My Breeze Review 2/24 - FANTASTIC! [long]

[OntCruise]

Just as I was about to spread happiness and sunshine about Carnival I log in and see what happened to the Dream in St. Maarten! Oh well I’m still a Carnival fan and will continue to sail Carnival.

 

Here’s my review of our trip on the 6 day 2/24 sailing on the Carnival Breeze.

 

Our party included me and the hubby (both late 40’s) and our 3 children (ages 23, 21 and 17) plus the daughter’s boyfriend (24). We had 3 cabins on the 8th deck – two inside cabins for the kids (8338 and 8334) and a balcony for us (8370). This was our 7th cruise, 5th one with Carnival.

We flew in the night before to FLL and stayed at the Hilton Airport. Got a good rate on Hotwire but the hotel was Ok, not great. We took the hotel shuttle Saturday night down to the Publix to pick up some wine and snacks for the trip. It cost me $20 and the driver waited in the parking lot while we shopped. Hotel said it came with free wi/fi but no one could get it to work which was disappointing. SAS Transportation picked us up Sunday morning and drove us to the Port of Miami for $13 pp. We have used them in the past and they are reliable.

 

Now on to the best part – the Breeze!! I must temper my enthusiasm as I write this lest I be called a Carnival Cheerleader :) but this was by far our favourite cruise to date and here’s why:

 

THE SHIP - Carnival got it right with the design of this ship. It’s perfect. We loved everything about this ship. The design/decor is more subdued than the other ships. The cabins are awesome – sparkling clean, comfy beds and plenty of storage. The ship felt very spacious and we never felt like we were crowded. We loved deck 5 and all the additional seating options this ship has to offer. Ok so maybe the ship isn’t perfect ... the pools are still too small for that many people. We had hot weather so the pools were super busy all week.

 

THE CREW – Every single crew member we encountered was friendly and helpful. I read several reviews that said the Breeze staff was miserable but honestly we never encountered that even once. Butch was the cruise director and we have sailed with him previously on the Glory. Some love him, some hate him. We love him. He’s just so friendly and he obviously loves his job.

 

THE ENTERTAINMENT – We were a bit disappointed in the live shows. They have the right idea; the sets and lighting are great, costumes are great, choreography is great – but unfortunately the vocals were not so great. We went to every show and the Latin Nights was the best, but the others were not very good. They were good dancers...but singers not so much. The Hasbro game show was fun – we didn’t participate but those who did looked like they were having a blast. The love & marriage show was pretty funny – Butch does a great job keeping that entertaining. Comedians were good but they need to move those shows to the large theatre because the lounge at the back of the ship isn’t big enough and I will not wait in line for an hour to see a Comedian. Ron the piano guy was out with dental surgery until Thursday night so didn’t seem much of him. For us he didn’t live up to the hype – we found him kind of cheesy. Timmy Pierce filled in for Ron a few nights and was also in the Red Frog – we loved him. He was very good and very entertaining. Didn’t do the Punchliner brunch. They showed the Oscars on the big screen on the Sunday night which was pretty cool, but the movies the rest of the week were old so we never went again. Didn’t do the Thrillseeker Theatre either.

 

DINING - We had the late sitting in the Blush dining room and had awesome waiters! The maitre‘d who sings had a fabulous voice. We are THAT family who LOVES the dancing and the napkin swinging ....don’t judge us LOL. On our last cruise we did my time dining and missed most of that – for this reason we will always book the late seating.

 

THE FOOD – Admittedly we are not overly fussy people when it comes to food. We aren’t “foodies” and don’t cruise specifically for the food. Having said that we like to eat! All the food in the main dining room was awesome and hot. My husband commented that the food was the hottest he’s ever experienced in the main dining room (even the soup). The portion sizes in my opinion are perfect. They may be too small for some, but hey order more if you are still hungry. I would much rather clean my plate than waste food any day. A second lobster tail was offered on lobster night which was really appreciated and many in our party ordered multiple appetizers or entrees with no issues. Food in the buffet was fine. There are tons of options but we probably ate there the least on this cruise just because of all the other great food options. Omelette station was great and super fast. Husband had those dreaded scrambled eggs we all read about but said they didn't taste like powered eggs to him. Ok a word about those Guy’s Burgers. Are they really that good? YES THEY ARE!! Before this cruise I have never eaten a single burger on a cruise, but I had three of those suckers on this cruise. Everyone loved them and NO you don’t have to take the cheeseburger if you don’t want it. They make lots of those because they are the most popular, but if you want something else just ask. The Taco/Burrito bar was really good. Deli is always great (turkey on a country roll is my personal fav). Kids had sushi 3 times and they loved it (not my thing). Didn’t do the Steakhouse on this trip and also never made it to the Italian eatery even though we planned on it. The only long line up was the Mongolian Wok and it took my husband about 45 minutes to get his food but he said it was well worth the wait.

 

THE PORTS – Our first stop was Grand Turk. We had been there once before but last time it was a bit on the chilly side so we were very happy to have a beautiful beach day. The weather was just perfect. We did the beach and the pool at Margarittaville. My only complaint was leaving at 2:00 pm! That is just so wrong Carnival.

Our next stop was Ocho Rios. You have all read the negative stuff about Jamaica on these boards but I say judge for yourself. We were in Montego Bay last September and loved it and we loved Ocho Rios just as much. We took a taxi from the port to Dunns River Falls ($10 each return). When they drop you off they give you a meeting time and come back and pick you up. Entrance to the park is $20 pp. We have never done the Falls before but we told them we had and did it on our own. I am SO glad we did. We didn’t want to get stuck with a large group holding on to hands. Doing it on our own allowed us to go at our own pace and enjoy the climb without worrying about other people. Water shoes are a MUST – it was very slippery in certain parts even with water shoes. I myself wiped out in front of the observation deck with about 50 people with cameras so I’m pretty sure I’ll be on You-Tube or America’s Funniest Home Videos soon! Another thing to remember is GET THERE EARLY. We went directly to the Falls as soon as we docked and I’m so glad we did. When we exited the falls the line ups were huge. The beach at the falls is OK, but I wouldn’t stay there for the day. Daughters boyfriend was offered some weed by the jetski guy... but he politely declined :). When you exit the grounds you walk through a market and YES they are a bit aggressive but a simple “no thank you” will suffice. If you aren’t interested just keep walking! We met up with the taxi driver as planned but asked to be dropped off at Margarittaville instead of the port. We spent the rest of the day there and then walked back to the port when it was time to leave (about at 5 minute walk). It’s free to use the beach at Margarittaville as long as you are eating/drinking, which was no problem for us. The beach was nice but not great. It had a nice view of the ship but there is a shipyard next door which kind of takes away from the scenery but the sand was nice and the water was clean. No beach chairs to rent though which would have been nice. I am always amazed by people who say they would never step foot off the ship in Jamaica. Man you are missing out. It's a beautiful place and the people are very friendly.

Our last stop was Bahamas. We kind of have that “been there done that” attitude about Nassau. The weather was kind of cloudy and overcast but we decided to taxi over to Atlantis to show the daughter’s boyfriend the “free aquariums”. We quickly found out there are no longer any “free” aquariums to look at. We debated what to do and ended up paying the $69 day pass. Seems steep but it gave us access to all of the aquariums (including the “Digs”), access to the beach and lunch. It said we couldn’t use the pool/water facilities but we saw lots of people with the same wristband as us using the pools and the lazy river. The weather was warm, but not sunny so it didn’t really matter to us because we didn’t use the pools. We had a nice walk through the grounds, spent some time at the beach (huge waves) and then had lunch. My overall impression of Atlantis is that it is an amazing property but it feels a little worn down. The chairs are old and faded and the aquariums seemed a bit dark and dingy since last time we were there in 2009. The whole place looks like it could use a big facelift. After Atlantis we took a taxi back to Senior Frogs to waste a bit of time before leaving. Typical Senior Frogs - lots of very drunk people!

 

OTHER OBSERVATIONS - Serenity deck is very nice but chair hogging takes on a whole new meaning up there. We never had any trouble finding chairs anywhere else throughout the week. Waterslide park is awesome, but none of us used it. I was surprised how many kids were in the back pool. On the Valor the back pool is adults only....not on the Breeze and there were lots and lots of kids. Spa was nice but we didn't use that either.

Getting on the ship was very easy and hardly any wait. A past complaint of our family has been getting OFF the ship because it has always been a long and painful process (we do self assist). We were shocked when Butch started calling numbers at 6:50 am. We look our time, had breakfast and were off the ship by 9:30 am - way too early for our 2:00 pm flight out of FLL which ended up being delayed even further. That’s a long time to spend in an airport with crappy wi/fi. We used SAS Transportation again and had no issues with them other than trying to find them when we got out of the cruise terminal. They sent a mini bus this time and we were looking for a van. The whole time it was right in front of our faces... duh!

 

Overall this was a fantastic cruise. We got lucky and had really good weather which didn't hurt. Everyone had a great time and we left wanting to immediately book another one which is always a good sign. We really liked the Breeze and will probably book the 8 day itinerary next. Six days wasn't enough to experience this ship and all it has to offer.

 

Sorry this is so long. Hopefully this helps anyone who is considering the Breeze .. if you have any specific questions ask away!

[Briitini]

I'm doing the same cruise April 21st. Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!

[taszmom]

Thanks for the review. We are booked on 6/16 6 day sailing. Even though we've been on CCL many times and have done all these ports, I wanted to check out this new puppy. Yes we are hearing that it is almost impossible to get in to the Punchliner so I am wondering what, if anything, CCL will do about it. MY biggest concern is the negative posts about how the quality of the food has gone down. By adding low-end food options (tacos, burgers pizza) and charging for higher quality (steak & sushi), I am just hoping that the food in the MDR remains to be the quality that I have always experienced.

 

Can you confirm that they are no longer have the reggae band playing poolside? Do they have any music playing?

[ISC]

I'm doing the same cruise April 21st. Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!

 

I am going to be on the Breeze April 21st too, can't wait.

[OntCruise]

Thanks for the review. We are booked on 6/16 6 day sailing. Even though we've been on CCL many times and have done all these ports, I wanted to check out this new puppy. Yes we are hearing that it is almost impossible to get in to the Punchliner so I am wondering what, if anything, CCL will do about it. MY biggest concern is the negative posts about how the quality of the food has gone down. By adding low-end food options (tacos, burgers pizza) and charging for higher quality (steak & sushi), I am just hoping that the food in the MDR remains to be the quality that I have always experienced.

 

Can you confirm that they are no longer have the reggae band playing poolside? Do they have any music playing?

 

We didn't do Punchliner so can't comment on that. I though the food was excellent on the Breeze. We liked having options - if you want a big lunch you can do the buffet, Italian place or the main dining room. If you want something light, then a taco, pizza or burgers are great.

 

We like the MDR food enough that we don't feel like we have to go to the steakhouse (although it was pretty terrific on the Valor). My kids LOVE sushi so they were willing to pay for it. It was pretty cheap though. My daughter had take out one day and got 8 roles for $4.

 

There is no Reggae band poolside but they did have a DJ and Timmy Pierce and the other guy also played at the pool side tequila bar and Red Frog (just a single guy playing with a guitar).

[S0ccerm0m3]

You mentioned that they were showing old movies. What were they showing?

Getting ready to cruise the end of the month.

Thanks!

[JaniceB]

Thanks for your review. I totally agree with you that the chair hogging on the Serenity is bad and that the pools are too small other than that I loved the Breeze, too.

 

Enjoyed your review.

[SUSIEK]

We are also sailing April 21.... soooo excited! Thanks for your review.

[lbfluffy]

Thanks for the review. We are going November 9th.

[Briitini]

I am going to be on the Breeze April 21st too, can't wait.

 

Come join our roll call if you haven't already !!!!!!!!

[KPfromCT]

Thank you!!!!:D We are on her April 13th for the 8 day Eastern Itinerary, and cannot WAIT!!!!! Did you do the BBQ on deck 5? Did you try the Sea Dogs weenie cart? lol Share more!!!! lol I cannot get enough details, especially after this somewhat depressing day with the Dream and her issues. Loved your review. Thanks again for sharing!!!!

[primadonut]

April 21st here as well, thanks for a great review!

[lhuggi1]

Also on the April 21st sailing. Woohoo !!!

[alrichards4003]

I'm on April 27th, can't wait.

[OntCruise]

Thank you!!!!:D We are on her April 13th for the 8 day Eastern Itinerary, and cannot WAIT!!!!! Did you do the BBQ on deck 5? Did you try the Sea Dogs weenie cart? lol Share more!!!! lol I cannot get enough details, especially after this somewhat depressing day with the Dream and her issues. Loved your review. Thanks again for sharing!!!!

 

I really need to go again cause we didn't do the BBQ or the hotdogs!! So much food so little time.

[green eyed lady]

April 21st :D :) :D

[J&E07]

Lots of April 21st cruisers - I can't wait! :D Thanks for sharing your review!

[rhcpchika1]

Thanks for the review- Nov 9 can't come soon enough!

[OntCruise]

You mentioned that they were showing old movies. What were they showing?

Getting ready to cruise the end of the month.

Thanks!

 

This was the Dive In Movie Theatre schedule we had:

 

Sunday - they broadcast the Oscars

Monday - 50 First Dates and Sweet Home Alabama

Tuesday - The Brave and Big Miracle

Wednesday - Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol

Thursday - Tower Heist and J Edgar

Friday - Remember the Titans and A League of their Own

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!