tampabrat22

I didn't take a whole lot of pics at dinner tonight but here are the stuffed mushrooms, they are one of my faves!

And the lobster tail & shrimp, it was good, I'm not much of a lobster fan, but it was good enough for me!

Dinner service was good, we were there about 2 hours which seems to be the norm for us. We decided to go check out the comedy show, so the teens went to the teen club and our girls went to Camp Carnival. I think my mom decided to go to the show by herself, I'm not a huge fan of the stage shows so I don't go to many anymore. When we went to the line to get in to the comedy club it was massive. We waited about 15 mins but we gave up figuring by the time we made it in there probably wouldn't be many good seats left anyway. So we decided to check out the nightclub instead.

Liquid Nightclub was the happening spot tonight! It was crowded with lots of people having a great time! The music was a mix of current top hits and some older stuff, plenty of hits to get your groove on to! I loved the lights on the ceiling that pulse to the beat of the music!

We had a few of these shots in cute little blinking glasses and tried a few drinks from the bar. We had a great time at Liquid!

After our fun night at Liquid to we decided to call it a night! Our first day at sea was perfect and ended on a good note.

So after everyone got a little rest in, it was time to get ready for our first elegant night! YAY! We are one of those groups that enjoys the elegant nights, me and my cousin have so much fun picking out the perfect outfits for us and our kids.

My kids all ready for dinner

My son can not resist making silly faces for the camera!

Our group

Thank you for picking up where you left off. :)

Thanks for reading! :D

Our girls finally had enough swimming so we decided to go check out the trivia. My daughter saw that they were having a game based on the old show Full House and she was determined to win. She is a major Full House fan, she watches episodes over & over on Netflix.

So we made our way over to Ocean Plaza to check it out. We had a great time! The kids played trivia while we had a few drinks and just hung out! What was funny though is I brought a drink with me from the Lido and then ordered another at the Ocean Plaza bar, same drink, two different colors!! I thought it was funny (but it may have just been the drinks getting to me)!

Cousin & hubby

AND my daughter WON Full House trivia! She was so happy to finally have her very own ship on a stick! Her brother won one years ago from an ice cream eating contest at Camp Carnival and she has wanted one ever since!

After a few games of trivia we went to try some pizza at Pizza Pirate..

I think the slices are a bit too large!! LOL!

My son acting silly...but he loved the pizza as did everyone else.

After pizza we went to our cabins for a late afternoon nap and to get ready for dinner!

Next we made our way over to the Red Frog Pub & Liquid Nightclub. Wish I had taken more pics at the Pub, I really like the look and atmosphere. This is one spot I really ended up loving and spent more time here as the cruise progressed!

Liquid Nightclub

My cousin & her husband being silly!

Our girls being silly too!

And at this point we decided it was time for some pool time for the kids and drink time for the adults!! Surprisingly the lido area was not packed around the pool so finding seats was no problem. It was around lunchtime so I guess people were probably eating...we were still stuffed from brunch!

A few shots of the casino. I rarely spend time here as I'm not much of a gambler, I do like Roulette but I rather shop with my money. My kids dad plays enough for the both of us when he sails with us.

the promenade at the back starboard side of the ship & some artwork

As normal for our group, usually the first day at see we try to chill. We like to hang out by the pool, explore the ship and basically just relax...with plenty of cocktails of course!! So after brunch we walked around the ship a bit.

Can you tell she liked Cherry on Top?

I LOVE Hello Kitty! And yeah I'm 37, so what of it? LOL!

They had the chocolate covered strawberries here. Some days it was the little tux strawberries and other days these little choc covered cherry mice!

Lol didn't even realize it was from 2013! Come back please finish lol

Don't love it too much. Her last post was October 9, 2013. I think this one will turn out to be one of the many never finished.:rolleyes:

Hey! Don't count me out yet & stop that eye rolling, lol! I just saw this pop up on the forum and honestly I just got so busy I forgot about it. By the time I remembered I figured no one would want to read...but since there are still people out there looking for Breeze reviews I will continue!

So when I left off we had just finished our first night in the dining room. Everyone was exhausted from the long day of travel, boarding and all the excitement so we all called it a night early (no show review tonight, sorry). The following morning we met our group early for the Comedy Brunch, we were really excited to try this. Brunch + comedy = what's not to love?

The menu & table setting

My daughter had the funny french toast. She loved it!

Me & my son had the Carne y Huevos- Filet Mignon, with 2 fried eggs, Bearnaise sauce, grilled tomato and home fries.

Everything was delicious! The servings were really large, we would have been fine with half of that. As for the comedy part, ehhh, that was pretty bad. I'm sure you have read here on the boards, basically a comic would do a joke or two and then inform us of the upcoming shows during the cruise. There really wasn't much comedy. So I can see why they have now done away with it. But this was the first time we had ever had a meal in the dining room other than at dinner so it was a nice experience.

:D:D GREAT review!! :D:D

Thanks so much for the fun lighthearted review! You seem like a wonderful person and I would love to be on a ship with you! We are sailing on the Sunshine in Dec 2014 and after sailing the Breeze the past 2 yrs I am a tad worried it just wont compare, so I'm reading every review I can find...yours truly has set my mind at ease! Going to read your review for the Allure next (we hope to sail Allure or Oasis next yr).:)

I have no preference on how they fix the issue of getting bigger ships here but fingers crossed it DOES get fixed, the sooner the better! :p

Our last cruise was an 8 day on the Breeze in Oct 2013 and total for 4 in an Inside cabin was $2212 (not including gratuities).

This year we are doing an 8 day on the Sunshine in Dec 2014 and so far with no price drops we are at a total of $2094 for 4 in an Inside cabin (not including gratuities).

I'm always checking for price drops but I am happy with what I booked if we don't get any.:D

Great review, thanks for sharing! We will be on the Sunshine in a few months and after two vacays on the Breeze I was afraid the Sunshine might pale in comparison...but based on your pics looks like we will be fine!:)

Yeah we are lucky to have the most ports within driving distance, but I'm sure everyone who is disappointed has their reasons. :o

For me, I was hoping to have a wedding aboard the Miracle, Pride or Legend (the only class of ships with Chapels) and since it would be in our backyard all of my family could attend. Even the elderly, those who can not afford to travel with us or those who could not make the drive would have been able to come. That leaves me with the way over priced option of RCCL or doing it on the Paradise. Sailed the Paradise twice and attended 2 weddings...not impressed. So darn it, I am a bit disappointed, but life will go on and we will have to figure something else out.:p

So Tampa will no longer have a 7 day option? :eek:

If so that absolutely sucks, like I mentioned earlier I wanted to get married on a Carnival ship, in our home town (so all my family could come) and I am not a fan of the Paradise. Darn it.

Fingers crossed the Miracle comes to Tampa!! That's one of my fave ships we've sailed on! I am debating on getting married on board a Carnival ship in the port of Tampa and the Miracle would be perfect!!;)

After a few hours at the sail away party we all went back to our cabins to freshen up for dinner. We had assigned seating in the Sapphire dining room at 8:15p (as we requested). The ten of us were seated at table 471, which is on the upper level and over looks the center of the dining room. We really liked this area because we had a good view when the waiters did their singing & dancing!

My son being silly (but notice how empty it was on the first night). There were a lot of empty tables. But we loved everything about the dining room, the decor was very nice and I loved those wavy ceiling lights!

My Mom & Daughter

And a little food porn for the foodies! This was the Linguine with Italian Sausage starter (can also be ordered as a meal).

And I had the Tender Braised Beef Brisket in gravy. It was delicious!

And for desert...the infamous Warm Chocolate Melting Cake!!!

The first night in the dining room went great, fast service, good food and nice servers. This was our first sailing after the dining room change they made (3 person wait team and they have more tables) and although most nights everything was smooth, it was clearly different than before. The waiters no longer have time to chat or get to know you (or vice versa), it just wasn't as personal as it used to be. We always enjoyed getting to know our wait team, but they were so busy we only saw them when they were taking orders or bringing drinks/food. We still loved everything, just wish they would have left things the way they were. Service was much better when the staff had time to relax.

Sail Away!!

After what felt like an eternity, it was time for the sail away fun! Butch the CD was great! He kept everyone up & moving and having a good time. He is our favorite cruise director to date, I don't really follow who will be on what ship but I was glad to hear he will be on our upcoming Breeze cruise. He truly was the best CD's we have ever had. Very energetic, fun and a sharp dresser!

Our little group found a nice spot on deck 12 two decks above lido, perfect spot to watch the people below and have a great view of the skyline!

My son, friend & cousin!

And us enjoying our Funship Specials (that's me there in the back in the purple top)!! It's probably the only pic you will see of me, I prefer to be behind the camera lol! Anyway we stayed out here getting our fill of drinks, people watching and enjoying the sights and sounds!

Yay, more readers! I was starting to worry that I was talking to myself! Glad you all are enjoying it!

How di it work out for you with renting the van one-way. We were considering doing this next month for our cruise. We would be leaving from Orlando , but was not sure if it was too much of a hassle. What transportation did you use to get from the airport to the port and back ?

It's a little more work (and possible a tad bit more $$ than parking), but worth the effort. I reserved our vehicles from the Tampa airport because they are the only ones who allow a one way rental in my area. I was in & out of Alamo in about 15 mins, I used the new self service kiosk and then made my way to the garage to select the van I wanted. I chose our Miami hotel close to the airport so that we could return it quickly in the morning. And that too was very simple, we just followed the signs to our rental center and there was a guy there waiting to check us in. We took the elevators up to the shuttle area and were whisked away to the port within 5 minutes. The shuttle took us right to the front doors of the port check in area, sweet!

Getting back to the Airport was a little more stressful, not because of the cruise line or rental company but because of some rude people we encountered (long story but the same rude type that don't know proper elevator etiquette or how to wait their turn:mad:). Basically we debarked and had the porter direct us to the shuttle area. It was very crowded and kind of a mess, but we were able to flag down a bus and we had to show our rental reservation to get on. We were then quickly shuttled back to the airport where we picked up our return rental. We are doing the same thing on our upcoming cruise in 2 weeks so hopefully it all goes just as smoothly. Oh and if you do rent, make sure your company has a shuttle to the port, not all of them do.

When we arrived at our cabin some of luggage was already there. I am the type that likes to unpack and get everything put away as soon as possible. When everything is neatly tucked away and I slide that last suitcase under the bed...my vacation has officially started!

My daughter was excited to go to the water park area so we headed up there to check that out. The new water play area was great, and I can not thank Carnival enough for putting in more seating and umbrellas in this area. When they first put the water works on the Inspiration I about melted out on the deck while my daughter played. No seats, no shade...it was awful. I think they have now added more seating to all of the water play areas on all ships. But they really outdid themselves on the Breeze!

My daughter zipping thru the tube!

And my cousin & her family finally made it on board! We ran into them on the lido, they were the last to board the ship!

the kids playing ping pong

After we spent some time catching up and looking around the pool area we all headed to the muster drill. Our muster station was in the Sapphire Dining Room and was quick and painless. We then headed up to the lido for sail away!

Finally we made our way down to our cabin!

Loved these new ship maps, much better than the ones everyone has to squeeze around by the elevator doors to see like on other Carnival ships!!

I surprised my kids, they did not know until we entered our cabin that we had a cove balcony. They were thrilled, we usually book insides so this was only their 3rd time with a balcony. Sorry about the yellow tint, my camera is very sensitive to tungsten lighting. The rooms are not yellow in real life, lol!

In the pic below you can see where the 4th bed (bunk) is hidden in the ceiling, the steward pulls it down at night.

Funny new luggage mats, lol!

Vanity area. See the lighted area around the mirror? LOVED it! It made putting on makeup so much easier, very good makeup lighting ladies! But I noticed my friend did not have it in her inside cabin.

And the toiletry samples they left us...

Everyone was happy with their food and the fact that we were finished right as the crowds were starting to come in. We decided to go check out the kids area, the lido and our cabins!

Our cabin was midship so we used that bank of elevators the most. Every time I went up to the Lido deck, I stepped out these doors and was greeted by this lovely view! The Breeze truly is a beautiful ship!

We loved these comfy loveseats!

And one of my all time favorite things to do on board is watch the outdoor movies! My kids loved the complimentary popcorn and the cozy blankets at night during show time!

We poked our heads into the Camp Carnival area...

My kids!

Nice review so far. My wife and I will also be on the Breeze for Halloween.

Thanks! Looks like there is going to be a lot of CC members on board! Its going to be a great cruise!:)

OK, so when I left off we were making our way to the buffet area for lunch. We found a nice big round table about midway into the buffet area. Everyone scattered to pick their faves, we hadn't had breakfast so everyone was hungry and Carnival did not disappoint!

A few of the things they had out...

The strawberry cake pops there in the back, be sure to try one! They are so delicious!

And of course my son made a beeline to Guy's Burger joint for a Piggy Patty Burger! I had a few during the cruise, good stuff! We really liked Guy's Burger joint!

And let me introduce you to Traveling Teddy. This is my daughters teddy that she has had since she was 2, she goes everywhere with us and has traveled all over the Caribbean & USA (and even has her very own own cruise wardrobe, lol). Me & my cousins husband like to put her in precarious spots & situations and photograph it, but my daughter doesn't seem to find the humor in our shenanigans!

We were on the Breeze 12/08/12 and will be on 10/26/13 too. See you on board, small world.

Small world indeed! I think we both have fabulous taste in our vacation choices ;)!

Thanks for reading everyone, I will be adding as much as I can to this each night until it is done. I have so much more to add!:D

Thanks a lot for your review Jessica, I'm sailing on the Breeze in December and am really enjoying seeing pics of the ship!! :D Did you get to see the Christening Ceremony? I've always wanted to see one of those!! :D

Unfortunately no, we did not get to see the ceremony. We did see Tracy & Alonzo Mourning walking around the ship after the ceremony along with a lot of the little girls that are from the foundation she created. I was worried with all the "VIP's" it was going to cause a lot of delays but it really didnt seem to effect the cruise at all.

Thank you! We're 68 days away from sailing away on the Breeze and can not wait! We're also cruising with kids and we are first time cruisers... so exciting!!

 

I've been reading all the reviews and should probably stop because it is making the wait that much more painful! LOL!

You will have so much fun, we have been cruising with our kids since they were around 3 & 4 yrs old. Great family vacation!