whciv

We had free wifi at the Skyreef but it was very slow. I did call AT&T and we used our phones for free while Cozumel. I called, texted and searched internet for free. You MUST call them to active the service for each device.

Thanks for the heads up! Off to do that now. :)

We actually used a $10 off coupon. Pretty easy to get.

Try using the promo code "2016". I think it should still work.

Thank you for your review. Was the blackjack table $10 as well?

Yes blackjack was also $10. Even the roulette table was $10 min bet. We played the blackjack tournament for $25, but didn't make it past the first round.

What is EZ Park? I didn't notice that on the website I was reading earlier.

EZ Park is a park and ride in Galveston. We've used them many times. They are about 2 blocks from the port and provide a shuttle service. Cheaper and easier to park that some other lots. We drive to the port from San Antonio.

This is interesting. We were on the Breeze last week too and the Dream was parked next to use in Cozumel. During breakfast, everyone on the Breeze went to the windows because very thick heavy black smoke was coming out of the stack on the Dream. We couldn't even see the island the smoke was so bad. We all thought the ship was on fire, but it was coming out of the smoke stack so we figured it was okay. It was 20 or 30 minutes before the smoke stopped.

WOW!!!

We were on your same cruise! Our 2nd cruise-- rhis was our largest ship. What "class" is the 2 bathroom room? Our travel Mates had that room as well on deck 1- and I want to book that next time!

 

 

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It's a Deluxe Oceanview Room. It was great having the two bathrooms and we loved being on deck 1. I know that sounds crazy, but it made it easy to get to dinner, get off/on the boat and elevators are empty on that floor. By the way, use the aft elevators. They are not used nearly as much.

We sailed the Breeze last week using Anytime Dining. We tend to eat early so we didn't have a problem getting a table. I think if you like to eat at 8:00pm you should choose the set table time. Our biggest issues was getting served in a decent timeframe. One night we waited 30 minutes just to get our order and another 40 minutes for the first dish. Crazy. We did find a good waiter after day 3 that was spot on with his delivery. Some of the waiters can handle the crazy ATD groups and others cannot. We also found that when we sat near a large party we were basically ignored.

HI there! Thanks for your review. We sail next week and I was wondering which terminal the Breeze went out of? Was it terminal 1 or terminal 2? We've sailed out of Galveston 6 times and last summer was the first time we sailed out of terminal 2 and it was terrible.

 

Thanks for the tip on which waiter to request. We are doing anytime dining for the first time this sailing. ;)

I think it was Terminal 1. Not totally sure since the driver for EZ Park dropped us off.

We were on the Breeze last week and I thought I would post a quick review. I will keep it to quick items we liked, didn't like and tips. I preferred reading tips before we left.

Embarkation

We parked at EZ Park and took the bus. As long as you show up during your scheduled time, the process is a breeze. I still feel the wait for security is a pain, but not as bad as last year. If you bring soda expect them to open your boxes... seems stupid to me, but I guess they want to make sure you didn't re-glue the box with beer. We boarded right away and our cabin was ready when we got on around noon.

Cabin and Cabin Steward

We had an outside cabin with 2 bathrooms on Deck 1. Very nice to have 2 showering areas. One of our bathrooms smelled like mold, but didn't bother my son much who used that one. The cabins have lots of space (like all Dream class ships) for clothes and getting around. My son's converted sofa bed was extremely hard, but he survived. We never saw our cabin steward, but we called him on day one to give him a list of things like ice every day and extra pillows. I wasn't sure at first about not seeing him, but he was great and stayed on top of everything when we were gone. Tip: Use your Cruising sign when you leave to get your cabin cleaned quickly.

Shower and bathrooms worked fine, but we did have some gurgling the last day in our drains with a little smell. Nothing major.

By the way, we like Deck 1. Quieter and easier for elevators and getting on/off the ship. In my opinion, the higher decks are a waste of money.

General Ship Feedback

The Breeze is a nicely decorated ship, but I wouldn't rate it higher than Magic. No issues while we were on board. Small strange smells on a few decks but they dissipate quickly. We did feel the ship allowed smoking in too many places. The casino is ridiculous with smoke. This smoke travels down all directions of deck 5. I actually hope Carnival changes to a smoke free environment some day. I know this doesn't fit everyone, but its crazy to fill the inside of a ship with smoke.

My son and I love to gamble and play poker, but this was VERY DISAPPOINTING on the Breeze. They have pushed their poker table into the very crowded bar area and only have 1 table. What a joke. This alone is a reason not to take the Breeze. The table was either empty or totally crowded. We found it difficult to get a spot when we wanted to play. Also, the rest of the casino has crazy minimums. You have to play $10 min on roulette and all other tables. I asked and the casino staff told me that the Breeze charges more. We don't gamble except on a cruise and this was too steep for us. I would rank the Casino a big ZERO for this cruise. Very disappointing.

Dining & Food

The food on Breeze is par with all other Carnival ships. Good, but not excellent. We had YTD and the staff in the dining room was nice, but VERY SLOW. We waited 25 minutes to order one night and then another 40 minutes for the first round of food. One waiter completely missed one of our items and they all seemed too busy. We did find a waiter on day 3 who was great. TIP: Ask for waiter named YaSa. He was fantastic!! Never missed anything and was very attentive. TIP: If you have anytime dining ask for a window. They will give you one if they have it.

Breakfast buffet was fine. The lines changed quickly. One minute there would be 50 people and next there would be 5 people. I was only able to get one omelet because it was busy at almost all times. TIP: Use the breakfast bar near the aft of the ship. Slower than the middle section.

Shows

We only went to one show called Hasbro Game Show. It was fun, but exactly the same as last year. EXACTLY!! We did go see 2 comedians. They were good, but they both seemed uncomfortable with PG rated shows. We did see 2 of the dive in movies. We like them, but it can be a little noisy with kids in the pool.

Disembarkation

This was the easiest we have ever seen. I mean EVER!! We walked off with our luggage and got to our car almost an hour earlier than last year. Great process.

Hope that helps. If you have a question, let me know.

YES, we liked having the table clothes. I know it seems simple, but it made dinner feel more special. At least bring them back for the formal nights.

We will be in Montego Bay in June and were thinking we might take a cab from the port to Doctors Cave Beach. I wondered if we wouldn't be better off using the ships transfers. Do they exist and how to get there and back? I know Jamaica has always had a crime issue, but there appears to be an uptick in violent crime in the past year. There were two american medical missionaries that were killed just in the last week. I know this happens almost everywhere, but we want to make sure we have the tip to stay safe with our kids.

Hope you had a great time. We are booked for the Breeze in June out of Galveston.

1. Did the ship feel crowded?

2. Do you know which dining room serves the anytime dining?

3. How are the shows?

4. Does the casino seem very smoky? I like to gamble, but hate the smell of smoke.

5. Any tips you wish you had known before boarding?

Thanks,

You need to escalate and even send an email to the President for Carnival Cruises USA. The problem here, as with many issues with companies, you are dealing with agents that have absolutely no power to do anything. You need a decision maker. Someone who makes the rules, not follows them. Trust me, I worked as an senior executive for years.

If you cannot find an email for a senior executive, let us know here. I can get one for you.

Thanks for the info. Anyone else have some good ideas for Montego Bay around the port area.

We are looking for some things to do that don't require us to buy the expensive ship tours in Montego Bay. We are looking for beach areas that are safe and fun and easy to get to from the ship port. Any help? We know about a few of the beaches in the area, but which ones are the nicest, cleanest and safest.

I have heard that Carnival created a new program for 18 to 20 year olds. Is this true? Has anyone seen the program? We cruises last year and there was nothing for my son to do. He's 20 now and we still love having him with us we just don't know what he will do.

We've been to Chankanaab, but Carnival now offers a tour to SkyReef. The pricing is actually not bad compared to an independent visit to Chankanaab (cab, entrance, rentals and food). Can anyone tell me which is better? Is SkyReef worth a try?

What if you book at 10:00 to 10:30 but due to traffic get there at 11:30. Will they let you board late?

Some of the CC folks can sure be brutal...

I fully understand and agree that Carnival not only did not handle this situation correctly, but they do show that (confirmed) means confirmed.

From Carnival:

"At time of booking, guests will be able to confirm their preferred dining choice. If their preference is not available, they may confirm an alternate time and be waitlisted for their preferred choice - there is no guarantee a waitlist will clear. When possible, waitlists will be cleared prior to the sailing and guests will be notified by email."

I leave in 48 hours and I am (confirmed) for Anytime Dining. When I booked my cruise, it told me that if the dining option was not available, then it would waitlist me. The response was "we are happy to confirm your dining". I understand issues can happen, but this should only happen every blue moon. If my reservation says confirmed, then I should be confirmed.

Dining is suppose to be first come, first served. It does not say that you can get bumped if a Platinum member requests it, or if a FTTP person requests your dining option. First come, first served.

Don't let these other CC folks beat you up. You are fully within your rights to expect that Carnival would honor your dining reservation. Just as I expect that my room will be available when I arrive at the port. I have confirmed my room and confirmed my dining reservation. As a old Seinfeld show said... "They know how to take the reservation, they just don't know how to hold the reservation and that's really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody can just take them."

:):):)

Last minute cruise prices are still out there, but its more difficult to find during holidays and in the summer. We've booked many last minute cruises, but most were off season. You won't have much of a chance getting a deal on a holiday week like July 4th. You might be able to get something in August, but you have to be willing to look at all departures. You can also get better deals if you live in the state where the departure port is located. For instance, here in Texas they offer Texas Resident Rates on some last minute cruises. They know that most of the last minute cabins are sold to folks that live within a short distance to the port. This is why you see lots of Houston folks who travel frequently on Carnival from Galveston.

I emailed the park and they said they do still accept dollars and so do the local cabs. Someone was misinformed. I think this issue is closed. Take your dollars, they will be eager to accept them.

We leave in 3 weeks from Galveston and will drive down and try to board when we get there. We've done this 3 times and they normally allowed us to board when we arrived. Once we waited about 20 minutes. No big deal. If we tried to adjust our arrival time to the port, it would be our luck that an accident would make us late for departure.

We will check to see if our room is ready right when we get on board. We aren't diamond, but we are gold and its not a big deal to move into your room early if its ready. We don't push the cabin steward to finish we just check to see if he's ready.

In my opinion, Carnival does much of this to help sell their FTTP service. We have been cruising for 20+ years and this is the one additional cost I refuse to accept. Before too long, everyone will have FTTP and boarding will be exactly like it has always been. If you have paid for a suite, then by all means board early just like first class on an airplane. But before too long they will charge us more to board by gangway, or use the elevators or eat on real plates.

I would like to bump this post. We are going to Belize in late June and wanted to know which beach/snorkel tours were best. We have 3 people of which 1 is not so good at swimming. We are debating Wonders of the Barrier Reef or Starfish Private Island with lunch. We are going on Carnival.

Cozy... Seriously, the cabin will be much smaller, but its not bad. We've only stayed in OV and Interior rooms with no problems. You really don't spend much time in your cabin anyhow. About the only time it feels tight is when your changing clothes together. Just enjoy the closeness with your partner. The best sleep I ever get is in an interior room. Its pitch dark in the middle of the day... if you want.:)

Down for me too and I need to make my final payment this weekend. Hope it comes back up.