Long review of Carnival Breeze 8 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise with photos

[Family Travel Story]

10th Anniversary Cruise

My wife and I have been married for 10 years and are going to celebrate our milestone anniversary onboard the Carnival Breeze for a fun and exciting 8 night cruise to the Southern Caribbean. However, before I go any further with my review, let me first introduce ourselves. Our names are Ilona and Michael. We hail from a small city just north of Boston, Massachusetts. I am a lawyer and Ilona is a Nurse. We are both in our mid to late 30’s and have a 9 year old daughter. We are frequent cruisers, and in fact love to travel. However, this is the first vacation in several years just the two of us. Our daughter was staying home with grandma and grandpa. OK, now that the introduction is out of the way, let’s get to it.

On Saturday, the morning of the cruise, we woke up at 2:45 AM, when my alarm clock started to beep. I opened my eyes after getting a whopping 3 hours of sleep the night before and started to gather myself and Ilona so that we could get going. After a 30 minute drive to Logan Airport in Boston, we parked our car, grabbed our bags and hopped on the shuttle bus to the terminal. Once there, we realized that at 4:00 AM there are no coffee or breakfast places open yet, so we just chilled at our gate. Once 5:00 came, I headed over to the line 30 people deep at Dunkin Donuts and purchased a few breakfast sandwiches and drinks, brought them back to Ilona and we scarfed down our food, as the plane was only minutes away from boarding. Shortly thereafter our row was called and on to JetBlue for a short 3 hour flight to West Palm Beach Airport (“PBI”).

While in route to PBI, onboard our flight, I was able to watch my favorite Saturday morning TV show, the Sandwich King on Food Network right from the comfort of my seat. TVs are in and of themselves enough reason to continue to keep my loyalty to JetBlue. I am not the best flyer in the world, and the distraction of the TV, coupled with the real-time map helps keep my mind occupied. Once we landed at PBI, we got our bags, and headed over to Alamo to rent a car for a short drive down to Miami Airport, where we returned the car and hopped on to the free shuttle to the cruise pier.

Once we got on the ship, we went right to our cabin to unload our carry-on bags. This was the first time we have booked an aft balcony cabin, so we were surprised at how much nicer and larger the balcony was from a standard cabin or even the junior suite, which we had twice on the Valor. There was a full lounge, a reclining chair and a standard chair along with a small table. Also the view is a panoramic one, so that makes the extra fees definitely worth it. The only downside to this cabin is the very long walk down the hallway, if you want to do anything mid-ship or forward. However, the good news is that the marketplace buffet and family pool area is just above us, so a very short walk to those.

After checking out our cabin, we went up to get some lunch. There was a little Italian food which was not great, but I did not really care because I could not wait to try out Guy’s Burger Joint. I had the strait up with a bunch of veggie fixin’s and Ilona had the ringer. It was one of the best burgers we have had on a cruise ship. After that, was the muster drill and then the sail away party. However, our ship was delayed due to the fact that a passenger apparently had some sort of cardiac problem on the 11th deck. I think they took him off the ship while still in Miami. Thank god we had not left yet, as if this had happened only an hour later, we would have already been at sea. In any case, once we set sail, Ilona and I got some drinks and then returned to our room to watch the sail away from our aft-balcony, as I wanted to enjoy this private view. Unfortunately due to the very early morning, we both feel a sleep, and Ilona woke up first and then told me, we had missed the welcome aboard show and it was 8:45 PM. We got dressed quickly and then went to dinner. We both had the braised brisket. It was not bad, but from a Jewish boy’s standpoint, it was certainly not my mother’s or grandmothers J following dinner, we decided to call it an early night.

I am writing this on my balcony on the last night at sea, and the internet is very slow so I will upload photos when I get home tomorrow.

[PittsburghGirlee]

Great start...can 't wait to read the rest.

 

I did this exact same cruise a few weeks ago and loved it :)

[Lulu01]

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review .

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[jolyroger]

Looking forward to the rest of your review! Great start! And I'll say welcome home,it does stink being back to reality! But I'm sure you both missed that little one of yours!

[IMSAILING]

We are doing this itinerary May 10th. I was on the Breeze for the 6 day in October - but this will be my husbands first time on the Breeze. Looking forward to your review

[sprint180]

can't wait

[Family Travel Story]

A few photos from our first day on the ship:

 

 

 

 

 

[djaustin]

My daughter and I are also on the May 10th sailing and are so very excited! :D

[Family Travel Story]

DAY 2 – FIRST SEA DAY

 

I got up pretty early on the first full day, as I had gone to sleep so early the prior night. Ilona still wanted to sleep so I did a little exploring around 7:00 AM. I found the basketball court empty and shot around for 10 minutes or so, then checked out the spots square, where another couple of early risers were playing billiards (pool). I walked all the way around the ship on deck 11 and then saw Frazier playing on the big screen, so I decided to have a little breakfast burrito and watch for a bit. After my breakfast I found the serenity deck and sat in the hot tub for 20 minutes relaxing and trying to teach myself how to use my new camera. When I got out, I hit up the gym and tried to burn a few calories off before I added them all on this week. After that, I fetched Ilona from the room and we went to the marketplace so she could grab a little bit to eat and then found some chairs on the side of the ship on Deck 11 to lie in the sun for a couple of hours. We then rested for a bit and got ready for formal night and Lobster dinner. I must say coming from New England, the Lobster on the ships are not quite what we are used to, but I am sure for those who live in the South or the heartland, it must be a treat. I had my first warm chocolate melting cake of the cruise, which is my favorite dessert on any line. After dinner, we walked over to the theater and even though it was 45 minutes before the Motor City show, the place was filling up. We did manage to get good center stage seats only a few rows back, and listened to some of the best hits from the Motown era. After the main show, we went over to punch liners for an “adult comedy” show. I use this term very loosely, because I typically do like the adult comedians, but this woman was not even remotely funny, rather she was just disgusting. Moreover, I don’t think she actually told a joke, just made rude observations about a couple of college kids who sat in the front row. At one point she actually jumped on an 18 year old male and made some very inappropriate gestures while doing so. After the show, the new rule on Carnival is that you have to leave the room and get in line to come back in for the next show. We did not want to do this. Ilona went to the Casino for the rest of the night into the early part of the morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jcsuzeta]

I am a mere 20 days away from sailing the Breeze 8-day itinerary! I look forward to your review! Thanks for sharing!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Family Travel Story]

DAY 3 – GRAND TURK

On the third day, we arrived at Grand Turk very early, as we were only in port from 7 AM to 2:00 PM. There is a nice beach just a few minutes’ walk from the ship. However, there was one other ship in port with us, the HAL Westerdam, so this free beach was home for the day to about 6,000 people. Ilona and I rented a clamshell (2 lounge chairs with a cover for shade, for only $20. Ilona rested and slept most of the morning in our shell, while I rented snorkel gear for $10 at the beach and checked out the local sea life. The snorkeling is not bad for a beach, a good amount of fish, although not that colorful, and some rocks on the bottom. The water was pretty clear for until you got to about 8 feet deep, then became a little cloudier. After a few hours, we walked over to Margaritavile, for lunch and a couple of frozen drinks. After we got back on the ship and waited to watch the ship sail away from our balcony.

After an early morning on the beach and getting a lot of sun, we came back to our cabin and took a nap for a little bit. Later on we got ready for dinner and had a pretty good meal. I had the braised short ribs which is a meal I really enjoy and Carnival did a great job. Ilona had a pasta and seafood dish that was not as good, but still she said satisfying. After dinner we went to the main show for the evening, a juggling and physical comedy show, which was very entertaining. After that we went up to deck 11 and walked around a little. We even found a nice spot with a few sofas that we sat down and relaxed for a bit until Punch liners opened up for the comedy show of the night. After that, we called it a night and went back to our cabin, sat out on the balcony and listened to the waves crashing against the ship, while reading the following days fun times.

DAY 4 – LAROMMANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

This day started out nice, as our wake-up call came at 8:00 and we watched the ship sail into the port at La Rommana. We went upstairs to the buffet for breakfast, which I must say was not great. We decided that the room service meals was much better. In any case, we finished breakfast, changed quickly into our bathing suits and heading down to deck 0 to exit the ship. We had a fun excursion planned for this day, a catamaran sail to Catalina Island and snorkel. Once we got to the parking lot, we found our tour and boarded the bus for a 5 minute drive to the marina, which interestingly enough was the same marina I saw that morning from my balcony. Once onboard, as I always do with a catamaran, I headed right to the front of the boat and plopped myself down on the net, to take a few pictures of the sail out to the snorkeling site. The ride was fun, as the sail boat bounced up and down, with the occasional spritz of ocean spray. We seemed to be going quite fast and I had a great time. Once we got to the snorkel site, we got our gear and jumped right in. The snorkel site itself was not bad. The water was pretty clear and there were a good variety of coral and tropical fish to see. As a bit of background, I should note that Ilona and my favorite type of excursion is the sail and snorkel, so we have probably done a few dozen of these trips and this was definitely in the top third. Once we got back onboard the sailboat, rum punch were served and party music played over the speakers. It was a pleasant sail back to the ship.

We got back around 1:00, so just in time to head over to Guy’s Burger Joint for a Ringer. After lunch, we headed back to the cabin. I check my emails from the office and responded to a few clients and then Ilona took her afternoon nap, while I edited photos and worked on this review. Later that night we went to a fun show and Ilona then went to the Casino again.

DAY 5 ARUBA

On this cruise, we arrived into Aruba rather late in the day at 2:00 PM, so we took advantage and slept in a bit. We got up late morning got some breakfast in the main dining room for the only time on the cruise. It was not great food and the choices were limited, so we opted for the lido deck thereafter. After lunch we went back to the cabin, got our bags ready and around 2:15 started heading down the stairs. One of the biggest problems with this cruise is that there are simply too many people and not enough gangways to handle the exit. There was also no organization with respect to those who had excursions booked, so everyone just stands on the stairs starting on deck 5 and it took about 40 minutes to get off the ship. Once we got off the ship, we found our tour group and boarded the bus for the beach where we would catch a water taxi out to our sailboat for the afternoon, Mi Dushi. This is an 85 foot sail boat build in the 1920’s, with a lot of character. We first sailed to a sunken WWII German battle ship and snorkeled in that area. The water was very choppy, so Ilona only managed to stay in for 2 minutes. However, if you could handle the rough waves, the ship on the bottom of the ocean was very interesting to see. There was also some large fish down there. After this, we sailed for 5 minute to a nice reef area where the water was much calmer, and very clear. There were some amazing colored fish to see as well as some very nice coral. Once back aboard Mi Dushi, the crew provided an open bar, and some fresh fruit, chips and salsa for snacks, then music, dancing and a fun time. As we set sail back to the beach, the sun set over the Caribbean Sea, which was beautiful. Once we got back to town, Ilona and I had dinner and drinks at the Iguana Joes, then browsed whatever shops were still open and came back to the ship for the night.

DAY 6 – CURACAO

On our second fun day at sea we arrived at Curacao early the next day, and we got some quick breakfast put our bag together and headed out to the pier to find out tour group, for beach and snorkeling. We went to a very nice beach about a 30 minutes’ drive from the pier. The guide on the bus was very informative and gave us a great history lesson on the island and the Dutch culture in Curacao. When we arrived at the beach we were escorted to the snorkel fit area where we got our gear and headed into the water. One note of caution for this trip, you really need to be in good shape, as you swim for 30 minutes in what seemed like 2 or 3 miles in the open ocean, with some very rough waves. This made it very difficult when you got tired, and I must say for the first time in a long time, I was very glad I had a life vest on while snorkeling. The fish were vibrant and varied here, so if you can handle the exercise, it is well worth it. After the snorkeling, we got to spend an hour at the beach, and use the facilities including a bar with some very fresh tropical drinks. After the trip we walked around the shopping area, and purchased some trinkets for our family. We did have a close call, as I thought all on board was at 4:00 and it turns out it was 3:30, however thankfully Ilona asked someone who confirmed the 3:30, so at 3:25, we picked up the pace to get back to the ship. I have seen my fair share of pier runners on my numerous cruises and I must say, I don’t ever want to be one of them. However, if we had not asked just to be sure, we very well could have been on this last stop. After we got back on board, we made reservations at the Italian specialty restaurant, for $12 a person. The food was actually very good there. We got a nice Spatlys Riesling wine to share during dinner and then after Ilona went to the casino for an hour before the show. Again the biggest problem on this ship is too many people for the accommodations[TL1] , so when you show up with 15[TL2] minutes before a show, you may need to sit way back behind a pole. We did see a great show with a juggler / comedian, who was very entertaining.

DAY 7 &8 – FUN DAYs AT SEA

On our second fun day at sea Ilona slept in and I got up early, did some work, and then headed up to get some breakfast, and relax in the hot tubs and swimming pool. After Ilona woke up, we got some lunch at the pasta bar and then found some lounge chairs on deck 11. Unfortunately, I fell asleep in the sun and got a sun burn on my chest, feet and hands. Don’t ask me how these areas only got hit? After a relaxing afternoon, we tried the Sushi restaurant for pre-dinner apps and then had dinner followed up by the Latin dance and singing show. The cast is really very good. However, I think something happened to the 4th male performer before the show, because the show was delayed 30 minutes with no explanation and then the 4th male performer never appeared. If this was the case, it just shows how talented the cast is to still put on the show without one of its members, who did sing quite a bit in the previous shows, so I assume he had some parts that had to be picked up by the others, let alone his dance partner being without a match. After that, we went to a couple of comedy shows. I hate to beat a dead horse, but again, the problem on this ship, too many people, not the proper accommodations. So when one comedy show is over, they now make everyone leave the lounge and get in line and stand there for 30 minutes to watch the next show. I heard quite a few people complaining about this, but I must say, Jaylin, the comedian was really funny. After that, Ilona again went to the casino until very late.

[Family Travel Story]

Below please find photos from our vacation: at