Tiki chose fun when he boarded the Carnival Miracle in Tampa Bay, Florida in May 2019. His trip started a little before boarding because he always arrives at the port city the day before the ship sails.
Some people will risk flying on the same day, but we don't. The one time we did, we nearly missed our flight.
We heard the announcement that the gate was closing for our flight. We were ushered to the front of an unusually long (at least for Kansas City) line at security. I made it through and was gathering my stuff up when I turn to see Rick stuck behind one person whose stuff was held up in security - they had stopped the line to check her luggage.
The gate was closing and I was begging the lady at the desk to wait - all she could say was "you should have gotten here sooner."
Finally, he made it past security and we ran on shoes in our hands and the gate door closed as soon as we were past it - never again do I want to take that risk.
So -- We started with a night in Clearwater. What a great night! Thanks to credit card reward points we stayed at the Wyndham Grand - and it was grand!
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| Tiki ALWAYS tries to get a balcony room. The view was spectacular |
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There was all kinds of fun stuff to see in the evening. Tiki stayed clear of this fella - he didn't want to become an evening snack.
Here we are - our home for this 7-day cruise - Let's check out this aft wrap-around balcony |
The room looks good - Let's check out the rest of the ship -- We'll do that in a minute - first things first Muster Drill.
On the Miracle, the muster is done on the deck near the lifeboats. Every passenger is REQUIRED to attend, it doesn't matter if you are a seasoned sailor or if this is your 100th cruise - everyone has to be there. Inevitably someone will already be too drunk or think they can hide out - all that does is delay it for everyone. It doesn't take long and as soon as it is over we can sail away
Ok! NOW we can go explore the ship - BYE BYE Florida! See you in a week
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| This ship has some very unique decor |
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| The views are fabulous! |
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| Will they ever make squirrel-sized golf clubs? |
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Found it! Every ship has a coin
We've made it a goal to find
it on every ship |
The Steak house on the Miracle is at the bottom of the Whale Tail - it makes for an interesting view while enjoying a fabulous meal.
Are any words necessary?? Yum Yum!
Tiki LOVES the towel animals the stewards make. Every night it's a new one
Getting ready for a sea day - let's check out the Funtimes to find out what is going on all over the ship tomorrow. The Funtimes is delivered to the stateroom each day for the following day's activities. It's also available on the app, but we like having the hard copy to sit back and relax with. I hope they never stop providing the print copy.
Carnival does offer the Cheers program, which people can buy and have all their specialty drinks and alcohol. You get your drinks, but not a bill - you've already paid for it. The cost is $51.95 per person, per day if puchased in advance or $56.95 per person per day if purchased on the ship. Every adult in the room has to purchase it - for a seven-day cruise, that's nearly $800. There is also a limit of 15 drinks per day, per person.
As much as Tiki likes his rum punches, he's not going to drink that much. But, we do go into the fun shop online and purchase a bottle of Jack before we get on the ship. It is pricier than your average liquor store on land, but the convenience of having it in the room is nice.
Each person is also allowed to take one bottle of wine on board. Just remember, if you want a glass of wine in the Main Dining Room bring it with you or they will charge you a corking fee.
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| Red Frog Pub - Tiki's favorite! |
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| Tiki is a pirate at heart |
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| There's trouble! |
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Naptime
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After a fun day at sea, it's time to explore the islands. On this cruise, we went to Grand Cayman, Mahagony Bay, Cozumel, and Belize
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| Tiki likes the turtles at Grand Cayman |
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Sharing a rum cake with a new
friend in Grand Cayman |
One of Tiki's favorite places is Goff's Caye. For the most part, we sign up for the excursions that are hosted through Carnival. We do that for the simple reason that, if something happens out there and you can't make it back to the ship on time - if you're not on a Carnival excursion, they don't know where you are and might leave without you. If you are on a Carnival sponsored excursion and the bus breaks down on the way back to port - they'll wait for you.
However, one exception we have made a couple of times is to Goff's Caye. Off the ship are several companies that sell excursions for less than what it costs through Carnival. We have taken this excursion twice and loved it both times. They take you to the little island where you can have lunch and rum punch. Then they take you out over the reef and you snorkel your way back! some of the best snorkeling we have done.
This is the day Tiki hates the most - debarkation day. He's trying to hide
But vacation isn't over yet - how about one more day in Florida. We had a great stay at the Barefoot Beach hotel at John's Pass.
A little more beach time and a few more rum drinks
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Not sure how this photo came out like this but it sure looks cool!
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Met a few fun people on the Calypso Queen!
Now it's over. Time to head home and start planning the next trip!
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