Breeze or Sunshine? Thoughts?

[TwinsXTwo]

I will take my kids, ages 9 and 10, on a cruise in January 2015. The breeze has an 8 day western and Sunshine has a 7 day eastern caribbean that fit into the schedule. The cabin will be the same (family ocean view). The Breeze is $600 more.

My kids LOVE water slides. Is one ship's slides 'better'? (More of them? Faster? Higher? Steeper? More 'thrilling'? Good variety?)

Also, is there a benefit weather wise to travel eastern or western Caribbean in January? I'd prefer the warmer of the two if there is a difference.

I'm sure there are other issues to consider besides water slides, price, and weather. I'd love to hear your inputs and opinions.

Thanks!

[TwinsXTwo]

Oh yeah, and there are some Really bad reviews for the Sunshine right now so that does concern me a bit.

[riclop]

Thats an easy choice. BREEZE!!!

[DKF97]

I have no experience with the Breeze, but that would definitely be our choice. We were just not thrilled with the Sunshine and we will never sail on her again. I really wanted to sail out of New Orleans in March, but decided to wait till June for the Dream. We will have to deal with hot temps, but that was worth not having to get on the Sunshine again.

[k2excursion]

I ordinarily wouldn't recommend either of these ships, but between the 2, Breeze wins in a landslide. Breeze has the bad entertainment just like Sunshine has, but Breeze's theater is much larger, & Breeze has the 3D theater as an alternate option for evening entertainment (at an extra cost of course). The only thing that I can see that Sunshine has over Breeze is the Asian restaurant, which would not sway me.

Edited February 17, 2014 by k2excursion

[TwinsXTwo]

Is there another ship I should consider? It seems breeze is being recommended as the lesser of two evils.....

[golfadj]

Any of the conquest class ships but would stay away from any that have playlist productions now.

 

However on the other hand they come with hasbro that your kids would probably like.

[k2excursion]

Is there another ship I should consider? It seems breeze is being recommended as the lesser of two evils.....

 

I would say that if entertainment & evening shows don't matter at all, you'll be just fine on the Breeze. If you want some good shows in addition to the great waterpark, the Dream is a great choice. You would be giving up the upgraded burgers, breakfast burritos, an extra-pay Italian restaurant for dinner, & the ropes course with the Dream. For me personally, that's well worth it for the better shows & other great entertainment. For other people, they'd rather have the burgers. It depends on what you want for your family on the cruise.

 

Several of the ships have Playlist Production shows now, and those are what have been getting terrible reviews from people. Breeze, Sunshine, Glory, Conquest, Ecstasy, & a couple others have these shows. I think both Legend & Freedom are getting them when they go into drydock this year.

[CatlinSTJ]

I will take my kids, ages 9 and 10, on a cruise in January 2015. The breeze has an 8 day western and Sunshine has a 7 day eastern caribbean that fit into the schedule. The cabin will be the same (family ocean view). The Breeze is $600 more.

My kids LOVE water slides. Is one ship's slides 'better'? (More of them? Faster? Higher? Steeper? More 'thrilling'? Good variety?)

Also, is there a benefit weather wise to travel eastern or western Caribbean in January? I'd prefer the warmer of the two if there is a difference.

I'm sure there are other issues to consider besides water slides, price, and weather. I'd love to hear your inputs and opinions.

Thanks!

 

We're doing the Breeze Western Caribbean this summer with our kids (17, 14 and 6) after looking at several options. I think the Western itinerary has more "family friendly" ports than the Eastern, but that's my opinion. The reviews for the Breeze were much better, plus we liked the layout of the ship and the possibility of all those add on options. We've done the Playlist Production shows and they're "okay" - first time we've been on a ship where we haven't gone to all of the shows because it was just loud and not super interesting. But we were never bored, there were just other things we wanted to do more.

 

 

Next cruise: Carnival Breeze June 2014

[SportsMomof4]

I highly recommend the Breeze for kids. We were on the last 2 New Years sailings & my kids are now 8 & 15 year old twins. They had a blast both times & were never bored. This year we have the Sunshine booked for a change of itinerary. The complaints did concern me at 1st. But some people just complain about everything so I decided I needed to see the ship myself. When we were on the Breeze people complained about the long lines at the buffet. Never did we encounter any lines at prime times. Yes there was always a line at the mongolian wok, but they are preparing your food fresh. Also, there are lots of complaints on here about the sewage smell & not once on our 12 days on the Breeze did we ever smell it.