Froufie Breezes across the Atlantic - Nov 3, 2012

[happy trailer]

So much fun to re-live the cruise via your review!! You are such a sweetie :)

[Froufie]

 

Even some Tapas bars inside the market!

 

 

Back at the hotel by 10:30 am to check out and ordered a cab for 11 am to take us to the port. Little did I know how long it would take to get back downstairs. I didn’t anticipate how busy the hotel would be - so after stuffing my luggage and getting the drinks into my carryon I got myself and my luggage to the elevator only to stand there (with fellow roll caller Meredith) for about 20 minutes trying to get on the elevator - which was either full or didn’t even stop on our floor! Too many cruisers trying to leave at the same time and only one tiny elevator - not a good mix.

 

I eventually made it down there (11:10?) to find Ruth and the cab driver patiently waiting - loaded up and off the port - 11:30 am arrival and was in my cabin by 12:15? So I am Platinum and knew there was a VIP lounge and check in at the port - when I presented myself to the VIP personnel - they asked if I was in a suite (no) and then directed me to the ‘regular’ escalator and line (altho I was handed a zone 1) card. Why no VIP lounge I asked? Cuz we have too many VIPs - not my fault I respond - well that just blew them away? I was not happy - if you have a VIP lounge for platinum cruisers then they should be able to use it - seems like only suite guests (we have so many - again not my fault) were able to access the lounge.

 

Not to worry tho as once up the escalator I did find a ‘different’ line for platinum cruisers and it didn’t take long to be processed. With the zone 1 card I was able to go to the ‘front’ of the line and get thru (they were boarding zone 11 at the time). Pic taken and onto the ship and down to my cabin (yes I went thru the closed doors) to drop off my stuff - I did ask the room steward if it was okay (Picard from Haiti - we spoke french to each other!) and my cabin was ready so I dropped of my bottles/drinks, filled up the safe, grabbed my camera and off I went on a photo tour of the ship.

[Froufie]

So much fun to re-live the cruise via your review!! You are such a sweetie :)

 

HI HI HI! Miss you lots - wait til you read about all the stuff we did and the fun we had! - ha ha ha:D:D

Edited December 19, 2012 by Froufie

[Froufie]

I can only say I was very very impressed with the Breeze - Carnival truly outdid themselves with this ship. The decor is stunning and the design and flow excellent - no big bottlenecks or problem areas and even with a full ship it didn’t seem that crowded to me. I took pics from top to bottom (before the ship was filled with people) . Bumped into some roll callers along the way (gotta love those custom made t-shirts!) And said hello and stopped by the Tides Bar (deck 10 aft)where our unofficial ‘meet and greet’ was taking place before and after sailaway. Getting hungry so grabbed some lunch at the almost empty Cucina del Capitano (free pasta bar at lunch). Later on in the cruise the place becomes packed as more and more people discover it!

 

Here come the pictures!

 

Cabin 2212 - 1A porthole - my home away from home for the next 15 days!

 

 

 

 

The Atrium

 

Edited December 19, 2012 by Froufie

[happy trailer]

HI HI HI! Miss you lots - wait til you read about all the stuff we did and the fun we had! - ha ha ha:D:D

 

Mind frantically scrambling, wondering if I should be grateful that my DH never reads CC ...:p

[Froufie]

The coolest of cool - the wine vending machines in the Library!

 

 

 

They got this one right - finally a WALKWAY all along deck 4 alongside the dining room (except for the poor people who may have tables there?)

 

 

Lesser known and used 'computer hub' area on deck 4:

[Froufie]

The Thrill Theater (more about that later!)

 

Club O2

 

Back of deck 4 - we end up at the Blush (and the teatime meeting spot!)

 

 

Video arcade - tucked away - back of deck 4

[maryann2]

 

 

 

Is he giving you the finger LOL. Maybe he didn't want to be in your review.

 

Loving it froufie. Barcelona does look beautiful.

[Froufie]

One of my favorite spots - the Piano Bar:

 

 

 

Inside Liquid Nightclub:

 

 

[Froufie]

Is he giving you the finger LOL. Maybe he didn't want to be in your review.

 

Loving it froufie. Barcelona does look beautiful.

 

Hey Maryann - glad you found the review!

 

Actually our guide Enrique was excellent and as you can see he came prepared with 'visual aids' LOL. I loved Barcelona!

[Froufie]

 

 

 

Bonsai Sushi:

 

The 'screen"

 

Well look who's here - bumped into roll call buddies Deborah and JP also 'touring' the ship!

]

Edited December 19, 2012 by Froufie

[Backtosea]

Hello, my friends were on that cruise too!

[Froufie]

 

The Lanai outside Ocean Plaza deck 5

 

 

Seating inside Ocean Plaza

 

Bandstand area:

 

The Taste Bar:

[Froufie]

 

 

Casino/sports bar:

 

Time to go outside - now remember Lido is now on Deck 10!

 

 

[Froufie]

 

 

 

 

 

[Anung Un Rama]

Hi Froufie!!! So excited to hear about your TA! I was hoping you'd do a review for it.

I just booked a Sonny Liston tour for St. Thomas based on your Liberty review :D

[Froufie]

Take the stairs up at back of deck 10/Lido to find this (free pasta bar at lunch and $12 for dinner):

 

 

 

 

Lunchtime!

 

At 3 pm I stop by the cabin but alas no luggage yet - I leave a note to room steward re wine glasses, lots and lots more hangers please and why don’t I have that small table in front of my couch? (Very weird?).....and yes all requests were fulfilled promptly - including the appearance of a small table that evening!

 

Back to the Tides Bar where I now find some of our b2b cruisers - yes those lucky enuf to have done the med cruise before ours and were staying onboard for the TA - they were off touring BCN and were now back on board - so more hellos.

 

 

[Froufie]

Hi Froufie!!! So excited to hear about your TA! I was hoping you'd do a review for it.

I just booked a Sonny Liston tour for St. Thomas based on your Liberty review :D

 

Glad you are enjoying the review (took me a while to get it all set up and ready to go - you and Alicia beat me to it LOL).

 

Hope you enjoy your Sunny Liston tour! (tell him Froufie says hi!)....:)

Edited December 19, 2012 by Froufie

[Froufie]

Hello, my friends were on that cruise too!

 

Well I sure hope they had as good a time as I did! :D:D

[Froufie]

 

 

 

 

 

[Froufie]

 

 

 

 

 

[Froufie]

 

 

Some spa pics:

 

 

 

[Froufie]

Muster was held at 4:45 - in the Ovation theatre - pretty painless. Then back to my cabin to find LUGGAGE - so I am finally able to unpack and organize my ‘home’ for the next 15 days! I shower, change and immediately go to the casino where I promptly lose $50 (altho don’t feel bad for me - I had lots of fun playing with Carnival money as I boarded with a $500 OBC due to various price drops).

 

So one of the perks of a TA cruise - and bringing a new ship home is the excellent staff onboard. We were lucky to have the best of the best - John Heald and Calvyn (for most of the trip), Ken Byrne, excellent wait staff and entertainment - especially Ron Pass in the piano bar. Now I love the piano bar (yes I am a classically trained pianist) and for many years could not enjoy the music due to the smoking policy (being allergic to smoke and not being able to sit there for more than 15-20 mins)......so I was thrilled with the new no smoking policy in the piano bar - but the second requirement is of course a good entertainer - also hard to find. However having sailed with Ron Pass before I knew we were in for a treat - and I was not disappointed.

 

Furthermore on the TA (which I had not seen on other ships) Ron did a pre-dinner set (7:30 - 8:15 pm) and having late dinner seating I could be found most evenings at that time at a front and center seat at the piano bar. This is where I met fellow roll caller and Ron Pass fan Carolyn from San Diego - she was not that active on the roll call so I didn’t know her that well - but got to enjoy her company most evenings and she was such a nice person - even giving me a ‘sample’of her tiramisu martini on the first night!

 

 

 

Fellow roll caller Sue also showed up almost nightly to enjoy a drink with us as well - as we all had the late dinner seating. Yes that is a green drink she is 'enjoying'!

 

...and here is the 'bar' in Sue's cabin!

 

And Silviya, the EXCELLENT martini mistress at the bar was exceptional and would custom make martinis as per your ‘description. - she was lots of fun as was Alex her colleague at the bar.

 

 

So just like on “Cheers’ a ‘usual’crowd seemed to show up pre-dinner (I didn’t really go there after dinner altho I hear it was fun and quite ‘raunchy’ after midnight) and we all got to know each other and chat about our days and share cruises stories - but especially to enjoy Ron’s music - he did some really good stuff which I absolutely enjoyed (and yes sang along too). Thanks Ron!

 

Edited December 19, 2012 by Froufie

[Froufie]

Then off to dinner at 8:15 in the Blush dining room. Now on our roll call which as mentioned was a very active one - many participants had made plans to sit with each other - and link their dining times - I know there was at least one ‘late dining’ table and 3 tables of 8 for early dining. I am a friendly type and like to think I get along with most people but I was hesitant to make that dinner committment. My rationale was that yes I liked these people online and yes I was participating in many of the events - but did I also need to have dinner with them? And what if things didn’t work out? How awkward would it be to ‘switch’ tables if that happened (without offending anyone) - After all 15 days is a long time to be sitting with people you don’t feel comfortable with!

 

So I took the real’solo’ plunge asking to be put a large and fun table - with possibly other solo cruisers and I did get lucky! Seems I ended up at a Ken Byrne ‘groupie table’ - we were right at the front almost next to his podium - table of 10 - many of whom he knew by name and some of whom also did the Magic TA the previous year: Jackie and Gordon were the only married couple at our table (from Florida) then there was Lisa (Florida), Etta (Austria) and Rich (homeless and living on cruiseships... - only kidding recently retired and deciding what to do while cruising around) - they all seemed to know each other from previous cruises, then Debbie and Linda from Texas (friends cruising together - hubbies left at home), the me and 2 other solo ladies (who I hung out with a bit), Anne (quite entertaining british lady - previous embassy work - I swear she must have known James Bond or M or someone?), recently widowed, now living in France, and Ursula (originally from a small country in Africa), from London, also quite funny!

 

Ken of course stopped by every evening to chat with everyone - seemed to be aware of my and my ‘group’ as he asked me about it - I did mention cruise critic and our events (he wanted to join in our pub crawl!) and he did know some of the cruisers from previous years as well and where they were sitting in the dining room! It was kinda fun being at the VIP Ken Byrne table and I did get great pics and video of him singing. And of course our wait staff (Edi and the gang) were not too shabby either - we had excellent service at all times and couldn’t really complain about anything. No one every went hungry - even if some of the dishes were not to one’s liking.

 

The first evening I had the cured salmon, caesar salad, sweet and sour shrimp and diet orange cake - all very yummy - and I asked for lemon slices for my water and did find them on the table every evening along with getting decaf coffee after dinner - which was nice!

[nwcruiselover]

Froufie, I totally agree with the opening statement of your review, that this was the best cruise EVER EVER EVER! Your review and pictures are making it all come alive, and I sure miss everyone! Thanks for all your work in putting this together! Nancy