Songbird and the Pirate King take on the Breeze -- a musical review

[songbird1329]

First, some overall impressions.

 

Our frame of reference is the Carnival Valor, which we sailed on back in February 2010. some of what we experienced on the Breeze was much better than what we had on the Valor, some of it not as good.

 

The layout of the ship is much better. On the Valor there were many occasions where you couldn't walk from one end of the deck to the other, where you had to go up a few decks and come down again to get from point A to point B. Didn't experience that on the Breeze.

 

The entertainment on this cruise was disappointing. The pirate king does not read Cruise Critic, so I didn't tell him what we've all been discussing about Carnival entertainment these days. He walked into the first show in the Ovation theater without any preconceived notions, and came out of that show feeling disappointed -- the show was not as good as what he expected. We did enjoy the shows, but they weren't as good as what we saw on the Valor three years ago.

 

Food was uneven. Some of the food was fantastic, some of it merely OK. Our favorite meal was in the steakhouse.

 

The ship is huge, and most venues were always fairly busy, but it never really felt crowded except for...well, the Limelight Lounge is way too small. And there was one day -- our port day in Grand Turk ended about 1:00 PM, and it seemed like the entire ship hit the Lido deck for lunch at the same time.

 

Pet peeve: having to put my "sail n sign" card into the slot by the cabin door in order to turn on the lights. If we were using my card for the lights, and I decided to leave the room but my boyfriend decided to stay, we needed to swap out the cards...we wound up using an old fare card from the Boston public transit system, it worked just as well.

 

Overall, it was a great cruise. A few bumps along the way, of course, but we had a great time.

[songbird1329]

First a bit about us. I'm known as "songbird" because of my love for music. Too bad my singing voice is suited only for the shower. In gentler times I'd be referred to as "a woman of a certain age". Let's put it this way -- my daughters are 22 and 21, so I'm just a tad bit older than that.

 

My traveling companion is referred to in this trip report as "the pirate king" (after the character in Pirates of Penzance) and/or "Jack Sparrow", for what girl wouldn't love to sail the Caribbean with a dashing pirate? but he's also got a bit of the Pirate Captain from that animated movie -- The Pirates! Band of Misfits -- he can make me laugh.

 

 

A bit of backstory. The pirate king and I married, produced two beautiful children, divorced and eventually found each other again. Our first cruise was in 1987, on Premier's Oceanic. The Big Red Boat was Disney's official cruise line then, offering a cruise to the Bahamas combined with a Disneyworld vacation. We sailed on Monday, visited Nassau and Premier's private island Salt Cay, and returned to Port Canaveral on Friday for the Disney portion of our vacation.

 

 

Our second cruise was in February 2010. The Carnival Valor. A seven day cruise, Western Caribbean, stopping at Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize and Cozumel.

 

We like to cruise to ports where we can sight-see. We don't go for endless days on the beach, we're not into snorkeling or swimming with the dolphins. We do drink a bit, but we're not the type to sit in some beach-side bar all afternoon. And we don't really like casinos or bingo.

 

Music cue: Sea Cruise by Frankie Ford

So the idea for this cruise came to us in March 2012. We're friends with another couple, who proposed that we take a cruise together. The idea was to cruise during President's week, February 2013, when schools on Long Island close for a week. The pirate king's secret identity is " high school teacher", and our friends planned to bring their son, a high school student. So we booked the Carnival Liberty, a seven day cruise with an Eastern Caribbean itinerary. And began to plan -- dinner at the steakhouse, an excursion to the Bacardi distillery in Puerto Rico . . .

 

Music cue. Oh Sandy by John Travolta

 

October 29, 2012. Superstorm Sandy devastated the tri-state area. The coastal communities of Long Island, especially those on the South Shore, took the brunt of it. Homes severely damaged or destroyed. A year later the residents are still struggling with the storm's aftermath. Those of us who live further inland had to deal with downed trees, days without electricity and long lines at the gas station. Major inconvenience, but life went back to normal eventually.

 

One problem, though. Schools cancelled February break to make up for time lost as a result of the storm. Our friends decided to pull their son out of school and go on the cruise anyhow. But the pirate king . . . he'd been scheduled for surgery on 10/29, finally had the surgery in the middle of November, and used up all his sick days recovering from the surgery. He couldn't lose that much in pay to go on the cruise. So we bit the bullet and cancelled the cruise.

 

Music cue: Summer Breeze by Seals and Crofts

 

So our consolation prize: an 8 day cruise on the Carnival Breeze. Eastern Caribbean, making port at Puerto Rico, Grand Turk, St. Maarten and St. Thomas. And the planning began again.

 

Music cue: a medley of Boat Drinks by Jimmy Buffett and The Waiting by Tom Petty

 

So we spent the winter being tormented by TV commercials, being told that "the sea is calling", that we should "cruise like a Norwegian", that "it's better in the Bahamas", and we should be "Cayman kind"... but the worst was the one for Carnival cruise lines. You know, the one that had the couple on board the ship, happy that their vacation is "better than last year"... Even with Carnival's problems -- the Triumph of course, as well as the Dream and the Legend all made the news, we would not be deterred...

[songbird1329]

DAY ONE; THE VOYAGE BEGINS

 

Background music: "Under Pressure", Queen

 

 

The pirate king is a little bit organized. He packs three days before the trip, prints out tickets and itineraries, checks details multiple times. In fact, he says he's a bit "anal" about being organized, having the details under control.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not so organized. As in, I was still packing at 4:00 this morning. Caught a few hours' sleep, and stopped at the drugstore for a few last-minute items before heading to the pirate king's house.

 

 

The plan was to drive to our friend Donna's house, so that Donna could drive us to the airport. Since the king didn't want to leave his brand-new, picked-up-from-the-dealer-last-week minivan on the street by Donna's house, we decided to take my car.

 

 

 

Which meant I actually had to clean all of the junk out of my car. :eek: :eek: :eek: I think I found the lost treasure of the Incas in there.

 

 

So the idea was to get to the airport by 1:00 for a 2:55 flight. Got to La Guardia and to the curbside checkout.

 

 

And that's when Mr. Organized realized that he left both his passport and driver's license at home!

 

 

So I checked two suitcases and got my boarding pass, and took the rest of the luggage to the food court, got some lunch and found a table. And waited for Donna and the king to race back to his house and then back to the airport.

 

 

The only reason we made the plane is because boarding was delayed until 3:15. First time I've ever been happy for a flight delay.

 

Mostly slept on the plane. Not well, though. We were in the very last row of the plane, right near the restrooms, and EVERYONE used the restrooms.

 

 

 

 

Background music: "Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude" bu Jimmy Buffett

 

 

There's always something magical about arriving in Florida, more so in winter when there's snow back home. But palm trees scream that you aren't home anymore. Love it.

 

 

 

 

But then we had to go to baggage claim. Miami is a huge airport. We wanted to take the Sky Train, but the escalators were out of order and we couldn't get our carry on bags up all those stairs...so we hiked over to baggage claim. I thought we'd walked all the way to Fort Lauderdale.

 

 

Took the shuttle to our hotel, the La Quinta East. Arrived there too tired and frazzled to do much more than order room service (Cuban sandwiches, rice and beans), watch tv and go to bed.

[songbird1329]

DAY TWO: MIAMI

 

Background music: "Come Sail Away" by Styx

 

 

 

 

Up bright and early, we had a light breakfast at the hotel (continental breakfast is included), then boarded the hotel's 11:00 shuttle to the Port of Miami.

 

 

 

There were two ships in port, the Carnival Breeze and the Carnival Liberty. The size of these ships never fails to impress.

 

 

 

 

We had Faster to the Fun, so we were able to bypass all the lines and board the ship fairly quickly. We were in our cabin before noon. That was worth the $50!

 

 

 

 

 

Background music: "There's Something About a Boat", Jimmy Buffett

 

 

 

 

Our cabin is on deck 8,, midship, port. A balcony cabin, our first balcony. I'm in love.

 

 

We dropped off our carry on bags, took a quick look at the Fun Times, then headed up to the spa. Scheduled our appointments, then headed to the Lido for lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

Music: "Celebrate" by K. C. and the Sunshine Band.

 

 

 

The party was already getting started around here. We tried some fruity concoction from the bar -- I love drinks with an umbrella in them. I tried Guy's burgers -- a nice little burger with a good variety of toppings -- and chicken tacos -- very good but they do kick back. The pirate king got a burger and a dish from the Mongolian Wok. Both were excellent, but the line for the Wok is very long. I'm glad we had the burgers that day, we never got back to Guy's the rest of the cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

Took a tour of the spa after lunch -- they demonstrate several of their massage techniques, describe all the treatments, and encourage you to book. It's a bit of a hard sell, but we wanted to be "sold".

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was back to the cabin to begin unpacking.

 

 

 

 

 

Music: "Safety Dance" by Met Without Hats

 

 

Muster Drill on the Valor 3 years ago was a royal PITA. We had to report our our lifeboat station, stand there until everyone arrived, and stand during the safety briefing.

 

 

 

 

On the Breeze the muster stations are in the main dining rooms and the theater. You can sit comfortably while you imagine scenes from Titanic and The Poseidon Adventure. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

 

 

 

Background music: "Sailing" by Christopher Cross"

 

 

 

 

Went back to the cabin to finish unpacking. The pirate king took his camera up to the Lido deck to watch Sail Away. I watched from the balcony. We were really under way, really headed out to sea on a beautiful boat!!!

 

 

 

 

At 5:00 we went back to the spa for the raffle -- didn't win. Ignored the hard sell, since we'd already booked our appointments. Then back to the cabin, where I wound up taking a nap on the balcony.

 

 

 

 

I am already in love with the balcony.

 

 

 

 

Explored the ship a little before dinner. There's live music in the lounge areas. Shops look interesting -- the pirate king was impressed with the liquor shop.

 

 

 

 

We're in the Sapphire Dining Room, upper level. We're late seating, but this dining room is also used for anytime dining. We were assigned to a table for six, but there are only four of us. Our tablemates are a lovely couple from Mississippi, in a town that's considered suburban Memphis. She was drinking a tiramisu martini that looked so decadent I had to try one too.

 

 

 

 

Dinner. The pirate king ordered Caesar salad and a steak. I tried the tropical fruits and something called " Sweet and Sour Shrimp", fried shrimp served over a bed of Asian rice noodles, with a sweet sauce for dipping. Not bad, but not terribly impressive either.

 

 

 

 

 

Background music: "Southern Cross", by Crosby, Stills and Nash

 

 

 

 

Our cruise tradition of sorts is to go to the Lido deck after dinner and find a spot to stargaze. We saw only a few stars that night, but the moon was bright and there was a heat lightning storm a few miles away.

 

 

 

 

 

Back at the cabin, our shore excursion tickets have arrived. There is a mailbox outside our cabin door -- but my joke about "tree mail" fell flat because the pirate king does not watch "Survivor". Our steward chose to leave most of our mail on the bed, and the mailbox remained empty for most of the trip. We start looking at our tickets, and find that there's a problem --our Grand Turk excursion has been cancelled. The king headed over to Guest Services to book another excursion. More on that later.

 

 

 

Music: "I Am The Walrus" by the Beatles.

 

 

 

 

Bet you can't guess what last night's towel animal was.

[Kristi Williamson]

Are you posting pics? If so, I can't see them. I want to see them! LOL

 

Thanks for doing this review.

[Handsome58]

and love your writing style!

[songbird1329]

Pictures haven't been uploaded yet. I will have a few later.

[songbird1329]

DAY THREE: AHH, SPA.....

 

The schedule says Sunday is a fun day at sea.

 

 

 

 

Our personal schedule reads "SPA"

 

 

 

 

So, after a quick solo breakfast on the Lido deck, that's where I went.

 

 

 

 

We'd visited the Cloud Nine Spa yesterday, but today we became clients. The spa is on Deck 12, at the bow of the ship, and the "relaxation room" (a fancy term for "waiting room") has beautiful windows with an "I'm the king of the world" view. Color scheme is blue and white, very cloud-like. Soothing.

 

 

 

 

My first treatment was a massage/foot massage and facial. So relaxing. Then I had a cup of tea in the relaxation room, just around the time the pirate king arrived for his hot stones massage. Then I went to the salon for a manicure/ pedicure. I succumbed to the hard sell and bought a few of their overpriced products. The lavendar-scented oil is amazing.

 

 

Between the two of us, we spent an obscene amount of money at the spa. But I came away from it feeling pampered and relaxed.

 

 

 

 

 

We finished up at the spa around noon, then headed to Ocean Plaza for trivia. We watched a game that was already in progress, then played a game based on tv theme songs.

 

 

 

 

Next up: lunch on the Lido. He had Mongolian Wok (again), I had a variety from the buffet. He had the better deal. Best places on the Lido turned out to be Guy's burgers, Mongolian Wok, pizza and the deli.

 

 

Afternoon on the balcony. It's hot and sunny by the Lido pool, but cool and shady on our balcony.

 

 

 

I am really loving our balcony.

 

 

 

Musical cue: "Putting On The Ritz", Fred Astaire

 

 

 

 

It's elegant night. We're all dressed up, of course.

 

 

 

 

We had our photo taken with our captain and cruise director, then had a drink at the bar before dinner.

 

 

 

 

Our dining room staff entertained us with "Finiculi finicula" and "Amore". Our waitors danced with each other . . .

 

 

 

 

Music: "Rockin' Robin"

 

 

Tonight's show was a Motown salute called "The Motor City." Eight singer/dancers entertain us for 30 minutes. The sets are not elaborate, the show relies heavily on lighting effects. Very good show, but very short. . .the shows were better three years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I should mention two things . . .

 

 

 

 

Although we have been enjoying warm, sunny days, it's also been very windy. You might not notice so much by the Lido pools, but on the upper decks, especially at night. . .My hair looks like I styled it with an egg beater.

 

 

And we definitely feel the motion of the ship. More so at night that during the day. I feel it in the dining room and the theater, and I really feel it in our cabin late at night.

 

 

 

But neither of these is negatively affecting our cruise.

[songbird1329]

DAY FOUR: GRAND TURK

 

 

Music: "Margaritaville", Jimmy Buffett

 

 

 

 

When we woke up this morning the beautiful island of Grand Turk was just outside our window. Beaches, boats and palm trees, and the largest Margaritavillle in the chain

 

 

 

(You may have guessed I am somewhat of a Parrothead. We've been seeing Buffett in concert at Jones Beach every year. When we selected this cruise, Buffett hadn't announced his summer 2013 tour dates. As soon as we selected our cruise dates, I had a gut feeling...sure enough, this year he did TWO concerts at Jones Beach, both during our cruise...)

 

 

 

Breakfast in the main dining room. Much more civilized than on the Lido deck, and the food is better, too. I started with cantaloupe, had a small apple danish and french toast -- very thick slices of bread that were sweet but not cloying. The pirate king had his favorite eggs Benedict, something he'd never prepare for himself at home.

 

 

 

 

Background music:"Rocket Man" by Elton John

 

 

Although the Turks and Caicos are part of the British West Indies, in the past the United States maintained an Air Force base and a naval base on Grand Turk. When John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth, he cane here after splashdown. There are monuments to that occasion in the cruise center and in front of the international airport.

 

 

 

 

Our adventure today was called "Coast to Coast Grand Turk Safari." We rode in an open-air safari bus and got a brief tour of the island. We learned that the island has no source of fresh water except rain. Vegetation is not lush, I even saw cactus growing!

 

 

 

The historic district is in Cockburn Town, built by Burmudians during the salt-raking era. We would have liked to explore some of the old homes, which we could have done had our original tour not been cancelled. Later, at the lighthouse, in addition to seeing an incredible view, we learned that Columbus' first landfall in the New World may have been at Grand Turk.

 

 

The island is very rustic -- hard to believe it is the capital -- but there are sattelite dishes EVERYWHERE. And no, I'm not just referring to the airport and the former naval base. Every house, even the poorest looking shacks, seems to have a dish. Tour guide said something about a hurricane a few years ago -- the island lost electricity for two months, and television was out for 7 months.

 

 

There are no traffic lights on the island. Seems many people opt to travel by horse or donkey. The animals are allowed to wander, untethered. Occasionally during the tour we had to stop to let horses or donkeys get out of the road.

 

 

And about riding in an open-air vehicle: I fought the wind, and the wind won. I had my hair pulled back in a headband, and it was so windy the headband blew out of my hair. I'm glad the ship's photographers take pictures before you leave the ship, not after.

 

 

 

 

Overall the tour was OK, but maybe we would have been better off spending the morning on the beach.

 

 

 

 

We briefly visited Margaritaville, but didn't stay long. Very commercial. Jimmy is busy selling the rest of us a phony adventure so that he can go on real ones.

 

 

 

 

Lunch on the Lido. With "all aboard" at 2:30 and sail away at 3, everyone came back from the various shore excursions and headed to the Lido for lunch. We had deli sandwiches and pizza. Pizza is excellent, but small slices of thin crust puzza will not fill you up. The deli sandwiches are NOT New York style and the meat is a bit too fatty, but the sandwiches are good. Mini cupcakes were a bit dry and not sweet enough.

 

 

Lazy afternoon on the balcony for me while the pirate king explored the ship, and came back with some jellybeans from Cherry on Top.

 

 

 

 

Our before-dinner entertainment was the Hasbro Game Show. Our cruise director Butch pretends to be a game show host. He selects members of the audience to come up on stage to play the games. There's Connect Four, where contestants throw basketballs and try to get four of the same color in a row. Simon, where participants wear light up cubes and have to get themselves in the right order. The pirate king says it reminds him of that old tv show, "Beat the Clock." Very family-friendly entertainment, but I will say there are adults on this cruise who take this game far too seriously -- especially when you realize the "grand prize" is a few Hasbro games.

 

 

 

 

Background music: "Tequila Sunrise"

 

 

Did a little more exploring before dinner. The pirate king's very expensive camera decided to pay a visit to guest services when we left it in the theater, so the king had to retrieve it. (I blame that mishap on the tequila sunrise he drank in the theater. Mostly tequila, very little "sunrise".)

 

 

Dinner in the main dining room. Service was excellent, as usual. The waiters danced tonight, to "Low", the same song our staff on the Valor danced to 3 years ago. The food, however, was disappointing. I really didn't care for my appetizer or entree. But we loved the cheesecake dessert. There are some nights in the MDR where the food is excellent, some where I look at the menu and can't decide what to eat because nothing looks appealing.

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner we wandered over to the Limelight Lounge and got on line for the comedy show. We got there 1/2 an hour before show time and were at the back of the line. You must get there very early to be seated. And yes, they do close the doors when the lounge is at capacity. They warn you, several times before the show starts, that this is an adults-only show (they do family-friendly shows earlier in the evening). So we laughed our way through half an hour of filthy but very funny stand-up.

 

 

 

 

Deck party on the Lido interfered with our stargazing, so we decided to call it a night.

[songbird1329]

DAY FIVE: PUERTO RICO

 

Breakfast in the main dining room. Food is much better here than on the Lido. I had pancakes, he had poached eggs. Place was very busy and service was a bit slow, but overall a satisfactory experience.

 

 

 

 

Music: "La Isla Bonita" by Madonna

 

 

We arrived in Puerto Rico around midmorning. If you like old forts, be on the port side of the ship when you arrive. Our balcony was the perfect place for the photo opportunity. The retaining wall extends way past the fort, and it's weird to see the modern city behind ancient walls.

 

 

We cleared US customs fairly quickly. And then it was time to start our Puerto Rican adventure. We spent a few minutes exploring the streets of Old San Juan. Narrow streets, lots of traffic, restaurants, artsy shops, Starbucks, signs in English and Spanish. Just like lower Manhattan, but with palm trees.

 

 

Then it was time for our tour. We boarded a bus and headed for el Yunque. On the eastern tip of the island, high in the mountains, our national park service has preserved a rainforest.

 

 

 

Music: "Africa" by Toto

 

 

Our tour guide explained that the rainforest formed as a result of weather conditions in Africa and on the Atlantic. Dust from the Sahara gets blown across the ocean, and when it hits the mountains of Puerto Rico . . .rain.

 

 

You drive up narrow roads to the visitor's center, where you can learn all about the ecology. (And where I bought yummy tostones -- fried plantain patties.) We continued our drive through the forest, passed a beautiful waterfall and up to the observation tower. There are incredible views here, and if you actually climb to the top (as the pirate king did) you can see where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean.

 

 

 

On our way back down the mountain, we stopped at the waterfall to take pictures. In the pouring rain, of course. What do you expect, it's the rainforest.

 

 

 

 

Then it was on to Castillo de San Cristobal, the fort we'd seen as we arrived in San Juan this morning. The fort was built by the Spanish to control not only Puerto Rico, but also the Caribbean and South America. The English tried to take it several times, without success. The Americans succeeded in taking the fort, and the island, in 1898, during the Spanish-American War. The visitor's center, a modern facility at the base of the fort, was built when this place was known as Fort Brooke during WW II.

 

 

 

 

An interesting tidbit. San Juan was a walled city until late in the 18th century, and no one was allowed to live outside the walls. Tearing down the walks to allow the city to expand was apparently a major controversy.

 

 

 

 

Back on the ship, and all I wanted was a hot shower. Just before I turned on the water. . . There was an announcement from our cruise director. No hot water! Don't worry, it was fixed before 8:00 that evening. You just have to roll with it, I guess.

 

 

 

 

Dinner in the steakhouse is an experience not to be missed. I loved the shrimp cocktail, so much better than the version in the main dining room. The pirate king loved the lobster bisque. Hearts of iceberg salad was boring. I loved the brioche and he loved the foccacia. We both chose surf and turf -- petite fillet mignon and lobster tail. The Yukon gold mashed potatoes are incredibly creamy -- the chef said he strains them three times before adding a ton of butter and cream. Easily the best meal we had aboard ship! Too full for dessert, we took it with us for later. I have to say, it was a bit of a disappointment. We are used to a thick, dense, creamy New York cheesecake, and this was light and airy -- like they used ricotta instead of cream cheese.

 

 

 

 

The evening's entertainment in the Ovation Theater was a juggler named Edge. He incorporates a lot of humor into his act. He's an expert at Chinese yo yo. He performed for a full hour and he was very entertaining. We were wishing more of the shows were this long and this entertaining.

 

 

 

 

 

Back up to the cabin . . .and messages from Guest Services. First, we were informed that the balconies would be cleaned starting at 9:00 - no big deal, since our shore excursion was scheduled for 8:00.

 

 

But about that shore excursion . . .no, not cancelled. Not entirely. We'd still get to see the island. But no ride in the glass bottom boat! Mechanical difficulties. If we'd known that, we would have taken a similar excursion in Grand Turk. So disappointing.

[songbird1329]

DAY SIX: ST. MAARTEN/ST. MARTIN

 

Our arrival at this island was very early in the morning, and our tour (such as it was) started almost immediately upon arrival. So we opted to skip breakfast in the dining room. We ordered muffins and etc. from room service. Meh. I would have preferred some danish and croissant from the main dining room.

 

 

 

 

 

Music: "Volcano" by Jimmy Buffett

 

 

What you first notice about this island is that the mountains come all the way down to the sea. St. Maarten was formed by volcanic activity.

 

 

 

 

We arrived on the Dutch side of the island and boarded a bus for our excursion. Our journey took us through an international border crossing to the French side of the island. Easiest border crossing in the world -- if you didn't see the flags along the side of the road as the bus passed through, you'd never know you entered a different country.

 

 

 

 

Since the glass bottom boat was out of commission, we spent our time in Marigot. Shopping. It was ok, but not terribly exciting.Frankly, without the boat ride. . .it just wasn't worth the trek across the island.

 

 

 

 

Music: "Cheeseburger in Paradise" by Jimmy Buffett

 

 

 

 

Back in Phillipsburg, we had lunch at the Greenhouse, an open air bar and grill. Frozen drinks. Conch fritters (first time I tried them. They're ok but conch is a bit chewy.) And, of course, cheeseburgers. Nice restaurant. Two burgers cost us almost as much as a dinner in the US, but sitting in that open-air restaurant was priceless.

 

 

 

 

Major shopping in Phillipsburg. I bought jewelry. The pirate king bought a very expensive lens for his very expensive camera. And, of course, he could not resist the tee shirt that proclaims he is a member of pirates local number 5.

 

 

 

 

From the ridiculous to the sublime. Took the water taxi back to the ship. . . Small boat vs. big ship. . .

 

 

 

 

Music: "My Generation" by The Who

 

 

 

 

Dinner in the main dining room, then on to the British Invasion show. One of the assistant cruise directors is British, so she did a pre-show trivia contest -- she'd play a British Invasion song and you'd have to finish the lyric. The pirate king and I each answered a question correctly. Our "fabulous prize" was exclusive seating at the show -- which just happened to be the seats we'd chosen for ourselves. Oh, well. It was better than the paper clips one of the assistant cruise directors gave out as prizes in the trivia contest.

 

 

 

 

 

The show itself? It's a combination of live action and animation -- Peter Max style artwork and scenes right out of those old Beatles cartoons. The show relies too heavily on the animation and not enough on the talents of the performers, and it's way too short. But it's a fun show.

[songbird1329]

DAY SEVEN: ST. THOMAS

 

Breakfast in the main dining room, where another passenger recognized us and joked with us about last night's trivia game. Yes, that was a great prize, wasn't it? :rolleyes:

 

 

 

 

 

And then it was time to head to shore. Our adventure today began with a ferry ride to St. John. What's interesting about the Virgin Islands is how close most of the islands are to each other, while we were headed to St. John, another group from our ship was headed to Tortola, a part of the British Virgin Islands, which we could see from our boat.

 

 

 

 

We also saw celebrity homes -- Michael Jordan, Alan Alda, Kenny Chesney and Madonna all vacation in the Virgin Islands. And the owner of the White Castle chain has a home here -- a white castle. Go figure.

 

 

 

 

And, of course, there's Pillsbury Bay, where the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean.

 

 

 

 

Music: a reprise of "La Isla Bonita"

 

 

 

 

2/3 of St. John is pristine parkland owned by the National Park Service. The rest appears to be modern luxury resorts. We took a safari bus ride up the mountain, stopping frequently at lookout points for views of white sand beaches, blue waters and distant islands.

 

 

 

Interestingly, although this is an American protectorate, they drive on the left side of the road -- the islands used to be British.

 

 

 

 

 

Our tour guide told us you need a passport to travel to the British islands.

 

 

 

 

The highlight of the tour was the ruins of a sugar plantation. I've seen many old forts and churches and etc., but this was my first sugar plantation.

 

 

 

 

And as I was walking back to the bus I saw a mongoose! The sugar cane planters imported mongoose from India into the islands of the Eastern Caribbean, hoping the mongoose would control the rat population in the cane fields. The mongoose have made themselves at home in these islands.

 

 

Now, I'm sure I've seen a mongoose in the zoo, but to encounter one on the road . . .and this one gave me a look, as if to say "This is my home, but what are you doing here?"

 

 

Before long it was time to ferry back to St. Thomas, where we headed for the shopping mall. Yes, shopping does seem to be a priority in these islands.

 

 

 

 

Music: "Mermaid", by Train

 

 

 

 

There's a lovely sculpture in Denmark, it sits in the harbor in Copenhagen. It's Hans Christian Anderson's Little Mermaid.

 

 

 

In the shopping mall in St. Thomas there's a fountain with a scaled-down replica of the famous statue. It's pretty. But it's the only sculpture in the mall and I don't know why they chose it.

 

 

 

 

 

A word about security, customs and traveling to other countries. Before the ship sailed from Miami each passenger had to provide Carnival with a passport or birth certificate, and those over 16 had to produce photo i. d. That was apparently sufficient for the governments of Grand Turk and St. Maarten, all you needed to show was your ship i.d. card to return to the ship.

 

 

But Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are different. You need to show your photo i. d. As we returned to the ship we saw a whole group of people who'd forgotten to bring their photo i.d., and were having a difficult time of it.

 

 

 

 

Music: "Grapefruit, Juicy Fruit" by Jimmy Buffett

 

 

 

 

The evening's entertainment was a magician named Bob, who did 45 minutes of sleight-of-hand laced with comedy. When he asked for a volunteer, the pirate king's hand went up. He had to give a $20 bill to another audience member, who placed it in a sealed envelope, which she held for the duration of the show. In exchange, the pirate king was given a grapefruit. Periodically Bob would ask "Who's got the grapefruit?" and the king would stand up and reply "I've got the grapefruit!" At the end of the show, the $20 wound up inside the grapefruit.

 

 

I expect to hear grapefruit jokes from fellow passengers tomorrow.

 

 

Dinner in the main dining room, as usual. Could barely keep my eyes open -- until the waitstaff danced to "Moves Like Jagger". That certainly woke me up.

 

 

But we did call it a night right after dinner . . .

[songbird1329]

DAY EIGHT: SEA DAY!!!!!

 

So we called it a night right after dinner. Or, rather, I did. This morning I found evidence of the pirate king's midnight pizza run.

 

 

This morning we went to the Punchliner brunch. Honest impression? Not so good. I mean, the food was good, the menu very different from the usual offerings in the main dining room. I had a bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese, he had steak and eggs. But the comedy? They do a five minute routine every hour on the half hour. The comic we heard as we were being seated was Valerie Storm, very funny and I'd love to see her show. Scotty K, the comic who went on just before we left . . . bombed. Partially because he didn't bring his best stuff, partially because a huge dining room is not the best place to interact with your audience. When we saw him in the Limelight later, he was much better.

 

 

 

 

 

Music: "The Tide Is High" by Blondie

 

 

 

 

Next up, the Tides pool. (You knew I'd have to put on a bathing suit sooner or later!) We chose the Tides pool rather than the Beach pool because it is quieter and less hectic. If you think you're actually going to be able to swim in this pool, think again. It's only about 4 1/2 feet deep and very crowded. Two hot tubs flank the pool, you have to walk up a short flight of stairs to access the hot tubs.

 

 

But bring shoes, the deck area is too hot to walk on! and the benches surrounding the pool are good only for holding your towel, or your bucket of beer.

 

 

 

There's nothing like floating in warm salt water. We stayed in the pool for a very, very long time.

 

 

Then e sat on lounge chairs for awhile, reading our books and watching the ship's wake.

 

 

 

 

Lesson of the day: sunscreen doesn't work if you leave it in the cabin. Good thing lobster wasn't on tonight's menu, else I'd be afraid someone would mistake me for tonight's dinner.

 

 

 

 

Dinner in the main dining room again. Finally tried the fried chicken I'd seen on the menu all week . . .meh. But the warm chocolate melting cake . . .heaven.

 

 

 

 

Music: "Vogue" by Madonna

 

 

Tonight's show was "Divas", featuring music by Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Madonna, etc. I have to admit I wasn't familiar with a lot of the songs. Chief complaint, as always, is that the show was too short.

 

 

 

 

Then we raced from the Ovation to the Limelight to catch the comedy show. It was Scotty K, who bombed so miserably during brunch. He was much better in a more appropriate venue. I liked his show, actually. His "adult" material isn't pornographic or laced with expletives. It's more political and social commentary.

We were so disappointed when we got back to the room. For the first time all cruise, there was no towel animal on the bed.

 

 

Turns out the towel animal was . . .elsewhere. I was a bit startled when I opened the bathroom door . . .

[songbird1329]

DAY NINE: SEA DAY REDUX

 

Music: "Off To See The Lizard" by Jimmy Buffett

(I'm hearing Jimmy's voice in my head, repeating the chorus . . .deja, deja, deja vu. . . )

 

 

 

 

Another sea day. We start with brunch and Scotty K -- he's better today than yesterday.

 

 

 

 

Back at the cabin, there's a towel heart on the bed, along with our debarkation information. But I don't want to go home! Sigh. Did some packing . . .

 

 

 

 

Frustration time. We've been having issues with satellite tv since yesterday, and today I can't get my tablet to connect to the internet. So it was off to the Funhub to use one of the ship's computer terminals. I was able to get into my online banking and gmail account, but the connection was so slow that aol kept timing out. Took a quick peek at facebook.

 

 

 

 

Music: "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves

 

 

 

And back to the Tides pool. Well, I did bring two bathing suits after all! And today I remembered the sunscreen.

 

 

As I said, the pool is very small and very shallow, and gets very crowded. On our second day in the pool we encountered some really rude behavior from a couple in their 20's. I will call them Rude Couple. The first time we noticed them was when Rude Guy cannon-balled into the pool. Really, I think everyone in the pool noticed him. There was a lot of horseplay after that, including Rude Girl climbing onto Rude Guy's back so that he could drag her across the pool, shouting "piggyback rides 5 cents" over and over again. He bumped into several people, never apologized.

 

 

As I said, the two hot tubs by the Tides pool are elevated, you have to climb a flight of steps to enter the hot tub. And there's a bench under each hot tub where you can sit with your feet in the pool. When Rude Couple bought drinks from the bar, he decided to sit on that bench. . . But there were children playing in that hot tub. They'd taken some cups from the beverage station and were using them in the hot tub to splash water on each other. The water came out of the hot tub and over the partition . . . Rude Guy wound up with salt water from the hot tub in his pina colada. He drank it anyway!

 

 

 

 

And here's the "what would you have done?" moment of the day

 

 

.

I wear prescription glasses. I'm very, very nearsighted. I'm nearly helpless without my glasses. Consequently I always have a backup pair of glasses when I travel, just in case . . . And did I mention that my prescription tends to be expensive to replace?

 

 

 

 

So my towel, coverup and prescription sunglasses are on a lounge chair near the pool. The deck is very hot to walk on, as I mentioned before. Some kid, he must have been around 14, is barefoot, so he's walking on the lounge chairs. And I see him step on my chair and my expensive prescription sunglasses.

 

 

Yeah, I got out of the pool and yelled at him. He's lucky the glasses didn't break or his parents' cruise would have gotten a bit more expensive . . .

 

 

 

 

But despite the annoyances, we did enjoy floating in the pool for quite some time.

 

 

Music: "Leaving On A Jet Plane" by Peter, Paul and Mary

 

 

 

 

We missed our dining staff's rendition of this song. Instead, for our last dinner aboard ship, we went to Cucina de Capitano. The location of the restaurant is a little unusual -- the entrance is on the Lido deck, an out of the way corner where you would never expect to find a specialty restaurant. You climb a flight of stairs to deck 11. It's a very pretty, cozy space. Took awhile to be seated -- a very self-absorbed Diamond cruiser was monopolizing the hostess' time with plans for a group dinner on her next cruise. She should have come BEFORE the dinner hour! One of the waiters had to seat us!

 

 

 

 

Dinner? The menu is somewhat limited. Nonna's meatballs were excellent. Fried calamari could have been crisper, but at least it wasn't chewy. He had spaghetti carbonara, I had chicken parmigiana with spaghetti. Overall, the food was better than Olive Garden but not as good as the Italian restaurants we have in New York.

 

 

 

 

 

Dessert was disappointing. We ordered cannoli. Very elegant and authentic Italian. But I prefer the Americanized version, much sweeter.

 

 

 

 

Music: "Proud Mary" by Ike and Tina Turner

 

 

 

 

Instead of a show, tonight the Ovation Theater hosts a concert. One of the bands that's been playing in a lounge all week now takes the main stage. They're joined by some of the singers from the shows. They perform for about half an hour. Again, too short. that's the problem with the shows on this ship/

 

 

 

 

Then we raced over to the Limelight Lounge for the comedy of Valerie Storm. Very entertaining.

 

 

 

 

No stargazing tonight, we have to take care of the final details for debarkation.

 

 

 

 

Sigh. I don't want to go home!

[songbird1329]

DAY TEN: THE VOYAGE HOME

 

Music: "It's Been a Lovely Cruise", Jimmy Buffett

 

 

 

 

Debarkation went very smoothly. One of my complaints during our Valor cruise was that we spent far too much time in the lobby, waiting to get off the ship. Way different getting off the Breeze. We were off the ship and insdie the terminal in practically no time at all.

 

 

 

 

 

Public service announcement: pay attention to your zone number. Pirate king spent 20 minutes at the wrong luggage carrousel before I found our luggage.

 

 

 

 

Thank goodness the ride to the airport was short, the bus driver had to turn off the a/c to keep water from a broken pipe dripping on the seats. And we had a bad moment at the airport when the TSA agent told the pirate king his carry on bag was too big and had to be checked. . .until another agent took a second look at the matter. Took the Sky Train to our gate (much better than our hike through the airport when we arrived!) and settled in . . .got there before noon for a 4:00 flight.

 

 

 

 

What's good about Miami Airport -- because the terminal is so large, you have lots of choices for a quick bite. Pirate king got hot dogs from Nathan's and I wound up with food-court Chinese. We were both able to charge our cell phones at the Verizon charging station at our gate.

 

 

 

 

What's not so good? They charge for wifi. Not an issue for me, I have a data plan on my tablet . . .but after a week of paying for wifi on the Breeze and using my minutes sparingly . . .it would have been a major disappointment . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Interesting" encounter as we were about to board the plane. Remember Rude couple from the Tides pool? Well, as we all get on line to board the plane, who should be standing next to me but Rude Girl! Rude Guy is behind me. As the crowd moves forward, she moves in front of me. Then she reaches behind her and takes his hand, and tries to pull him forward. Only problem is, I'm standing where she wants him to stand. If he'd said "excuse me", I would have let him step in front of me, but I have a bit of a stubborn streak when someone tries to push me out of the way, so I didn't move. Some words were exchanged -- he told me I was being rude, I told him I didn't appreciate being pushed, and she told me she could feel my bad breath on the back of her neck . . . wasn't worth escalating . . . so I simply stopped talking to them at that point.

 

 

 

He got off the line and walked around everyone else and met up with her at the door where you habd your boarding pass to the airline employee.

We got onto the plane, and guess who was sitting directly in front of me and the pirate king? We could have made their flight pure misery . . .but we're adults.

 

 

 

 

So it was an uneventful flight home. And I am already depressed, because today is Monday and I am not on the Breeze...

[lbfluffy]

Awesome review. So very entertaining. I love your humor.

[songbird1329]

As promised, a few photos.

 

The view from our balcony in Miami

 

 

[songbird1329]

Those are "Boson Strong ducks", BTW, in support of the victims of the marathon bombing.

 

 

Here's the drink of the day as we came aboard

 

 

I am the walrus

 

 

[songbird1329]

Here we are with the Captain and the Cruise Director

 

 

[songbird1329]

a towel animal, one of many:

 

 

Grand Turk

 

 

 

 

[songbird1329]

[songbird1329]

[songbird1329]

Puerto Rico

 

 

[songbird1329]

The view from el Yunquw

 

[songbird1329]

The view of Old San Juan from the Castillo de San Cristobal