8 Days on the BREEZE: FlyingCruiserNJ's Southern Caribbean Vacation Review

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks! I'm also booked on the Breeze in December and I just booked SAS Transportation. I've been trying to figure out the best way to get from FLL to POM and it sounds like this works out very well.

 

John and Priscilla, see you on the Breeze on 12/6! :)

 

They also don't make you pay in advance, only when you actually use the service and if you have more than four people in your party, they only charge $13 a person. Really good service. I found out about them from reading a lot of reviews on cruise critic. I have also used ALL-STARS transportation when I stayed at the Laquinta Dania Beach FLL, and they are also reliable and reasonably priced. There really are plenty of options to choose from. Almost all of them are better than booking Carnival's $35 per person per way or whatever they charge and a whole lot more comfortable than riding on a bus with 50 other people. lol

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

May I ask why you flew into FLL instead of Miami?

Thank you for doing this review:)

 

Thanks for reading my review. Day 3 is coming sometime tonight. There are a whole lot more options for flying into Fort Lauderdale than there are to Miami, at least from Philadelphia/Delaware/Maryland/South Jersey/Newark, etc. Depending on where you fly from, FLL can be THE only option. Not to mention it is way more affordable to fly into FLL than MIA and if you get a good hotel rate in FLL and decent transit to POM, FLL makes way more sense than MIA.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

I'm glad your back and thanks for posting the pictures! On one of my cruises I also used SAS and did not have a good experience. On the way to the hotel...no problems but picking us up after the cruise - they never showed up....after many, many phone calls they still did not show. Us and another couple had to take a taxi to FLL as they were about to miss their flight!

 

Can't wait to see more pics and read more of your review!

 

Glad you are enjoying the review so far. I would say that SAS picks up as many people between 900 and 1000 as they can and then they shift to getting people picked up to head to the port so sometimes there is a gap for people who get off the ship later. That happened to me when I used them in May but I was one of the last few people off the ship and all the vans were in the process of getting ready to pick up pax going to the terminal so that's why it took them a while to get me then. They say they won't pick you up until 900 even if you get off the ship early and call them, not sure though. We got out of the terminal right around 915 and the van was literally waiting there for us when we got to the curb. No wait at all. We were back at the airport before 1000. If we had gotten off when they actually called our zone at like 815, we would have gotten back to the airport even earlier. And believe me, the pics do get better later in the cruise. I took a ton of them in Curacao and Aruba and of the main attractions on the ship itself.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Great start to your review !! I will be following along !

We loved the Breeze and can't wait to sail on her again.... that reminds me -- I better get back to my review and get it finished ! :D

 

Thanks. I will probably sail the Breeze again someday also. I can't wait to see your review also! Happy cruising!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks for the review! Did you happen to use the internet while on the Breeze?

 

Thanks for reading! I used the internet for a few minutes, just to check email and take care of getting set up for my flight home. It isn't very fast and the minutes do really add up quickly if you don't pay attention to it. We just did pay as you go which is 75 cents a minute, but if you are going to use the internet for any extended period of time or multiple times, get one of the packages which charge less per minute, the more minutes you buy and of course you prepay for this.

[Momma1980]

Thanks for the reply to my question! Makes sense now:)

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

So, here is part three of this review of the Carnival Breeze 8-day southern Caribbean sailing from the week of September 27. This was a sea day, on our way to Grand Turk.

DAY 3: FIRST SEA DAY

This was our first day away from Miami - our first day on the open seas. Grand Turk is a ways away from Miami, so today was a chance to just check out everything the Breeze has to offer. Nowhere to be, just hang out and chill. I woke up around 1100 and just hung around on the balcony a little bit. My mom and I were hungry and she likes the seaday brunch experience so we went up there to the main dining room for that about 1230. We met two friends from Atlanta at our table and brunch was good. I got a ham and bacon omelet with potato pancakes on the side. It was ok but honestly, I prefer lido breakfast. Faster service and you can get as much food as you want. The little rolls they have at seaday brunch are good though.

Here's a pic of brunch:

 

I left brunch around 1330 and headed up to the Piano bar for the scheduled cruise critic meet and greet. I got there and there weren't a whole lot of people left so I moved onto the Fat Jimmy's C-Side BBQ pit on the lanai deck for more food. I wish I could have met some more of the cc people I talked to on the roll call, maybe next time. Although I did meet at least one roll call member later on, during a shore excursion....more on that later.

I went to the bbq, which consists of grilled chicken, kielbasa, Italian sausage, pulled pork, potato salad, spicy condiments and veggies, along with a beer tent at the end of the line for people who want a brew to go with their bbq. I believe they have chipotle cornbread also which I didn't try but it may have been good. The line wasn't too long today and I got my stuff and sat down inside, on promenade deck right next to the casino bar. This was Sunday and of course, a lot of people were watching their favorite NFL team in action on the tvs at the bar.

Here is a pic of my goodies from the barbeque and a shot of the serving line setup:

 

A side note: TV channel selection on Carnival is non existent. If you don't want to watch CNN international or network TV, there is literally nothing to watch on tv. I know you don't cruise to watch TV but it is still nice to have some connection to the outside world when you get back to the cabin for a nap or at the end of the evening. I have ranted about this before but it hasn't gotten any better. I know RCCL and have heard NCL both have better channel selection in the cabins.

The casino is huge on this ship. It is actually divided into two sections with a main street-type corridor passing thru the middle. Pretty cool. There is also a bar there that still allows smoking, for those of you who are concerned about the recent crackdown on smoking Carnival has done. The Bonsai sushi bar is also next door to the casino, and right next to it is the Red Frog Pub, which is a sitdown type restaurant. I do not know if they serve food or not however, as I couldn't tell when I walked through and didn't ask. It wasn't terribly crowded either.

To the forward of the promenade deck is the theater which I didn't go to at all because the production shows are lousy now and even if they weren't, I have already seen motown and the Brits too many times. Also located there are the gift shop, cherry on top and the high-end jewelry places. I didn't go into any of these places on this ship so I can't comment on what was inside any of them. I might be wrong about this, but I read that many of these stores are just leasing out space from Carnival and the people who work inside them are not employed by Carnival. Keep that in mind if you ever have an issue with products or customer service in these places. Carnival won't really own up to what goes on in these places as I have seen in the past with rude workers in the fun shops.

Towards the aft of the ship is a latte bar thing and the nightclub, called Liquid. I will post the pics I took of these places when I do my wrap-up at the end of the review, I know there is a limit of how many pictures that can be posted at one time. Behind the club is the piano bar 88 and the limelight lounge, which is where the punchliner comedy shows and the karaoke is held. Next door is the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse, which I did visit a few days later. Plenty of stuff to do on promenade and the lanai also, for that matter. The lanai is an outside deck that wraps all around the 5th deck and has multiple hot tubs and places to relax, away from the loud vibes of the lido deck.

I also noted quite early here that the decks are not named, other than lido, sports and the atrium/promenade/lanai. The usual Riviera, Main, etc for cabins are just numbered. Maybe there are just too many decks to name each individually on this ship. lol. I believe this ship goes up to deck 12. Also, elevator service is good. There is a bank of glass elevators in the atrium that goes all the way from deck 2 to the top which is an improvement over some ships, where they only go to the promenade deck for example. Also, there are about 4 or more sets of elevators shipwide so it's not a long walk to get to an elevator anywhere and there are rarely waits for one, even during busy times.

Now, after wandering for a while I went back to the cabin to take a nap. I went to the hot tub at about 1800 as I often do and just hung out for a while. After that I again went back to the cabin and I watched the ending of the Eagles-49ers game on the cabin TV, and the ending was a good one for an Eagles hater such as myself (at time of writing this review I must say they are the worst 4-1 team I have ever seen and they will come back to reality sooner or later). When the game was over I got ready for dinner and this evening was formal night, or as they call it, Cruise Elegant night.

We went to dinner at 2015 and I will say some people got all dressed up and some didn't. Nothing too lacking in taste though from anyone. No tuxedos that I could see. Guess that is totally out of style now. I showed up in my best suit and tie for lobster and ribs night. I finally took the advice of other people from cc and informed our servers that I wanted more than one lobster this night. He brought me a second as I finished the first. The tiger shrimp they serve with the lobstah is just as good as the lobstah itself with drawn butter. Also, the St. Louis style spare ribs were succulent tonight as usual. Just wish they wouldn't have ribs and lobster on the same night but that probably will never change so we deal with it. I got my wcmc and I think cherries jubilee for dessert and got a nice pic taken in my full best suit outside the Blush restaurant.

Pics of dinner and me outside mdr:

 

 

After dinner, we went to see the comedian at the 2315 show, who was Jason Blanchard. He was absolutely awful. Bad jokes, one trick pony, etc. Some sex jokes are funny. Just not when they aren't funny and that's all he talks about. He didn't talk about anything else and not many people laughed. Waste of time for sure. I will talk about the seating arrangement in the lounge later on, just know it is awful and if you have ever seen a comedy show in here, you probably know what I am talking about already. The other comedian for the first half of the cruise, Roman Murray, was much better the next night.

Anyway, after the show was over we headed up to get a late night snack and some hot chocolate on lido deck as I like to do after comedy shows. They had hot dogs but no fries at the good eats line, all the way aft near the pizzeria. The dogs weren't bad at all. The I went back to the cabin, I got to see our towel animal and we got our platinum gifts, which are the Carnival toiletry bags. Nice. Definitely something you can use, especially when traveling. We double checked the funtimes for the next day's activities and I headed to bed, as tomorrow was an early day in Grand Turk.

Platinum gifts/towel animal/next day's funtimes:

 

Hope you enjoy so far. Day 4: Grand Turk is up next. Happy cruising!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Well, I finally got to it. Here is part 4 of my Carnival Breeze 8-day southern review. Day 3 was a sea day, Tuesday, day 4, was a trip to the beautiful island of Grand Turk.

DAY 4: GRAND TURK

Today we visited Cockburn Town, Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos islands. It was an early arrival and departure as we parked at the dock alongside the Carnival Glory at approximately 0800. Much too early. I had been to this island and took an extensive tour across the island and to the Conch Farm in the past, so there really isn't much else to see and do here once you have been here once. We woke up around 1000 and got room service breakfast delivered to the cabin. My mom is old school and so she still submitted the little form that you request what you want and hang on the door handle that they collect the night before but it looks like you can order room service through your room tv on this ship.

At approximately 1100, we made our way down to deck 0 and exited the ship onto the very long dock they have in Grand Turk. I understand the old port area they had was destroyed in a hurricane some years ago and the entire port area is newly rebuilt in just the last few years. I can believe this, as seeing this place on a tour a few years ago, many, many structures were flattened and not yet rebuilt or repaired. It is a nice port now though. Just a long walk to the entrance to the port and shops. My mom took a lot more pictures on her camera on this vacation and I do think she got one of me near the Welcome to Grand Turk sign painted on the seawall. We passed through the pretty large Dufry duty free shop on the way to the port and headed over to the taxi cab area.

I had read extensively about Jack's Shack on this very site and so I just had to check it out. Jack's Shack is a beach bar and restaurant located about a half-mile from the port and is really a kind of off-the-beaten-path kind of experience. Like in ports such as Cozumel, taxi prices and zones are clearly listed and there is a dispatcher there to answer any questions people may have about these services. Obviously private and ship-purchased excursions are met in another area. We requested to go to Jack's and the cab got us there in a few minutes. Ours was his first stop, as there were other people going further out in the island also in our cab. He arranged to pick us up at 1230, which would give us about an hour and a half to hang out there. I would say if you are physically fit, one could probably walk to Jack's on their own along the side of the road or the beach itself but my mom has a harder time getting around so we opted for a cab. I believe it was $10 for both of us each way including tip which is a little steep but hey, it's vacation and the guy has to make a living, right?

We got off at Jack's, which is located a few hundred feet off the main road and you would never find it if you didn't know where to look. There is a simple sign that says Jack's Shack on the wall and a covered walkway along the side of the building that leads to the covered deck and beach. We got seated and looked at the menus. They have a fairly extensive drink and food menu, pretty affordable, and a bar located right in the middle of the action. I had heard how great their jerk chicken is, so I ordered a serving of it along with fries and a special Blue Mojito. The chicken is good, sadly I didn't have my camera out and thus didn't get a picture but I do have to say the mojito was kind of nasty. Plenty of alcohol but I just didn't like the taste. There was a large group of people from Georgia or Alabama sitting behind us and I think they drank up the entire bar worth of beer. lol They were having a blast though.

I headed down to the water to go for a swim and it was really nice, warm, blue water and white sand beaches in Grand Turk. The bottom drops off quickly, within 50 feet of the beach you can no longer stand, but the currents are gentle and not a whole lot of wave action to deal with. I saw a few schools of minnows or something swimming around as I headed into the water also. There were a lot of people in the water I must say. Relaxing and I got a bit of a sunburn here. Temps were probably in the mid to upper 80s this afternoon with bright sunshine.

The Jack's Shack mascot is Topher, a little dog that runs around on the sand and likes to catch toys that people toss up in the air. I didn't get a pic but there are plenty on the interwebs if you wonder about Topher. A few of us had an empty water bottle that we were keeping him busy with. There were also a few other dogs that live there that I didn't know about in the past but it was cool seeing them. I will say that if Topher doesn't catch the bottle when you throw it and it goes into the water, he will not go into the water to get it. I don't know why. Another dog spent a full half hour digging a huge trench in the sand. I have no idea why either but it was funny to watch. There also is a beach volleyball setup here and a few people were playing. I didn't play because the sand was too hot to stand on for an extended period of time but I could have easily schooled everybody who was playing at the time. haha Anyway, our time at Jack's was nearing an end so we paid our $30 for drinks and food with tip and I collected my stuff so we could meet the cab again at 1230.

Here is a shot of me on the beach with the aforementioned volleyball net and our ship wayyy off in the background. Vacation, eh?

 

 

At 1230 we got our cab back to the port and headed to Margaritaville. I had been at this place in the past and it is probably the nicest Margaritaville I have ever been to. Second place is Freeport, third place is Ocho Rios, fourth is Nassau and fifth is Grand Cayman. This place was built from scratch along with the dock a few years ago, after the big hurricane. They have a wave runner and a pool that rings all the way around the property. They always have dance competitions and things of the sort and it is always crowded and lively. I ordered a regular margarita and went to swim for a little while. They also have a swim-up bar here but not a lot of people were using it. For those interested, there is also a beach with chairs and palm trees at the Margaritaville for those who didn't get to go on a beach anywhere else on the island. Great views of the ship from here, as we are really only a few hundred feet from the dock at this location. I came back to the table, finished my margarita and it was nearly 1330 by this time.

A pic of my margarita at Margaritaville - again my camera was tucked away so I didn't get any pics of the pool area sadly:

 

All pax were supposed to be back on by now and the ship was supposed to leave at 1400. Of course many, many people were behind me to get back to the ship so I had no worries of missing the ship. My mom went back to the ship and I walked around the port area a little to see some sights. There really isn't a whole ton of shopping and no other bars where you can sample a local beer for a reasonable price here. Oh well. I walked over to the area that commemorated John Glenn's Friendship 7 NASA mission that hit Grand Turk on re-entry in 1962. Of course I got a picture of this. After wandering some, I headed back through the checkpoint, which always requires all pax to have a photo id and ship card with them for admittance to the pier. I did stop on the dock to get this selfie, with our ship on my left (photo right) and the Glory on the other side of the pier from us. I got back onboard at 1345 and headed up to lido for lunch.

Here are a few pics:

[URL=http://s1027.photobucket.com/user/flyingcruisernj/media/20140929_132505_zpsgegck3bo.jpg.html][/url]

Once back onboard, I headed up to the Blue Iguana Burrito and Taco Bar for lunch. They have made-to-order burritos and tacos but I have to say the burritos are way, way better than the tacos. Their tacos are just a little meat inside a tortilla but the selection of stuff to put in a burrito is extensive. They will make it however you want it and the line was never longer than about 10 minutes. So, I got that and also went to try out the Tandoor Indian food selection. That is all the way aft, near the pool and it is good. They have meat, rice, veggies, etc. A different selection every day. I got some chicken and rice today. No wait at all here. I also got some really good chicken fingers from the comfort food line, on the lido marketplace, midship. The line usually isn't too long here but it can be up to 15 minutes at busy times. I got a soda from the tides bar and sat down and enjoyed lunch with my mother, who got something from the buffet line which I think was French today but maybe I have my days mixed up. We watched sailaway from Grand Turk and we headed down to deck 4 to see our pictures at the photo gallery. Keep in mind most food options outside of Guy's burgers (1800) close at 1430 everyday so unless you are in line by that time, no food for you. I wish the buffet lines would stay open later but that probably will never change either.

After seeing and laughing at my pics in the gallery, I got cleaned up and we headed to the VIFP Gold/Platinum/Diamond party, held in the theater. I lied before when I said I didn't go into the theater at all. lol. This was the one time I went in there and everybody is just there for the fun and the drinks, the fun and the drinks... They always put a little invitation in your cabin the day before to let everyone know when the party was to be held and you can clear your schedule to make it. Ours was scheduled for 1600 on this cruise. It is a 45-minute affair with a live band playing and bar staff handing out as many funship specials and ham and cheese sandwiches as possible. Of course you can order whatever you want but it will take longer to get it as they have to go to the bar and have it made whereas they walk around the room with trays full of the funships. I got about four I think. haha. My mom got a pina colada as she said she didn't like the funship specials.

Cruise director Matt appeared on the stage and thanked everyone for their continued sailing with Carnival and showed the video of the entire Carnival fleet, where everyone cheered if they have been on each ship as it is shown. Hundred of plats on this ship and I think a handful of diamonds with the champ having about 270 days at sea in total. The diamonds are all welcomed up on stage and the ship's officers are also introduced here. It was cool. Matt encouraged everyone to drink as much as possible and do as much damage to CCL's bottom line as possible in our allotted 45 minutes. It was funny. They ended the party with couples dancing on stage and by 1700, it was all over. I went back to the cabin to take a nap until it was time for dinner.

Tonight was a normal dinner night in the MDR, as I got a flat iron steak and chateaubriand, cooked medium for my dinner as well as a wcmc for dessert. I think I just got beef barley soup for an app but I cannot honestly remember. It was good. I have to mention the lighting in the Blush dining room is a cool, pinkish shade all the time and that is different than I have ever experienced on Carnival. Neat. Since very few people in our area actually showed up to dinner, our waiters were bored and spent a lot of time checking up to make sure we were all good. Anyway, after dinner we went to the later comedy show of Roman Murray in the limelight lounge.

Pic of me at dinner:

 

 

 

There are two late comedy shows - one at 2200 and one at 2315. We were actually going to try to hit the early show but the line was wrapped literally around the ship to get in. There is very little seating in the lounge, so we headed off to the casino to lose a few dollars while we waited for the late show. I lost a few bucks on the penny slots but my mom actually won $25. Go figure. She rarely goes into casinos. Luck.

So, we headed back to the lounge at 2245 to get in line for the late show. They make everyone leave the lounge and re-enter if they want to see the second show. We didn't even get seats here but at least we got into the show and I have to say this guy was much funnier than Jason Blanchard was the previous night. His delivery was better, his jokes were varied and he had the audience laughing the entire time. I also got a Punchliner drink from the bar, which is still strong but not as good as it has been in the past. Google the ingriedients if you are interested. I think they changed them slightly from the last time I had gotten one. Still not bad for $10 with tip.

 

After the show, I went up to lido, got a piece of pepperoni and a piece of plain pizza and a soda and we just chilled out and peoplewatched for a while. The line can get a little long at the pizzeria after events such as comedy hour because there are always hungry people leaving them and nothing else is open on the ship at midnight. At about 0030, I got some hot chocolate and headed back downstairs to go to bed for the night. La Romana, Dominican Republic was up the next day. Hope you are enjoying so far.

Edited October 13, 2014 by FlyingCruiserNJ

[Elmo31]

I've been to grand Turk but haven't been to the other ports you went. I can't wait to read about them. We are doing the same route in December :)

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

I've been to grand Turk but haven't been to the other ports you went. I can't wait to read about them. We are doing the same route in December :)

 

Thanks for following along. I'm getting this thing done, one day at a time. Grand Turk is nice but it surely wasn't the main attraction on this cruise. Curacao and Aruba were the places everyone was eager to see. I have tons of pics from both places and a lot to say about my experiences on each island. You will really enjoy your time on the Breeze. It's really an overwhelming experience, even for a seasoned cruiser and 8 days just doesn't feel like enough time onboard.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

OK, here it is finally. The fourth day of the cruise, fifth day of the vacation. Today we went to La Romana, Dominican Republic. Here is my summary of the day.

DAY 5: LA ROMANA

Today we visited La Romana, in the Dominican Republic. Honestly there isn't too much to see here, as there is a town nearby but not accessible to the cruise port and any excursions took the entire day to do and cost an arm and a leg. Based on the recommendations of other cruisers and people from reviews on this site, I elected to not venture out of the immediate area on this day. That doesn't mean it isn't a nice area to look at from the ship or that nothing got done this day however.

La Romana is a port area on I believe, the southeast coast of the Dominican Republic and is just sort of there, remote and away from everything. Why Carnival goes here is a mystery. There are other places with more to do in the DR that they could go to for sure. I guess they have a reason.

We docked at sometime around 0800 if I recall correctly but I slept in some today. No point getting off the boat if there's really nothing to do in port. I sat out on the balcony to watch the activity around the dock for a while and it was hot here, even in the late morning. Also a concern is mosquitoes here, as I have heard the heavy mosquito population carries some nasty diseases so I made sure to not spend too much time in situations where I could get bitten. It seems like a most people didn't go far here today so the ship and immediate area wasn't really all that empty. It was more of a day to enjoy the ship itself, than to go on a costly and time-consuming shore excursion.

All morning long there was a drill going on, simulating an emergency evacuation involving the captain, cruise director and the crew. They were making announcements every few minutes and it was interesting to see and hear how coordinated the whole process is. It's good that they practice this often as you never know when they will actually have to do the real thing.

After this was over, I went off the ship for a while and just explored the port area. They are doing some construction here and it seems they are building a welcome center with some shops and whatnot in the area at the top of the hill right near the ship. As of now, all they have is a taxi port, a monument rock that says welcome to La Romana, and a very, very small duty free shop and a pavilion with a nice view of the ocean. This is where the purchased shore excursions picked up and dropped off also. About a 5 minute walk from the ship. Everything is printed in Spanish here, so it is good that I have enough understanding of the language to have an idea of what the signs along the way said.

Here are a few pics of the port area in La Romana:

 

 

 

I didn't hang around for too long in the port and walked back onto the ship somewhere between 1300 and 1400. I was hungry and my mom wanted to check out the Cucina del Capitano, so we went there for lunch. It is open for lunch every day, and there is usually no wait for seating. It is also free for lunch although there is a $15 upcharge for dinner. We did make reservations for dinner here later in the cruise. They have self-service lemonade, water and iced tea in the restaurant and a little slip that you fill out to place your order that a waiter comes around and collects. It does take a little time to get your entrees but everything was good when we got it. I got some spaghetti with shrimp and sausage. Not bad.

Of course I was still hungry after this so I went and got a burrito from the blue iguana cantina, located on the lido deck right before you go into the lido marketplace dining area. I got a wheat tortilla with cilantro lime rice, beef and chicken made to order. It was good. They also offer jalapeno tortillas and all kinds of other ingredients to go into the burrito. I also got another pig patty from Guy's burgers today. Not bad. You do have to tell the person if you don't want lettuce and tomato on your burger beforehand though, as if you don't tell them they will automatically put it on. They also give you a decent handful of fries with each burger and then on to the toppings bar nearby. Too much stuff to choose from there.

 

After lunch, I went up to the top of lido to watch us sailaway from La Romana. I don't think there were any pier runners this time but I wasn't really paying attention this time. I did take a few pics of the ocean and the surrounding area, and the DR is a very green, picturesque place. I got a pic of some nearby baseball and softball fields, and we watched some teenagers play ball for a little while from high up on deck before we left. Baseball is huge in the DR. Many, many good MLB players have come from here. Perhaps one of these guys will someday be a MLB star? You never know.

Pic:

After leaving the DR, I went up to the sports deck to play some mini golf. The sports deck is huge and there is tons to do here. There is a walking/jogging track that is about 1/8 of a mile all the way around and an outdoor weight room which I had never seen on a cruise ship before. There is also a ropes course, located above the mini golf course and pool and foosball tables for anyone to play anytime. Beside that is a fenced in multipurpose court that can be used for deck hockey, basketball or soccer. Deck 12 I think. Really nice area. Good views from there too. I played a little mini golf here and went back to the room around 1700 to take a nap. I got up around 1900, went to the hot tub for a little while and met some interesting folks from Canada, Hawaii, and Florida.

We made a reservation for the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse for tonight for something like 2030. The steakhouse is located next to the limelight lounge on promenade deck. I had gone to the steakhouse on the Liberty a few years ago so I had an idea what to expect. There is a $35 upcharge but it covers app, entree and dessert. Good value if you ask me. I got a crab cake app, an 18-ounce ribeye, cooked medium and a chocolate delight dessert. Plenty of food and pretty good atmosphere and service. Honestly the steak was just ok though. Seasoned and cooked correctly but very tough and too fatty. Maybe I would have been better off with the filet mignon? Anyway, the desserts are huge and if you ask, they will let you take what you cannot finish to go for later consumption. My mom got a huge piece of cheesecake that she did just that with and finished later that evening.

Steakhouse dessert:

 

After dinner, there was nothing at all to do as the stage shows were over by 2230 and there was no comedian tonight. The first group of comedians left that day and the new ones didn't get on until Curacao day apparently. Tonight was an early night. The comedians the next few nights were worth waiting for however. I went to sleep before midnight and got ready for Curacao day.

Towel animal and next day's funtimes:

 

Now, a few comments that I forgot to mention in my earlier posts. I had mentioned that the balcony decks on 6 and above, midship were literally hanging right over well-traveled public areas. Especially on the side with the barbecue pit on the lanai. Come on. There is no privacy at all there. I want at least some privacy when I book a balcony. That's terrible. I wonder if Carnival tells people this little factoid when they book these balconies? hmm Made me appreciate the cove balcony we had just that much more.

Also, I know it's not a major deal but we had nothing at all in our amentity basket that they put in your cabin bathroom on embarkation day. In the past they have put some really good and useful stuff in there. Maybe this was an oversight or maybe it is standard now, but it was weird seeing an empty basket there when we got into the cabin. Also, no chocolate delight plate for us. Platinums are supposed to get a plate with chocolate covered strawberries, cookies, etc delivered at some point and we never got ours. Screwup by room service but it was noticeable. I will say our steward was good about filling our ice bucket everyday, we only had to ask him on day one that we wanted ice and it was taken care of. There are more issues that I had but they will be covered later in the review.

[WAHMto5]

Thanks for the great review, can't wait to read the rest! We ate at the Ale House a few weeks ago before our cruise, it was great!!

[portlandpete]

Thanks for your great review! We did this same cruise and loved it so it's like being there again... almost!! I also did a review because for me it kept the vacation going. The islands were fabulous but Aruba was our favorite. We had a balcony on Lido deck and loved the location. We were close to everything and felt we had privacy so it wasn't a problem at all for us. Can't wait to read more.

[PrettyHazardous]

Great review! Looking forward to the rest!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Crusin Karen]

A perfect read for a rainy afternoon! :rolleyes: I notice in one picture you have a Lake George T shirt on. We have a camp in Northville, NY on Great Lake Sacandaga not too far from Lake George! Thanks for sharing your cruise with us and looking forward to more! :)

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review and photo's, thanks for posting them. Looking forward to more.

[ch27088]

Thanks so much for your review. So glad you got to Florida with no problems after that mess in Chicago.

 

I'm subscribing.

[Kel040]

[/font]

We made a reservation for the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse for tonight for something like 2030. The steakhouse is located next to the limelight lounge on promenade deck. I had gone to the steakhouse on the Liberty a few years ago so I had an idea what to expect. There is a $35 upcharge but it covers app' date=' entree and dessert. Good value if you ask me. I got a crab cake app, an 18-ounce ribeye, cooked medium and a chocolate delight dessert. Plenty of food and pretty good atmosphere and service. Honestly the steak was just ok though. Seasoned and cooked correctly but very tough and too fatty. Maybe I would have been better off with the filet mignon? Anyway, the desserts are huge and if you ask, they will let you take what you cannot finish to go for later consumption. My mom got a huge piece of cheesecake that she did just that with and finished later that evening. . Tonight was an early night. The comedians the next few nights were worth waiting for however. I went to sleep before midnight and got ready for Curacao day.

 

']Also, I know it's not a major deal but we had nothing at all in our amentity basket that they put in your cabin bathroom on embarkation day. In the past they have put some really good and useful stuff in there. Maybe this was an oversight or maybe it is standard now, but it was weird seeing an empty basket there when we got into the cabin. Also, no chocolate delight plate for us. Platinums are supposed to get a plate with chocolate covered strawberries, cookies, etc delivered at some point and we never got ours. Screwup by room service but it was noticeable. I will say our steward was good about filling our ice bucket everyday, we only had to ask him on day one that we wanted ice and it was taken care of. There are more issues that I had but they will be covered later in the review.

 

Enjoying your review ! We ate at the Steakhouse too, and I found my Rib Eye to be tough, DH had the Filet Mignon and said it was very good.. I had a steak on another night in the MDR (NY Strip) for the $ 20 up charge and it was much better...

 

As for the amenity basket, ours was empty too - I read here on CC that there's not always stuff in them, just when they have freebies to hand out..

[lifeisgoodPat]

Thanks for the review, am really enjoying reading about the Breeze. It is my favorite ship and hope to sail on her again soon.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks for the great review, can't wait to read the rest! We ate at the Ale House a few weeks ago before our cruise, it was great!!

 

Thanks for reading. It seems the Ale House chain is pretty big in the south based on my research but it is pretty good. Nice food and atmosphere. I had gone to the TGIF right across the parking lot a few times in the past when staying at the LaQuinta on the other side of the little canal there. The K-mart in the same parking lot is also great for stocking up on goodies to bring on the ship with you the night before the cruise.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks for your great review! We did this same cruise and loved it so it's like being there again... almost!! I also did a review because for me it kept the vacation going. The islands were fabulous but Aruba was our favorite. We had a balcony on Lido deck and loved the location. We were close to everything and felt we had privacy so it wasn't a problem at all for us. Can't wait to read more.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read my review. I try to re-live the entire vacation experience with as much detail as I can remember to put the reader right there with me. It's kind of like a good book you know? Grand Turk was OK but I had been there before and there just wasn't much to do in the DR but yeah, Curacao and Aruba were awesome. I have so many pics and learned so much stuff about each island from our really good tour guides and I can't wait to finally get around to writing about my days at each place.

 

Lido balconies might have been better as they were higher up but anyone on midship just didn't have the privacy since the lanai stuck out so far and people with deck 6 balconies were looking right down at things like the barbecue place. Never seen that before. The coves were definitely better for us. Very little spray because of the very calm seas, we got to see all the gangway action in all ports, and nobody else on the ship could see into our cove at any time when not docked. I have been in both types of balcony and I do really think I will do a cove again if presented with opportunity.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Great review! Looking forward to the rest!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Thanks for reading! Hopefully I get to writing the next installment sometime tonight or tomorrow. I really do enjoy sharing my cruise experiences with others as if nothing else it can help people make a cruise decision if unsure about a certain ship or itinerary they might want to take.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

A perfect read for a rainy afternoon! :rolleyes: I notice in one picture you have a Lake George T shirt on. We have a camp in Northville, NY on Great Lake Sacandaga not too far from Lake George! Thanks for sharing your cruise with us and looking forward to more! :)

 

Yeah, the seasons are a changin' here also. It was 30 degrees this morning! LOL. Perfect time to write about nice warm Caribbean vacations to take my mind off the coming winter. I have never been to Lake George but my mom goes up there at least once a year as they have a lot of summer festivals there that she loves to go to. She likes it there and someday I myself will check it out. I have heard it is very picturesque in the summer and fall. Thanks for reading and I will hopefully get to the next installment shortly after I organize all the Curacao pics and I can recall everything that I did and saw that day.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Enjoying your review and photo's, thanks for posting them. Looking forward to more.

 

Thank you for reading. I have tons of photos from Curacao and Aruba. A few dozen from each place that I plan on including with my reviews of each island. I can't wait to write about my days in Curacao and Aruba.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks so much for your review. So glad you got to Florida with no problems after that mess in Chicago.

 

I'm subscribing.

 

Thank you very much for following along. I have traveled long distances enough times to kind of know that traveling as early as possible in the day is generally the best way to go if I have to be somewhere. Because you just never know what will happen over the course of the day and it only takes one hiccup to really screw the nationwide ATC system up. Lots of other people didn't get as lucky but most people did find their way if in just in time for departure on Saturday. An adventure for sure.