stressedmomof3

Forgot to mention Circle C ( 12-14 year olds):

Parents need to keep in mind that this is a pretty much free for all club like O-2 ( the 15-17 club). There is light structure and the counselor does not even show up for a lot of the events. A lot of things happen there that might need to be discussed at home. One big issue brought to mind is the children "stealing" unfinished drinks found around the area and daring each other to drink them. ( yes- adult beverages) . Just a thought.

This is the second time we cruised on the Breeze and as much as I looked forward to her, unfortunately I was disappointed in some aspects. I am just going to post a short rundown, no pictures.

Dining:

Chef's Table- Awesome experience, worth the money. Took about 3 hours. (A+)

Steakhouse-Awesome experience again, went on the first night. Was told we could only choose the 50% off wine option, no free bottle here the first night. ( still A+)

LIDO- Everything we ate off of Lido was great buffet style food. No one was displeased with the food here. The omelet station moved very quick in the back . Not many people were here for breakfast. (A)

Bonsai Sushi- Awesome food here again. Biggest drawback was that this is situated right next to Ocean Plaza and people seemed to smoke here a lot, even though smoking was supposed to be outside.I suppose some of the smoke could have been carry over from the casino right there, but seriously, people were smoking in Ocean Plaza and no staff said a word. ( A+ for the food)

Red Frog Pub- We ordered conch fritters. took about 10 minutes to get, but nice and hot and fresh. Every time we were here we had great service from the bar and wait staff . (A+)

Dining Room- All of the food we had here was great. The kiddos ordered a couple extra dishes to try throughout the week ( some that sounded interesting but ordered a "normal" dish in case it did not turn out good) and they said it was all delicious. The staff seemed strained keeping up with all of the tables, but we were fine. Dinner took about 1 1/2 hours here in anytime dining when we stayed for dessert. They were training new staff here, but all was good. (A)

Room Service- We ordered room service twice, all was good and arrived within 30 minutes. No problems/issues here. Tipped $2 each time. (A)

Guys Burgers- Awesome and delicious as usual. (A)

Blue Iguana- Awesome and delicious. (A)

The staff:

For the most part everyone was friendly and outgoing except our room steward this time. I don't know if he was seriously being overworked, having a bad week, or just not happy with his job. When we boarded our room was not ready at 1:30pm. At 2:30pm, we went into our room and out steward showed up to dust the room and tidy more but never told us his name or anything. We asked for a room to be serviced a certain way through the special needs department ( and confirmed twice), but it never was. We also had missing glasses from I suppose the previous room occupants, hand prints all over the mirrors, stuff on the balcony ( dirty cups - not the missing glasses though), dust in places that just should have been taken care of. Then we did not see the room steward again until about 9pm- no fun times, no turn down- just asking if we wanted morning or evening service. I told him both.

Have to say it was like this thru the cruise. Not too much of a biggie, but did start off on a wobbly foot here. The cleanliness of the room just lacked throughout here . (D)

The Smell:

Hopefully they got this fixed ASAP, but there was a nasty odor that crossed between human waste and sulfur gas and maybe rotten meat. It was gaggingly awful all week long on deck 8 AFT the whole back hallway. It came and went in waves throughout the week. Very unfortunate when you hit it right after you ate . ( No avoiding it when your room is smack in the middle of it). Asking staff, they said they are aware of it and in the process of fixing it. ( It did not happen by the time we debarked) This smell also happened sometimes on deck 4 and deck 5 after you came out of the AFT elevators.:eek::eek::eek::eek:

The Casino: Seemed to be paying out well for the slots the first couple of days, not so much towards the end. (C+)

The Arcade: There were a lot of games breaking on this trip compared to all of my last cruises it appeared. Lots of error codes on machines and machines not dispensing those silly cards that the kids were collecting. Each time, someone had to find casino services person to either get their money back or get a card that was stuck. The 2 Spongebob machines appeared to be the ones that broke down the most. We also tried the power hour one day where the games were supposed to be 50% off, but it never showed that way on my statement and I was there when one of my kids were playing. Just a heads up. ©

Build A Bear at Sea:

We were family # 12. You get a paper number and get called up when it is your family's turn. A family next to us was in the 60's. When we got up, there were only 2 stuffing machines and 3 animals to choose from. 2 bears and a cat in the hat. It cost $34 for a bear and a Carnival t-shirt. (needs improvement/variety. B)

medical emergencies:

The start of our cruise was a medical detour the first sea day to Cancun/Cozumel as there was a medical emergency on the ship and a passenger needed to go to a hospital.

We then went to a beach in Roatan and a gentleman had a medical emergency after stepping on a sea urchin with his bare feet in the water near shore.

I don't rememberwhat stop we were at, but another guest said a little kid on her tour was bit by a monkey and drew blood. The parents decided to bring her to a hospital.

Then in Cozumel, there was another medical emergency at the last port of call where the ambulance came to the ship.

( Not really an emergency- but it rained all week and seas were rough in patches. The ship, Roatan and Belize were all out of Bonine and Dramamine. Bring your own if at all possible you can be sea sick)

So, just something to keep in mind to expect the unexpected when it comes to medical issues when on a cruise- anything can happen.

Spa: AWESOME! The T-pool was working as it should with all of the bubbles. The heated loungers were nice and toasty. And the best time to go and have it all to yourself: port days :)

Pixels: Plenty of opportunity of picture taking and backdrops. Everything was all digital, no prints unless you asked for them. You can download on your phone or order prints/usb from the screens on deck. BUT, I preordered a package before it was discontinued and was missing some pictures.In the process of recovering those now. Great pictures and variety that I do have though. Mess following up after debarkation with USB. (you can only get your pictures the last night after 9pm or the debarkation morning).

All in all, there were more issues than this, but nothing that would really impact others. This cruise was just lacking compared to all of my other Carnival cruises.

Will we cruise Carnival again?

Yep- have one booked for next year.

Will we book again on the Breeze?

Probably not. We've been on her twice now, and one awesome stay and one no so great- just time to move on.

Would we recommend the Breeze?

Yes-but I would try a different deck for your room and just go with the flow instead of a firm structure. A lot of the issues could have happened on any ship.And be sure to try and find something to occupy your time outside of Ocean Plaza if you have an asthmatic in your group as this is where trivia and all games are played throughout the day and it just stays smoky/have people smoking here.

Usually the cabanas are listed really early. Just keep checking daily if you really want one. We had one before which was nice to have and on our next cruise we rented one again- we reserved ours each time about a year out, and they were gone about 6 months before each cruise.

When you check, scroll through each page thoroughly too as a lot of times sold out excursions are put on the last page. It might be sold out or they might be revamping it to match the newer, higher rental rate they just published...

There will be quite a few that put down the beach right there at the pier of Mahogany Bay. In my opinion, it is not a bad beach at all. Quite nice if you compare it to Galveston Beach or something of sorts in the states. Each time we have been in July or August it has clear water where I can see my feet on the bottom. ( Now if it was right after a tropical storm/ hurricane- it is possible it would be brown water as that did happen in the past). The beach sand is soft and yes, they grow grass on the bottom of the water to keep the sand there. Is it West Bay-no. Will there be great snorkeling-no. Is it a cheap alternative that can be fun with the right mindset? Yes.

It is for ships that are Carnival or Princess that docks there. The beach is FREE. The chairs are FREE. And PERFECT when you have small children so when they are cranky, the ship is not more than 7-10 minutes away walking on foot to get back on board to eat or take a nap.

Here are 2 pics that my young daughter took while we were there . No retouching .

The first picture is the 1st beach area where you can rent chairs and such there ( it's kind of hidden) . Most people do not go to this area.

The second picture is in front of the completely free area-showing the sand and clear blue water. There are free white lounge chairs there your family can sit on. First come, first served. Can that be crowded, yes. But again, it is FREE.

Hope this helps in making your decision.

Hi

the cabanas usually book up about 6+ months in advance. There are some chairs that are in the shade there at the beach, but they are away from the water and usually 4 or 5 rows back. The clam shells would be a great alternative to keep out of the shade But keep in mind that if you are not one of the first few off the boat picking out "your" clamshell, you will be in a clamshell with your view being the back of someone else's clamshell.

Your choice to chance having an chair in the shade or grabbing a clamshell. BUT, I would also keep checking all the way up to your cruise as sometimes people cancel their excursions right before getting on their cruise or cancel everything all together. If still nothing, always check with the excursions desk on the boat too... never know when someone needs to cancel . they won't have "more", just something if another person/family cancels.

Good luck!

I'll try to help-but if anyone has more updated info- please feel free to provide:

paddle boarding- this was available when we went

sky ride - it was a taped/sealed wristband like they put on the kids in Camp Carnival so it could not be shared. someone actually physically put this on our wrists

again- my experience. hth.

and some more pics. Hope this helps. These are from the photos I got on disk along with the shots of those wo were in my family too. As you can see this is just a sample of the gorgeous shots that will be on your disk too.

This last pic is of an albino fish swimming in the water

trying to test posting a pic of Rio Secreto here- and yes it was this beautiful...

Photobucket started charging outrageous prices for photo hosting. Let me see if I can resize some of my photos and upload them here as they seem to be too large to post at the moment.

My family and I did this excursion through carnival and it was quite lovely- even in July-lol. You start out on a bus ( like a school bus) ride to the ruins. It will be a very bumpy ride as a lot of the roads are still dirt/rock. bring bottled water. you can buy drinks at the ruins in the gift shop if you choose, but best to bring water as it gets HOT. Some say to bring bug spray- but we did not need any on our visit. Then we went to eat where you pay for what you order and then off to the River Wallace where you board a boat ( the one we were on was not covered) and it was wonderful seeing manatees, howler monkeys and iguanas. Plus the wind from riding in the boat made it quite pleasant in the heat of the day! My kids really enjoyed it. It did rain on us 1/2 way down the river and thank fully we had some people who had some ponchos that let the kids wear and others use to put their cameras under- so if I could only recommend one thing is bring something to cover anything that can not get wet just in case :) But well worth the cost in my opinion to do the combo- just prepare to spend about $10-$15 per person at the restaurant for the lunch.

what line are you sailing or what dock will you be at?

Have to agree that the Breeze would be the best choice. Not only are there great things to do for adults including the t-pool in the spa if you get spa passes or a spa room, but your 14 year old will have a blast on that ship with so much to do for teens there.

Anywhere in the spa, in the casino itself next to the machines/tables, and on some ships the back pool is/ used to be adults only but unsure if that changed or not. Can't think much else where kids can not go. maybe someone else can chime in.

Our family loved the Breeze as well. the kids all found things to do with the clubs or meeting friends somewhere all of the time. What I would recommend is find out if the spa amenities would interest your dad as it is usually quiet in the T-pool or steam rooms or loungers. If he books a spa room, he'll be able to go in and out at his leisure. If not, he can book a room for the week or once on board book it just 2 days of the week. There are also all sorts of shows and trivia that he might be interested in or even going thru the arcade. (And yes, there were grampa aged men in there playing some of those games along the kids in there) The gym is nice as well as the walking/running track as well along with the putt putt type of golf he might enjoy with the kids. I know you were not asking, but if you are looking for a good set of connecting rooms that are balconies and QUIET, rooms 8440 and 8436 ( one is a 2 person the other is a 3 person room) are the best kept awesome secret of the Breeze. We loved the rooms so much we have them booked for a 3rd time this coming summer. You can see the water if you look down from the balcony- but if you look foward- you can see if anyone is in the jacuzzi outside of the red frog pub from your balcony and that is awesome when you are tired of being around a lot people-lol.- just to relax in a jacuzzi all to your self ... :)

Just saw the new 2019 summer sailings out of Galveston and it seems that they are all around quite high. And that goes for the Freedom at that same time too. Hopefully if Carnival wants customers to pay a good price increase, they keep up with the service aspect as well.

My husband used them on one of our past cruises. I measured him myself using their guide and then I called the phone number that was on the website. We went over the measurements again, it was recommended to get the jacket a little larger than the size we originally had for extra room and then we were told after boarding we can pick up the tux after sailaway. No problems. Got to keep the tux for the whole cruise and turn it in the night before disembarkation or you had the choice to return it right after you used it . Your choice.

Looks like they updated the website, but it's the same company that supplies a lot of the cruiselines. No worries. Good experience here.

Great review.

One question : Could you hear the music playing late at night in your Havana cabin?

Thanks ahead of time.

Chrome has been down all day for me too where I can't log in, as for getting on my ipad this afternoon- it is not even loading the page :(

Hi there.

To help a little my family went to the Amazing Secret River excursion- but thru Carnival. They go to the same place. It is an ALL DAY TRIP. Very long , but so worth it in the end because it is out of this world beautiful.

You will need to wear your swimsuits there. You will need water shoes- if not- they will provide some for you- well worn. They will have you put on a wetsuit ( yes the water is cold), vest and helmet with headlamp. They will recommend you take a walking stick- TAKE THIS! It is an amazing walk through the caves and swim thru the caves. After, they provide a buffet type lunch and offer pics of the trip on a disk. Think it ran about $100-ish for the 5 of us ( And yes- it was so worth it we had about 70+ images on disk of our group as well as their stock photos which were so much better than anything I could have taken with my little camera). Google Rio Secreto- that is the Amazing Secret River excursion.

Some additional tips:

- Do Not wear makeup/sunscreen/deodorant for this excursion. It wrecks havoc on the ecosystem there. They do ask that you rinse off in their outdoor showers there before heading in the caves. After the excursion is over, they have lockers where you can collect your things and change in the bathrooms if you like.

-No cameras/go pros allowed.

-The Playa del Carmen shopping area is a very, very long street/ shopping area after you are done with the caves and eat. . Be sure to change into tennis shoes for this portion as if you are still wearing your water shoes- your feet will be in extreme pain and raw after walking this. ( take it from me :eek:) Bring money and lots of patience if you do not like to shop- as there is no where else to go until the ferry picks you up. That way you can at least sit down and have a drink or ice cream to pass the time until it's time to get on the ferry.

-THE FERRY- it has an unofficial nickname of the "vomit comet" for a reason. If by chance you get seasick easily- be sure to sit in the middle of the bottom or middle of the top floors as it has the least motion.

-Again, this excursion is an all day event. We ended up being the first off the boat and the last group of pier runners since the ferry was late coming back from the mainland. Thankfully we had the ship excursion and they held the boat.

I do not believe the OP is trying to start a war on this thread, but actually brings up a legitimate point. People from different countries tip differently just as people from the North and South or West coast and East coast of the USA for that matter. IMO they are just looking for some sort of guidelines to help out in the future of sorts.

I have no issue stating what we do as a family. We leave auto tips on no matter what. And if the service we receive goes above and beyond, we give up to $40 extra for a 5-7 day cruise for the steward or/and our waiter for our party of 5 for super excellent service. ( We have only cruised from Texas though)This may be cheap or excessive on where you are from, but it's more than they were expecting from the get go and it shows our appreciation in the end. If and when we decide to cruise from a foreign port or out of New York or Hawaii, I am sure I will be looking for input as what others do as well since I know the average cost of living is different and so tipping should be different as well.

In my opinion, going above and beyond would include things such as being personable and knowing all of our names, a room steward who dressed up all of our daughter's towel animals with her sunglasses, ribbons, and baby doll items to put a smile on her face each day ( and yes-these things were left out in the open) , going to YTD and our waiter ( yes we request the same waitstaff everyday if they are good) bringing out our favorite appetizer and/or knowing what drinks we all would like as we sit down, a room steward who fills the ice bucket when initially asked and keeps it filled for the remainder of the cruise,a room steward treating our children as guests instead of being invisible beings from another planet, room stewards being room ninjas but checking in with us if they see us passing in the hall if everything is satisfactory...

I hope the OP can get some good feedback to use for future references.

We are thinking about doing this excursion through NCL in November. We are in Cozumel from 11-7 and the tour starts at 11:30. I've read it takes a full 8 hours so little confused about the time.

 

At what point do you put the wet suits on?

 

Appreciate your feedback.

You can see in my experience when my family and I went in 2016- but through Carnival:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2386100

Sorry about the photos one word: photobucket :(

Wet suits go on after you arrive at the facility. They provide them on the tour. Hope this helps :)

Do you need to go to the shore excursion desk and reserve a specific cabana like you do at Half Moon Cay? If so, which would you prefer? Thanks

The cabanas rent out well in advance of the cruise ( usually a year out or so). You would need to go into your booking and then into plan your excursions and if it is available book it then. You do not get to choose the cabana as they are presorted before you arrive and they put your name on the cabana as a welcome. Only one person "books" the cabana for 4. If you need an additional person you can "add" them for a cost at the excursions desk once on board when you have the cabana pre-booked already. I believe you can only do this for up to 2 additional people , but the rules may have changed since 2016.

Thanks for the suggestions! For the dolphin swims, can you do that at the beach without buying an excursion ahead of time? A couple of our kids are on the fence about doing the dolphin swim, so it would be nice if they could decide when they are there vs paying lots of money that won't be utilized!

Hi again. My family and I have not personally visited the dolphin swims, but know others that did. These dolphin swims are usually one of the first excursions that sell out in the past, so yes, it is something to purchase ahead of time.

Here is a carnival excursion link for Cozumel for you to review and look at:

https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/cozumel

(If I do remember correctly someone on the boards a while back booked a dolphin excursion through Chankanaab National park there, but I can't remember too much on how it went.)

You might want to check out the Port of Call boards and see what is recommended over there for each port as well.

For the ages you have listed, my recommendation would be:

Grand Cayman: Something that includes stingrays definately. Maybe even a tour of the turtle farm, stingray swim and a stop at the town called H-E-L-L.

Mahogany Bay- take the kids to the FREE beach right there at port.

Belize- I would recommend the ruins closest to the port called Altun Ha. Usually you can choose just Altun Ha or Altun Ha with the River Wallace ( where you ride in a boat down the river to see wildlife like spider monkeys too.)

Cozumel- This would be an anything goes port if you are game. There are beaches like Paradise Beach, Mr. Sanchos and Playa Mia that seem to cater to both kids and adults. Dolphin swims can be found here and it's just as great just to chill and shop too at the port.