Jeff "Jamman"
Maskall
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean / Bahamas
Sailing Date: July 2nd. 2010
Age: 55
Occupation: "semi" retired
Number of Cruises: 32
Day 1 –
Embarkation Day – We just love cruising out
of our homeport of New York City. This cruise
would be the 11th time we have cruised from
there, and we never get tired of it. Today is a
beautiful day, sunny and 85 degrees. We made the
45 minute drive to the pier arriving just at
11:00 am. The brand new Norwegian Epic was also
in port with us, having just made her
trans-Atlantic voyage. After a couple of fam
trips from here, she will be heading down to
Miami to begin regular service. She is huge, but
not very pretty to look at. The five decks
stacked on top of the bridge make her look very
boxy and unstable. I wish her luck, but we won’t
be booking her anytime soon, but I digress. For
those driving to, and parking at the pier,
things have changed a bit since we were here
last in 2008, and for the better I might add.
First, the entrance to the parking is at the
north end of the pier, where you enter, and the
exit is at the south end. It used to be the
opposite, meaning you used to have to drop off
your bags with the porters one level down, and
then go up and park. Now, as soon as you arrive,
you are directed upstairs to the parking level.
After you pay the $30./day fee, ($240. For our 8
day cruise), you are instructed to open up your
luggage area so the dog can have a sniff. Then
you pull over to the curb where the porters will
grab your luggage for loading onto the ship.
Don’t forget to tip!! Now you can park your
vehicle, and then take the escalator down to the
check in area.
Since we are
Platinum members, we were directed to the VIP
line to be screened and taken to the VIP check
in room. This being my 25th Carnival cruise, I
had achieved my first milestone status, and I
was anxious to see what my Sail & Sign card
looked like. (Actually it was my 26th cruise
with Carnival but they don’t count freebies
towards milestones). The card was white and said
milestone member on it, so it stood out whenever
it was presented. I have to say that all of the
staff treated me like royalty during the whole
cruise. Then came the first problem. I had
changed the sailing dates a few months prior due
to a conflict, and when they changed the sailing
dates, they lost the link between mine and
Patti’s reservation, and our boy’s reservation.
This meant that their reservation wasn’t linked
to my credit card. Also, they were assigned to a
different dining table!! Well, the first part
was quickly corrected, but we would have to see
the Maitre D to get the dining arrangements
taken care of. No biggie. We immediately took
our security picture, and then boarded the ship.
You board directly
into the Atrium Lobby, which is an impressive
place. You can look up nine decks to the red
skylight which actually is part of the ship’s
funnel. Three glass elevators travel along one
wall, the entire height of the Atrium. Very
nice!! We stopped at the Atrium Bar for our
first drinks of the cruise, and to pick up soda
cards for Patti and Kevin. They are still
$6./day for adults, and $4.50/day for the kids,
plus a 15% gratuity. As we were enjoying our
drinks, the shore excursion desk, which was
nearby, opened. I made a beeline there, as I
wanted to make sure that I was able to book a
cabana on Half Moon Cay. These are not sold
online prior to the cruise, and since there are
only fifteen of them, if you want one, you need
to book them ASAP once you board. This taken
care of, we next went to the Bacchus dining room
to see the Maitre D about our dining
arrangements, which he took care of quickly, and
to our satisfaction. It was then time to head up
to the Lido deck and Horatio’s for our
embarkation lunch. We love the way this area is
set up on the Spirit Class ships. There is the
Taste of Nations, where a different cuisine is
presented every day, the Deli for GREAT grilled
and cold sandwiches, a rotisserie, the Asian
corner, 24 hour Pizzeria, and salad bar. Hot
dogs, burgers, steak sandwiches, along with all
the trimmings, were available at the Ulysses
Pool lines. There is something for everyone!
Along with a dessert bar, there are four free
ice cream stations. Ryan really loved those!
Since it was now after 1:30, it was time to
check out our cabins. I had booked two side by
side Category 8K extended balcony cabins, (8174
& 8176), on Panorama Deck mid-ship. It was a
perfect location. It was just a short trip up
the stairs to the lido pools and Horatio’s.
Prior to the cruise I had bought some goodies
for the kids cabin, and had our cabin decorated
with the bon voyage package. It makes it a
little more special. We then reacquainted
ourselves with the ship until it was time for
the muster drill at 3:30. On Carnival, it is no
longer necessary to bring your lifejacket to the
muster station. This eliminates running back to
your cabin before and after the drill, and makes
the process less stressful in my opinion. This
being done it was time to sail!!! We were
supposed to have sailed at 4 pm, but the
Norwegian Epic had backed out of the pier and
into the Hudson River, and just sat there while
several helicopters flew around taking pictures
of her!! We wound up sailing just before 5 pm.
Even though we have sailed out of here many
times, we never get tired of it. The views of
Manhattan, then Ellis Island and Lady Liberty
are just breathtaking!! We seem to take the same
pictures every time, but we don’t care. After
about an hour we squeeze under the Verrazano
bridge and head out into the open sea. Our
cruise has begun!!!
After sailing
Patti got Ryan registered at Circle C (12-14
years), and Kevin registered at Club O2 (15-17
years). They were free to come and go as they
pleased. Afterwards we headed back to the cabins
to unpack and hang out on the balconies until
dinner. We made arrangements through Guest
Services to have the balcony divider opened
between our cabins. They told us that this would
be done the first thing tomorrow morning, which
it was. Soon it was time for our first dinner.
We opted for traditional dining at the late
sitting (8:15). We were given, as requested, a
table for four (#170), on the lower level (deck
2), of the Bacchus Dining room. Those who opted
for Your Time Dining were seated in the upper
level (deck 3), of the dining room. Since we had
been on the Miracle before, we were used to the
much talked about grapes!! When I write a
review, the one thing I don’t write about is
everything that we ate on the cruise, since food
is so subjective. I’ll just say that all the
meals that we ordered were hot, well presented,
and tasty!! Our wait team was one of the best we
have ever had on Carnival, and it takes a lot to
say that!! After dinner, Patti and I decided to
test our luck in Mr. Lucky’s Casino before
calling it a night. Mr. Lucky wasn’t so lucky
for us tonight, but we were just getting
started!!
Day 2 – Sea Day – We love our sea days,
and this itinerary is just perfect for us. There
are two sea days from NYC down to Grand Turk,
and then two more sea days from Nassau back to
NYC. We awoke to a beautiful sunny day, and the
seas were very calm. Since we were just one deck
and one staircase away from Horatio’s it was
very easy to go up and get a hot breakfast, then
bring it down to enjoy while sitting on the
balcony. This beats ordering from room service
since Carnival doesn’t have hot breakfast items
on their menu. Soon after we finished breakfast
there was a knock on our door. The maintainance
people had arrived to open up the balcony
partition between our balconies. We now had one
big balcony!! The one thing we love doing is the
bean bag toss. They have two tournaments at
different times of the day on sea days, one for
the whole family, and one for adults only. These
were well attended. Kevin and Ryan both enjoyed
participating with us during the family
tournament. Basically, the staff divides
everyone into two teams, and everyone has at
it!! Loads of fun and laughter!! Afterwards the
boys headed off to their respective clubs, and
we went to the casino to try our luck in the
first slot tournament. Since we are platinum
members, we received free entries into the
tournament. Sadly, neither of us qualified for
the finals. After some lunch at Horatio’s, Patti
went to check out the shops and then play some
bingo, and I headed up poolside to the Odyssey
bar for a “couple” of mudslides. Soon it was
time to head back to the cabin and get ready for
our first “Cruise Elegant” dinner. As we entered
the dining room it was great to see that the
majority of our fellow passengers were dressed
up. Not a lot of tuxes, but a lot of dark suits
were evident on the men. The women always know
how to dress!!! After another great meal, Patti
and I went to the casino for another round of
blackjack. This time we walked away winners!!!
After a nightcap it was time to call it a night.
It was a great relaxing day!!
Day 3 – Sea Day – Happy Independence
Day!!! We awoke to cloudy skies and rain. It
would remain like that all day. The seas were a
tad rougher than yesterday, but not at all
uncomfortable. There would be no eating
breakfast on the balcony today. Spent the day
shopping, bean bag tosses, gambling, napping,
reading, playing bingo, and having a few
cocktails. Speaking of bingo, Ryan won one
jackpot by himself and pocketed a cool $150.00.
He was one happy kid!! Later in the evening,
Patti and I had dinner at Nick & Nora’s
Steakhouse. We always have dinner one night at
the Steakhouse, and it is worth every penny of
the $30./pp surcharge. As always, Patti had the
lobster, and I had the 24oz porterhouse. If you
are on a Carnival ship that has a Steakhouse,
you owe it to yourself to give it a try. You
won’t be disappointed!! After a few after dinner
drinks, it was time to call it a night. We would
be in Grand Turk early tomorrow.
Day 4 – Grand Turk (7:00am – 3:00pm) - I
was up early to catch the sunrise and watch us
pull into Grand Turk. It was going to be a
beautiful sunny, but hot, day. We had a hot
breakfast on the balcony as we waited for the
ship to be cleared. We had booked a poolside
cabana at Margaritaville ($129.95) and wanted
to get ashore as soon as possible to get maximum
benefit out of it. Each cabana is fully enclosed
and air conditioned, with three couches and a
table. On the porch are two comfortable
loungers. The cabanas are just steps away from
the pool. Though food and beverage are not
included in the price, you have your own private
waiter, who will take your drink and food
orders, and deliver the goods back to you in
record time. There is a button inside the cabana
which you push to summon him/her, and they show
up in a matter of seconds!! We walked down to
the beach and went swimming literally a few
yards from the Miracle. Back to the cabana to
cool off as it was nearly 100 degrees outside,
with hardly a cloud in the skies. We ordered
some snacks and a bucket of Landsharks, and
spent the rest of the morning alternating
between the pool, lounging on the porch, and
cooling off inside. At 12:45pm it was time for
Kevin and Ryan to ride the Flowrider. I booked
them on the deluxe session ($25.95/pp), which is
an hour and a half long and includes both
kneeling and stand up riding. The regular
session ($19.95/pp), is only one hour long and
only allows you to kneel. The boys had done this
the last time we were here, so they had a
blast!! We got plenty of great pictures and
video while we watched from the pool. After
their session was over it was time to gather our
things and head back to the ship. One thing that
I noticed this time, was how crowded the pool
area was, and we were the only ship in port. I
can’t imagine how packed it would be when two
ships are in port, which does happen from time
to time. A cabana would be a must in that case!!
Once on the pier, there was a huge line waiting
to board the ship. Why they had only one line to
board was beyond me!!! Once back aboard it was
time to take a nice cool refreshing shower, and
hang out on the balcony and watch us sail away.
We had an awesome time today!! After we sailed,
the boys headed out to their clubs, and Patti
and I just chilled until it was time for dinner.
After dinner we went to tonight’s show, which
was Rock Star Juggler Marcus Monroe. It was a
great show!! Afterwards was the Mega Deck Party
out on the Lido deck, but we were just too tired
from the heat and fun we had on Grand Turk to
hang out to long, so it was off to bed.
Day 5 – Half Moon Cay (9:00am – 5:00pm) –
Another beautiful day in paradise!! We awoke in
time to watch us pull into Half Moon Cay, which
is our favorite port of call. It was a beautiful
sunny and hot day. As I mentioned at the
beginning, we had rented a cabana for the day,
so we were able to be on the first tender
ashore. It felt great to be coming back here!!
Once in, we checked in at the information kiosk,
and were then directed to a safari truck for the
ride over to our cabana. Just a note here that
the price for the cabana has risen to $249.95,
but for us it is worth every penny. This time we
had cabana #4 (orange), which we feel was the
perfect location, close to the bathrooms, BBQ
lunch, and the water sports. The cabana is air
conditioned, though open in the front, with a
table, and four very comfortable cushioned
chairs inside. A counter runs along the entire
width of the back wall, and underneath is a
small refrigerator. On the deck itself are two
cushioned loungers, a large oscillating fan with
a mister, and a fresh water shower. Included in
the price were soft drinks, water, chips, dips,
fruit platters, and veggie platter, enough for
four people. Also included were snorkel
equipment, and floats for everybody. Bar waiters
from the ship are plentiful on the beach, and
some are assigned just to the cabanas to take
your drink orders, which of course are charged
to your sail & sign card. I can tell you for a
fact, that there is nothing better than lounging
on the deck with a bucket of beers, with a
perfect view of the beach, and the Carnival
Miracle off in the distance!! Patti and I
grabbed our floats and lounged in the beautiful
clear waters for quite a long while, while Ryan
went down the beach to the kids play area and
the water trampoline, and Kevin grabbed a
hammock under a tree and took a nap. Since it
was very hot, we all made frequent trips back to
the cabana to cool off, munch on snacks, and
have some drinks. Then came the one little
downer of the day. We had booked the boys for
parasailing at 11:00, but when we got there we
were told that they were having engine trouble
with both boats, and that if we wished to wait,
we would be accommodated. Seeing that the groups
from 10:00 & 10:30 were also still waiting, we
elected to cancel. The boys were ok with that,
since they would rather be having fun in the
water instead of waiting in the hot sun for
boats that may or may not be fixed!! By now it
was lunch time, so we wandered over to the BBQ.
There were plenty of hot dogs, burgers, ribs,
chicken, rice and beans, fries, salads, plus all
the trimmings. There are plenty of covered
picnic benches nearby, but we elected to carry
our lunches the short walk back to our cabana,
and eat in air conditioned comfort. I told you
they were worth the money!!! The rest of the
afternoon was spent enjoying what the island has
to offer. Patti took the boys out sailing on a
Hobie Cat for an hour or so, and I went over to
the nearby “Wish I could stay here forever bar”
for a drink. There was a DJ, dancing, and then a
limbo contest while I was there. Being six foot
five with bad knees, I don’t do limbo, but
enjoyed watching everyone having a blast. After
Patti was done sailing, she took Ryan out
kayaking, while I went back to floating on the
mat with a beer in my hand. Ah, life is good!!
Much too soon it was time to head back to the
ship. The line for the tender was crazy long, so
we just hung out at the bar until it was time to
get on the last tender back. As we were heading
back to the Miracle, I couldn’t help thinking
that this was another perfect day at HMC,
(except for the parasailing), and wondering how
long it would be before we are back here again!!
Once back onboard, we took nice refreshing
showers, then hung out on the balcony until it
was time for dinner. After another great dinner,
I went to try my luck in the first blackjack
tournament of the cruise. Though Patti likes to
play blackjack, she doesn’t like to enter the
tournaments, electing to just cheer me on. I
entered the qualifying rounds three times, but !
couldn’t qualify for the final table. Oh well,
better luck next time!! After a couple of
nightcaps it was time to head for bed. We had
another busy day planned for tomorrow.
Day 6 – Nassau (7:00am – 6:00pm) – When
we awoke we were already docked in Nassau. The
weather forecast for today calls for scattered
showers, and in fact a storm had just passed
through, but now the sun was beginning to peek
out. Along with us in port were the Norwegian
Jewel, Norwegian Sky, Monarch of the Seas, and a
little later on, the Majesty of the Seas. We
weren’t leaving the ship until 10:00am, so we
had time for a leisurely breakfast at Horatio’s.
Kevin decided that since he had a bit of
sunburn, he would stay on the ship for the day.
With a lot of ships in town, I didn’t want to
have any transportation issues, so I booked the
Wyndham Resort Beach Break with lunch, through
Carnival. You can do this much cheaper on your
own since the Wyndham does sell day passes.
After being gathered and herded on the pier like
cattle, we were led (moo!!), to the air
conditioned (thank goodness!) vans, for what
should have been a twenty minute drive over to
the Wyndham, which is located on Cable Beach.
The heavy traffic and road construction made it
about a half hour journey. Once there you are
free to do as you please. There is a huge
casino, which we didn’t play at, since this was
our last beach day of the cruise. There is a
beautiful beach, and a huge pool with a
waterslide built into a three story mountain. On
the opposite side of the mountain is a very
large hot tub. There is also a pool bar with
swim up service. We grabbed some loungers under
some palm trees, then we proceeded to enjoy the
beach and the pool, until we noticed a storm
rapidly approaching from the east. Since it was
now lunch time, we grabbed our stuff and headed
inside to the buffet, which was included in the
cost. We got inside just in time as the skies
opened up to a downpour. The buffet was very
good with great variety, including a pasta
station, and a carving station. We weren’t
expecting anything that good!! By the time we
had gotten our seconds and dessert, the storm
had passed and the sun had come back out. Patti
went to explore the hotel and shops, and Ryan
and I went back to the pool. Again, too soon, it
was time to leave. Instead of waiting to be
herded (moo!), and crammed into the vans, we
elected to grab a cab back to the pier. For
$20.00 this was a great move on our part! I had
plenty of leg room, the driver was very
friendly, and he pointed out various points of
interest along the way. Once we were dropped
off, Patti decided to stay in town and shop,
while Ryan and I headed back to the ship. We
noticed yet another storm approaching, and hoped
Patti didn’t get caught in it. Patti came back
to the ship about an hour later, and somehow she
managed to stay dry! We watched the Miracle sail
away from Nassau from our balcony, a little sad
that we were now heading back to New York. We
had another great dinner in the dining room, and
afterwards we took in the show at the Phantom
Theatre. Tonight it was the cruise director,
Malcolm Burn, doing a skit with audience
participation, called a “film within a film”. It
was quite funny, and this was followed by a
comedian, Scotty K, who was not so funny!! After
that show was over we went directly downstairs
to the Mad Hatter’s Ball for the Carnival Quest.
Now, having cruised on Royal Caribbean, I know
that Carnival “borrowed” the Quest from them,
but Carnival’s version is way more risqué and
raunchy. This is for adults only, and if you are
offended easily, you should pass this one up!!
After laughing non stop for an hour, it was time
for a nightcap, then off to bed.
Day 7 – Sea Day – Today it was cloudy and
rainy all day. Was this the same storm we sailed
through on the second sea day down? No matter,
after three straight days on the beach, the sun
was the last thing we needed. We just relaxed
and did all those fun things that we did on the
way down, such as the bean bag toss, bingo, and
shopping. Ryan went to the Phantom lounge to do
laser tag. Cost of this was $5.00 for five
minutes. This was also the day of the second
blackjack tournament. This time I made it to the
final table, but when all was said and done, I
wound up in third place. More trinkets and
another t-shirt that doesn’t fit was my reward!!
Afterwards, I met up with some of my blackjack
playing friends, and we sat down at a $25 dollar
table. We had a great time laughing and joking,
and on top of that we made a killing. We were
taking good care of the dealers, so the pit
bosses were buying us drink after drink. Patti
eventually came down to see how I was doing, and
to get me out of there for dinner. Let’s just
say I was too “tired” to go to dinner, and
called it an early night. Patti and the boy’s
went, and spent a lovely evening together.
Day 8 – Sea Day – All good things must
come to an end, so it was only fitting that
today was a beautiful sunny day. After an early
morning round of bean bag toss with the boys,
they went off to their clubs, and Patti went on
the platinum member’s galley tour, followed by
some last minute shopping. I went to the Phantom
lounge for the back stage tour and Q & A session
with Malcolm Burn and some of the production
people. It was a very informative and eye
opening experience. After lunch, Patti & I
entered the second slot tournament, but neither
one of us qualified for the finals. Patti went
back to the cabin to begin packing, and I played
blackjack for the final time on this cruise. I
came out way ahead of the game on this cruise,
mostly on what I won the day before! Then it was
back to the cabin to relax on the balcony and
get ready for our final dinner. As usual dinner
was wonderful, and there was some sadness when
all the waiters sang “leaving on a Fun Ship” to
us. Tonight was the win a cruise bingo, so we
went to try our luck. It was a cover all game,
and Patti needed only two numbers, when somebody
yelled “Bingo”. Boooo!!! We then went back to
the cabin to put out our luggage, and decided
that we would call it a night.
Day 9 – Debarkation Day – I was up with
the dawn to watch as the Miracle sailed back
into New York harbor. I stopped at Horatio’s for
some coffee and a light breakfast, and was out
on deck when the Miracle sailed under the
Verrazano Bridge at 6:00am. Patti joined me soon
after, and we stayed out on deck until the
Miracle was back at pier 90. The Norwegian Jewel
had followed us back from Nassau, and docked at
pier 88. Since we are platinum, we were given
zone 1 tags for debarkation, and told to meet at
Frankie & Johnnies at 9:00am. At 8:15, those
passengers that could carry off all of their
luggage unassisted were let off first. I don’t
think that this would ever be an option for us!!
At 9:15, a Carnival rep came into the lounge and
led all the platinum members off the ship, and
to the Zone 1 area where our luggage was
located. We found our luggage quickly, grabbed a
porter, who led us quickly through customs, and
then took our luggage right to the car!! We
jumped into the car and we were home by 10:30!!
This is one cruise that I could do every year.
Great itinerary, great ship, and great crew!!!
Cruising from New York is just the icing on the
cake!! Our pictures from this cruise can be
found at
http://www.cruise-addicts.com/photopost/g586-jamman-27s-carnival-miracle.html
Happy Cruising!!!!
