thecruiserofships

I took a quick peek inside the Ovation Theater's Deck 3 level. Nothing was going on in the lounge at this time of the morning, but the morning show was coming up in less than 3 hours. I would be back inside the theater for the live morning show. After spending time on Deck 3, I decided to head back up to Deck 4. I walked to the very back of Deck 4. Along the way I passed by the Library Bar, Casino Annex (non-smoking), and art gallery. I'll have pictures of the Library Bar and Casino Annex in future parts of the review. There were already guests playing in the casino and taking photos or videos is not allowed while the casino is open. At the back of Deck 4 on the opposite side of the ship from Circle C & Club 02 is The Warehouse. This is the Carnival Breeze's arcade. I walked inside to take some pictures. Below are pictures of The Warehouse:

I walked along the Lanai to a door that led to the Deck 5 elevator/stairwell area. I decided to walk down to Deck 4 and saw the Sapphire Dining Room was open. This was the dining room I had dinner on the first night of the cruise. On my past two Carnival Breeze cruises this dining room was closed on sea days in the morning to allow for crew to eat breakfast in a social distanced setting. It does not look like this was taking place anymore as the dining room was open and did not have crew only signage out front. I took some pictures of the Deck 4 level of the dining room before heading down to the Deck 3 level of the Sapphire Dining Room. When I walked out of the Sapphire Dining Room on Deck 3, I was directly behind the atrium bar by the atrium spiral staircase. I walked around the atrium lobby to take some pictures. The atrium area was used for live music and trivia/games during the day. Live music was also played in the evenings and night. The ship's atrium has four glass elevators that go up to Deck 12. Although the atrium's lobby is on Deck 3, the glass elevators go down to Deck 2 despite that deck not being a part of the atrium. In the center of the atrium is the atrium bar and a spiral staircase that goes up to decks 4 & 5. On of the sides of the atrium, there are several areas to sit and mini-Fun Hub internet cafe stations. The Guest Services and Shore Excursions decks can be found on Deck 3 on the sides of the atrium. The Guest Services desk is on one side of the Carnival Breeze's atrium while the Shore Excursions desk is on the opposite side of the atrium. At this time of the morning, the Shore Excursions Desk was closed. Shore Excursions can be booked on the Carnival Hub App and at Guest Services when the Shore Excursions Desk is closed.

After walking through the Ocean Plaza I passed by Bonsai Sushi. This venue serves sushi related dishes ala carte. The menu includes the price of each appetizer, main course, and dessert. Since today was a Sea Day, Bonsai Sushi was open at both lunch & dinner. Next to Bonsai Sushi, is an entrance to the Red Frog Pub. I walked inside despite the Red Frog Pub being closed. It was dark inside and I relied on my camera's flash to get some pictures. At the back of the Red Frog Pub there are a few game tables and lots of seating. When I got near the back of Deck 5 I walked through Piano Bar 88. The piano bar was open late into the first night and would be open again in the evening on the second night. While on Deck 5 I stepped outside onto the Lanai to get a picture of the sunrise. The sun was just beginning to rise. I was able to get some pictures before my camera lenses fogged up again.

Day 2 Fun Day At Sea Friday, September 23, 2022 First Morning Walk Of The Cruise: Good morning! Despite sleeping terribly during the first night, I still got up early to start walking the Carnival Breeze. My alarm failed to go off at the set time of 5:45am, but instead went off around 5:57am. I'm not sure what happened, but at least it went off. After getting ready I was out my stateroom door by 6:20am. I walked from the back stairwell on Deck 6 up to the Lido Deck (10). I walked to the middle of the Lido Marketplace buffet which has a stairwell that leads to Cucina Del Capitano. Cucina Del Capitano is home to the Captain's Pasta Bar at lunch, which is complimentary. At dinner the venue is a sit down restaurant that serves Italian dishes for a fee. Below are some pictures of the Cucina Del Capitano area: After walking around Cucina Del Capitano, I walked back down to the Lido Marketplace on Deck 10. Since it was still early in the morning, the Continental Breakfast station was not yet open. The main breakfast buffet was not scheduled to open until 7:30am. Unfortunately, my camera lenses fogged up greatly when I walked outside on the Lido Deck and I was unable to take pictures at this time. I decided to continue walking around so I walked down from Deck 10 to Deck 5. I started at the front of Deck 5 and worked my way towards the back. Around the front atrium area of Deck 5 is the Carnival Breeze's Fun Shops. One side has jewelry and perfume related stores, but the other side has Carnival Logo items, liquor, and Cherry On Top. All of the shops were closed at this time of the day, but would open up mid-morning. The Carnival Breeze's Ocean Plaza was very quiet at this time of the morning. The lights were mostly off, but I was still able to get some good pictures. During the day the Ocean Plaza is used to host trivia and other games. At night there is live music and dancing in the middle of the Ocean Plaza.

Ovation Theater - Bingo Session At 7:15pm in the Ovation Theater a game of Welcome Aboard Bingo was taking place. The Bingo host for this cruise was Lucky Lizzy, who happened to be the same bingo host as our May 2022 Carnival Breeze cruise. Bingo on Carnival's ships costs money to buy Bingo cards, but there are cash or other prizes for winning. Sometimes prizes are cash, but other times could be jewelry or a free cruise depending on the game of bingo that is being played. After dinner when I arrived in the Ovation Theater the game of Bingo was about to start, but had not yet started. I did not play bingo, but watched the game because I wanted to be in the Ovation Theater for a good seat for the Welcome Aboard Show. Welcome Aboard Show: The Welcome Aboard Show was scheduled to start at 8:00pm in the Ovation Theater. When the show started our cruise director, Jasper, came on-stage to introduce himself. He let us know that his job was to inform & entertain us during the cruise. Jasper introduced the Carnival Breeze's Fun Squad team members. These crew members host various trivia games and activities throughout the cruise. Instead of doing a game on-stage, Jasper made the whole audience stand up and split the audience down the middle. He led the theater in a clapping exercise which ended up creating the beat for the song "We Will Rock You". After Jasper finished speaking it was time for the Playlist Productions performers to do a quick 10 minute intro show. However, the Playlist Productions performers' piece was cut short very early on and the curtain closed unexpectedly. Jasper came back on-stage and told us that due to technical issues the show was over. This was very odd! Even though I was disappointed the Welcome Aboard Show ended early due to issues, I was tired from getting up early and wanted to get to sleep soon. I walked up to the back of Deck 5 to look out, but did not stay outside long. Before going back to my stateroom I went up to the Lido Deck (10) for some water. Below are some pictures of the Lanai on Deck 5: This is the end of the review for Day 1. Day 2's sea day review is coming up next!

How The Your-Time Dining Check-In Process Worked: I had Your-Time Dining which means I could dine in a specific dining room from 5:30pm until about 9:00pm. Dining assignments are printing on guests' Sail & Sign Cards. My Sail & Sign Card indicated that for dinner I needed to check-in on the Carnival Hub App and then I would be assigned a table. Shortly before the dining room opened the Carnival Hub App began allowing guests to check-in. The check-in for dinner was easy and involved clicking a check-box for each guest that was going to be eating. Within a couple of minutes of checking in the app notified me that my table was ready and I selected that I was on my way. The app will hold table assignments for 10 minutes before cancelling a reservation. The Sapphire Dining Room is the Carnival Breeze's mid-ship dining room. I arrived a few minutes prior to 5:30pm after checking in on the Carnival Hub App. One of the dining room hostesses recognized me from a previous cruise in May 2022 and she asked if I wanted the same table as the previous cruise. She remembered that we liked a table by the window and even remembered the section we sat in one the previous cruise. This was an awesome surprise! Carnival truly has some of the best crew members! First Dinner On The Carnival Breeze In The Sapphire Dining Room: After being seated our table's headwaiter and assistant waitress came by to introduce themselves. Our waitstaff team came by and started to pour water in our cups. I asked for iced tea. Our waiter brought the iced tea as well as sweetener packets & lemon. Since the Covid-19 restart Carnival does only has paper menus available by request in the main dining room. Guests are expected to use a QR Code on the table or the Carnival Hub App to view the menu (a paper copy can be requested if needed). Our waiter took our order a few minutes after we arrived! After our order was taken the waitstaff came by with a big basket of bread and asked which bread we would like. They served the bread to us using tongs. Our choices for tonight's bread were baguette and multigrain cranberry. I asked for both. I ordered a caesar salad and quesadilla for my appetizer. Both tasted great. For my main course I ordered the Sweet & Sour Shrimp. This will probably be the last time I order this main course due to the side of rice having a seasoning that I do not like the taste of. However, the shrimp & sauce tasted great. For dessert I ordered a banana split, which is on the Kid's Menu. The banana split consisted of a scoop of neopolitan ice cream, some sort of whipped cream, banana slices, a cherry, and sprinkles. Everything was great and our waitstaff did an excellent job! After dinner I stepped outside on my balcony to take some pictures of the sunset. Before I forget to mention, I picked up the liter bottled water from the casino bar on Deck 4 and also went by the photo gallery to pick up my Platinum pin & koozie gift.

Looking From The Front Observation Deck On Deck 9: After looking at my stateroom and balcony I wanted to continue walking around the ship. At the very front of Deck 9 is an area above the navigational bridge that is one of my favorite places on a ship to look out. On both sides of the ship, this area overlooks the side of the ship. Around 3pm our cruise director, Jasper, came over the PA to let guests know that the captain asked all guests that had not yet completed the self-mustering process to attend. Jasper also used this time to go through safety information and the ship's general emergency alarm (7 short blasts & 1 long blast) was rang. Sail-A-Way From Galveston: The Carnival Breeze was scheduled to set sail at 3:30pm from Galveston. The ship was already untied and moving away from the cruise terminal at exactly at 3:30pm. We were in our stateroom when sail-a-way started and had to rush to get outside. I went to the very front of Deck 7 to watch sail-a-way. This area was directly below the navigational bridge, which is located above on Deck 8. Due to the location of the bridge in relation to the sunlight, this area was very shady for most of sail-a-way.

Self-Mustering On The Carnival Breeze: After looking around the Carnival Breeze's Deck 5, I remembered I needed to head to my muster station for the lifejacket demonstration. My muster station was "E3" which was the Deck 3 level of the Blush Restaurant. The Blush Restaurant is the Carnival Breeze's aft dining room and is primarily used for guests with fixed dinner seating. A crew member was standing at the entrance of the Blush Restaurant. We both showed our Sail & Sign Cards and they were scanned in order to log attendance at this mandatory drill. The drill consisted of a lifejacket demonstration and some basic safety information. The drill lasted no more than 5 minutes and gave us a good reminder on how to wear a lifejacket & where we needed to go in the event of a real emergency. This Self-Mustering Drill replaced the old style Safety Briefing where everyone on the ship went to their muster station prior to sailing at the same time. The Self-Mustering drill allowed for social distancing. TIP: Your assigned muster station for the cruise can be found in multiple areas. Your boarding pass, Sail & Sign Card, the Carnival Hub App, and back of the stateroom door have your muster station letter/number printed. If you need assistance on the first day finding your muster station, crew members are stationed throughout the ship and can direct you to your assigned muster station. Cove Balcony Stateroom: Staterooms opened for all guests at 1:30pm. Until this time the firedoors to the stateroom hallway were closed with signage asking guests not to enter until 1:30pm. My stateroom was a Balcony Stateroom located on Deck 6. The stateroom was located in between the middle and aft elevators on the starboard side of the ship. The interior of the stateroom consisted of two twin beds, a couch that could be converted into a bed at night, and a small vanity area. Around the stateroom's small counter space there were two 120V electrical outlets and a European electrical outlet. The stateroom's bathroom was very similar to every other Carnival ship's stateroom bathroom that I have had. The bathroom consisted of a toilet, sink, and shower. In the shower, shampoo and shower gel were available in a dispenser. My balcony was directly above the Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ. This meant that when I wanted to look down, instead of seeing the Lanai, I had a view of the top of Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ. This balcony stateroom was a complimentary upgrade from Carnival. Originally I was booked in a porthole stateroom on Deck 1 and due to that room being in a previous quarantine area at the time of booking, a Carnival representative moved my room up to this balcony for FREE! This is the first & only upgrade I have ever gotten from Carnival. Despite the obstructed view below, the balcony had a good view of the horizon. My balcony consisted of two chairs and a very small table.

When I finished walking around the Lanai, I went back inside. At the back of Deck 5 is the Carnival Breeze's Limelight Lounge. The Limelight Lounge is used for the Punchliner Comedy Club, karaoke, and smaller scale special events. The Limelight Lounge was empty when I walked in to take pictures. The Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse is located next to the Limelight Lounge on the back of deck 5. On my past two cruises on the Carnival Breeze, I have had trouble getting good pictures of this venue due to crew working inside. I stepped inside and the hostess immediately asked if she could help me. I told her I just wanted to take a few pictures and she invited me to come inside. Below are some pictures I took of the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse: The Liquid Nightclub is also located near the back of Deck 5. The nightclub is generally open late at night and into the early morning hours. During the day, the Liquid Nightclub is used to host art auctions & shows. While I was walking around the Carnival Breeze I noticed the nightclub was open so I walked in to take some pictures.

After walking through the Winner's Luck Casino, I reached the Carnival Breeze's Ocean Plaza. The Ocean Plaza is used during the day-time for various events and activities. There is a mini stage and dance floor in the center of the Ocean Plaza that are used at night for music and dancing. The Carnival Breeze's Alchemy Bar and Coffee Bar are located right by the Ocean Plaza. For some reason the lights were all turned off in the Ocean Plaza despite guests being everywhere. The lights did come on until later in the afternoon. Throughout the Promenade Deck (5) there are doors to lead to the Lanai outside. From the Ocean Plaza I walked outside to the Lanai. The Lanai wraps around the entire ship on Deck 5, but the front portion is closed to guests. Here are some pictures I took while walking around the back and sides of the Carnival Breeze's Lanai: Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ: The Carnival Breeze has a complimentary BBQ venue located on Deck 5's Lanai outside. Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ serves a variety of BBQ meats and sides at lunch on select days of the cruise. When I walked by around 12:30pm, there was no line at Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ. The crew members working begged me to take some food as I was taking pictures, but I still stuffed from lunch on the Lido Deck. I have eaten at Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ on previous cruises and love eating the pork butt, sausage, smoked beef, and collared greens. Below are some pictures of the choices available at Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ:

At the front of the Serenity Adults Only Retreat is a sliding door that leads to a glass spiral staircase. I walked down the sliding staircase to Deck 14. The Carnival Breeze's Cloud 9 SPA is on Decks 12 and 14. I walked into the Relaxation Room at the front of Deck 14. This was a small room with a great view from windows. Infused fruit water, coffee, and some tea packets were available in this room. I found this room on my previous Carnival Breeze cruise's first day back in May 2022. The room was setup nearly identically to that cruise. Below are some pictures from this cruise: While on Deck 14, I walked by the Carnival Breeze's Tepidarium. The door was closed and I did not enter. I remember in May, the room was hot & muggy and my camera lenses did not like the temperature. I took a picture from the glass door of the Tepidarium. I went back to the spiral staircase and continued down to Deck 12. The Fitness Center is located at the front of the Carnival Breeze's Deck 12. Within the Fitness Center there are a variety of different machines and weights. A fitness instructor was advertising classes at the front of the gym, but he was busy selling to other guests so he did not bother us as I took some pictures. After walking around the Carnival Breeze's SPA and Fitness Center on Deck 12, I went back up the spiral staircase to Deck 15 to have another quick look outside. The WaterWorks was still not open yet, but I could see the deck chairs by the main Lido pool were mostly occupied. After being outside for a little while, it was time for me to head inside to avoid getting sunburned. I walked down the front stairwell to the Promenade Deck (5). I walked from the front of the deck through the atrium and had a good view of Deck 3's atrium lobby below. It looked like very few guests were boarding at this time. However, the atrium lobby was crowded with several guests at the atrium bar and lined up at guest services. I will share atrium pictures in later portions of this cruise review. On the other side of the Deck 5 atrium is the Winner's Luck Casino. The Winner's Luck Casino on Deck 5 has several slot machines & game tables, a large bar, and the cashier's station. At the time of this cruise, the Deck 5 level of the Winner's Luck Casino allows smoking when the casino is open & a guest is playing at a slot machine. Smoking is prohibited when bunkering (fuel operations) is taking place. A non-smoking casino annex is available on Deck 4.

After looking around the mini golf course and entire SportsSquare complex I continued walking towards the front of the ship on Deck 12. I passed by an open area that looked over the main pool on the Lido Deck. Some of the deck chairs were already taken, but many empty chairs were available. On the sides of the Lido Deck the tables & chairs that were under cover in the shade were almost all occupied. While walking on Deck 12 I looked over towards Pelican Island and saw the Battleship Texas in dry-dock. The Battleship Texas was towed to Galveston from LaPorte a few weeks prior to the cruise departure date for an extended dry-dock at Gulf Copper Galveston. The Battleship's next home after dry-dock has not been announced as of the time of writing this cruise review. I enjoyed seeing the Battleship Texas from the ship! The Carnival Breeze's WaterWorks is at the front area of the outside portion of Deck 12. The WaterWorks was not yet open, but crew members had the water running on the slides and splashpad on in preparation for opening. The Carnival Hub App showed 12pm was the official opening time for the WaterWorks on this day of the cruise. On the Carnival Breeze, the WaterWorks consisted of the Twister Waterslide, Drainpipe Waterslide, mini racing slides for children, and a splashpad. The entrance to the Twister Waterslide and Drainpipe waterslides was on Deck 15 and the landing to the slides is on Deck 12. Serenity Adults Only Retreat: The Carnival Breeze's Serenity Adults Only Retreat is located on Deck 15 at the front of the ship. Deck 15 is the highest deck on the Carnival Breeze. This area is for guests that are 21 and older only. A variety of different deck chairs and clamshell chairs were available in this area for guests to use. Carnival Breeze's Serenity also had a few hottubs. Below are some pictures of the Serenity Adults Only Retreat: At this time of the morning and given that most guests were not yet or elsewhere on the ship, the Serenity Adults Only Retreat was quiet. A few guests were already in some of the clamshell chairs, but almost all of the chairs were unoccupied. The Serenity Adults Only Retreat has a small bar area. There are two sides to the Serenity Adults Only Retreat on Deck 12. All of the pictures shown above were on one side. I walked to the other side which had a hottub, more deck chairs, and clamshells. I did not get take as many pictures of this side as other guests were walking up to use deck chairs.

Thank you! I'm glad you appreciate the close-up pictures. I agree, the Breeze is a great ship!!

Thank you! The Breeze is a great ship and hopefully you can try the ship out while it sails from Galveston. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Touring The Carnival Breeze: After eating lunch I was ready to walk around and see the Carnival Breeze. I went from the Lido Deck (10) up to Deck 12 at the very back of the ship. Looking behind the Carnival Breeze I was able to see Cruise Terminal #2, which did not have a cruise ship docked today. In the distance I was able to see Texas City behind Pelican Island. While walking along Deck 12 I alternated between looking out at the Galveston Island side of the ship and the Pelican Island side. The back section of deck 12 is where the Carnival Breeze's SportsSquare complex is located. SportsSquare on the Carnival Breeze includes the ship's basketball court, some outdoor fitness equipment, jogging track, mini golf course, ropes course, and several games tables (such as billiards and foosball). Below are some pictures of the Carnival Breeze's SportsSquare area. Above the Carnival Breeze's mini golf course is the ropes course. The entrance to the ropes course is located at the aft section of Deck 14 which can only be accessed via a stairwell right by the mini golf course. By the entrance to the ropes course on Deck 14, there are also some mini golf course holes and a chess board with giant game pieces. I will have pictures of Deck 14's part of SportsSquare in a later part of the review. In the middle of the mini golf course on Deck 12, there are bean bag toss (corn-hole) game boards as well as numerous seats. A bar area is also part of SportsSquare, but I never saw this bar open during the entire cruise and did not see an open time listed in the What's Happening daily newsletter or on the Carnival Hub App.

After looking at what was offered at the ship's main Lido buffet lines, I walked over to the dessert station. The Carnival Breeze's dessert station at lunch typically had 6 cakes to choose from, chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, and jello. Besides the dessert station, both sides of the buffet had ice cream and frozen yogurt machines. These machines could be found near the front of the buffet on both sides. Here are some pictures from the dessert line:

First Lunch on the Carnival Breeze: The Carnival Breeze's buffet is called the Lido Marketplace. The Lido Marketplace had four buffet lines open and two dessert stations. Outside of the Lido Marketplace by the main Lido pool is Guy's Burger Joint and the Blue Iguana Cantina. At the back of the Lido Deck by the aft Tides pool, the Pizzeria and Seafood Shack lines were open. In the middle of the front section of the Lido Marketplace is the Mongolian Wok and in the middle of the aft section is the Deli. I stopped to get some pictures of the food on the main Lido buffet line. Below are some pictures of the food on the first day's Lido Marketplace buffet line:

When we approached the seating area, a cruise terminal employee looked at our boarding pass and told us we could sit anywhere. There were designated sections for suite guests and special assistance. Due to the Covid-19 protocols there was not a Captain's Lounge for Platinum & Diamond guests. Faster to the Fun was also not offered for this cruise due to the Covid-19 protocols. I miss the Captain's Lounge and having priority boarding. Hopefully that will be back soon! While waiting in the cruise terminal I walked over to the windows to look down at the pier and look at the ship. Luggage & food provisions were being loaded. I could see the passenger gangway in the distance. It looked like guests were still getting off the previous cruise. Starting The Boarding Process: Around 10:30am a lady came over the cruise terminal loudspeaker to announce boarding was going to begin soon. The announcements included information about how the boarding process would work as well as what to expect once on the Carnival Breeze. The information was the exact same as my previous cruises on the Carnival Breeze in May 2022 & December 2021. Boarding the Carnival Breeze is based on zones which are assigned after online check-in is completed and based on arrival appointment times. Suite guests are first and have "Priority" printed on their boarding pass. After suite guests have been called, the next zone is A01 and subsequent zones (A02, A03, B01, etc.) board next. My zone number was A01 for this cruise. Before the boarding process was able to be started the cruise terminal staff asked that anyone standing in the main aisle clear the area. When guests did not move the lady announced she would not start boarding until it was clear. Most guests cleared except for a couple of difficult ones that needed a special invitation from another employee to move out of the way. When zone A01 was called over the cruise terminal loudspeaker I jumped up to get in line. An employee checked the zone number on the boarding pass to make sure no line cutting was occurring. To record boarding my picture was taken using one of Carnival's Smile & Go machines. The machines are fast and Carnival had multiple machines setup to expedite the process. After getting my picture taken we were directed up a long ramp that would lead to Cruise Terminal #1's gangway. Guests could stop and take a picture with Carnival's Pixels photography staff, but we passed due to wanting to get onboard. Finally Onboard The Carnival Breeze! After walking up the gangway we entered the Carnival Breeze on Deck 3 in the ship's atrium lobby. One side of the atrium lobby was blocked with a rope to direct guests towards the atrium bar. Crew members were standing around to answer questions and direct guests to their assigned muster station. I went to the front elevator/stairwell area. I typically take the stairs throughout the cruise, but since an elevator was waiting we decided to get inside. Each elevator in the front had an operator inside to help direct guests. We told the crew member we wanted to go to the Lido Deck and within 30 seconds we were stepping off the elevator onto the Carnival Breeze's Lido Deck (Deck 10). The ride up was quick! Once we were out of the elevator we walked across the Lido Deck level of the Carnival Breeze's atrium. Some SPA staff were trying to sell treatments in the atrium. After exiting the Lido Deck level of the atrium we were outside by the Carnival Breeze's Lido Deck Main Pool. Looking up I was able to see the SeaSide Theater which was used to show movies at various times throughout the cruise. Six rows of deck chairs were setup outside by the Lido main pool. This seems like fewer chairs compared to pre-Covid times. On the sides of the pool area are the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar and Red Frog Rum Bar. I continued walking towards the back of the deck to enter the Carnival Breeze's Lido Marketplace buffet.

INTRO: Information About This Cruise & Me: This was my 19th cruise and third time on the Carnival Breeze. I last cruised on the Carnival Breeze in May 2022. This cruise was September 22-26, 2022 and it departed from Galveston to Cozumel. I try to do the review in parts, by day. I took over 2,000 pictures and will try to include as many as possible of the ship, food, and ports. The review is on my personal cruise blog (no ads - just a hobby), which is also where you can find Daily What's Happening newsletters (former Fun-Times equivalent) and other scanned handouts from the cruise. I also captured the dining and bar menus shown on Carnival's Hub App and will be sharing these as well through the review. Here Is The Review, Photos, & Fun-Times: FULL REVIEW: http://www.embarkandaway.com/carnival-breeze-cruise-review-4-day-2022.html WHAT'S HAPPENING DAILY ACTIVITY NEWSLETTER: http://www.embarkandaway.com/carnival-breeze-4-day-2022-whats-happening-daily-activity-newsletter.html MAIN DINING ROOM MENUS: http://www.embarkandaway.com/carnival-breeze-2022-4-day-main-dining-room-menus.html VARIOUS BAR MENUS: http://www.embarkandaway.com/carnival-breeze-2022-review-bar-menus.html For those that do not want to click on external links, I will post the pictures from the review to Cruise Critic as I am going along adding them to my personal blog. Let's Get Started With The Posting Of The Review... (most is actually already written & posted to my blog so I will be able to copy & paste in portions to here to share with you all. It will take some time to copy & paste, but I will get it done as quick as I can) DAY 1 Thursday, September 22, 2022 Galveston, Texas Scheduled Departure: 3:30pm Waking Up Early To Start Cruise Day: I did not get much sleep the night before the cruise because I was very excited. My alarm was set for 4:45am, but since I was awake earlier I got out of bed to take a shower & finish packing. I was packed and ready to leave by about 5:20am, but since I did not want to leave too early I checked the Marine Traffic App on my phone to see the Carnival Breeze's location. The ship was a few miles from picking up the local Galveston pilot to come onboard to help the ship navigate the Galveston Harbor. At 5:45am we loaded the car and began our journey to Galveston! The drive to Galveston took about an hour & a half due to traffic along some spots on Beltway 8 and a couple of slow downs on I-45. Overall the drive down to Galveston was better than expected. As we approached Galveston I was able to see the Carnival Breeze's funnel from the Galveston Causeway, but due to being the driver I was unable to look around too much. After exiting I-45 for Harborside Drive we switched seats and I was able to take pictures of the ship from the passenger seat of the car. Below are some pictures I took as we made a pass by the Carnival Breeze on our way to McDonalds: Since we did not eat breakfast at home, we stopped at the McDonald's along Seawall Boulevard by Stewart Beach. I ate a very light breakfast due to only being a few hours away from eating tons on the ship. My breakfast for the day consisted of a Sausage McMuffin & half sweet half unsweet tea. It was good! After finishing up eating it was time to head back to the Port of Galveston to get parked. Parking At The Port of Galveston's Parking Garage & Arriving At The Cruise Terminal: For this cruise we parked in the Port of Galveston's Parking Garage. The parking garage is located across Harborside Drive from Cruise Terminal #1 and is very close to the crosswalk that cruisers can use to walk to Cruise Terminal #1 and #2. We chose to park in the Port of Galveston's garage due to the price offered at the time of searching for parking and proximity to the cruise terminal. Upon arriving at the parking garage we showed our parking confirmation to the garage attendant. He compared our reservation printout to a paper on his clipboard and then handed us a ticket to keep in the car's dash. We were allowed to park in any open spot, but were told that due to debarkation still place most departing guests had not yet picked up their cars. Finding a parking spot was actually very easy. We got a spot on the second floor that overlooked the Carnival Breeze. After parking, we took our suitcases out of the car and made sure the car was secure. I stopped and took a few picture of the Carnival Breeze from the parking garage. There is no shuttle service offered at the Port of Galveston's Parking Garage so all guests that choose to park here have to walk across the street. We wheeled our luggage out of the garage and crossed the street in order to line up at the crosswalk in order to cross Harborside Drive. It took a few minutes for the crosswalk signal to come, but the wait gave me an opportunity to take another picture of the ship. Once we got the signal to cross we were able to easily get across the street. Crossing through the cruise terminal's roadways was a bit more difficult due to cars & people everywhere. The Carnival Breeze was docked at Cruise Terminal #1. Our first stop at the cruise terminal was to take our luggage to a porter for check-in. There were two porters standing by the luggage entrance and we were able to give it to one of them very easily. Before taking our luggage we were reminded to make sure our passports and documentation was in carry-on and not in our bags that were getting checked in. After checking in our luggage we headed to the other end of the cruise terminal for check-in. The doors to the cruise terminal were not yet open. A cruise terminal employee was outside helping direct people that were arriving, but until the doors opened cruisers were stuck sitting on a bench or on the cement walkway. Right before the cruise terminal doors opened more employees came outside to help guests enter the building. Check-In Process: When the doors to the cruise terminal opened we were directed to an identification checkpoint. The lady checked our passport & boarding pass. This was quick and took less than a minute. Next we were directed to security. I had to empty my pockets and stuffed my camera bag with my phone, wallet, and the camera batteries I had in my shorts pocket. Going through security only took a few minutes and was a bit slow due to a limited number of lines being open. After going through security we were directed up an escalator to continue the check-in process. On the second floor of the cruise terminal we were directed to another check-in station. The lady working the desk asked if we did the Verifly app. Since we did the Verifly app we did not have to show our paper vaccine cards, but having this on hand was still required. The lady took my phone to look at the Verifly app to confirm it was completed. Next she took our passports & boarding passes. Each passport was scanned. Due to the lighting coming in from the window it took a little bit of time for the scanner to work right. Once everything was scanned and our boarding passes were stamped we were told to head to the seating area to wait for boarding.

Last year the December movies were a mix between Christmas & non-holiday. The movies for December 2021 were as follows: Free Guy Shang Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings The Suicide Squad Space Jam: A New Legacy Black Widow Snake Eyes:GI Joe Origins Cruella Fast and Furious 9 In the Heights Jungle Cruise Boss Baby: A Family Legacy The Grinch The Man Who Invented Christmas http://www.embarkandaway.com/general-cruise-blog/carnival-cruise-dive-in-movies-list

As of this morning (8/20/2022) the Carnival Hub App no longer shows the Carnival Luminosa or any sailing dates. Someone must have realized the dates were showing early.

In the Carnival Hub App if you are not logged in to any booking you can click the "Enter With Booking #" button and it will bring you to a screen with some fields. Leave the top ones blank and go down to "Ship Name" and select Carnival Luminosa. Then the "Sail Date" field will populate with dates. I do think there are some longer cruises. For example, the November 20, 2022 date does not have a date after it until December 1st which could be an 10-11 day cruise. It possible that Carnival hasn't imported all dates yet so that is why there are gaps, but otherwise that indicates favorably towards longer cruises being mixed in. For Fall 2023 - Spring 2024 I am seeing the following: September 7, 2023 October 2023 - 15, 22, 29, November 2023 - 2, 5, 12, 19, 30 December 2023 - 3, 10, 14, 17, 26 January 2024 - 3, 7, 14, 21, 28 February 2024 - 1, 4, 11, 18, 29 March 2024 - 3, 10, 14, 17, 24, 28 April 2024 - 1, 7 (nothing appears after April 7, 2024) Hope this helps!

I am now seeing in the Carnival Hub App dates for Carnival Luminosa from November 2022 - April 2024. Here are the dates showing on the app that look to be the first season from Brisbane, Australia: November 2022 - 6, 13, 20 December 2022 - 1, 4, 11, 15, 18, 26, 29 January 2023 - 5, 8, 15, 22, 29 February 2023 - 2, 5, 12, 19, March 2023 - 2, 5, 12, 19, 23, 26 April 2023 - 2, 9 (I'm guessing this could be a repositioning cruise as the next date is then May 4, 2023). This could still change as Carnival has not officially opened these cruises for booking.

It looks like Carnival is getting close to releasing Carnival Luminosa sailing itineraries/dates for bookings. The docking space is now reserved for Seattle sailings and a couple dates have appeared in the Carnival Hub App. The tentative cruise dates from Seattle are as follows: May 2023; 4, 11, 18, 25 June 2023: 1, 8, 15, 21, 28 July 2023: 6, 13, 20, 27 August 2023: 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 September 2023: 7, 14 http://www.embarkandaway.com/general-cruise-blog/carnival-luminosa-2023-alaska-cruises https://claalaska.com/?page_id=1250 (primary source of the above dates - includes other port docking calendars too) Most of the Seattle dates are departures on Thursday to sail what would be 7 night cruises. There is at least one 6 day and one 8 day mixed in. The Carnival Hub app currently shows November 6, 2022 and May 4, 2023 which could correspond to the first Brisbane date and then the first Alaska cruise from Seattle date. With docking space reserved and work starting to take place on the Carnival Hub App, hopefully it won't be too much longer before the Carnival Luminosa is open for bookings. I'm personally curious to see what work the ship gets (and does not get) since there will be a minimal amount of time for Carnival to make updates to the ship.

At the end of the pier, an agricultural inspection checkpoint was setup. People with bags, purses, or any type of item that could hold food were sent by local officials into an inspection line. Food sniffing dogs were present and each person had to set their bag on the floor. When food was found local officials confiscated it. I do not recommend attempting to bring food off the ship because you will very likely get caught! TIP: Do not attempt to bring food off the ship. You will likely get caught! After exiting the agricultural inspection checkpoint, I stopped by the Three Amigos to take some pictures of the ship. They had several different statues and things that made for great pictures. I walked through Puerta Maya to make a quick stop at a mini-beach area. Along the way I passed by many different shops and bars/restaurants. One place I passed by is the Mayan Fiesta shop. This place sells rum cakes and I stopped there on my way back to the ship later in the morning. More on this later in the review! The beach area at Puerta Maya has many chairs setup for people to lay outside and look at the nice blue water & ships. Please note - this beach is not one for swimming at all or even getting in the water! My plan for the morning was to leave Puerta Maya and cross the street to where more shops are located. As I walked towards the street within Puerta Maya I passed by the taxi pick-up area. Several taxis were waiting to take guests to various places on the island. Prices were based on the destination. At the exit to Puerta Maya, guests were gathered waiting to cross the street. There was a lot of traffic so crossing the street at this time was not easy. In the past there had been a crossing guard helping work this area. However, there was not a crossing guard present today so guests had to wait to cross the street. After a few minutes a large gap in vehicles occurred so everyone was able to safely cross.