Baby_Bear

Awesome! Thanks Bob.

We are in a GS, which should get us priority disembarkation. Should I talk to Guest Services the day before to let them know we want to disembark early or can we just walk off? We won't have a disembarkation slot as we are going to carry our luggage off ourselves.

We are on the Rhapsody, doing a 7-day round trip from Rome (Civitavechhia) in August. The schedule says the ship docks at 5 am. Realistically, when do you think they will start letting pax off the ship. We have a late morning flight to catch at FCO and I'm booking a car service, but just needed to give them a pickup time. I was thinking 6:15 am is probably the earliest we will be allowed off. We're going to carry off our luggage so don't foresee any waits for the bags. Thanks!

Also - just curious - why do people not like cabins with connecting doors? I've never had one, so no idea. Is is noise concerns? Or is the furniture arranged differently so as not to obstruct the door? Are they smaller? What gives?

Thanks yes, spending 3 days pre cruise in Rome. Love that city, my third time visiting it and can't get enough! OK, then I think we will hang on to 8508 for now. I had asked because I recall sailing out of Venice in 2012, everyone had recommended a port side cabin and we had a wonderful view of San Marco piazza on the sailaway, so that was a great choice. But I guess Civi being so far away from Rome, it doesn't make a difference here.

Hi, we are on the Rhapsody sailing on Aug 23rd, doing a roundtrip from Rome. We are in GS 8508. When we booked it was the only one left. I checked again yesterday and now 8006 on the port side has also opened up. Between the two, which one would you pick? 8508 is starboard side, 8006 is port side and connects to the OS next door, is that an issue? Does it matter which side of the ship you are on when sailing in/out of Rome?

Thank you everyone for the advice! I will check with the concierge about the tender tickets. I can also ask him if he needs us to let him know about whether we should tell him in advance if we want to see any shows, or if we can just show up and there is a block of seats reserved. In any case, being a Med cruise and quite port-intensive, I don't expect the shows will be a high priority.

Thanks Bob! Any opinion on the flex dining? And the tenders?

Hi, just booked the 7-day Greek Isles cruise in Aug/15 on the Rhapsody. A mom-daughter getaway! We had taken a 4-day cruise on Vision of the Seas last year, so this is the first time we are doing a longer cruise on RCL. I had a couple of questions for all the experts...

First, does RCL offer any laundry specials? Weird question to start with I know, but I thought I'd get the practical stuff out of the way! The cruise is part of a 10-day trip and it would be nice to get some laundry done midway.

Second, we are in a GS and I know we can go and have drinks in the Concierge Lounge each night. Would it be OK for us to go to dinner carrying our drinks in hand (one each!) or is that a big no-no? We'd probably order more drinks at dinner in any case.

Third, how does the priority thing work for tendered ports? Do we have to get tender tickets ahead of time or just show our cards? And do we have reserved seating for all the shows automatically or do we have to let the concierge know which shows we want to see?

And last, how is the flexible dining on RCL? We tried to get the late seating but its all sold out. Do they generally seat you fast? Service OK? We'd probably look to eat around 8 each day. And are tables for 2 easy to come by?

Thanks! Most of my cruising has been done on Carnival, so I'm still learning a little bit about RCL.

Thanks Keith! Very helpful. Yes, I think we'd maybe like more space but it'll probably come down to how much extra it'll cost for a full suite.

Hi, finally considering our first NCL cruise in August on the Norwegian Jade, and trying to figure out the cabin sizes. We are looking at an MI (aft facing mini suite) and all I can find is that it says its 285 sq ft but its not clear if that includes balcony, and if so, what's the real living space. Trying to decide if we should upgrade to a full suite or not, but don't want to waste money if the M1 is sufficiently spacious. Do any or all of the NCL experts know? Thanks!:D

Thanks for the informative review! We are in the process of booking cabins on the Breeze but noticed that there are "spas" on the Promenade Deck above some of the balcony cabins. Did you happen to notice them?

 

We are wondering if it's a noisy location? And if we would hear the noise on the balconies directly below them? Any advice? Thanks in advance!

:)

Elaine

Hi Elaine! Sorry, I don't know about the spa cabins above the Promenade Deck. However, I honestly think Deck 7 is the best as its got cabins both above and below, so that makes it very quiet. I would definitely suggest taking a balcony on Deck 7 for that reason. Do you know what's above you?

And even more cabin pics!

Great balcony with plenty of space for a lounger, 2 chairs and a table!

Hi, sorry for the delay in updating. As promised, here are some pics of our OS. I hadn't found any pics of OS cabins prior to sailing so I hope this helps anyone who is looking for pics:

Will you share your TA? I would love some OBC!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Sorry, we are not allowed to post names of TA's. They are a big online agency that also advertise on CC, so you should be able to find them.

Hi, just came off an 8-day cruise on the Breeze from 8/16-8/24. We visited the ports of St Maarten, St Kitts, San Juan and Grand Turk. Rather than do a conventional review that reads more like a travel diary, I thought I'd hit on a few talking points and suggestions that may help future Breeze cruisers even if you don't have the same itinerary. Overall, the cruise was great and the Breeze remains highly recommended!

About us - we are a mom-daughter cruising duo. Haven't been able to convince my dad and other sibs to try out cruising as yet, lol! This was our fourth Carnival cruise and the second one on the Breeze. We had first sailed on her in the Mediterranean in Aug 2012. She was a brand new ship then (it was only her eighth voyage!) and we loved her so much, we always wanted to go back on her some day. Finally, when an itinerary came along that we liked, we decided to go ahead and book it.

We booked through our online TA, who gave us a very nice OBC, equivalent to 10% of the base tariff. That's always great for reducing your final bill on board!

Getting in - We flew from JFK to Miami the morning of the cruise. Here's one tip I hope will be helpful - do carry on if you can! Previously, we had both taken one checked bag each, but we had a very bad experience on Delta last year flying into Fort Lauderdale where Delta misplaced our bags at JFK (still trying to work out how they could misplace half the luggage on that flight!) and could not find them for 2 days, no kidding. They ended up sending it to the first port of call (we were on the Carnival Freedom), and the idea of being without your stuff for 3 days of an 8-day cruise is NOT fun. So this time, we decided to try doing carry on and it worked like a dream!

For all the ladies out there - I packed 9 dresses (including two cocktail dresses for formal nights), 2 sets of gym wear, 2 sets of capris and tops, 2 sets of nightwear and all the assorted swimwear and unmentionables, in addition to a hat, umbrella and little purse for using around the ship. Shoes consisted of one pair of running shoes, one pair of flip flops for walking around the beach/pool and one pair of heels, in addition to the casual sandals I had on. And all travel sized cosmetics. My mom had similar stuff. While we didn't go through multiple outfit changes every day, we were always nicely turned out, didn't have to repeat outfits and packing and unpacking was, well, a breeze! So ladies, I'm living proof that it CAN be done! My mom was even more skeptical than me that we could manage and she's now a believer!

One thing we did do was ask the cab driver at the airport to take us to a Walgreens/CVS en route to the port. We bought medium sized bottles of body lotion, body wash, enough water for the cruise and even small sized bottles of my favorite Fekkai haircare products. I think it cost maybe $5-7 extra on the meter for that. Pre-cruise, not having enough of our favorite toiletries had concerned me the most, but this was a perfect solution.

Getting on the ship - this was a bit of a zoo. We were in an OS so had priority boarding, but when the cab dropped us off at around noon, we couldn't see any signs for the VIP line, and it was only after repeatedly asking any and everyone with a badge that we managed to find it. No signage whatsoever! When we were inside the terminal, we were taken to a room where we could sit and wait till our names were called. Again, it took a really long time and the ladies in charge of directing who went to which check in agent weren't able to maintain any kind of order. People just cutting in at will, at al. We had sailed out of Miami on the Valor 2 years back and I don't recall it being so crazy. The people in the regular lines looked like they were in for horrendous wait times as well. Once on the ship, it was SOOO nice to be unpacked in half an hour flat! And no waiting around for bags. I think some people had packed the entire contents of their closets for this cruise, based on the amount of luggage I saw later in the hallways.

Cabin - we were in an OS (7272), portside, in the forward part of the ship. Its right near the bank of 6 regulator and 4 bubble elevators. I was initially concerned about the noise factor but it wasn't an issue at all. The cabin itself was very nice - we had been in a GS in 2012 but found the OS to also be very spacious. Lots of closet space and I actually liked the bathroom better than the GS bathroom! The best part was having the nice double sinks which are essential for 2 women traveling together, lol! I have cabin pics, so of anyone wants to see them, just let me know.

Ship - the Breeze is as gorgeous as ever! While she doesn't look brand new anymore, that's inevitable, but the staff have been doing a very good job of keeping her in good condition. We saw Carnival staff constantly cleaning floors, polishing handrails, etc. which keeps her looking good, and the balconies were washed when we were in St Kitts. Their work would be much easier if a small percentage of the cruise passengers behaved better (more on that later...) We ate in the Blush dining room and I did notice that the carpets look like they could use a good deep shampoo (lots of old stains that were vaccuumed or spot washed away but still leave traces).

Food - a most important subject! We really enjoyed the food on this cruise. We had tried a 4-day cruise on Royal Caribbean in May on the Vision of the Seas, and really did not like the food at all. No seafood dishes, no Asian options - maybe this was due to the fact it was a 4-day cruise but we were disappointed in the food. On Carnival, the food is more to our liking - there is at least one fish/shellfish entree every night, several Asian inspired options, etc. Just a more varied menu all round in the MDR. Even the Lido had plenty of options at lunch, we loved the Tandoor and Mongolian Wok options. We also enjoyed the brunch menu on sea days - the menu is the same as in 2012 but thank God, they did away with the comedians doing 5-10 minutes of stand-up while people were eating, I had found that so annoying 2 years back. Overall, I'd give high marks to the Breeze for food.

Crowd management - here's where we found a difference from 2 years back. The ship had been full even then, but we hadn't experienced any issues with crowding anywhere. On this cruise, we did experience crowding in a lot of places (the entertainment area at the Ocean Plaza, long waits for tables at brunch, crazy crowds for the shows, etc.) I don't know if Carnival is doing something different, but they really need to look into better crowd management.

Entertainment - again, maybe its a factor of us having been on the Breeze previously, but I was disappointed to see they still have the same shows (Brits, Divas, Latin Nights) as from 2012! The only show we went to see was Divas and while the music had been updated, the show itself followed the exact same format. And aside from Groove6 who we heard once or twice, we didn't really enjoy any of the singers on the ship. They had the Duo Murano who played a lot of Latin music which I love, but unfortunately, they kind of screeched their way through a lot of the songs which spoiled the listening experience. I felt that the Breeze singers and entertainers were so much better in 2012 - the cut backs are pretty noticeable here.

Service - outstanding! On RC, we had a less than great room steward and friendly but hit or miss service in the dining room. Here, we had a wonderful room steward Wasan who looked after us to the point where we got very spoiled and great dining room service. Occasionally, the dinner service was slow and bar service particularly so, but the great staff more than made up for that, and hey we are on vacay! In general, the staff were incredibly nice and couldn't do enough for us, which was a nice change from RC.

Crowd - here's the only downer. A section of our fellow passengers apparently felt that they could use the ship as their personal trash cans. We saw two incidents that grossed us out - one evening, were were on deck 4 and near the bubble elevators and saw that someone had stomped a Guys burger (complete with fries and ketchup) into the carpet. The mess was disgusting and I would imagine a lot of people would have stepped on it. The second incident was getting into an elevator one night and finding someone had discarded a half eaten Guys burger (again with fries and ketchup, sorry Guy Fieri, your food wasn't being shown much love!) in one corner of the elevator! Both times, we managed to find a staff member and alerted them to the unsanitary conditions. The staff members told us that this was constantly happening on the cruise. I really felt sorry for them knowing how much extra work it was causing all of them. Further, on our deck, we CONSTANTLY saw used cups and glasses and half eaten dishes littering the hallways. By that I mean food that was literally discarded in the hallways, not even on a plate or anything. Some people are complete and utter pigs and obviously don't give a **** how much work they create for others. Just because someone is cleaning up after you does NOT give you the right to act like a pig. OK, rant over now....I was just surprised (and grossed out!) as I don't remember that happening on our previous Carnival cruises. We also saw way too much of people piling their plates sky high in the Lido only to waste half of it. Clearly, the concept of going back to the buffet if you want more of something is an alien concept for them...

Ports -I'll skip this discussion mostly, as people may have different itineraries. St Maarten was gorgeous (good to be back!), St Kitts was new and we liked it, San Juan is always fun to go back to, and Grand Turk we did not do much as we've been twice before, although weather was a factor. We did do ship sponsored excursions in the first three ports. The St Kitts excursion with the scenic train and catamaran was great fun!

Weather - great overall, except for Grand Turk where we had thunderstorms and rain off and on throughout the day. We were lucky to miss Christobal, I guess that's hitting this week.

And that's about it! Very good cruise overall, and the Breeze remains high on our list of recommended ships. Carnival continues to deliver a very good product, but I wish they'd just raise prices and spend more on entertainment.

Questions/thoughts/comments?

You also have to shell out another US$20 per day for the Angkor Pass to see any temple plus your guide fee.

Plus Cambodia charge a US$25 departure tax at the airport

Yeah, we have a private guide while we are there (doing a custom tour) so all costs of visiting the Angkor Wat are included.

One thing - the $25 departure tax info is no longer correct. Its automatically included in the cost of your ticket. Been that way for a couple of years now. I checked with our agency on that point, also confirmed through the TripAdvisor forums.

On our upcoming Breeze sailing, a woman on our Facebook roll call mentioned she got an offer of $410 to go from an 8G to a Junior Suite. And that's for an 8-day cruise so seems like a good offer - $25 pp/pd. I think she didn't take it, but I'm sure someone else would.

I'll oblige: I want the extra space and amenities of the suite - more storage space, more bathroom space, more balcony space, more space; the whirlpool tub is nice too, the dual sink vanity, the dressing room area in the walk-thru closet. I know what I'm getting: just a Carnival suite with no perks - nothing like our GS on RCI earlier this year. But I'm not paying anyway near what I paid for that GS for our Carnival VS.

 

Oh, and for the record, I don't think that the Vista Suite (Aft-Wrap Balcony Suite) on Carnival Pride is "a product that is not substantially different than most of their balcony rooms". I see plenty of difference and am willing to pay the price difference.:cool:

 

Just because we are cruising on a budget line for this particular cruise doesn't mean we have to stay in the most budget accommodations.;) It's nice to have options.

 

PS: Sometimes we cruise a budget line to be with friends and/or family, but we still want a nice, roomy cabin (suite). I hope this all helps you understand at least one Carnival suite cruiser's motivation.:)

Totally agree with everything you said! We also like having the extra space in an OS or GS. And Carnival's bathrooms in suites are much nicer than some other lines - we were on a 4-day RCL cruise in May and were is a JS on the Vision of the Seas. Only one sink, very little storage and the tiles and finishes were nowhere near as nice as the OS/GS bathrooms on Carnival. My cruising partner is my mom and with two women sharing a bathroom, its so great having double sinks and tons of storage for all our crap (well, mostly mine:D) We also really like having the dressing area and the walk in closet. Carnival's OS/GS finishes are well up to par with other more expensive lines (I've traveled on RCL and HAL) and the prices are usually better. And while we had tons of perks on our HAL cruise to Alaska, we found we didn't really want or need most of them, and actually preferred Carnival's more informal atmosphere.

Yes, its a very tragic history. We were trying to visit Phnom Penh as well to see the Killing Fields museum, but really wanted to have more time in Vietnam.

Its crazy that RCL holds your passport, but I guess its to prevent people getting off without visas. For land trips, no such restriction, although I had read on the blogs that staying in cheaper hotels, sometimes they may take your passport to ensure you pay. For us, since we are doing a custom tour and its all 5* hotels and prepaid, our agency told us we would just hand over our passports on arrival at the hotels and they would scan them and return them to us. Which is the same in pretty much every country I've ever visited.

If you have not yet been to Cambodia make sure you have your passport sized photograph ready as it is collected and stamped along with your passport while paying your VOA fee at immigration;)

My understanding was we would need separate photos for both the Vietnam and Cambodia legs, right? We will be in Vietnam for 2 weeks, then fly to Siem Reap at the end of the trip to spend 2 days and see the Angkor Wat. I had figured we would need photos in both Hanoi and Siem Reap. Thank goodness Cambodia charges less, think it's $20 per head and its a true VOA, meaning no need for a pre approval letter.

Great review! I was on the Vision in May. We had a JS fairly close to yours, but sadly no big wrap balcony! It's fun seeing your pics, they brought back nice memories!

$10 for a group visa is extremely cheap! You are lucky that the cruise line has negotiated a discount.

I'm in the process of planning a 2 week trip to Vietnam and Cambodia at year end and the $50 individual visa is legit. I rang up the Vietnamese consulate in New York to ask about visas for our trip. Cost of a single entry one month visa is $100 and goes up to $140 if you want a longer term or multi entry visa. That's if you want the stamped visa in your passport before you fly out. Fortunately, vietnam has the Visa on Arrival (VOA) arrangement which is much cheaper and used by most travelers, based on the TripAdvisor forums. It works like this - a travel agent in Vietnam will get you a pre approval letter from the Vietnam Department of Immigration. When you land at Hanoi or HCMC, you take this letter plus a completed visa form plus $45 to the immigration counter and you will get a stamped visa in your passport. The $45 is the stamping fee. For us, the pre approval letter from a Vietnamese agency did not cost anything as we are doing a custom tour and our agency provided the pre approval letter as part of the service. But people who are traveling independent can also get a pre approval letter from a number of Vietnamese agencies for a fee, ranging from $8-25. That's on top of the $45 stamping fee. So you see, the $50 fee for the individual VOA sounds totally legit.

Vietnamese visa fees are actually cheap compared to other countries. I was in China last year and the visa fee was $140, yikes! The annoying part is, they give everyone a one year multiple entry visa, so even if you don't need a multi entry, you'll get it anyways. At least Vietnam offers the option for a cheaper way to get the visa. No such luck for China!

Since agencies are not allowed to book a Carnival Cruise for less than Carnival's own base price I am not sure how you get a lower price. :confused:

Its possible they are factoring in incentives offered by the TA. My TA offers me OBC on every cruise. So while the base tariff is the same, I usually have a nice amount of OBC that helps offset the cost of gratuities, drinks on board, etc. So at the end of the day its less money out of my pocket.

Always book thru the same online TA. I try and always use the same agent, but its a comfort to know that its a big agency, so if she is not around, someone is always there to help. Base price of the cruise is the same as Carnival, but we usually get OBC - up to 10% of the base tariff (before taxes) on Carnival cruises. For our recent RCL cruise, we got $50 of OBC even though it was just a short 4-dayer. We had been looking at a longer RCL cruise and she had offered me $200 of OBC plus a free dinner for 2 in the specialty restaurant and a discount on spa treatments. Ultimately, we still went with Carnival as the ports were similar and the price was so much better. My TA is great, super quick to call me back if I have any questions, etc.

I think guarantees may be a big factor. They may have sold a ton of guarantees in all categories. Those wouldn't show as assigned cabins. Think the cruise lines usually assign the rooms a few days in advance, although people on this forum have also posted stories about how they didn't know which room they got till the last minute, sometimes literally at the port. The point is, once they assign rooms to all the guarantees, you may see a drastic reduction in rooms available per category.

Personally, I'd love to sail on a ship that's not 100% full. My first Carnival cruise was on the Valor and she was about 85% full. It was so great! No lines anywhere and we always got seats when listening to music, etc. Even got better service in the dining room as the staff wasn't as rushed.