GAPearl's Big BREEZE Review! 8 Day Southern Itinerary 9/28/13.

[worldbound30]

Loving this review, Miss Kim! You are rocking those fab dresses as always! You look great - as soon as I saw your first post, I knew you had lost weight. Subscribed & ready to hear more about this fabulous cruise and that beautiful man!

Edited October 15, 2013 by worldbound30

[JaniceB]

Originally Posted by JaniceB

I did the Kukoo Kunuku bus tour when I visted Aruba on vacation. They took us to some local places, the trip was a lot of fun. Loved Aruba, too!

 

I did the Kukoo Kunuku bus tour when I visted Aruba on vacation. They took us to some local places, the trip was a lot of fun. Loved Aruba, too!

Looks like that has to be booked through Carnival too. I just saw it on their excursions page.

 

I guess since it is an evening excursion and you didn't leave until 11 it might be a good choice for some.

[TrqoisWtrs]

Just catching up - another great review! We're sailing on the Valor 11/10, so I keep checking your previous review for tips! :)

[Caronrick]

Thanks for putting in the time and effort required for this review! All of us future Breezers appreciate it! :D I'm glad to read that you made a great time out of your experience! Thanks a lot!

[thumperphi]

Wow! What an awesome review! I found it a couple of days ago while looking for the fun times for the 8 day cruise on the Breeze. Some site took me to a link for the fun times and said they started on page 5. Well, of course, I got hooked into reading the whole thing from page 1 and I can hardly wait for the rest!:D

 

Thanks for the great review and all of the pictures! We sail on the Breeze on November 9th. Can't hardly wait! 24 more days;)

[deladane]

Thank you so much! I need to go read your latest review when I'm done writing this one! :)

 

Aww thanks! I think you'll enjoy it, since I know you did a Mediterranean cruise not too long ago :)

[Crusin Karen]

OMG...how did I miss this before? I have read every single one of your reviews but missed this one and just found it late this afternoon :eek: and I have been GLUED to my computer and have read every single word and looked at every single picture in ONE SITTING. I even told DH that I would make the dinner I had planned for tonight tomorrow and to order pizza instead because I was "busy." LOL...:p:o BTW, we went to Aruba once years ago on the Voyager of the Seas. We were there until late at night. We did the Kukoo Kunuka but it was a BAR HOPPING tour. It was INSANELY fun! :D:cool: Can't wait to read more and I so admire you for taking life by the horns! And LOVE your outfits! ;)

[pickles1942]

On the Breeze 4-26-14 can't wait. Loving your review.

[gapearl]

I'm having withdrawals,lol, waiting patiently for the rest of your review.

 

I so need to be going to sleep soon but I'm about to start on Curacao in a few minutes.

 

Yeah another GApearl review! I greatly enjoy all of your reviews! We are considering this cruise for our next one so I was glad to find you writing about it, looks like I will have to book it now!

 

 

Send from iphone 5 using Cruise Critic App

 

LOL well thanks! I hope Carnival sends me a commission check for your booking! ;)

 

Loving this review, Miss Kim! You are rocking those fab dresses as always! You look great - as soon as I saw your first post, I knew you had lost weight. Subscribed & ready to hear more about this fabulous cruise and that beautiful man!

 

Thank you for the nice comments! Keep reading! :)

 

Originally Posted by JaniceB

I did the Kukoo Kunuku bus tour when I visted Aruba on vacation. They took us to some local places, the trip was a lot of fun. Loved Aruba, too!

 

I did the Kukoo Kunuku bus tour when I visted Aruba on vacation. They took us to some local places, the trip was a lot of fun. Loved Aruba, too!

Looks like that has to be booked through Carnival too. I just saw it on their excursions page.

 

I guess since it is an evening excursion and you didn't leave until 11 it might be a good choice for some.

 

I was wondering how the tours would work out since we arrived into port late. You really can't do a long one since things will be closing before you know it.

[gapearl]

Just catching up - another great review! We're sailing on the Valor 11/10, so I keep checking your previous review for tips! :)

 

Thanks! People are still getting a kick out of that one. Enjoy the Valor and book Breeze next!

 

Thanks for putting in the time and effort required for this review! All of us future Breezers appreciate it! :D I'm glad to read that you made a great time out of your experience! Thanks a lot!

 

You're welcome! I hope you're writing everything down! LOL You'll enjoy the ship very much!

 

Wow! What an awesome review! I found it a couple of days ago while looking for the fun times for the 8 day cruise on the Breeze. Some site took me to a link for the fun times and said they started on page 5. Well, of course, I got hooked into reading the whole thing from page 1 and I can hardly wait for the rest!:D

 

Thanks for the great review and all of the pictures! We sail on the Breeze on November 9th. Can't hardly wait! 24 more days;)

 

I'm so glad you read the whole thing! LOL I hope you have a fantastic cruise! It'll be here before you know it! :D

 

Aww thanks! I think you'll enjoy it, since I know you did a Mediterranean cruise not too long ago :)

 

Yes, I did last year. I'd love to do another one some day. Plus I'm curious about the Sunshine. I don't think I've read a Sunshine review yet.

[gapearl]

OMG...how did I miss this before? I have read every single one of your reviews but missed this one and just found it late this afternoon :eek: and I have been GLUED to my computer and have read every single word and looked at every single picture in ONE SITTING. I even told DH that I would make the dinner I had planned for tonight tomorrow and to order pizza instead because I was "busy." LOL...:p:o BTW, we went to Aruba once years ago on the Voyager of the Seas. We were there until late at night. We did the Kukoo Kunuka but it was a BAR HOPPING tour. It was INSANELY fun! :D:cool: Can't wait to read more and I so admire you for taking life by the horns! And LOVE your outfits! ;)

 

Hi Karen! So glad you found me again! Someone from our group had thrown the idea out there about the Kukoo Kunuku bar hopping bus, but there really wasn't enough interest. I bet it's a blast though! I've never done a bar hopping bus before. Stick around and read the rest!

 

On the Breeze 4-26-14 can't wait. Loving your review.

 

Thanks for reading!

[gapearl]

 

 

 

 

 

[gapearl]

Thursday, 10/3

This was my first time visiting Curacao. Like Aruba, Curacao is a Dutch island. Add Bonaire (why don't the ships go there?) and you have the ABC islands. This was sure to be another fun day!

First view of the port area.

 

Hmmmm, I wonder where the Pelican Express is headed?

 

My mom and I were off the ship about 8:45 am and headed straight for the Irie Tours bus. I was planning to book a tour with Irie since they have great reviews and are cheap (twenty bucks, that's it). Lucky for us Elizabeth from our roll call contacted Irie and coordinated a group excursion. We filled up two buses, and I believe we even had a waiting list shortly before the cruise. Two Irie guides joined our group and friended some of us on that forbidden to talk about page, so we were totally hyped up when the day finally came. One of our buses was the Cura bus. I was on the Samba bus. Someone in the group nicknamed us the naughty bus, so that’s how we referred to ourselves for weeks and especially the day of. When I boarded, I was told what happens on the naughty bus, stay on the naughty bus!

 

WRONG!!!!

What happens on the naughty bus ends up in my cruise critic review! :D

 

The naughty bus.

 

Me and a naughty bus member with our driver and guide for the day, Ariel.

 

We were among the last to board and had to sit all the way on the back. We weren’t in a regular seat for two, but on a little bench. This was cool, though. We had room to stretch out, and I was closest to the cooler with the fruity rum drink called the pink flamingo.

 

[gapearl]

Pink flamingo #1, followed minutes later by pink flamingo #2.

 

 

We crossed over the bridge, where I got some great pictures of the ship. There’s a free ferry you can take if the bridge isn’t not available.

There goes the Cura bus.

 

 

 

We saw the country’s oil refinery they lease to Venezuela for $23 million a year.

[TwizzlersAddict]

Thursday, 10/3

This was my first time visiting Curacao. Like Aruba, Curacao is a Dutch island. Add Bonaire (why don't the ships go there?) and you have the ABC islands. This was sure to be another fun day!

 

I did this same tour the last 2x in Curacao. This is being back great memories.

While Carnival doesnt call on Bonaire several lines do.

http://www.infobonaire.com/cruises.html

 

 

Amazing snorkeling

Edited October 17, 2013 by TwizzlersAddict

[gapearl]

Ariel pointed out Lover’s Bridge. The story here goes that people jump off to their death after having relationship problems. Ariel wondered why his ex never showed any love here. LOL

Ariel said that Curacao has been listed as the #10 UNESCO world heritage site because of all the colorful buildings. However, I don’t see Curacao listed at all on their website. He told us the story of how all the buildings became so colorfully painted. See, once upon a time, all the buildings were white. Well there was this doctor that convinced the city to paint all the buildings these bright colors. Funny thing is he was secretly the main shareholder of the paint factory, so he got rich!

Some random shots around town.

 

 

 

This guy is clearly having a rough day.

 

 

 

 

[gapearl]

We stopped by the blue curacao manufacturing plant, where you could see the drink being made, have some samples, and buy a bottle or six to bring home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gapearl]

Here's where you get your samples. You can grab as many as you want. There are a few different flavors and colors. The dark one in the earlier pictures is the coffee flavor. I was a bit put off by the fact that CHILDREN, as in 10-12 years old, were going through the line happily sampling. Where were their parents?

 

 

 

 

I've got my bottle to bring home! If I remember correctly, it was $24. They have a sample pack of all the different flavors for $19 but golly those bottles were small.

 

 

I've already mixed this with some coconut rum I bought in Grand Turk and Ocean Spray cran-lemonade. It was good. Really, really good.

 

 

Back to the naughty bus for pink flamingo numberrrrrrrr.......Oh who cares!

 

[deladane]

Ariel said that Curacao has been listed as the #10 UNESCO world heritage site because of all the colorful buildings. However, I don’t see Curacao listed at all on their website. He told us the story of how all the buildings became so colorfully painted. See, once upon a time, all the buildings were white. Well there was this doctor that convinced the city to paint all the buildings these bright colors. Funny thing is he was secretly the main shareholder of the paint factory, so he got rich!

 

Curacao has always been on my list of must-visit places, partly because I think the colorful houses are so pretty! It reminds me a lot of the houses in Burano near Venice. This story is hysterical though! Who would have thought that is how Curacao got it's iconic colorful buildings?? haha

[gapearl]

More random stuff about Curacao. There are 65 different nationalities on the island. You can buy a really nice home here for about $250,000. Locals make soup from cactus; it’s good and high in iron. There’s Caracas Bay Island, where you would get quarantined in the early days if you got sick. Curacao is like the Sin City of Holland. We drove through the “projects” where rent is $100 a month. The government will pay that if you don’t have a job. Even the houses in the projects were nice! LOL

I wouldn't mind living in either one of these. This obviously isn't the projects I just mentioned, haha.

 

 

 

We stopped at some hill for some pictures.

 

 

 

What a view!

 

 

[cruisinJenF]

Stupid question...... How do you pronounce Curaçao? Cur-rock-o or cure-a-cay-o or cure-a-sow?

[gapearl]

 

 

The naughty bus!! WOOT WOOT!!!!

 

 

The Cura bus. BOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

 

Edited October 17, 2013 by gapearl

[gapearl]

Our tour was about an hour and a half, and we headed to Mambo Beach for another hour and a half.

 

There was this platform thing you could swim to and hang out on or jump off into the water. I was too lazy to swim out there, but the folks that did looked like they were having fun.

 

 

I could easily have spent the whole day here.

 

 

 

She took a nice little nap.

 

[gapearl]

We packed up and headed back to the port area for a little shopping. I think we were back here by 1ish. If you're making a stop to Curacao, book Irie Tours. You'll love it!

 

CC member alfthecruiser_1 and his wife. They were by far the cutest couple on the ship! Hey Al and Gayle! :D

 

 

[gapearl]

 

 

 

 

 

Reality hit right here at this moment that this was our last port stop and our cruise would soon be coming to an end. *sad face* Once back on the ship, I had lunch and followed that with a little time in the steam rooms and of course a nap.