Carnival Miracle

Carnival Miracle is a Spirit-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. Built by Kværner Masa-Yards at its Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, she was floated out on June 5, 2003, and christened by United States Army soldier Jessica Lynch in Jacksonville, Florida, on February 27, 2004.^[2][3][4] Soon after the conclusion of the christening ceremony, she departed on her maiden voyage, a three-day cruise to the Bahamas.^[2]

Carnival Miracle off the coast Santa Catalina Island on February 14, 2024
History
Name	Carnival Miracle
Owner	Carnival Corporation & plc
Operator	Carnival Cruise Line
Port of registry	Panama City,  Panama
Builder	Kvaerner Masa-Yards Helsinki New Shipyard Helsinki, Finland
Cost	US $375 million
Yard number	503
Launched	June 5, 2003
Sponsored by	Jessica Lynch
Christened	February 27, 2004
Completed	2004
Maiden voyage	February 27, 2004 (Bahamas)
In service	2004–present
Homeport	Long Beach, CA
Identification	Call sign: H3VS IMO number: 9237357 MMSI number: 354277000
Status	in active service
Notes	[1]
General characteristics
Class & type	Spirit-class cruise ship
Tonnage	88,500 GT
Length	963 ft (294 m)
Beam	105.7 ft (32.2 m)
Draft	25.5 ft (7.8 m)
Decks	12 decks
Installed power	Six diesel engines 62,370 kW (combined)
Propulsion	Two ABB Azipods (17.6 MW each)
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity	2,124 passengers
Crew	930
Notes	[1]

Carnival Miracle has an eleven-story atrium with a ruby-red glass ceiling, which is also part of the "whale tail" funnel.^[5] Next to every room is a large picture of a famous fictional character, such as Long John Silver or Sherlock Holmes.^[6]

Carnival Miracle at Saint Kitts on November 28, 2007

Service history

Carnival Miracle under construction at Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Helsinki on June 16, 2003.

Prior to April 2012, Carnval Miracle undertook Caribbean cruises from Fort Lauderdale and Tampa Bay, Florida during the winter months and during the summer months from New York City. From April 2012 to March 2013, Carnival Miracle sailed year-round from New York City, New York to the Bahamas and the Caribbean.^[7] In March 2013, Carnival Miracle sailed through the Panama Canal repositioning to the West Coast sailing alternating cruises from Long Beach, California and Seattle, Washington.

On March 8, 2015, Miracle entered "Drydock #2" operated by BAE Systems at Pier 70 in San Francisco, California to be refurbished. In October 2015, Carnival announced that Carnival Miracle, would be repositioned to China in 2018 offering year-round short cruises. This plan was subsequently cancelled in May 2016^[8] and in November 2016, Carnival announced that the vessel would instead relocate to Tampa, Florida in January 2018 to undertake cruises to the western Caribbean.^[9]

On January 27, 2018, Carnival Miracle departed on her first sailing from the new homeport. Before reaching Tampa, the ship transited the Panama Canal.^[10] In June 2018, the cruise line announced that Carnival Miracle would reposition to San Diego, California, in late 2019 operating until February 2020. However, when Carnival Splendor repositioned from Long Beach to Sydney, Australia, in October 2019, Carnival Miracle was temporarily homeported at the Port of Long Beach. She did seven-day Mexican Riviera cruises, serving as a placeholder for Carnival Panorama until the latter took over the itinerary on December 11, 2019. Carnival Miracle also performed seasonal repositionings to San Francisco during the spring and summer months beginning March 19, 2020.^[11]

In March 2023, it was announced that Carnival Miracle would reposition to Galveston, Texas, in October 2024 and will be the fourth ship based out of that homeport. The ship will offer longer nine to twelve day sailings to the Western and Eastern Caribbean.^[12][13]