Carnival Breeze 8 day South review

[bandtaxi]

We sailed on March 15, 2014, party of 8 with 4 cove balconies. I will have to say that the Carnival Breeze is now my favorite ship. Love the decor, cove balcony and there are sooo many choices for activities and food.

 

We flew into FLL the day before, rented a car and stayed in a small motel close to the beach in Ft. Lauderdale. We were up early on embarkation day. After a quick stop at a Publix market, we ate breakfast at quite possibly the slowest Denny's ever. (Or perhaps we were just in a hurry to get to the port!).

 

After dropping the car off at the airport, we took the shuttle to the port. 4 of us are platinum, so we checked in in different areas. We did see our friends waiting while we were boarding the ship, but they were on very shortly behind us.

 

We stopped by our room and dropped off our carryon stuff and met up with our friends at the Blue Iguana on the Lido deck. Grabbing a quick drink, we then got some food at the buffet, running into a very rude passenger demanding ranch dressing for his salad. WOW. Chill, it's vacation.

 

After lunch we headed out to explore. I made it to the back of the ship and up one level. I found a very comfy padded chair and sent the hubster off to explore on his own while I sat and enjoyed the sun.

Edited April 2, 2014 by bandtaxi

[bandtaxi]

The muster drill was uneventful and we we're soon on our way! We have early dining in the Blush dining room upper level. We had a great service team and enjoyed them all week. We took in a bit of karaoke then enjoyed the young man in the piano bar. This was a lively place with a great audience. Much more audience participation than the piano bars we have been in on other ships. Had to hit deck 10 for some ice cream before heading to bed after a long day.

[HENDRICKSFAN01]

Great start. Cant wait for more.

[bandtaxi]

Before starting on the day I want to say that one thing I love about Carnival cruises and reading reviews is that people of all ages and interests can find and do things they enjoy. I find it interesting how different opinions can be about the same subject.

 

Here is my main complaint about cruising.... People, when filling your personal water bottles with juice or lemonade or water or whatever, please, please, please us a clean cup, take it to a table and then fill your container from it. Several times I saw people with their personal containers take them to the water dispenser and stick them right up to the top (even having the dispensing tube down in their bottle). Really makes me not want to use the self serve beverages.... Ok... Off the soapbox now.

 

I had read about the terrific breakfast burritos, so that was my stop for breakfast. It was good, but breakfast isn't a meal where I eat a lot of food, so that was my only one.

 

Someone on our roll call on FB had organized a slot pull for this morning, so we went to the casino to participate. We took turns putting $21 in a machine and taking 7 pulls. I believe there were around 80 people involved. I'm a wimpy gambler.....penny and an occasional quarter slot for me, so it was fun to see that much money go in a machine a watch the outcome. While the end result was not a winning one, we had a great time.

 

Some of our group had sushi for lunch and said it was great, the rest of us had the C-side Bar B Q. I had a quick nap before tea at 3. I am now stuffed and knowing lobster is coming for dinner on this elegant night. Oh, we'll. I'm on vacation. Returning to the room after tea, we find our chocolate strawberries for be platinum cruisers. We relaxed on the balcony until dinner.

 

Lobster was plentiful at dinner and it all disappeared! Afterward, we changed clothes and went to the Red Frog for team trivia. We didn't win, but had fun! We decided to retire early as we had and early day tomorrow. Our platinum gift was in the room when we returned. Tervis Tumbler. These are different than the ones we received a year or so ago on the Fascination.

[dwaterhouse]

[quote

 

Here is my main complaint about cruising.... People, when filling your personal water bottles with juice or lemonade or water or whatever, please, please, please us a clean cup, take it to a table and then fill your container from it. Several times I saw people with their personal containers take them to the water dispenser and stick them right up to the top (even having the dispensing tube down in their bottle). Really makes me not want to use the self serve beverages.... Ok... Off the soapbox now.

 

 

I was on the same cruise and I totally agree with your above statement.....

Every time I saw it, I just wanted to yell at them... As a public health worker who deals with communicable diseases... I just wish people would think of others as well as read the signs posted.... They are there for a reason. :mad:

Edited April 2, 2014 by dwaterhouse

[bandtaxi]

A short docking time in Grand Turk called for an early morning. This is a small island. 7 miles by 1 1/2 miles. More people came in on the two ships here today than the number of people living on the island!

 

You can swim and sun here right next to the ship. Margaritaville is here also. We are not interested in huge crowds, so we knew this wasn't for us.

 

We rented bicycles and went geocaching for the short time we were here. We rode to the "town" where the museum is, then headed north toward the lighthouse. We realized we were not on the correct road to get clear to the lighthouse and because of the timing, we didn't want to ride back to town to get on the correct road, so we just road to the west side to get to the water. I believe this island had the most beautiful and brilliant blues in the water that we saw the entire trip. We got our feet wet (and sandy) before heading back south toward the ship. Saw salt flats, cactus, and horses roaming on this island. We had a hard wind heading back, so we were glad we didn't make the complete trip to the lighthouse. We were successful in our geocaching also!

 

We had a late lunch at Guys. WOW! I think I could eat these everyday! The party for past guests was tonight before dinner. This was a bit different than in the past. Only a couple of choices for drinks, and they weren't as plentiful, but the glasses were larger. I don't know if this is fleet wide or just this ship. There were also people getting drinks of their choice, but we just went with what was offered. Don't really care what it is if it's free. I know some people think it's lame, but I enjoy the short video where we get to applaud the ships we have sailed.

 

Had a great dinner, then spent time in the piano bar afterwards. One person in our party didn't like being "called out" by the piano guy. The rest of us thought it was funny. We spent a bit of time in the casino, walked on deck 5, then caught comedian in the comedy club. Spent some time on the balcony before turning in for the evening. Our room stewards, Su and Vicktoria are great!

[HENDRICKSFAN01]

A short docking time in Grand Turk called for an early morning. This is a small island. 7 miles by 1 1/2 miles. More people came in on the two ships here today than the number of people living on the island!

 

You can swim and sun here right next to the ship. Margaritaville is here also. We are not interested in huge crowds, so we knew this wasn't for us.

 

We rented bicycles and went geocaching for the short time we were here. We rode to the "town" where the museum is, then headed north toward the lighthouse. We realized we were not on the correct road to get clear to the lighthouse and because of the timing, we didn't want to ride back to town to get on the correct road, so we just road to the west side to get to the water. I believe this island had the most beautiful and brilliant blues in the water that we saw the entire trip. We got our feet wet (and sandy) before heading back south toward the ship. Saw salt flats, cactus, and horses roaming on this island. We had a hard wind heading back, so we were glad we didn't make the complete trip to the lighthouse. We were successful in our geocaching also!

 

We had a late lunch at Guys. WOW! I think I could eat these everyday! The party for past guests was tonight before dinner. This was a bit different than in the past. Only a couple of choices for drinks, and they weren't as plentiful, but the glasses were larger. I don't know if this is fleet wide or just this ship. There were also people getting drinks of their choice, but we just went with what was offered. Don't really care what it is if it's free. I know some people think it's lame, but I enjoy the short video where we get to applaud the ships we have sailed.

 

Had a great dinner, then spent time in the piano bar afterwards. One person in our party didn't like being "called out" by the piano guy. The rest of us thought it was funny. We spent a bit of time in the casino, walked on deck 5, then caught comedian in the comedy club. Spent some time on the balcony before turning in for the evening. Our room stewards, Su and Vicktoria are great!

 

How much did bikes cost? I love guys burgers too. And I also love the video of past cruises. So VIFP party is on the night you were at Turks? Loving the review.

[Mizzouaholic]

good review so far

[bandtaxi]

How much did bikes cost? I love guys burgers too. And I also love the video of past cruises. So VIFP party is on the night you were at Turks? Loving the review.

 

I believe the cost of the bikes was $30 for tandem and $20 each for the singles.

[bandtaxi]

We had a slow morning as our shore excursion here was not until afternoon but we were still up early for a walk/run on deck 5, then breakfast. We don't eat a lot for breakfast, so the food options on deck 5 are great for us. The biggest things I miss on deck 5 are the crushed ice and the passion fruit drink.

 

We enjoyed the hot tub on deck 5 where it wasn't as crowded and noisy. I do think its kinda weird to be sitting in the hot tub right below the balconies above. This would be one reason I would not book a balcony on deck 6. You aren't looking down at the water, you are looking down onto deck 5.

 

After room service lunch, we were off for our dune buggy adventure. This excursion will have you expecting to be covered with mud, and you will be if there has been rain. Unfortunately for us that was not the case. But it was still great fun! It was a fun, dusty ride through sugar cane fields and small towns. We gave out lots of $1 bills to small children along the road. Back to the ship and showers for all. We had dust and dirt everywhere!

 

Dinner tonight was in the steakhouse. Food was delicious and the drinks were powerful. Stopped for a bit in the casino, then outside to walk. It was too windy to walk around the front of the ship, so we stood at the back and enjoyed the night air. Slept with the balcony door open tonight.

[WiscoGirl32]

What company did you book the dune buggy excursion with? Could you tell me how much it was? Any pictures? Thanks! Loving the review!

 

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk

[bandtaxi]

What company did you book the dune buggy excursion with? Could you tell me how much it was? Any pictures? Thanks! Loving the review!

 

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk

 

We booked through Carnival. We usually do not book thru the cruise line, but we did not feel comfortable here going on our own. I know a lot of people booked beach excursions with outside groups with no problems. I will try to post some pics.

[bandtaxi]

Dune buggy pictures

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review.

[WiscoGirl32]

Thanks for the picture!! It looks awesome!!

 

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk

[Cruzinbabe06]

Thank u for taking the time to post your review.:D

[bandtaxi]

Today we do not dock until 2 pm. Still, we are up early for 3 mile walk on deck 5, followed by breakfast in the dining room to use our free drink coupons from the VIFP club. After some time in the hot tub and a nap on deck, we had lunch at Guy's. Love this place!

 

We got off the ship about 2:30 to head to the beach. Knowing our time was short for daylight, we took the bus that was right at the pier to Eagle Beach. This cost $5 pp. Lounge chairs at the beach were $15 or 2 for $25. We had 8 people, so he made us a deal for $40. Don't know how much of a deal it was....... Another $5 pp. We walked on the beach and searched for a geocache. We were told we could use the facilities across the road, so as the sun went down we went in search of a drink and some food. We ended up walking a bit further to Pizza Bob's. Good pizza and good beer. Since we had plenty of time, we took the city bus back to the port area. $2.30 pp. it took us just a few blocks from the ship.

 

We boarded the ship and cleaned up from our beach day. We went to the 3D theatre and saw Planet Earth. This was fun, but we did not opt to get the unlimited tickets. Being the old fuddy duddies that we are, we walked a bit, spent some time at the Red Frog and called it a night before sail away at 11:30 pm.

[bandtaxi]

We had booked a jeep Eco tour through Curaçao Acticief. We had a great time on this tour. Howard was our driver and took us to the the Atlantic coast area to see the rugged, beautiful and mostly uninhabited areas. We went a short distance into a cave, saw lots of iguana, blowholes with beautiful waves crashing. We saw a sign for Kokomo Beach, and since we are from Kokomo, Indiana, we asked if he would stop so we could take a picture!

 

Some in our party had booked a snorkeling trip with this same company. They said the snorkeling was amazing. Probably the best they had ever done.

 

After the excursion, we walked around town a bit and got the opportunity to see the floating bridge open for a boat to enter. Very interesting.

 

After dinner that evening, we checked out the casino, walked on deck 5 and called it a night.