Miracle in the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Carnival Miracle is a Spirit Class ship, one of Carnivals older, smaller ships making it perfect for Alaskan cruises. Small ships do better there since the larger ones are less likely to be able to navigate through the bergy bits on the way to see glaciers in narrow channels. Also apparently less likely to make it into some ports since the only time we ever missed Victoria was on Quantum of the Seas, which is the largest ship we’ve sailed to Alaska on – and there was a smaller ship in port that day seemingly unbothered by the weather and rough seas of the day. Quantum also did not make it down to the glacier at the end of Endicott Arm whereas all of the smaller ships we’ve sailed there on made it to the end without any difficulties.
atrium bar on deck 2 – the atrium is open all the way to the top of the ship
The Miracle was built in Finland and launched in 2004 It is 963 feet long, 106 feet wide, and at double occupancy holds 2124 passengers with a crew of just over 900. The ship has 12 decks and 1062 staterooms. It was built during the era when Joe Farcus was the decor designer of Carnival’s ships.
hiding a duck
True to that era it has some wild decor with lots of nooks and crannies to hide ducks in.
hallway art
The theme is supposed to be famous fictional icons, which is most noticeable in the hallways on cabin decks.
inappropriate artwork in the dining room and on a door to a stairway leading to the kid’s clubs
A lot of the public areas display artwork that is inappropriate for a ship intended for families with children. A door to a stairway leading to the kid’s clubs has a naked woman on it. There’s also some inappropriate bordering on pornographic art in the dining room. Even the columns in the theater are topped with statues of bare-breasted women with their hands up as if they are holding up the ceiling.
she’s a bit too casual
Some of the newer ships have gone to digital displays for the photos they take of passengers with hopes of getting people to buy them, but the Miracle still had the old-fashioned display of actual photographs, all of which end up in the trash if unsold. When the photo area is open the display cases are open to show the pictures, but when it is closed the cases are closed and show the same sort artwork found around the ship. The heading for whatever type of photos are displayed in that section still shows above the case when it is closed though. I was amused by the one labeled Cruise Casual above a painting of a lady that was definitely dressed way too casual since she lacked any clothing at all.
Gatsby’s Garden indoor promenade around the bow
The Miracle has a couple of waterslides, a basketball court, mini-golf, and a walkway around the ship on deck 10. The outdoor promenade deck on deck 3 goes around the sides and back of the ship. At the front it is indoors and called Gatsby’s Garden. The indoor walkway around the bow area is unique to the Spirit class ships. The hallways there have chairs and tables that are quiet and not usually crowded.
Miracle in Seattle
Walking around the ship on boarding day I came across a sign next to what is normally a smoking area out on one of the upper decks that said NO SMOKING, BUNKERING IN PROGRESS. Next to it a whole line of people sat in the chairs there puffing away. Apparently their nicotine fixes were more important to them than whether or not the ship blew up should a spark catch in the vapors while the ship was fueling. Not only is that against ship rules, maritime laws and port safety guidelines completely ban smoking anywhere other than safe approved rooms while bunkering fuel.
dome over the central Lido pool
The ship has a forward outdoor pool and hot tub, a pool in a central area with a dome that can enclose it in cold climates or inclement weather or open when sailing in warmer climates, and another outdoor pool and hot tub on the Serenity deck at the back of the ship. Nearly everything in the Serenity area is out in the open with no shade or shelter from wind and weather, other than some seating near the bar which is under the deck above. The outdoor movie screen is in the domed area making it usable regardless of the weather. Also Guy’s burgers, Blue Iguana Mexican food, Red Frog Rum Bar, Blue Iguana Tequila Bar, and the ice cream station reside within the domed area.
balcony cabin 7123
Rooms are pretty standard size for Carnival ships. Ours had only one outlet, but it did have some USB ports in the lamps on the nightstands. Storage space was plentiful. It included 3 closets, 2 with a hanging bar and one with shelves, 4 drawers, and a little cabinet with a couple shelves. The safe had its own cupboard under the TV rather than taking up closet space. The nightstands each had a little cubby inside and the bathroom had a set of 3 shelves on each end of the mirror. The drawback of an older ship is the constant airflow in the cabin that can’t be shut off so you can hear it all night.
extended balcony
We took this cruise with my husband’s sister and her husband. They booked it quite awhile after we did, but conveniently ended up with a room directly below ours, 2 decks down. Theirs had an extended balcony so they could step out beyond where the standard balconies end and we could talk to them from our balcony.
inside the funnel at the top of the atrium, which is also in the steakhouse
Cabins are found on deck 1 and decks 4-8. Some of these decks also have public areas and most cabin decks have a self-serve launderette. Deck 1 has the Mad Hatter’s Ball, which is actually a theater style lounge at the front and Chef’s Table near the back, which is a very pricey pay-extra eatery. Decks 2 and 3 are all public areas. The main theater extends upward in the bow from deck 2-4 and the kid’s clubs are at the front of decks 4 and 5. The bridge is at the front of deck 9.
part of the mini golf course
Besides the pools, buffet, spa, and fitness, deck 9 has outdoor walkways on top of the bridge wings where people can get a view from a bit beyond the width of the rest of the ship. Deck 10 has more of the fitness area as well as the teen space, steakhouse, and outdoor walkway. Deck 11 has the mini golf course at the front, the second level of the steakhouse in the middle, and the waterslides at the back. Deck 12 doesn’t have much of anything.
Blue Iguana Tequila Bar
The ship has numerous bars with some on all of the public decks. It has a coffee bar on deck 2 that also serves upscale tea or hot chocolate. The coffee bar can get a long line in the morning, but the main atrium bar also serves morning coffee though it opens later than the coffee bar does. Once the atrium bar opens it’s the place to go to get fancy coffee or tea without waiting in a long line because a lot of people don’t know they can get it there. People can get plain coffee, tea, or hot chocolate out of the machines at the buffet.
coffee bar
There’s a safety video playing on the cabin TV when entering the room while it is at the dock on boarding day. One of the things it says is to prevent illness don’t touch your mouth after touching anything on the ship without washing your hands first. Which makes sense, but then they allow smoking in the casino which besides spreading second-hand smoke throughout the ship, also means people touch slot machines, cards, dice, and gaming chips that everyone else touches, then touch their cigarettes, put those in their mouths, touch their mouths, and then touch all those things everyone else touches. So it’s a bit hypocritical that by allowing smoking in the area of the ship where the most people touch the most things that other people touch they are encouraging and allowing the exact thing they warned people not to do in the safety video.
Alchemy Bar
That was not the only hypocritical thing on boarding day. Before people get on the ship they confiscate bottled water from everyone saying that single-use plastic bottles are not allowed onboard. They had a big bin of water bottles from unused to partly gone that they had taken from people who could have used them when going to shore at our port stops whether unopened or refilled. When arriving in our cabin, just as in all of the others, there were two plastic bottles of water with tags saying it cost $4.50 each to use them. These are of a size too large to pack around when going ashore. Later they brough even bigger ones to the room that could be used for free. So apparently single use plastic water bottles are allowed, but only if the ship provides them and they are too big to be practical. Really only good for using in the room, which already has cups and a sink. People are afraid to drink the water from the bathroom tap, but it is the same water they serve in the dining room.
cornhole
Daily activities in the Fun Times included trivia and other games, shows, port talks, movies, and a lot of activities or lectures intended to get people to buy stuff. There’s also a lot of things people can do on their own including pools, hot tubs, the fitness center, basketball court, mini golf, water slides, ping pong, and pub games. Also hiding and hunting for ducks.
duck mailboxes at a door and a hallway with lots of duck mailboxes
There’s a duck machine in the arcade for people who didn’t bring any or need more. We saw more duck mailboxes on this ship than we have seen on any other one, but unfortunately the deck with the most mailboxes also had a raider who kept taking all of the ducks without ever leaving any in trade. That pretty much ruins it for everyone else since the whole point of mailboxes is for duck trading. People who want to take without giving should stick to hunting the ducks people hide around the ship because that is what those are for. Someone eventually even took a couple mailboxes which are definitely not there for the taking. Neither are people’s door decorations or magnets, some of which also disappeared from various doors on this cruise.
sunrise at sea
Food on this ship was pretty good. Carnival has a gluten free dinner menu for the dining room in the app so people don’t even have to pre-order for that. There is also a vegan menu in the app. Besides the buffet and dining room, free food could also be found at Blue Iguana and Guy’s Burgers. Premium eateries – that is those that cost extra – included the steakhouse. chef’s table, coffee bar (donuts and cupcakes as well as the drinks there), and wings and seafood at the buffet.
Carnival Miracle
On the last night we were talking to the people at the next table over from us at dinner. They were from Texas. The ship happened to be in the Strait of Juan de Fuca that runs between Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula and Canada’s Vancouver Island. It was close to Port Angeles on the Washington side at the time, but soon turned to head across the strait toward Victoria. We mentioned living not far from where we were and happy that we could take a ferry to this cruise rather than having to fly. One of them got a surprised look and said, “You took a ferry all the way from Alaska?” The ship had a port stop in Victoria that evening and was due to arrive back at the port in Seattle the next morning, but we still had to explain to them that we were no longer in Alaska. For the record, you actually can take an Alaska ferry from Alaska to Washington State, but they go to Bellingham rather than Seattle.
Overall we had a good cruise. We like the smaller less-crowded ships.
