Overall Score

BERLITZ'S RATING
	Possible	Achieved
Ship	500	430
Accommodation	200	154
Food	400	234
Service	400	270
Entertainment	100	86
Cruise	400	293

How this score is created

Carnival Miracle (sister to Carnival Legend, Carnival Pride and Carnival Spirit) is the 21st new ship for this very successful cruise line. Built from more than 100 blocks (each weighing up to 450 tons), the ship, whose bows are extremely short, has the distinctive, large, swept-back wing-tipped funnel that is the trademark of Carnival Cruise Lines, in the company colors of red, white and blue. The ship is longer than the company’s larger quintet (Carnival Conquest, Carnival Destiny, Carnival Glory, Carnival Triumph, and Carnival Victory), and only a hair’s breadth shorter than Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth 2 (which the Carnival Corporation, Carnival Cruise Lines’ parent company, owns).

The interior decor is very artistic (and overwhelmingly colorful – there are no restful colors), with “fictional icons” as the design theme, with such luminaries as the Phantom of the Opera, Sherlock Holmes, Philip Marlowe, and Captain Ahab among the many art images (bronze statues of Orpheis, Sirenes, and Ulysses adorn the swimming pools).

The dramatic atrium lobby space spans eight decks and presents a stunning wall decoration best seen from any of the multiple viewing balconies on each deck above the main lobby floor level. Take a drink from the lobby bar and look upwards – the surroundings are simply stunning, with a mural of the Colossus of Rhodes (one of the seven wonders of the world). The interior decor is dedicated to the world’s great legends, from wonders of the ancient world and heroes of antiquity to 20th-century jazz masters and great athletes – an eclectic mix of “entertainment architecture” that somehow works well.

There are two whole entertainment/public room decks, the upper of which also has an exterior promenade deck – something new for this fun cruise line. A small wedding chapel is forward of the uppermost level of the two main entertainment decks, adjacent to the library and internet center. Other facilities include a winding shopping street with several boutique stores (including those selling the usual Carnival logo items), photo gallery, video games room, an observation balcony in the center of the vessel (at the top of the multi-deck atrium), and a large Club Merlin Casino, with its castle-like atmosphere (damsels, knights and wizards are painted on the walls).

In the medical department, Tele-Radiology is installed. This system enables shipboard physicians to digitally transmit X-rays and other patient information to shore-side facilities – useful for peace of mind for passengers and crew.

The information desk in the lobby is really quite small, and can become quite congested. It is difficult to escape from noise and loud music (it’s even played in cabin hallways and lifts), not to mention smokers, and masses of people walking around in unsuitable clothing, clutching plastic sport drinks bottles, at any time of the day or night. Many of the private balconies aren’t so private, and can be overlooked from public locations. A stream of flyers advertises daily art auctions and other promotions, while “artworks” for auction are strewn throughout the ship.

Many pillars obstruct passengers flow. Those in the dining room, for example, make it hard for proper food service by the waiters. Books and computers are cohabitants in the ship’s library/internet center, but anyone wanting a book has to lean over others who may be using a computer – a very awkward arrangement. Public toilets are spartan and could do with cheering up.

Berlitz Guide © Apa Publishing 2008