dltvermont

Im kind of agreeing with getupgo. We are taking our kids on their first cruise in a couple weeks. Last year was OUR first cruise ever. They chose this cruise as they wanted to do the stingrays in Grand Cayman. We arent that cruise experienced and loved it last year and will this year as well, but if for some reason we werent able to make that stop in GC, it would be a huge disappointment for my kids and us as that is the main thing they are looking forward to.

 

Im sure none of you have ever had anything not go your way on all of your cruises? Maybe you didnt post about it and probably it didnt bother you all that much. Some people sail for the ships some people sail for the different ports. This port may have been important for the OP.

 

I realize that weather and conditions are no fault of the ship or crew but its still a disappointment when you cant stop somewhere you've been looking forward to for a year or more.

Oh you will love the Breeze. Oh yeah I will have this review done within a month [emoji2] I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of my review.

 

Guys Burgers, Blue Iguana Cantina, Lido buffet, Seaday Brunch, pizza, Cucina, and the Steakhouse were all wonderful. However I didn't like the new menus in the dining room for the American Table menu at dinner. Not enough choices and they took away many of the items that I enjoyed. But I definitely didn't go hungry on the cruise [emoji6] I'm sure you will find something that you enjoy

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Oh no, you cant take a month to finish this. We are on the Breeze in 17 days with the same itinerary and I need to see it all before we leave........get crackin and finish this thing!! haha

I cant answer your specific nearby beach question but last year in St Maarten we used Bernards Tours and had a great time. Saw both sides of the island (French & Dutch), stopped a couple hours at Orient Beach which was beautiful and then another stop at Maho Beach to see the planes come in. This along with scenic picture stops, lots of info during the tour and a stop in Marigot for shopping and french pastries at Sarafinas.

 

Tour had free beverages (alcoholic and non). If you do happen to look into it, request Mailman as your guide, did a great job for us.

Not to hijack this thread, but I will second Bernards in St Maarten. Did it last year and it was fantastic. Toured the island, stops for pictures, a few hours at Orient Beach and time to see some planes land at Maho. If you do this tour, ask for the Mailman as your tour guide. He was great.

Im watching this thread as well. We are on the Breeze in a month! Will actually be in a balcony just down the hall from where you are going to be.

 

My head is swimming with all the "research" Ive been doing. I'll forget most of it by the time we board probably!

We are going to be in Cozumel late this time around due to a concert so I hope to get some night pics of the ship. I wanted to in Aruba last year but got busy with other things and didnt want to get on and off the ship again to get stuff needed. (yeah, call me lazy that way)

 

I have a tripod but will also try the higher ISO. My DSLR isnt high end so not sure what my results will be!

Ive read, not experienced, that the shows arent as good on Carnival. The ones we saw on the Dawn were very good and all live.

 

We ate at the buffet most times as we just didnt want to bother with the MDR. Not five star food but we arent picky and it was good to us.

 

We really had no complaints with the Dawn but then again we were new and as I said with the food we arent that hard to please so take it for what its worth.

The Ultimate Drink Package will be the alcohol package. Drinks are expensive so you will get them included in that package.

 

OBC is on board credit which you can use toward drinks and other pay serviced on board.

I havent sailed both....YET. Last year we sailed our first time ever on the Dawn and in 40 days or so we board the CCL Breeze. I will say one thing about comparing. The Dawn is a "smaller" (still huge to me!) and older ship. We still loved it. It doesnt have all the water parks and slides etc that the bigger ships (the Dream, which I think is the sister to the Breeze?) have so it will depend on what you are looking for.

 

When we were preparing for our cruise last year, I read many reviews of the Dawn about how old it was, about it being in disrepair etc etc. We didnt see that but maybe being our first one, it was all just so amazing to us that we overlooked it. We had a great time.

 

Im sure you will get many more detailed responses but just wanted to put my 2 cents in.

65 to our FIRST Carnival cruise!

Tried a mock booking but cant because our deck isnt available....guess fare viewer is it!

Loving the review. We will be on the Breeze in April.

 

Last year we were in St Thomas and went to Coki as well at the suggestion of a friend who had been there a couple times. Its a great small "local" beach. Loved the clear water. How did your wife like all the fish swarming around to be fed? I had a blast with it, my wife wasnt so eager to be in the water with all the fish around her but I did convince her to try feeding them.

Just looked at the confirmation and in the fine print the bookings ARE linked so I guess we should be ok then. Thanks all for the responses!

Is there a way to tell on my booking if they are linked already? The guy I booked with knew the situation when I did it so wondering if he just linked them automatically.

I made mine with a rep so maybe its already done but maybe I should call him and make sure.

 

Thanks!

We have two booking numbers (two rooms, kids in other room) for our cruise in April. At what point do I need to do something to make sure we are assigned to the same table at dinner? Is it something I do ahead of time or when I get to the port?

I too recommend that Petersen book. I saw it recommended everywhere I looked when I first got my DSLR and went right out and got it....a great resource.

That was just the plain old camera lens! Im a photography newbie. Purchased the T3i to take on the cruise and practiced a little before we left. A friend had the same camera and told me he did the same (sports setting) with the planes at Maho so I decided not to chance missing it with my pictures and used it as well.

IMG_0891 by darron.tabor, on Flickr

I have to admit I cheated while at Maho last year. I didnt want to take the chance of totally missing the shot so used auto in the sports mode. They came out pretty good.

IMG_0756 by darron.tabor, on Flickr

Hmm, that didnt work....I did something wrong...

St Maarten, and the Dawn is a "smaller" ship!

 

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Im probably the last person that should be responding as we only went on our first cruise last year, second one coming up in April but.....

 

Unless you have a really bad time and hate it, I challlenge that you will not become hooked on it after your first...we had a blast!

 

The only other part of your question I can touch on is about Costa Maya. I havent been but it is on my bucket list. All I have read on here is that it is wonderful there. Someone on here did a review about going there just a few weeks ago and found a new spot which was free to access the beach area etc as slong as you ordered food from them which she reported wasnt that expensive. You should look her review up her handle on CC is mitsugirly and it was in the NCL forums. The place was called Blue Cay or something like that. Right next to Senor Frogs too for the extra libations! With your hours in port, that place you wouldnt have to pay an access fee for only a few hours.

 

Have a great time on your cruise!

[quote name='jimbo5544']Thanks for the nice words. When are you sailing the Breeze in April?[/quote]

April 19th out of Miami. Same itinerary you have here.