tampabrat22

The Miami terminal is really nice and very large! I liked the glass artwork hanging from the ceiling.

From the time we got there all of the VIP's were boarding, not the cruise VIP's but the special guests that were there for the Christening ceremony. Around 11:30am they finally called our zone and off to have our pictures taken and then we were able to board.

A bit blurry, I didn't want to stop walking and hold up the line, but this should give you an idea of the crowd around 11:45am or so.

My kids making their way to the ship!

First view of the atrium!

We took the elevators up and headed towards the buffet so that we could grab a bite to eat before the crowds were too big.

My friend Tacha on the shuttle bus

My son on the shuttle

Pulling into the port, our first glimpse of the pretty new BREEZE!

Love all these signs!

Our shuttle pulled into the lot and right away there were porters waiting to help us. We gave the porters our bags and a tip and they directed us towards the building. We made our way through security and then to check in. There weren't many people here yet so check in was quick, we were given our zone tag and then we found a nice spot to get comfy. Being that this was the big "christening day" I knew we would have a little wait ahead of us, it was only around 10:30am.

Oh yeah, zone 1!!

My mom & daughter patiently waiting

The Criollo Sampler- Yellow Rice, Black Beans, “Ropa Vieja”, Fried Pork Chunks, Ham Croquette (missing from pic, he already ate it, lol), Sweet Plantains, Cuban Tamale (already eaten), and Cassava with Cuban Mojo $12.95

And the absolute worst Sangria I've ever had ($16.95 for a pitcher). I am absolutely not kidding when I tell you that this had canned fruit salad mix in it and tasted like watered down Yago Sant'gria! Horrible!

My daughter and my friends daughter as we were leaving...

Overall impression: Nice building & decor, staff were friendly, service was quick, helps if you speak Spanish, food was good, not the best we've ever had but it was good, HUGE portions and the prices were really quite low. My Mom & the girls got dessert to take back to the room (amazing cheesecake & guava pastries)!

After dinner we stopped by a CVS and grabbed some soda & wine and headed back to to the hotel. My friend & Mom were tired so they decided to call it a night. I took the kids down to the pool and had some wine while they burnt off their last bit of energy. The planes from the airport were flying overhead about every 10-15 mins and it was crazy LOUD, but we didn't let that bother us.

Saturday (cruise day!)

So after a good nights rest we were up early and headed to the Miami Airport Car Rental return center. After doing a few circles around the airport we finally found it, lol. Dropping off the car was quick and easy. My son dropped one of our 12 pks of soda and it ripped open so we gave it to the Alamo guys, they were so appreciative, they said it gets really hot in the garage and can never get enough liquids. The shuttle arrived shortly after we made our way to the waiting area and then we were headed to the port (around 10am).

If you look really hard, you can see the Breeze's funnel in between the two smaller buildings on the left! The excitement was building!

Bayside Shopping Area

After settling into the hotel and resting for a little bit we headed to Little Havana for dinner. Based on recommendations from friends & online reviews we decided to try Versailles, a local Cuban restaurant that has been around for ages. We LOVE Cuban food...my mother is Cuban and I live right by Ybor City (where the Cuban sandwich originated) so I grew up eating some of the best Cuban food around and I am a bit picky when it comes to my Cuban food.

We arrived about 6:30p and were seated quickly. The restaurant is large and very open, which made for a very high volume, so if you are looking for a quiet romantic spot this is not it. But the wall & ceiling decor is gorgeous!

FuFu Con Masitas $6.25 (Smashed Plantains with Fried Pork Chunks)

"The Classic" Sampler Platter with Rice, Black Beans, “Picadillo” Ground Beef, Roast Pork, Sweet Plantains, Ham Croquette, Cuban Tamale, and Cassava with Cuban Mojo $12.95 (the meat at the top of the plate is my daughters pork from her Cuban sandwich that she decided to toss onto my plate as I was taking the pic, ugghh kids!)

Cuabn Sandwich $5.95

Headed to Miami in just a little over 2.5 weeks for another cruise on the amazing Carnival Breeze and well, I need something to make the time go by a little quicker! I've been wanting to write this review for months, but I work a very hectic job, have 2 kids that keep me busy and I do part time work as well, so time just slipped away from me. During our vacation I kept a journal & took tons of pics, so even though this is *really* late I am hoping you still enjoy the info and the pics!

A little about us...this was our 8th Carnival Cruise (10th cruise all together). Along for the adventure was my mom, my 15 yr old son, my 10 yr old daughter, my friend and her 17 yr old daughter, my cousin, her husband and their 14 yr old son and 10 yr old daughter. Me & My cousin always cruise together but this was our friends first cruise and our first time sailing out of Miami!

Our cruise was Dec 2012 on the Carnival Breeze 8 day Itinerary to St Thomas, Tortola, Antigua & Nassau. So enough of my rambling, let's get this party started!

My friend and I decided to rent a mini van and ride together. I rented a one way (Tampa to Miami) mini van from Alamo for $62, and went to pick it up about 9am Friday morning. My friend met me at my house where we loaded up the van with our luggage and the kids, made a quick stop at the local Chick Fil A for lunch and then got on I75 for our 4 hr road trip to Miami!

Gorgeous day on Alligator Alley (no worries, my son took this while I drove)

We made good time, there is a lot of interstate construction going on around the airport but even with one pit stop we were at our hotel within 4.25 hours. We wanted a hotel close to the airport since we would need to return the car in the morning and after reading many online reviews we decided on the Red Roof Inn- Airport location. I had already booked and paid for both of our rooms online, check in was quick and the staff were friendly. We liked that the property was gated and the rooms had been recently renovated.

Our home for the night

the room

Our room faced the North so we didn't have much of a view

We've seen some really elaborate costumes over the years...my faves were a dead couple from the Titanic (they won the costume contest on the dream in 2010), a group dressed up like The characters from the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland and a group dressed like the love boat characters. Absolutely my fave time of year to cruise ;)

My daughter was just asking about Freddy today. She has had a picture with him every cruise since she was 3, she is now 11, but she was telling me that on the past few cruises she hardly saw him. Apparently he used to make quite a few appearances at camp carnival but she noticed he has not been around much on recent cruises. Will be interesting to see what the replacement is if not the towel elephant.

I'm also trying to find more info on this excursion. I sent an email to reserve a spot for our group, so if no new info pops up soon I will report back when we return!:D

We do our online checkin and list our Visa card to setup out account.

 

On the last full day onboard (less crowded) we go down sometime during that day and pay off our account with cash. We don't have to worry about setting up a cash account, going down during the week to add more cash and because we paid off our account nothing gets billed to the credit card except maybe a couple of drinks on the last evening.

 

Easy...peesy!!!

This is what I have always done as well, and have never had any issues. I put my debit card on the account but on the last night I go down and pay off my balance. Never had any holds this way.

We cruise 1 or 2 times per year, along with 2-4 short Disney or beach trips. Our kids are getting older now so the Disney trips are slowing down (and my wallet is so thankful)! Here are the basics of my travel/cruise saving strategy:

Deposit paid with tax refund

On payday- deposit to online account @ ING (after bills & emergency savings)

Earn extra money throughout year to payoff vacation & to use for spending

We only cruise from ports within driving distance for now (yay FL residents)!

Drive old cars, limit eating out, keep debt low & try not to buy unnecessary junk

We both work full time but I also do a lot to earn extra $$ throughout the year (do taxes Jan-Apr, make & sell jewelry, small photography biz on the side and sell at kids consignment sales twice a year). Needless to say, I stay very busy which is why vacation time with my family is very important to me.;)

My problem is I'm 7 people and the code gave me a great rate on a minivan but with luggage, I'm not sure we'll really have enough room. Minivans are large, but depending on how much luggage we have, my husband thinks it will not be large enough. Anybody ever do 7 people with luggage in a minivan? We're just going from FLL to hotel in Coconut Grove so it wont really be a long ride

We rented a mini van for our cruise last year, we had 6 people in our group (3 adults, 2 teens and a 10 yr old). We fit, but we did have to put a bag or two in between the buckets seats in the 2nd row.

Here's a pic from when we were loading up the van. Another carry on size bag was put on top of the black & white suitcase on the left and the gray garment bag had to be flattened more so that I could see. The luggage was a really tight squeeze, but we managed from Tampa to Miami and back just fine. :D

Good question. There will be 6 adults + luggage in our group so I am already preparing for suitcases being on all of the floorboards and in laps, LOL! We're going to try it...live and learn.

 

We could get a full-size passenger van for $57 more but have decided to take our chances since this is a tight budget trip for our group.

We rented a mini van for our cruise last year, we had 6 people in our group (3 adults, 2 teens and a 10 yr old). We fit, but we did have to put a bag or two in between the buckets seats in the 2nd row.

Here's a pic from when we were loading up the van. Another carry on size bag was put on top of the black & white suitcase on the left and the gray garment bag had to be flattened more so that I could see. The luggage was a really tight squeeze, but we managed from Tampa to Miami and back just fine. :D

I completely agree with this line of thinking. I have gladly waited as long as 30 minutes in the Mongolian Wok line.

I agree. Our longest wait on the Breeze was at the Wok & the C side BBQ, about 20 mins each, we wanted to try it so it wasn't a problem for us. With all those passengers on board it is inevitable that there will be lines at some point, if the line looks longer than you are willing to wait there are plenty of other options. ;)

We've made up our mind and have decided on the Breeze! Only problem is which cabin?!

 

It's a choice between the 4C and 7C. The difference in price is $500. I'm heading towards the 4C and using the saving towards the Cheers Programme. My other half is heading towards the 7C but no Cheers Programme.

 

From previous cruises we spent so little time in our cabin so didn't make much use of the balcony. Plus I'm not too keen on the Cove as I don't think I'll like being so close to the sea!

 

Can all you CC's help us make a decision! :o:confused::p

 

Also is the FTTF pass $50 per person or per cabin?

Personally I would choose the balcony over cheers any day. Our first 6 or 7 cruises were in inside cabins, really couldn't afford a balcony and had the same thought as others about not being in the cabin to use it enough. Now after sailing in balcony cabins (including the cove on the Dream & Breeze) I really think it depends on what interests you on vacation.

If you and your family will spend most of your time at the pool and exploring the ship then no, it wouldn't be worth it. But if you like a private place to relax where you never have to worry about chair hogs then a balcony would be worth every penny! Loved quiet slow paced breakfasts watching the sunrise, relaxing with a magazine out on the balcony during the day, front row to gorgeous sunsets before dinner and at night it's so peaceful, even when the water is rough...nothing like having that sea mist in your face! Lol, seriously it sounds crazy but I love love love balconies.

Just got off the Paradise today, we ate them almost every day! I love them and they are real white chicken meat, not processed meat.

Thanks for the review and pics, we sail on the breeze soon so every bit of info I can find is great!!

Looking forward to following this thread and learning more about the new Breeze.

We set sail in 120 days in a Cove balcony for the Antigua, Tortola, St Thomas & Nassau itinerary! We can't wait and I look forward to adding to this thread upon my return!

It is legit. Most people spend a third or more of their lives in bed. Why not be comfortable?

I couldnt agree more!! I want to feel like I am sleeping on a cloud, so I bought an ultra plush pillow top set! Our mattress/boxspring set cost about $1200 and I think it was worth every penny!

I like Carnival's mattress well enough, the linens & duvet are really nice, but I prefer some color so I would probably never buy any of their bedding products.

LOL, country:)!! Most fashionable nautical themed stuff is Navy Blue & Red and always has stripes and polka dots!! So for me this was very nautical, I am not into the touristy tropical look! I was going to originally buy the Juicy Couture daydreamer Nautical tote, but decided to buy this instead!!

I'd love to see your totes/bags? I'm a purse lover;)!!

We all need a nice, roomy bag to carry our goodies around while on the ship or in port, and I wanted a nautical themed one! I have a friend who makes totes and she did an amazing job of creating my perfect cruise tote! I cant wait to use it on my upcoming cruise!

Here are some pictures: http://practicewriter.com/vu/?4DADC

You can find her here if you want to know more about her totes: http://sweetpeatotes.blogspot.com/

Thanks prwjr!!

Ok, just so that I am crystal clear...we will NOT need a passport for cruise travel. We can purchase this card and use it for cruising but not AIR travel and it is still good for 10 yrs!??

I hope so, because this is a huge savings!!