If you’re planning your first cruise — especially on a ship like the Carnival Miracle — this guide will save you time, money, and suitcase space. After our family’s first cruise, here’s what we actually used, what we didn’t, and what we wish we knew beforehand.
What to Pack: Items That Were Truly Useful
Magnet Hooks
Cruise cabin walls are metal, so these were perfect for hanging hats, lanyards, purses, and clothes. They instantly made the room feel more organized. Just make sure you get ones rated for at least 75+ lbs, anything less may not cut it.
Portable Fan
If you don’t have a balcony, the cabin can feel stuffy. The fan kept air circulating and made sleeping more comfortable.
Non-Surge Protector Power Strip with USB Ports
Cabins have limited outlets, in our case only a single outlet. With multiple people charging devices, this was essential. Surge protected power strips are not allow, so make sure it’s a Non-Surge protector. While our lamps did have USB supports for charging, one outlet is not going to be enough if you have other devices to charge like cameras, tablets, laptops, etc..
Reusable Collapsible Straw
We clipped it to our lanyards and used it everywhere. Convenient and eco‑friendly. You’ll find that straws aren’t always available, so having. your own was useful. Just don’t leave it with the drink when you’re done.
Foldable Mesh Laundry Basket
Lightweight, easy to pack, and kept dirty clothes contained.
Cruise Luggage Tag Holder
These kept our printed tags secure and readable. No tape needed.
Lanyard for Cruise Card
Your card is everything on the cruise. It’s your door key, your identity, and your credit card. Keeping it visible and available at all times is a must. We didn’t use the clear sleeve. On this particular cruise your card key needs to be inserted into the door.
What We Packed But Didn’t Need
Based on research before heading on the cruise we picked up items recommended by other experienced cruisers. These ones we didn’t find useful, but you’re situation may be different and some of these you may want to consider.
Magnet Nightlights
Some experienced cruisers mentioned the cabin’s can be really dark and you may need some lighting for that mid-slumber bathroom run. We found that some of the cabinet footings had enough lighting to see our path while not too much light to disturb sleep.
Drink Carrier
We found everyone fending for themselves for drinks, so there wasn’t really a scenario where someone would run to the coffee shop ordering more coffees than your hand could carry.
Large Clothes Clips
It could have been more useful if we had a balcony cabin, but we didn’t. We ended up using the clothes line in the shower to hang some hand washed clothing.
Towel Bands
The idea was to use these to save your beach or pool chair spots. We found there was enough seating around the cruise ship pools, and the beaches we went too weren’t over crowded.
Over-The-Door Organizer
We kept hearing how tight the cabins can be, and many recommended these organizers to hang over the door. We found our cabin the Carnival Miracle had ample closet space where we didn’t need this. Plus we had the magnet hooks.
Hidden Camera Detector
Sounds cool, but in reality this detector went off on almost all electronics things like lamps. I really didn’t investigate it nor really trust it.
What We Enjoyed On Carnival Miracle
Entertainment
We really enjoyed the various entertainment offering on the cruise ship. The entire family and kids enjoyed the various themed deck parties with music, dancing, and competitions.
There were some great entertainment shows like the 80’s themed singing and dancing, Family Feud, Deal or No Deal, and Bingo. We actually auditioned for Family Feud, won our way on the show, then later won the show! Shout out to the cruise director Gary who hosted the parties and game shows, he’s truly a great host and entertainer, with the gift of gab making everyone laugh and smile.
We enjoyed the comedy club which had various comedians each night. Some shows on the PG-13 level, and the late night shows for the 18+. That said, there were several entertainment options that said 18+, but on this cruise it was more a guideline than a rule.
Finally there was a casino, which isn’t my thing but was really popular with my mom, aunties, and uncles.
Food
I didn’t have high expectations for food being this is a cruise with a buffet and some restaurants, but there were a few standouts.
- Guy’s Burgers – these burgers were quite tasty and fresh. There was a toppings bar for you to make the burger the way you want it. My son had a burger almost every day.
- Fresh-made Pizza – in the buffet room, one of the food areas turns into a pizza parlor. If you enjoy thin crust floppy pizza, you’ll enjoy this place.
- Burrito & Taco station – solid choice for a burrito or tacos, with a salsa bar with pico, cilantro, and various salsas. You could even build a burrito bowl like you’re at Chipotle.
Crew Members & Staff
We found all the crew members we interacted with were friendly, warm, and always smiling. We tipped our cabin attendant up front, and he was went out of his way making sure we were taken care of.
What We Didn’t Use or Care For
Swimming Pools
There were 3 swimming pools on the ship and non of them very big at all. At one point in the middle of the cruise, one of the pools were drained and closed off for some reason. Kids did enjoy the pool, but seem to small and full of kids for an adult to enjoy.
Water Slids & Sports Court
It was just something we didn’t get to use much.
Outdoor Movie
We tried a late night movie and the sound volume was soo low nobody could really hear. What’s worse is we couldn’t find anyone who could fix it, so we ended up leaving.
Various UpCharges
There were service charges ordering drinks at the bar. I also didn’t like we had to pay $5 for messaging folks in our party using their cruise app. Interenet was super expensive costing us ~$200 for the trip for a single device. The drink package was also expensive (we didn’t get it) at around ~$80 per day.
Ports
We didn’t do too many excursions, but i’ll drop some notes on each port we stopped at.
Cozumel
- Great Snorkeling
- Rocky beach
- Good food
- “Open Bar” in our excursion was misleading, only beer and their margarita poured from a pitcher
- The beach we went to was ADA so we could bring a wheelchair
Belize
- Required taking a ferry from our cruise ship to shore
- Mainly did some shopping there
Mahogany Bay
- This port was amazing views with the tropical forest and beaches
- Free beach walking distance from the port
- We were able to bring a wheel chair through
- Soft sand
- Great beach side service
- Everyone loved the fried red snapper you can order at the beach
Costa Maya
- Super crowded with 4 cruise ships here at the same time
- There was a large pool at the port in the shopping area
- There was also an area where a bunch of Flamingos were hanging out at
Final Tip for First-Time Cruisers
- Don’t overpack — cabins are smaller than hotel rooms.
- Bring a fan if you don’t have a balcony.
- Expect upcharges and budget accordingly.
- Don’t stress about doing everything — the best moments happen when you slow down.
- If you can afford it, a balcony room is worth considering next time.
ReyesLife.com 
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