I will be joining you on the Miracle August 21st.  This will be my 5th cruise.  I have gone to Grand Turk before and though we didn't explore, I loved it!!!  A friend of mine took this same cruise but went to Tortola and he said there was nothing interesting to see there so I was actually pleased to hear of the change.  Bottom line as with any vacation....It's what we make of it so let's enjoy!!!!!

Lisa

You cant believe everything you hear..  if it was a fuel issue, they would make the change permanent, but it's not. This will be in effect until 2009 when the ship goes into dry-dock and they'll fix the problem.

And for MzPlenty, regarding the comment about having to "outrun a hurricane".... seriously????? this is the 21st century..... if there's a hurricane in the Caribbean, they'll know way before the ship even leaves port. It's not like it'll be a surprise, and OH SHOOT!!!! hurry before it catches up to us!

Hmmm.. so there'll be no last minute tropical storms, rogue waves or rough seas that we'll need to quickly navigate from? Thank goodness!

Hi Everyone,

Our group of 41ppl just returned from our Miracle cruise out of NY. All I can say is AWESOME!!! As usual I hated PR. St Thomas.....loved it!! But that's no surprise. I Love St. Thomas. We did the shopping thing this year instead of the beach. The new itinerary doesn't allow you enough time to do both. If you choose to go shopping Charlotte Amalie is definitely the place to go. Hubby got me a GORGEOUS diamond and saphire ring at a steel of a price. If you go shopping look for Shaka Zulu....no joke, there is a local person who dresses up and has everyone call him Shaka Zulu. He knows the best jewelry stores to go to. The taxi ride was $4.00/pp. Much cheaper than the $39.00 excursion rate to take you to the same place.

Now for GT, I was pleasantly surprised. I actually spent 5 hours on the beach, which is very odd for me. I do have 2 suggestions.....1-you need water shoes in GT. The beach floor is hard coral and under the water you cant see the holes in the coral so be prepared to fall a few times before you get out far enough to swim. 2-DO NOT bring any valuables off of the ship. Several people had their bags stolen right off of their beach chairs while they were swimming. A few dollars and your sail & sign card and that's it.

OH....I almost forgot.....in GT be sure to check out Indigo Pearls....it's a store when you get off of the ship.....real pearls at a steal!

Let me know if you have any questions.

-Jul 

Thanks for all of the info I will pass it on to my group.  Good to know in Grand Turk, too bad even on vactation you have to keep your guard up!!!  I can't wait till August 21st!!

Pam

When in 2009 will the Miracle be in dry dock?  Just curious as we will be sailing in May...Wondering if it would be before or after our cruise...

 Thanks!

Not sure if I buy the propulsion problem reason either. After talking to some people on the recent miracle cruises the TV channel with the ships position and speed said 22-24 knots most of the time there were traveling down the coast and thats what it said last year. Also people were saying they are getting into San Juan at the same time as originally scheduled. So the ship goes slower, but only on the way back to NY?

doopie:

Hi Everyone,

Our group of 41ppl just returned from our Miracle cruise out of NY. All I can say is AWESOME!!! As usual I hated PR. St Thomas.....loved it!! But that's no surprise. I Love St. Thomas. We did the shopping thing this year instead of the beach. The new itinerary doesn't allow you enough time to do both. If you choose to go shopping Charlotte Amalie is definitely the place to go. Hubby got me a GORGEOUS diamond and saphire ring at a steel of a price. If you go shopping look for Shaka Zulu....no joke, there is a local person who dresses up and has everyone call him Shaka Zulu. He knows the best jewelry stores to go to. The taxi ride was $4.00/pp. Much cheaper than the $39.00 excursion rate to take you to the same place.

Now for GT, I was pleasantly surprised. I actually spent 5 hours on the beach, which is very odd for me. I do have 2 suggestions.....1-you need water shoes in GT. The beach floor is hard coral and under the water you cant see the holes in the coral so be prepared to fall a few times before you get out far enough to swim. 2-DO NOT bring any valuables off of the ship. Several people had their bags stolen right off of their beach chairs while they were swimming. A few dollars and your sail & sign card and that's it.

OH....I almost forgot.....in GT be sure to check out Indigo Pearls....it's a store when you get off of the ship.....real pearls at a steal!

Let me know if you have any questions.

-Jul 

 

 

Thanks for the heads up. Just want to know did you do any shopping in the stores near the ship(Havensite)? I have a tour that includes shopping but decided to not do the shopping portion because I can shop near the ship--hopefully.

What tour are you doing? If it's the beach & shopping tour, I'd cancel it and just do it on your own. It's cheaper in the end.

When we docked last May (07) we shopped in Havensite because it is right off of the ship. This time July (08) we ported in the Old Navy Yard. There are only about 5 shops and 4 push carts, so not much shopping can be done there. So here is my suggestion, if you want to go to the beach and then do some shopping in Havensite you would have enough time as long as you are not looking for something specific. If you have to take a cab from the navy yard to Havensite it will cost $4.00/pp. If you take a cab to Meagans bay the cab is $8.00/pp and $1.00 beach admission.

Havensite it perfect for the typical and not so typical souvenier shopping. The stores are not overpriced and everyone is soooo nice. Make sure that you take a book of shops and coupons, handed out on the port by the locals.. there are tons of really great coupons in there, especially Caribbean Hook bracelets.

I was looking for a specific piece of jewelry and ended up spending 90% of my time in Charlotte Amalie.

If you would like any more information please let me know.

-Jul

Thanks for all of the great info!!!

 Hi JUl.  I will be on the same trip 9-22-08 with my 21 yr. daughter and older Mom.  She isn't very good in the heat and water.  In fact, hates the water.  Could you suggest any alternatives.  I am specifically looking for air conditioned places.  I was hoping for maybe a few shops next to the beach.  I can watch over her and be close by if she needs me.  Thanks so much, I really appreciate your help.  Bo

Hi Bo,

You can definitely expect to have a GREAT time on your trip.

The shops near the beach are mostly open air so not much AC but they are cooler than being out in the direct sun. The shops really won't occupy more than about an hour and a half of her time, at the most. Your daughter will love Margaritaville, it's a huge party, she'll feel like she's on spring break.

If you're mother isn't much of a beach person, then I would probably recommend to her that she enjoys the shops then make her way back to the ship to relax for the afternoon.

I hope I've helped.

-Jul

Just back from our Miracle Cruise and Grand Turk was fun.  It is a great relaxing beach/pool day.  The only problem I had with it was the cost of food and drinks, ouch!! Drinks were $10.00 each.  I ordered 2 Pina Coladas and a Nacho and the bill was $35.00....that put a quick damper on the rest of the day, ha!!  Other than that the beach is great, the water is so clean and nice and the pool area is a big party!!  Have fun