The first 2 days on the Carnival Miracle were sea days, so we got lots of time to explore the cruise ship. There were so many surprising features and hidden spots. And, of course, each cruise ship has a unique theme and looks completely different from each other. So while I got to explore a cruise ship for the first time, Ashley got the experience of comparing this ship to the others she has been on. Here is a little tour of our ship.
Carnival Miracle Deck 1 “Riviera”
Mad Hatters Ball Lounge
The lowest main deck on the cruise ship consisted mainly of staterooms. However, there was one reason we frequented this deck and that was because of the Mad Hatters Ball Lounge. This was where all the comedy shows took place. It was an intimate setting and had all sorts of Alice in Wonderland decorations. While the intimate setting was nice for a late night show with the wifey, it was also the biggest draw back to the lounge. You definitely need to arrive early if you want a seat. The first night we arrived only a few minutes before the show and were lucky to snag one of the last standing-room-only spots along the back wall.
Carnival Miracle Deck 2 “Promenade”
The Promenade was one of the more lively decks on the ship, and if you caught us indoors on this cruise, we were likely here. There was always some sort of entertainment going on as this deck featured the lobby, bars, cafes, and casino.
RedFrog Pub
Let’s start with one of our favorites, The RedFrog Pub. This is probably the best indoors place to get a beer, watch some karaoke, and play shuffleboard. Talking about the beers they have…they come from the ship’s onboard brewery! Yes…they have a brewery right on the freaking ship!! And honestly I was pretty impressed by the taste of their beers. Best of all, on two of the days, they did a 50% off all RedFrog beers promotion which was a great way to try out all of their beers many times over.
Fountainhead Cafe
This is more of a trivia and a place to hangout more than anything. There is a small bakery here that makes some excellent croissants and coffee products (though we never tried any because we were so stuffed from the free food and coffee found elsewhere). We went to a few movie and Harry Potter related trivia nights here and it was pretty fun. If nothing else, it’s a nice place to hangout and take a break from the sun.
Mr. Lucky’s Casino
Since this was my first time on a cruise ship, I was very surprised to learn that there was a casino on the cruise ship! Although we didn’t try our luck, we did walk thru the casino many times to/from dinner. The casino appeared to be packed at night with live poker and blackjack tables along with slot machines. Do note that smoking is allowed here so pick up the walking pace in case you’re sensitive to cigarette smoke.
Metropolis Lobby
This lobby is probably the first thing you’ll notice when you board the ship and seems to be on the center of everything. Each time you take the glass elevators (though we highly suggest taking the stairs to burn some extra calories), you’ll notice guests having a cold drink at the lobby’s bar. This is also where guest services are located and there is always some type of live entertainment going on. This lobby area also makes for a very good people watching!
Alchemy Bar
Ashley’s favorite cruise ship bar (and mine too now) is the Alchemy Bar. The bartenders here wear lab coats while preparing some very experimental cocktails. It definitely felt like alchemy was at work when some usual and not so usual ingredients were thrown together by the folks behind the bar and out came a deliciously mysterious looking cocktail. We tried the Forty Is The New Twenty which is a martini tastefully prepared for the “young…and the young at heart.” It contained Pama Pomegranate Liqueur, Grey Goose Vodka, cranberry juice and citrus.
Carnival Miracle Deck # 3 “Atlantic”
The Atlantic Deck is another happening place to hang out on the ship. It has stores, the theater, and the main dining room.
Gatsby’s Garden Interior Promenade
Starting off with the front of the boat is the Gatsby’s Garden Interior Promenade. This hallway rolls up and down like a garden with big circular windows, ceiling fans, and nice comfortable seating. If you want to take a break from all the crowds and just want to have a quiet romantic drink with someone then this is the place to be. This promenade is present on each side of the boat and looks exactly the same. And, I’m pretty sure that very few other people on our cruise knew this promenade existed. We never saw anyone else.
The Fun Shops
From Gatsby’s Garden a little bit down towards the back of the deck are The Fun Shops. Here you can shop for your typical ship specific souvenirs like T-shirts, hats, and mugs or buy some cheaper bottles of liquors. Note that the bottle of liquor is usually a 1 Liter bottle (instead of a typical 750ml) and you cannot consume it in your room. They give it to you on the last day of the cruise to take home. Some of the other shops here sell watches, jewelry, and handbags. There is also a shop selling candies and flowers but the limited amount of roses they have here get bought early on in the cruise…so reserve yours early if you want any.
The Raven Library
Between the Gatsby’s Garden and the Fun Shops, you’ll find The Raven Library. Now you may ask why would I go to a library on a cruise ship? Well…we wouldn’t either but in case you’re looking to get a moment of peace and quiet away from all the craziness of the cruise ship then this library is the answer.
The Chapel
Just in case you’re feeling like getting hitched or confessing your sins, there is a chapel onboard the ship. It had stained glass windows and felt very zen.
The Piano Room
The Piano Room features either a solo or dueling pianist and is open only during evenings. Depending on the night of the week, it could get jam packed with folks after the show at the Phantom theater is over. This was on our to-do list, but we never made it here. The itinerary is so jam-packed with activities that we never found a spare second to make our way here at night.
Phantom Theater
You’ll likely go here at least once a night. This is where all the ship’s production performances take place. We went to some really good and fun shows that kept us entertained. Some highlights include the Newly Married Couple game, the murder mystery theater, and the 80s dance hits. I also played my first ever game of Bingo (which I sadly did not win) and learned how to make towel animals.
Photo Gallery
Photographers will constantly take photos of you during the cruise. When you leave the boat, when you get back on the boat, randomly by the pool, etc. Of course they then want to sell you the photos, and they are on display in the photo gallery during the entire cruise. Also, during formal nights where everybody dresses up to go to dinner, this is the area where you’ll see many photographers taking your photos with different backgrounds. It’s definitely fun to have several memorable pictures taken here and then seeing how they turned out the next day.
Bacchus Dining Room
Bacchus is the main dining room on Carnival Miracle. At first it’s a little overwhelming with purple colored grape light fixtures covering the walls and the ceilings, and I definitely felt like I had been transported back in time. After a few dinners though, we kind of started liking the retro vibe of the room. Where else do you get to experience something like this?
Carnival Miracle Deck 9 “Lido”
The Lido Deck is the outdoors deck, and you’ll likely be spending most of your time here in a swimsuit. This is at the deck for when you want to feel fresh ocean breeze on your face, take a dip in the pool with a drink in hand, or relax on a clamshell chair and watch the deep blue ocean go by.
We spent a lot of time on the very front of Lido During the day, you can just stand here and watch the enormous ocean just float by. An interesting thing to lookout for from this area is the flying fish. If you have never seen a flying fish, it’s truly fascinating and almost seems like a legend. These 6-10 inch long fish gain speed under water and then just leap out of water into the wind and “fly” for a good 20-30 seconds covering almost a distance of 100 feet. Watching a group of them leap out of water to get out of the way of a huge cruise boat is truly a fascinating sight. The front of the Lido deck is also where you want to be at night. It feels eerie and soothing at the same time to be in a complete pitch black night with only the light of the moon and stars lighting up the water in front of you. You’ll see so many stars that you’ll think you were in a National Park!
The Lido deck also has 3 pools each with a different vibe. There’s the Main pool that faces the dance stage, the Forward pool that is the same size as the main pool but a bit quieter, and then there’s the adults only Serenity pool that overlooks the back of the boat. We hopped around all 3 pools each time we went depending on the mood we were in.
Horatio’s Lido Restaurant
During breakfast and lunch time, you’ll likely be here grabbing some delicious Asian, Italian, and American fare along with yummy deserts. It’s hard to believe it but the lunch options here were so good that we kept coming back even with a full stomach. For breakfast, some of our favorites included: French toast, gooey cinnamon rolls, fruit & cottage cheese, eggs Benedict, and omelets cooked to order. For lunch, the menu changed every day but some of our favorites were the Italian and Asian selections.
Pizza Pirate
Although this pizza joint can be included in Horatio’s Restaurant category above, it impressed us so much that it deserved its own paragraph. Now you may be thinking…pizza on cruise ship?!? Does this mean some greasy looking cafeteria pizza sitting under a heat lamp? Well…you would be farthest from the truth. This 24-hour freshly made pizza station was so good that there was hardly a night that didn’t end with a pizza pie from here. Each pizza involved the chef taking a ball of fresh dough and stretching it by hand into personal size pies. Then he would take the fresh pizza sauce and spread it on the pie. He would then ask you what toppings you wanted and then proceeded to go back to the kitchen to bake it fresh in the oven. They had the classics like Margherita and Pepperoni but our favorite by far was the Prosciutto that came with roasted garlic, rucola, prosciutto, and fresh mozzarella.
Carnival Miracle Deck 11 “Sports”
While deck 11 had the basketball court, mini golf, and the amazing Nick and Nora’s steakhouse (more to come on that later), the coolest thing to check out on this deck was the Water Slide. This is in no way an epic water slide from a Wisconsin Dells waterpark. However, how freaking cool is it that there is a water slide on a moving cruise boat! There’s nothing like being on top of the slide and looking out at the vastness of the ocean and then sliding down a fast water slide.
