the Dawn.
We really enjoyed the aft pool area on the NCL Spirit. The multi-level amphitheater overlooking the kid’s pool was the place that we spent most of our time on sea days. There was a family Jacuzzi in this area. There was plenty of space to get sun or shade. The ping pong tables were also on this area on one of the above decks. We found that there is a doorway to the arcade and the Kids Crew area as well. The main pool always seemed crowded to us. It was difficult to get seats near the pool but there were areas on which to sit out and read or get sun on the decks above. The Spirit also has a nice promenade deck to walk all the way around the ship. There were places to sit there and enjoy the views of the sea.
We found that it was very crowded by the pool on the NCL Dawn. We were able to get chairs by the main pool on a few occasions. The Dawn also has upper decks that have chairs and this was nice. The kid’s pool area is suited for the 5 and under age group, it was much smaller than the Spirit, and there was really no place to sit. Our kids are older so this was not really a problem. We liked the open deck areas on the Spirit over the Dawn.
The Carnival Miracle gets my vote for the best outside deck area of the ships that we have been on as a family. I liked that there were 3 pools, 2 mid-ship and one for adults only in the aft. One of the mid-ship pools has a glass dome that can cover the area if the weather is bad. We did not need to utilize this. We were always able to get chairs either right by the pool or right above with a great view of the pool. The upper decks had plenty of areas for sunning and there were areas that just never seemed crowded. There is a water slide that kids and adults seemed to enjoy as well. The Miracle has a sports deck with a 9 hole mini-golf course up high. The Miracle did not have an open promenade deck like NCL has. This was not a big deal. There were several forward areas high on the ship to watch the ship go into port.
The inside areas on the NCL Dawn and NCL Spirit were both good. I will not discuss the decoration and interior color schemes here as both NCL and Carnival have their strengths and weaknesses in this department. I will give my thoughts on the areas and the flow of the ship.
I liked the NCL Spirit’s and Dawn’s theater and preferred NCL to Carnival here. Carnival Miracle’s theater was a bit smaller and had more spaces where obstructed views were a problem. The smaller show rooms on NCL, The Galaxy of the Stars (Spirit) and the Spinnaker (Dawn), were big and comfortable areas great areas to listen to music and see some shows. I preferred this to the Mad Hatter’s Ball room on the Miracle. However, Carnival does have additional lounges and venues for entertainment that is superior to those on the NCL Spirit and NCL Dawn. An example of this is when Fire and Ice, a singing duo, were performing on the NCL Dawn, were performing in Dazzles, there were not enough seats and people needed to walk through the area to get to other places on the ship. The Carnival Miracle has a piano bar and other lounges like Frankie and Johnnie’s in which an act could perform without interruption and there were plenty of seats available.
I am someone who likes an atrium on a cruise ship. I did not really like this area on the Dawn but loved it on the Spirit. I thought that the natural sun light, glass elevators, and comfortable chairs near the coffee bar area were great on the NCL Spirit. I also really liked this area on the Carnival Miracle.
The Carnival Miracle seemed to have more spaces in which to sit and enjoy some peace and quiet. There were several places just off of the atrium area where anyone could sit and enjoy the views of the ocean or read. The NCL Spirit had a few spots like this as well but I found more of them on the Miracle.
My kids liked the arcade area on the NCL Spirit the best. It was huge and had lots of unique games but also things like guitar hero and DDR. The arcades on the NCL Dawn and the Carnival Miracle were good but not great from their perspective.
The stores on the Miracle were better than the ones on the NCL Spirit or Dawn. We liked the choices offered and location of them.
I found that the flow of the ship was the best on the Carnival Miracle with the NCL Spirit a close second. I never felt crowded on this ship which surprised me.
Part 4: Entertainment:
We do enjoy the big productions that are performed on cruise ships. We do not expect Broadway caliber productions. I have enjoyed many of the shows that I have seen on NCL and on Carnival. I thought that this was where NCL would outshine Carnival but I was surprised. The production shows, Generations and Ticket to Ride on Carnival were both very good. There seemed to be more poolside activities, trivia, and games on Carnival.
Part 5: Dining/Food:
Food is subjective. I will share the opinions of my family in this regard. We have enjoyed the dining experiences on both NCL and Carnival. We felt that we were “freestyle dining” people and like the dining options on both the NCL Spirit and Dawn. I was not looking forward to returning to traditional dining on any line. We decided to give it a try on Carnival based on the recommendations of our friends who really like Carnival.
Buffet:
I found that the breakfast buffet on Carnival and on the NCL Spirit were more similar than different. We never went to the breakfast buffet on the Dawn because we got a wonderful hot meal delivered to our cabin by the butler every morning. Both lines had action stations and areas to get hot cereal, bacon, eggs, French toast, pancakes, etc. Both had omelet areas and I found both to be equally good.
The lunch buffet on the Carnival Miracle was far superior to the NCL lunch buffet. We liked the fact that there were several areas in which to get lunch food. There was a salad bar, Asian area, NY Style Deli, the standard areas to get the dishes of the day, grill area for hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries, onion rings, and finally a dessert area. I liked the fact that there was a different theme each day and this meant different food choices. The pizza area served pizza 24 hours. If you like thick crust pizza with lots of cheese and toppings then you are in for a treat. You could also order chicken Caesar salad at this area.
I preferred the layout of the buffet area on the Carnival Miracle to that of both the NCL Spirit and the Dawn. I also liked that lemonade, ice tea, and fruit punch were available all day. There were a few types of juice available on both lines as well. On both NCL and on Carnival we experienced the crew getting us drinks in the morning and during the lunches. We liked that the silverware was wrapped in a napkin and placed at the table. This was good for many reasons. We did not have to get in line for this and the staff made sure to clean the table and place the clean items for the next cruiser. We did not notice tables not being cleaned. The crew was great at keeping the buffet area clean in my opinion. There were also areas for breakfast and lunch dining near the pool.
We liked the 24 hour ice cream and frozen yogurt stations that were mid-ship and aft. This was great for an afternoon treat. In addition to this, we liked the sushi that was available at no additional charge from 5-8:30 every evening.
Dining Room:
We only went to the dining room for dinner. We had the 6:00 pm seating by choice. On NCL, we would normally eat around 6:00-6:30 so this would be fine. On NCL, we liked to eat in the NCL Specialty restaurants as well as the main dining rooms. Having the option to go to the Asian, Italian, steak house, French Bistro, or Tex-Mex is appealing to us.
We have felt that the service was generally excellent for the most part on NCL. We really liked our server on Carnival but we had 3 assistants during the 8 day cruise and this caused a few minor problems. Our server had difficulty understanding that my wife liked to have ice tea and water at dinner. The server offered the choice and if she wanted ice tea, she did not get water. After some discussion, this was resolved. Our dinners took about 1:45 minutes on average. On two occasions, the second seating was getting ready to come in (8:15 pm) and we were not finished with dessert and just about everyone else had left. This was not a huge deal but it was something that I did note as not being the most enjoyable about our traditional dining on Carnival.
I am not going to go into incredible detail about the quality of food as both have their strengths but I will point out a few things. The lobster tail on Carnival was a full tail. As far as beef meals are concerned, there was filet mignon, prime rib, and chateaubriand offered on different nights in the main dining room. These beef meals were of good quality and enjoyable. In general, I found that the main dishes were of larger quantity on Carnival than on NCL. I also thought that the appetizers on NCL were better than on Carnival. Both lines offered a classic menu where someone could get steak, salmon, or chicken. Carnival offered ribs as an addition.
Specialty Restaurants:
NCL has a variety of specialty restaurants on their ships built for freestyle dining. We have had the opportunity to enjoy several of these on our 6 NCL cruises. Le Bistro is a favorite of our family and we have chosen to pay the extra charge at this restaurant 3 times on the Majesty, 3 times on the Spirit, 3 times on the Dawn, and once on the Dream. We had dinner at Cagney’s on the Spirit one time. We enjoyed Impressions, the Italian restaurant on the Dawn, two times, and the Italian restaurant on the Majesty and Dream a few times as well. The Asian restaurant is one of our favorites on the Spirit but we were a bit disappointed with it one time on the Dawn but not enough to stop us from trying it again. The Teppanyaki experience is also a favorite of our family with the chefs cooking our meals right on the grill in front of us. We do not mind paying extra for a few special meals when we are on vacation.
We decided to have a dinner for 2 at Nick and Nora’s supper club on the Carnival Miracle. The 30.00 per person cover charge was more than what we pay on NCL but we thought it would be nice for one night. The area is in the funnel, at the top of the atrium. The music, dance floor, and general ambience was exceptional and far better than any of the NCL specialty restaurants. We found that the service, dining experience, quality of all courses of food were so far superior to NCL. I felt as if my wife and I were the only people in the restaurant and it was the most enjoyable restaurant experience that I have had anywhere in quite a long time.
Final thoughts:
I ask that you keep in mind that I am basing these comparisons on NCL and Carnival from the family cruise perspective. Both NCL and Carnival provided us with a great family vacation. A year ago I said that I would not go on Carnival because I liked NCL so much. I am glad that I gave it a try. Our family now has some options for future cruise vacations and this is very good!
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Jim
8/7/09 NCL Spirit, Boston to Bermuda
Previous cruises NCL: 6; RCCL: 4; Carnival: 2; Cunard:1.
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Catnip
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Posted: Mon Sep 1st, 2008 11:31 pm | 14th Post |
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jimswims wrote: A year ago I said that I would not go on Carnival because I liked NCL so much. I am glad that I gave it a try. Our family now has some options for future cruise vacations and this is very good!
A most excellent review!!!
I am glad that you liked Carnival! I have not sailed on CCL, but I have tried many other different lines, and I am of the opinion that it would be pretty darn boring to only stick to one cruise line.
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33 previous cruises..
Next up: Celebrity Solstice 1-09/Jewel of the Seas 3-09/ QM 2 11-09/ Queen Victoria 1/10
**Triangles Are For Losers!**
When only cops have guns, it's called a "police state"
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jimswims
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Posted: Tue Sep 2nd, 2008 12:44 am | 15th Post |
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Now, I have to try Princess and get back on RCCL.
I think that DW and I will go on Celebrity, Cunard, and Crystal and maybe a Seaborn or 2 without the kids.
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Jim
8/7/09 NCL Spirit, Boston to Bermuda
Previous cruises NCL: 6; RCCL: 4; Carnival: 2; Cunard:1.
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KerCar
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Posted: Thu Sep 18th, 2008 02:25 pm | 16th Post |
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jimswims wrote:
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