The Carnival Miracle is one of four Spirit class ships owned by Carnival Cruise Lines. Her first sailing was back in February of 2004 where she did alternating Caribbean and Bahamas sailings from Jacksonville. Currently, she offers roundtrip Western Caribbean cruises from Tampa. The Miracle weighs 88,500 gross registered tons. In my opinion, this ship was beautiful and would love to sail sometime.
To start off the day we arrived at the port of Tampa Bay around ten in the morning, right as the disembarkation process had ended. After chatting with a few people who just returned from their trip, we were greeted by kind porters and agents who could help us with any request that we could have had. Next, we were whisked right up the escalator to go through security and check-in. Although we were not cruising, we still had to wait in the normal lines that went pretty fast. Boarding did not begin until eleven but we were treated to sit in the VIFP Club along with the Faster to the Fun lounge which included complimentary water and other fun snacks.
When first embarking onto the Carnival Miracle you board into the elevator lobby that overlooks the Metropolis Atrium. Our first impressions of the ship were how can they fit this big of a venue on a ship. The atrium spans from deck two all the way up to deck ten. Throughout our tour on the Miracle, several musicians blasted their favorite tunes throughout the atrium adding to the boarding day excitement.
After taking a stroll through the beautiful atrium we found ourselves up in the Lido Cafe along with Nick and Nora’s Steakhouse. In the Lido, due to the fact that it was embarkation day and cabins are not ready until one thirty the crowds were crazy and it was very difficult to find somewhere to sit and eat. I wish that Carnival would have opened up Nick and Nora’s for overflow seating as it would have helped with the crowds. Besides the frustration with the boarding day lunch, I thought that the food was great and would have loved to try the other dining venues on board this ship.
After stuffing our faces in the Lido we took a casual stroll around the pool deck to see the cruise-goers all lounged out catching some of Florida’s warm sunny rays. I thought that it was very smart to separate the two pools by putting a bar in between to help the ship feel larger. From anywhere on the outside decks you could see the beautiful whale tale which has a glass portion for natural light to enter Nick and Nora’s along with the atrium.
While on vacation if you wanted to escape from the kids, you can go to the massive Spa and Fitness center or to Serenity where it is adults only. Both venues are sure to put you in a relaxed state of mind but my personal favorite would be Serenity. All the way in the back of deck nine Serenity has anything you could possibly want. They have hammocks, plush lounge seating, and a bar. Now, when laying under the warm Caribbean sun you could get hot so why not take a dip in Lido Orpheus aft pool which is also apart of Serenity.
The biggest pro to all of this is that Serenity is included in your cruise fare. After relaxing in Serenity we decided to go view all the interesting venues that this ship has to offer. The Miracle has many oddly themed venues that make it a very distinct ship from the rest of the fleet. For example, they have the Mad Hatter’s Ball Lounge which is used to host comedy shows and live bands along with Dr. Frankenstein’s Lab Dance Club which offers a place to party. My favorite venue that we toured had to be the SkyBox Sports Bar because of all the giant TVs that surrounded the room.
At the end of the day, I thought that the Carnival Miracle was a beautiful ship and would highly recommend it to anyone who has thought about sailing. All of the crew members were very kind and their service was impeccable.
If you have any questions about the Carnival Miracle please drop them below and we will be sure to respond. Have you sailed on board the Miracle? What was your favorite venue? For anyone who hasn’t gotten the chance too, would you be interested in trying this class of ship?
Brenden Mills: Cruise Ship Crayz Representative
Hello, my name is Brenden Mills. I am a high school student who dreams of one day working onboard one of these ships. I have been in love with the ocean ever since I was little but back in 2010 the cruising industry sparked my interest.
