Carnival Breeze Review - 4/27-5/5

[Fredric22]

To start off the review, let me give a little background about my cruising experience. I have been on 30+ cruises on all of the major cruise lines including Carnival, RCCL, Princess, NCL, HAL, Celebrity, and Costa. It is my opinion that there are more similarities between all of these main stream cruise lines than there are differences. Some may disagree with that statement, but after experiencing all of these lines numerous times that is my opinion.

 

The last Carnival cruise I went on was the Carnival Pride about 18 months ago. Since then I have read a lot of posts here on CC about how Carnival has implemented numerous cutbacks. From reading these posts I would have expected to find my 12th Carnival cruise to be a mere shadow of what Carnival was last year. That was simply not the case. Sure, there have been changes that were implemented and some things were taken away and others were added. Things change and I am perfectly comfortable adapting to changes that cruise lines make (every cruise lines makes them) as long as I still manage to have a good time and receive a good value.

 

I will separate this review into categories to organize my opinions better.

 

The ship:

The Carnival Breeze is definitely very pleasing to the eye. The colors are soft and bright and give off a very Caribbean vibe. I don’t mind the more elaborate decor on Carnival’s older ships but this was a welcomed change. After just coming off the new Celebrity Reflection, I can say that Carnival’s decor is definitely not as modern and upscale as Celebrity but I thought it was still very nice. One thing I will note is that the very light colors used (on carpets, drapes, etc.) do seem to be getting a bit dirty rather quickly. I suppose that is one drawback of the bright color scheme.

 

Let’s talk about crowing for a moment. It could be that this sailing was an anomaly. However, crowing was a non-issue. In fact, this ship scattered guests better than any ship I have been on before. There were always seats available at the pools, including Serenity. On sea days, a great alternative to Lido was the Lanai. There are so many lounge chairs along the deck 5 promenade area. In the evening, getting seats in the shows was easy. The comedy club did fill up pretty fast but arriving 15 minutes early was usually enough to get a seat. I really cannot understand the comments I have read about crowding. Perhaps it is worse during school breaks?

 

 

Entertainment:

Shows: After reading numerous reviews about Playlist Productions I was ready to be pretty disappointed by the main shows. This was not the case at all. The Diva’s production was simply the best show I have seen in my 30+ cruises. Yes, the scenery has been replaced by super modern LED screens. I am not sure why this is a bad thing. Go to any concert and you will find these same types of sets and lighting. It is obvious Carnival is trying to get it shows propelled into this decade. The shows were a lot like watching concerts. Gone are the cheesy dances, bad singers, and plot-less dialogue. The talent in the show was very high. There was one male singer who was excellent. During the shows, people were dancing, clapping and giving standing ovations. After the show was over I overheard numerous people tell the cruise director at the back of the theater how great the show was. Of course, this is a subjective topic however in my opinion Carnival did the right thing to bring some new life into their otherwise pretty mundane production show experience. Also, I should note that on this 8 night cruise, 7 of those nights had a production show or headline act (hypnotist, variety show, ventriloquist). The only night that did not was the night we were in Curacao which Hasbro the Game Show was considered the main showroom entertainment.

 

 

Lounge entertainment: Once again, after reading numerous reviews about cutbacks in singers and bands around the ship I expected to find the lounge entertainment scarce. This could not be further from the truth. The party band (Love Souljaz) was awesome! The lead singer, Consuela was the best lounge singer I have ever heard. She may have actually been the best singer I have ever heard live. She received standing ovations after every set she sang in Ocean Plaza. In fact, she packed Ocean Plaza each night she played and it was nearly impossible to get a seat to listen to her.

 

Ron Pass at the piano bar was also very good. Each night he put on a great little show and packed the bar.

 

There was a Latin band that played in the atrium nightly. I am not much of a fan of that kind of music but there were plenty of people dancing and watching when I walked through the atrium.

 

There were also several guitar players and singers who played in the Red Frog Pub and up on Lido. They were all very talented and pleasing to listen to.

 

The DJ by the pool was great. Go to any modern and hip hotel in South Beach or Las Vegas and you will find DJs by the pool. I understand that some people really like the steel drum bands. However, this is another change in which Carnival has implemented in conjunction with the rest of the hotel industry. Carnival is catering to the younger (and young at heart) guests who enjoy that kind of hip pool environment. Perhaps as an alternative to make everyone happy Carnival could put a steel drum player at the aft lido pool. I can say though I saw people dancing whenever the DJ was playing, especially during sail away. It really provided for a fun environment.

 

HASBRO the Game Show was very cute. It was a nice change from the usual audience participation shows. They have the game show three times, but to be honest seeing it twice was enough. I think perhaps they could spend a bit more time actually playing the games than choosing who goes up on stage.

 

Carnival continues to provide quality comedians. On this trip we had 3 (one missed his flight). They were all very funny. This is something Carnival does better than any other cruise line I have been on. Having just been on Celebrity Reflection I can tell you they had one comedy show on a 7 day cruise.

 

The deck parties were a lot of fun. The two deck parties that were held packed the entire lido deck. This is also something Carnival does better than any other cruise line I have been on.

 

Food:

Dining Room: The dinners in the main dining room were very good. The quality has stayed about the same. Service in the dining room was prompt and attentive. I will say that I hope they change the menus a bit soon. After being on so many Carnival cruises the menu is getting a bit monotonous. But nonetheless, I enjoyed all of my meals. I will say Carnival continues to have the best desserts in the industry. Other cruise lines should try and copy some of Carnival’s recipes because they really beat their competition on this one.

 

Comedy brunch: This brunch is the opposite of a cut back. Filet mignon offered at brunch in the main dining room? I was very surprised and happy to see that. And it was delicious. The brunch menu is great and has a lot of new and interesting choices. I was expecting for the comedy portion to be a bit odd but it was actually pretty fun! Maybe it was just because we had a good comedian doing it, but he had the whole place laughing.

 

Steak House: This is one of the best specialty restaurants. I rate Carnival’s Steakhouse and HAL’s Pinnacle Grille at the top of the list for specialty restaurants. NCL’s Le Bistro doesn’t fall far behind. At $35 it is well worth the price for a dinner that will cost you well over $100 per person at any well known steakhouse in NYC.

 

La Cucina del Capitano: Our dinner here was very good. The decor is really unique and provides a great, low key and quiet atmosphere. The food was very good. I had the strip steak which I really enjoyed. The Tiramisu for dessert was amazing!

 

Pizza Pirate: I am from Brooklyn, NY and to say I grew up eating good pizza is an understatement. The new pizza on Carnival is awesome! It is an upgrade not a cutback. If you like the thick, cakey dough of Pizza Hut and Dominos you will probably be disappointed. But if you like a good, thin crust pizza cooked perfectly and fresh to order than you will love it. I was surprised to see that the prosciutto which goes on the prosciutto pizza was sliced fresh by the cook for each pie.

 

SPA:

The Spa was beautiful and because we had a spa cabin we visited it quite frequently. I was so surprised to see how underused the whole facility was. It was almost always nearly empty! It was a very nice surprise considering how crowded I thought the ship was going to be.

 

Drinks:

I purchased the “CHEERS!” program and it worked out pretty well. I probably came out about $50 ahead for the week. It was definitely nice being able to order whatever I wanted to without worrying about the charges adding up. Also, the drink waiters/waitresses were extremely attentive in almost every lounge/bar. I even tipped many of them extra for going above and beyond in terms of their service and friendliness.

 

Overall, this was a great cruise. Although there are some things Carnival can improve a bit on, they still deliver a very enjoyable experience at a great value. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask!

[silverlining300]

Can you tell us what you did in the ports? Did you have a good time?

[Noel182002]

sounds like a great trip!!!!

[sonicbuffalo]

Thanks for the review....we enjoyed the Breeze too.....check out our review if you get a chance with lots of pictures.

[Fredric22]

In Grand Turk we just got off of the ship and went to the beach for a few hours.

 

In La Romana we booked a private excursion through Seavis. The tour consisted of a short taxi ride to a marina area where we boarded boats which took us on a tour of the coast and then to a small island where we were served lunch. The tour finished with a dip off the side of the boat in a shallow area filled with star fish. It was a really nice excursion.

 

In Curacao we booked a "party bus" tour through Irie. The bus was fun and had plenty of beer and soft drinks. The guide (driver) took us around the island and then gave us about an hour at Mambo beach. It was a fun and informative tour and a real bargain for $20.

 

In Aruba, we booked the off roading excursion through Carnival. The tour consists of riding in the back of jeeps that hold about 6 people total. The guides took us to some caves and then to a natural salt water pool located on one of the rocky beaches in the island. The scenery was gorgeous. The actual jeep tour was very bumpy (bring the Bonine if you get motion sickness). It was fun to do once, but it is probably not a tour I would repeat again.

[KEG0722]

I was also on this cruise and it was an awesome time!

[MsMot]

Thank you so much for your review. I really like how you compared Carnival's brand to other lines. Now if Carnival will just publish their 2014 itineraries for pete's sake so I can go on the Breeze too:mad:.

[mississauga]

To start off the review, let me give a little background about my cruising experience. I have been on 30+ cruises on all of the major cruise lines including Carnival, RCCL, Princess, NCL, HAL, Celebrity, and Costa. It is my opinion that there are more similarities between all of these main stream cruise lines than there are differences. Some may disagree with that statement, but after experiencing all of these lines numerous times that is my opinion.

 

The last Carnival cruise I went on was the Carnival Pride about 18 months ago. Since then I have read a lot of posts here on CC about how Carnival has implemented numerous cutbacks. From reading these posts I would have expected to find my 12th Carnival cruise to be a mere shadow of what Carnival was last year. That was simply not the case. Sure, there have been changes that were implemented and some things were taken away and others were added. Things change and I am perfectly comfortable adapting to changes that cruise lines make (every cruise lines makes them) as long as I still manage to have a good time and receive a good value.

 

I will separate this review into categories to organize my opinions better.

 

The ship:

The Carnival Breeze is definitely very pleasing to the eye. The colors are soft and bright and give off a very Caribbean vibe. I don’t mind the more elaborate decor on Carnival’s older ships but this was a welcomed change. After just coming off the new Celebrity Reflection, I can say that Carnival’s decor is definitely not as modern and upscale as Celebrity but I thought it was still very nice. One thing I will note is that the very light colors used (on carpets, drapes, etc.) do seem to be getting a bit dirty rather quickly. I suppose that is one drawback of the bright color scheme.

 

Let’s talk about crowing for a moment. It could be that this sailing was an anomaly. However, crowing was a non-issue. In fact, this ship scattered guests better than any ship I have been on before. There were always seats available at the pools, including Serenity. On sea days, a great alternative to Lido was the Lanai. There are so many lounge chairs along the deck 5 promenade area. In the evening, getting seats in the shows was easy. The comedy club did fill up pretty fast but arriving 15 minutes early was usually enough to get a seat. I really cannot understand the comments I have read about crowding. Perhaps it is worse during school breaks?

 

 

Entertainment:

Shows: After reading numerous reviews about Playlist Productions I was ready to be pretty disappointed by the main shows. This was not the case at all. The Diva’s production was simply the best show I have seen in my 30+ cruises. Yes, the scenery has been replaced by super modern LED screens. I am not sure why this is a bad thing. Go to any concert and you will find these same types of sets and lighting. It is obvious Carnival is trying to get it shows propelled into this decade. The shows were a lot like watching concerts. Gone are the cheesy dances, bad singers, and plot-less dialogue. The talent in the show was very high. There was one male singer who was excellent. During the shows, people were dancing, clapping and giving standing ovations. After the show was over I overheard numerous people tell the cruise director at the back of the theater how great the show was. Of course, this is a subjective topic however in my opinion Carnival did the right thing to bring some new life into their otherwise pretty mundane production show experience. Also, I should note that on this 8 night cruise, 7 of those nights had a production show or headline act (hypnotist, variety show, ventriloquist). The only night that did not was the night we were in Curacao which Hasbro the Game Show was considered the main showroom entertainment.

 

 

Lounge entertainment: Once again, after reading numerous reviews about cutbacks in singers and bands around the ship I expected to find the lounge entertainment scarce. This could not be further from the truth. The party band (Love Souljaz) was awesome! The lead singer, Consuela was the best lounge singer I have ever heard. She may have actually been the best singer I have ever heard live. She received standing ovations after every set she sang in Ocean Plaza. In fact, she packed Ocean Plaza each night she played and it was nearly impossible to get a seat to listen to her.

 

Ron Pass at the piano bar was also very good. Each night he put on a great little show and packed the bar.

 

There was a Latin band that played in the atrium nightly. I am not much of a fan of that kind of music but there were plenty of people dancing and watching when I walked through the atrium.

 

There were also several guitar players and singers who played in the Red Frog Pub and up on Lido. They were all very talented and pleasing to listen to.

 

The DJ by the pool was great. Go to any modern and hip hotel in South Beach or Las Vegas and you will find DJs by the pool. I understand that some people really like the steel drum bands. However, this is another change in which Carnival has implemented in conjunction with the rest of the hotel industry. Carnival is catering to the younger (and young at heart) guests who enjoy that kind of hip pool environment. Perhaps as an alternative to make everyone happy Carnival could put a steel drum player at the aft lido pool. I can say though I saw people dancing whenever the DJ was playing, especially during sail away. It really provided for a fun environment.

 

HASBRO the Game Show was very cute. It was a nice change from the usual audience participation shows. They have the game show three times, but to be honest seeing it twice was enough. I think perhaps they could spend a bit more time actually playing the games than choosing who goes up on stage.

 

Carnival continues to provide quality comedians. On this trip we had 3 (one missed his flight). They were all very funny. This is something Carnival does better than any other cruise line I have been on. Having just been on Celebrity Reflection I can tell you they had one comedy show on a 7 day cruise.

 

The deck parties were a lot of fun. The two deck parties that were held packed the entire lido deck. This is also something Carnival does better than any other cruise line I have been on.

 

Food:

Dining Room: The dinners in the main dining room were very good. The quality has stayed about the same. Service in the dining room was prompt and attentive. I will say that I hope they change the menus a bit soon. After being on so many Carnival cruises the menu is getting a bit monotonous. But nonetheless, I enjoyed all of my meals. I will say Carnival continues to have the best desserts in the industry. Other cruise lines should try and copy some of Carnival’s recipes because they really beat their competition on this one.

 

Comedy brunch: This brunch is the opposite of a cut back. Filet mignon offered at brunch in the main dining room? I was very surprised and happy to see that. And it was delicious. The brunch menu is great and has a lot of new and interesting choices. I was expecting for the comedy portion to be a bit odd but it was actually pretty fun! Maybe it was just because we had a good comedian doing it, but he had the whole place laughing.

 

Steak House: This is one of the best specialty restaurants. I rate Carnival’s Steakhouse and HAL’s Pinnacle Grille at the top of the list for specialty restaurants. NCL’s Le Bistro doesn’t fall far behind. At $35 it is well worth the price for a dinner that will cost you well over $100 per person at any well known steakhouse in NYC.

 

La Cucina del Capitano: Our dinner here was very good. The decor is really unique and provides a great, low key and quiet atmosphere. The food was very good. I had the strip steak which I really enjoyed. The Tiramisu for dessert was amazing!

 

Pizza Pirate: I am from Brooklyn, NY and to say I grew up eating good pizza is an understatement. The new pizza on Carnival is awesome! It is an upgrade not a cutback. If you like the thick, cakey dough of Pizza Hut and Dominos you will probably be disappointed. But if you like a good, thin crust pizza cooked perfectly and fresh to order than you will love it. I was surprised to see that the prosciutto which goes on the prosciutto pizza was sliced fresh by the cook for each pie.

 

SPA:

The Spa was beautiful and because we had a spa cabin we visited it quite frequently. I was so surprised to see how underused the whole facility was. It was almost always nearly empty! It was a very nice surprise considering how crowded I thought the ship was going to be.

 

Drinks:

I purchased the “CHEERS!” program and it worked out pretty well. I probably came out about $50 ahead for the week. It was definitely nice being able to order whatever I wanted to without worrying about the charges adding up. Also, the drink waiters/waitresses were extremely attentive in almost every lounge/bar. I even tipped many of them extra for going above and beyond in terms of their service and friendliness.

 

Overall, this was a great cruise. Although there are some things Carnival can improve a bit on, they still deliver a very enjoyable experience at a great value. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask!

 

Agree with you 100%. We have also been on the Breeze and it's now our favorite ship.

[FizzikalJ]

Thanks for the review! I have also seen alot of the negative reviews, and was a little skeptical. We leave to go on the Breeze in 13 days, so i am very happy to read this review! I will also be providing a review once we return!

[ciera123]

Refreshing to hear all the good things about your cruise, thanks!!! We're on the Breeze May 25and are more excited than ever after reading your review! :)

[lbfluffy]

Thank you for the review. We are going in November. Can't wait.

[chipq]

Thanks for sharing your Breeze insights; very helpful.

[Strmwatch]

My GF and I have a deck 11 Spa Balcony Cabin for our September sailing.

 

Any chance you have some pictures of the balcony? I'm wondering how private it is since I actually enjoy sleeping out there while in transit due to it being so peaceful.

 

I read that the balcony roof on the deck 12 cabins didn't have a roof and people on the decks above could look straight down on to your balcony...that's why we chose deck 11.

[Fredric22]

My GF and I have a deck 11 Spa Balcony Cabin for our September sailing.

 

Any chance you have some pictures of the balcony? I'm wondering how private it is since I actually enjoy sleeping out there while in transit due to it being so peaceful.

 

I read that the balcony roof on the deck 12 cabins didn't have a roof and people on the decks above could look straight down on to your balcony...that's why we chose deck 11.

 

Unfortunately we had a spa inside, so I cannot comment about the balconies on Deck 11. I would assume however that they are private since there is another deck of balconies directly above on deck 12.

[margob111]

I'm also on the Breeze in 12 days and looking forward to it. Thanks for the review.

[quiltsnh]

We too were on this sailing with 20 of our friends. I agree with everything the OP said.... We are used to sailing on RCCL but the ports of call were a real call for us. As a TA I have sailed on Carnival before along with RCCL and Princess. I found the ship to be super clean, a wide variety of food options and the entertainment to be good and varied. I also had heard about cutbacks but did not see any evidence of it. Lots of live entertainment. We had a cabin on the Lido deck and it will be hard to return to a lower deck it is so close to everything. We ate dinner in the DR 3 times and went to Cucina 2 times for dinner and once for lunch and ate in the Marketplace the rest of the time. We loved the breakfast burritos! In port we spent the day the beach in GT, In the DR we also went with Seavis which is class act and we loved our day. In Curacao we just got off the ship and walked for a couple hours.... In Aruba we had a fun day on the Kuka Kanuba bus! All in all we found the staff to be hard working always cleaning and most accommodating. We spent most of time at the AFT pool as it was more quiet. Spent some time in the Serenity area as well. While some in my party prefer RCCL I would sail again on Breeze in a minute. Also I was impressed with the embarkation process very smooth no crowded lines! Speaking of lines I think the ship is laid out well to avoid having people always waiting in line.

[looneyric]

Unfortunately we had a spa inside, so I cannot comment about the balconies on Deck 11. I would assume however that they are private since there is another deck of balconies directly above on deck 12.

 

How did you like the inside cabin? Were you on deck 11 or 12? We just booked spa inside (12008) for January 2014 Breeze sailing. Went on Breeze Jan 2013 and had aft wrap. However, I was looking for value this time and couldn't pass up price on this one for the 6 day to Key West and Bahamas. This will be our first inside and my wife is a little leery of it. Thanks.

[jackiesue121]

Thanks for the review!

We are on the Breeze in June. Can you tell me which nights the deck parties were and if there were themes?

Thanks!

[Fredric22]

How did you like the inside cabin? Were you on deck 11 or 12? We just booked spa inside (12008) for January 2014 Breeze sailing. Went on Breeze Jan 2013 and had aft wrap. However, I was looking for value this time and couldn't pass up price on this one for the 6 day to Key West and Bahamas. This will be our first inside and my wife is a little leery of it. Thanks.

 

I thought the inside cabin was fine. I did miss having the natural light in the cabin to wake up to, however. But it honestly did not affect how much I enjoyed the vacation. I know some people really have a hard time without having a window and others don't. For me, since I am rarely in the room it isn't a big deal at all. There was also plenty of storage for our 8 night cruise, so I am sure it will be more than enough for 6 nights.

 

As for the deck parties, they had two on our sailing. One was the Red From Rum Bar Party and the other was the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar party. I believe they had a Mexican theme, but it was a very loose theme. The cruise staff were there to teach line dances and then the DJ took over for the rest of the time. Both deck parties were very well attended and it looked like people were having a good time.

[looneyric]

I thought the inside cabin was fine. I did miss having the natural light in the cabin to wake up to, however. But it honestly did not affect how much I enjoyed the vacation. I know some people really have a hard time without having a window and others don't. For me, since I am rarely in the room it isn't a big deal at all. There was also plenty of storage for our 8 night cruise, so I am sure it will be more than enough for 6 nights.

 

Thanks! Figure the $600 I save vs. Spa Balcony can be spent elsewhere on the ship! Glad you had a great time!