thecruiserofships

Looking From The Front Observation Deck On Deck 9: After looking at my stateroom and cove 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. I was able to get a great view of the Carnival Vista, which was docked at cruise terminal #1. After looking outside I made a trip back to my stateroom. I started to unpack and looked out of the cove balcony more. Some announcements to remind guests to attend the self-mustering were made throughout the afternoon. Around 3pm our cruise director, Cookie, came over the PA to let guests know that the captain ordered all guests that had not yet completed the self-mustering process to attend. Cookie also used this time to go through safety information and the ship's general emergency alarm (7 short blasts & 1 long blast) was rang.

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. I really enjoyed being in a cove balcony stateroom. On Dream Class ships, the cove balconies are below the lifeboats and are the closest balconies to the water. My balcony consisted of two chairs and a very small table. The balcony door could be locked by crew members in the event of bad weather because the balcony dividers can be used as watertight storm doors to keep guests off their balconies in the event of bad weather. At the times the balcony floor was a little wet. On the first day of the cruise, my cove balcony gave a great view of the cruise terminal. The gangway was only a few feet from my balcony so I was able to look up and see people boarding the Carnival Breeze. I also had a great view of the forklifts used to load luggage onto the ship. Here are some pictures of my cove balcony and the view I had:

I stepped back outside on the Lanai and passed by Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ. This venue is complimentary and is open on Galveston day and sea days. I got a couple of pieces of sausage to try it. I ended up coming back on the last sea day for some greens and baked beans, but I will discuss that in Day 5's review. Here are a few pictures of the food at Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ: 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 Cove Balcony stateroom located on Deck 2. The stateroom was located in between the front and middle 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. On the stateroom's vanity a few flyers were waiting for us. One of the flyers was a Good To Know informational flyer about some onboard procedures. Another letter was a letter about how Carnival has crew members from Russia & Ukraine onboard and that the conflict is tough. Unfortunately, we also had a letter that let us know that our pre-cruise purchased internet plan was cancelled due to Wi-Fi issues. Wi-Fi was able to be purchased on a 24 hour basis at a daily rate.

Also at the back of Deck 5 is the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse and the Piano Bar 88. The Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse was open each evening and required reservations (not complimentary). Unfortunately, the crew were working inside so I was unable to get some good pictures of this venue. While at the back of deck 5 I walked by Piano Bar 88. The Carnival Breeze's Piano Bar 88 is located right along the Promenade walkway and has a large piano with seats around. At night the ship's piano bar entertainer will perform here. I did not go to the piano bar this cruise, but heard the performer was good. As I walked along Deck 5 I passed by Bonsai Sushi. This venue was not open for lunch on the first day, but was open for dinner each night of the cruise and open for lunch on sea-days. Each menu item is priced ala-carte meaning that you will pay a price for each item. After walking for a while I was thirsty and decided to go back up to the Lido Deck (Deck 10) for a drink. I got one cup of water and one cup of fruit punch. This was the first time since my first cruise in 2007 of seeing fruit punch served in the Lido. The fruit punch was very sweet, but tasted good. Each of the other days of the cruise only had lemonade available in the Lido Marketplace's drink machines. Due to the Lido Marketplace being too crowded and no tables for four available, I walked back down to Deck 5 to drink. I sat in the Ocean Plaza right next to the Alchemy Bar.

Continuing My Walk Around The Carnival Breeze: After completing the self-muster drill I went from Deck 3 to Deck 5. At the very back of Deck 5 is the Limelight Lounge. The Limelight Lounge is used for the Punchliner Comedy Club in the evenings and is also used to host smaller scale events such as karaoke. Below are some pictures of the Limelight Lounge:

Self-Mustering On The Carnival Breeze: After walking around on the Lanai on Deck 5, I remembered that I needed to complete the self-muster process. My muster station was "B4" which was the Deck 4 level of the Sapphire Restaurant. Crew members were standing at the entrance of the Sapphire Restaurant. We both showed our Sail & Sign Cards and they were scanned in order to log attendance at this mandatory drill. The crew members directed inside and asked us to walk the stairs down to the Deck 3 level of the Sapphire Restaurant in order to hear the safety information. 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. I like this new process better because the drill could be completed when I was ready to attend and since everyone could come when they were ready the muster station was not crowded. 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.

After walking around the Carnival Breeze's SPA and Fitness Center on Deck 12, I headed down to Deck 5 (Promenade). I walked from the front of the deck through the atrium. I was able to see the Deck 3 level of the atrium was packed with guests still boarding. There was a long line at guest services and the atrium bar was crowded. I didn't get any pictures of the atrium at this time because it was too packed, but I will many later in the review. I continued walking on Deck 5 and reached the 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. Walking Around The Lanai On Deck 5:The perimeter of Deck 5 has an outside area that wraps around the entire ship called the Lanai. On my previous cruises on the Carnival Dream and Carnival Breeze (these ships are in the same class) this outside Lanai area is one of my favorite areas to walk. The Lanai on the Carnival Breeze at the front was closed as this area is now for crew only. This closure was a surprise for me back when I cruised in December, but this time I fully expected it to be closed so I was not disappointed. Here are some pictures I took while walking around the back and sides of the Carnival Breeze's Lanai:

While on the Deck 14 level of the Cloud 9 SPA I walked into the Tepidarium. The room was muggy so I stuck my camera in long enough to get some pictures and then continued my walk. I then walked down to the Deck 12 level of the Cloud 9 SPA. At the front of Deck 12 is the Carnival Breeze's Fitness Center. The Fitness Center was packed with machines. No guests were using any of the machines at this time of embarkation day so I walked around and took some pictures:

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. This room was not on the Carnival Breeze's deck plan so it is almost like a secret room.

After checking out the mini golf course & ropes course I continued walking towards the front of Deck 12. I passed by the ship's Seaside Theater and looked down at the Lido pool on Deck 10. I walked by the Carnival WaterWorks on Deck 12 which was not yet open for the day. 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, clamshell chairs, and hammocks 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:

Touring The Carnival Breeze After Lunch: After eating lunch I was excited to take my first walk around the Carnival Breeze. I exited the Lido Marketplace at the back of Deck 10 and walked up to Deck 12. The weather outside was hot & sunny. At the back of Deck 12 is the Carnival Breeze's SportsSquare. I walked on the jogging track towards the front of the ship and passed by some outdoor exercise equipment and the basketball court. While I was outside an announcement was made that another test was going to be conducted. The abandon ship alarm rang again. When the alarm cut-off an announcement was made that all tests were completed and that any future alarms should be considered real. As I walked towards the front of the ship on Deck 12, I was able to look down at Cruise Terminal #2 below. After a short walk past the basketball court I came to the Carnival Breeze's mini golf course and ropes course. The mini golf course is located on two levels. The first level is on Deck 12 and the second level is Deck 14 which has an entrance right by the jogging track. The second level of the mini golf course is right the entrance to the ropes course. At this time, the ropes course was closed, but it would be open later.

My first stop for food was the Carnival Breeze's Deli. There was no wait at this time. I ordered a BLT and it was immediately made. The crew member working the Deli put some fries on my plate and I had my sandwich within 3-4 minutes. The abandon ship alarm went off again as part of a second test, but an announcement was made that this was only for testing purposes. The alarm was very loud. Also, an announcement was made that all of the elevators were going to be stopped as part a test. My BLT from the deli was good. The bacon inside was crispy and the lettuce & tomato were fresh. After eating the BLT I went back to the main buffet line to get some more food. I got a piece of pecan crusted fish which was very good! I also had some sort of pepper steak, broccoli, and roasted potatoes. I enjoyed all of these foods! After eating this plate I was ready for dessert so I stopped by the dessert station for some Funfetti Cheesecake. The cheesecake was just as good as always and I felt like the quality of the icing improved compared to my last cruise on the Carnival Breeze.

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. As a side note, sometimes I will refer to this buffet as the Lido Marketplace and other times may keep it simple by just calling this area the Lido Buffet. 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:

Finally Onboard Carnival Breeze, But A Few Minutes Later Abandon Ship Alarm! The process of boarding the Carnival Breeze was overall quick despite having to wait a few minutes on the gangway due to the wheelchairs being brought down to the terminal. We entered the ship on Deck 3 (Lobby Deck) in the ship's atrium. Crew members were directing everyone to the front elevator/stairwell area. Due to some crowding at the elevators and wanting to get some steps in, I decided to take the stairs from Deck 3 to Deck 10 (Lido Deck). On my walk up, I had finally gotten to Deck 9 and had just one more flight of stairs to go when all of a sudden a very loud continuous alarm went off, the low level lighting turned on, and all of the fire doors began closing. I recognized the alarm from seeing some documentaries on the Costa Concordia and this was the exact same alarm that was on the loud-speaker continuously as they had to board the lifeboats during that horrific tragedy. I made it up to Deck 10 (Lido Deck) and the fire-door at the elevator area into the ship's atrium was blocking the hallway. The crew member working the stairwell said the firedoor could not be opened due to the alarm and to stay put. I stood at the stairwell area for about 8 minutes and was texting other family members who said that Carnival temporarily halted boarding on the gangway when the alarm started. An announcement was made that the alarm was a test and there was no need for any evacuation. When the firewall kept not getting opened I went up to Deck 12 and walked outside to the back of the ship. Below are some pictures I took as I walked outside on my journey to the Lido Marketplace:

When the doors to the cruise terminal opened we were directed to a lady who was checking our Covid vaccine and test results. Since we completed the Verifly app, the lady looked at our app which sped up the process. The Verifly app was optional, but highly recommended by Carnival. Even though we did the Verifly App we still had to have our vaccine card and test results in-hand. Overall, I feel like the Verifly app was worth the pre-cruise work as it did save us a few minutes. 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. After security we were directed to a lady who checked our passport. Once this was done, we were directed to the escalator to the 2nd floor of the cruise terminal. On the 2nd floor we were told we could sit anywhere. I sat in the same place I did last cruise as I had a great view of the room. I walked around a little bit and took some pictures of the Carnival Breeze & pier below from the windows of the cruise terminal. Here are some pictures: Starting The Boarding Process: Around 10:15am 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. I partly tuned most of the announcement out because it has always felt like a sales pitch and was the exact same script as previous cruises. 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. There was no special Platinum & Diamond waiting area or boarding. This is due to Carnival's COVID procedures and has been this way since cruising re-started in summer 2021. Since I am Platinum I was able to select a check-in time 48 hours earlier than non-Platinum & Diamond guests. My zone number was A01 for this cruise. 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 to the gangway. On the gangway we had to to stop a few times to allow wheelchairs to be taken off the ship.

Information About This Cruise & Me: This was my 18th cruise and second time on the Carnival Breeze. I last cruised on the Carnival Breeze in December 2021 and since then the ship underwent a dry-dock in Spain. This cruise was May 14-19, 2022 and it departed from Galveston to Costa Maya and Cozumel. I try to do the review in parts, by day. I took over 3,800 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-2022.html WHAT'S HAPPENING DAILY ACTIVITY NEWSLETTER: http://www.embarkandaway.com/carnival-breeze-2022-whats-happening-daily-activity-newsletter.html MAIN DINING ROOM MENUS: http://www.embarkandaway.com/carnival-breeze-2022-main-dining-room-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. This is the way I have done several of my past cruise reviews pre-Covid so I will keep the same format! It also looks like Cruise Critic slightly changed how to add images so I am hoping this works out. Last time I did this by the end I had to stop due to some stressful deadlines at work and it being Christmas time, but this time I fully intend on finishing posting everything here. Day 1 - Galveston, TexasScheduled Departure: 3:30pm An Early Start To Cruise Day: After a night of not being able to sleep due to being too excited for the cruise I woke up around 3:30am. My alarm was set for 4:00am, but I went ahead and slowly got up and checked the Carnival Breeze's location on the Marine Traffic app. The ship was close to picking up the local Galveston pilot. Carnival notified everyone a few days prior to the cruise that construction was going to be taking place on I-45 and extra time for travel would be needed. Since Carnival wanted everyone to arrive early our arrival appointment times were brought forward by one hour. When I completed online check-in I selected 10:00am - 10:30am, but due to this change from Carnival my new arrival appointment time was 9:00am - 9:30am. After getting up I showered and finished packing a couple of things that I would need for the cruise. I looked at the Galveston webcams around 4:45am and saw the Carnival Breeze had turned around and was close to docking at Cruise Terminal 2. Due to the anticipated construction I left the house at 5:00am and started the drive to Galveston. The construction on I-45 did not occur as previously expected and we had no issues arriving in Galveston. We arrived around 6:15am and since we did not eat breakfast before leaving home we stopped at McDonald's on Seawall Blvd right by Stewart Beach. This McDonald's location has a great view of the beach. The sun was beginning to rise while we ate breakfast. I ate some hotcakes and was planning on getting tea, but they had none out in the lobby so I skipped getting some. Since we were too early to go to the cruise terminal, we parked along Seawall Blvd and walked about 2 miles for some pre-cruise exercise. Here are some pictures I took of the sunrise: Parking at EZ Cruise Parking & Arriving At The Cruise Terminal: We parked at EZ Cruise Parking again this cruise. I had pre-paid parking and selected the Park & Walk option. Choosing this option was cheaper as we would not be provided with shuttle service. Upon arrival at EZ Cruise Parking we showed our confirmation and were given a ticket to put in the dashboard. The check-in worker directed us to a lot that was located right by the Railroad Museum and told us to make sure to display the ticket. After parking, we took our luggage out of the trunk and walked to the cruise terminal. The walk took about 7 minutes which included time needed to cross Harborside Drive. The Carnival Breeze was docked at Cruise Terminal #2 and the Carnival Vista was docked at Cruise Terminal #1. We walked to cruise terminal #2 and found a porter outside the building. On some cruises it is easy to find a porter to give luggage, but this time there was only a couple of porters. Before taking our luggage we were reminded to make sure our passports, vaccine cards, test results, and other documentation was in carry-on and not in our bags that were getting checked in. After giving him our luggage we went to the entrance to line up to check in. Since the doors to the cruise terminal were not yet open the employees working outside directed us to sit on a bench. The workers outside were very friendly and chatted with everyone waiting.