The Fun Boat

Keith and I flew to New York, first class with Virgin Atlantic (well, it was our honeymoon!) A great start to the holiday, there is nothing I could fault flying up front!  After a couple of nights stay at the Hudson Hotel we sailed from the New York passenger ship terminal, which if I am honest does need a revamp. It is pretty dismal and a bit dingy – not very appealing. I have to say though that the check in was great, hardly any queues and within minutes we were boarding the Carnival Miracle.

As soon as we got on board, we made our way to the buffet restaurant, seems like everyone else had the same idea! Food though was good and plenty of choice.  Once we had ate all we could, we found our cabin unpacked, did a bit of exploring and then headed off to the deck to wait for the ship to set sail.  The atmosphere on board was fantastic, and to actually sail past those iconic New York City landmarks is something I wont forget.

The ship was on its way down to the Caribbean, calling at Puerto Rico, St Thomas and Grand Turk. It takes 3 days to get down to Puerto Rico. People have asked were we bored just sailing along with nothing to look at. The honest answer was no, we love to sun bathe and found some lovely spots away from the crowd, weather was glorious too. There was plenty going on if you did not want to just lie in the sun. Typically most of the guests were American so the entertainment was geared to them. Lots of basketball games, talent shows by the pool, that kind of thing.

Evenings on board were really good. We dined most of the time at Horiato’s restaurant. Food choice was very good and the service was excellent.

We normally went to the Phantom theatre after dinner. This was probably the weak spot for me because it is all based on the north american market – the shows were a little over the top for us Brits!  After the show we usually made our way to the Comedy club (which was good) or had a few drinks in the sports bar. We did not try the casino, but it was always busy as you would expect.  We did have a couple of nights at Nick and Nora’s steak house, the speciality restaurant – steaks were fantastic!

Puerto Rico was our first port of call. I have to admit I was not that impressed. The good thing was the ship docks right on the port so you can just wonder off and do your own thing. For me, there was not a lot going for it, just the usual shops and hispanic buildings. Maybe we should have taken a excursion!

Next port of call was St Thomas. This gem of a island is for me what the Caribbean is really all about. We did a fantastic excursion, sailing on a catamaran to a secluded beach, a bit of snorkelling before going back on board – bliss!

Our last port of call was Grand Turk. This very small island has some nice beaches and is very popular with divers. Apart from a Sandals resort there is not much else to see. It only took us a couple of hours if that, to explore.

After Grand Turk, the ship made its way back to New York, weather stayed with us all the way, apart from the last day when it poured down!

For many British I think the Carnival brand puts them off. From my experience I would say as long as you realise there will be plenty of Americans on board who like to party (oh yes they do!) you will really enjoy it.  Why not try it next time?