Review of Carnival Breeze, Western, July 12-18, 2015

[CruzCrazy]

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments. Here is some more of my take on the Breeze:

 

SOMETHING WE DIDN’T DO THAT WE USUALLY DO: Buy a lot of pictures. The photos were a real mess (maybe not more than usual, but we had just enjoyed how they arrange photos on Oasis of the Seas, which is far superior). I just didn’t have the patience to jostle amongst the other guests looking for a particular photo. We have so many Carnival photos by now, and somehow it just didn’t seem like a priority. We ended up buying one small photo of the gangway in Grand Cayman, whereas we usually buy 8-12 photos each cruise. The 8 x 10’s that we did find were marred by bad lighting. I thought we both had great tans, but we were so washed out in the photos. Bad quality and bad organization = very little money spent on photos this time. I think it's way past the time for Carnival to improve their photo system. If not totally digital, then at least arrange them in folders with your folio number like we saw on the Oasis. They take your SeaPass (S&S) card when you pose for a photo, and then when you go to find them, you look for your folder on a rotating shelf, and all your photos are inside. If a photo is a candid shot, I think they use facial-recognition software so that your photo gets into your folder. If all else fails, they did have a few loose photos displayed that you could look through, but all of ours ended up in our folder. That's not to mention the photo packages they sell...but I'd be happy if Carnival just organized the photos better. One baby step at. a. time.

 

VIFP PARTY: New rules were in effect, so only Platinum and Diamond members were invited. It was scheduled at 5:15 on the last evening (not a good time in my opinion). I wasn’t sure whether I was going or not since DH is a mere gold VIFP member, but at the last minute he told me to go on since he was running behind and still had to shower and get ready for dinner (plus we were dealing with the boarding pass mess, and somebody had to stay around to wait for them). The party was exactly the way it has been for some time with the exception that there were 50 people there, tops. The officers were there, and the captain spoke a very few words. Then they played the ship video, and everybody applauded if they had been on each ship as it was shown. Cruise director, “Dr. E.” did an impression of Tina Turner, believe it or not.

 

 

Funship Specials were already on trays and were being circulated by the waiters. I took one, but it was too sour for my taste, so I ordered a Miami Vice, which they brought with no questions asked. They had similar hors-d’ouevres to what I’ve seen at other VIFP parties previously. I never eat them, so I can’t comment on the quality/taste.

 

VIFP GOODIES (GOLD AND PLATINUM): VIFP one-liter bottles of water: We each got a 1-liter bottle of water in the cabin in addition to the two 12-packs that we had pre-ordered. DH got his 2015 pin, and I got a Breeze pin. I got a drink coupon to use at brunch on a sea day (up to $9 value). DH got the new gold-level appreciation drink coupon to use at any bar after 5 p.m. on the last evening. We got the “chocolate delight,” which is a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries and a couple of other little chocolate goodies (platinum perk), and I got a Carnival Tervis tumbler as the platinum/diamond logo gift. We never send out any laundry. Maybe if we’re ever on a back-to-back I might consider using the wash-and-fold laundry perk (?) All of the little perks and goodies were delivered on time and as expected, so overall I think they did a good job. Oh, and the platinum/diamond/Faster to the Fun line at guest services was never really long, but they do, of course, break off and wait on other guests even when someone is still waiting in the P/D/FTTF line.

 

MISCELLANEOUS: I decided to get my hair done for the 2nd elegant night. My hair had decided not to hold curl for whatever reason—different water, very high humidity, and the fact that I had brought a curling iron with a large barrel--so I made an appointment in the salon. I just wanted beachy curls that would stay in at least until after dinner, LOL. The price wasn’t that bad—just shy of $45 with tip. The curl came out a little tighter than I intended, but it wasn’t bad, and it stayed curled all night and even into the next morning! Plus, DH liked it.

 

Just for kicks, here are the before-and-after photos:

I did my own hair in this photo (not elegant night), and I swear I actually did try to curl it:

 

 

Second elegant night, with hair done at the salon:

 

 

FAVORITE DORKY THING I LIKE: Seeing another Carnival ship. Here is the Carnival Freedom in Cozumel:

 

 

Well, that's my installment for now. Up next, a little talk about debarkation and my overall impressions of the Carnival Breeze. I'm also going to be working on getting the Fun Times scanned so I can post them at the end.

[CocoCandy]

Thanks for a great review! We leave a week from tomorrow on Breeze for the same 6 day itinerary :)

 

You hair looks very nice in the salon hair-do, but I think it looks lovely when you did it too! I can sympathize with you because no matter how my curls or waves look right after I use the curling iron, my hair just starts to go straight within a short time lol.

[CruzCrazy]

Thanks for a great review! We leave a week from tomorrow on Breeze for the same 6 day itinerary :)

 

You hair looks very nice in the salon hair-do, but I think it looks lovely when you did it too! I can sympathize with you because no matter how my curls or waves look right after I use the curling iron, my hair just starts to go straight within a short time lol.

 

I know, right? Well, at least we're on a cruise--limp hair and all, LOL!

 

Hope you have a great cruise!

[CocoCandy]

I know, right? Well, at least we're on a cruise--limp hair and all, LOL!

 

Hope you have a great cruise!

 

Thank you :)

[K.stro1]

Nicely written!

[dcsetman]

This is the only menu I have. It's from one of the elegant nights:

 

 

I saved all the Fun Times, but I haven't scanned them yet. I can work on that later and post them at the end if you like.

 

Thank you for offering the Fun Times, Lisa. I would love to see them. For some reason, they are very scarce to find on any internet searches as well as here in Cruise Critic for this particular ship and itinerary. Appreciate it and loving your review!

Penni

[CruzCrazy]

DEBARKATION: Slow getting started and then (we heard) very slow as the morning wore on. I know the Breeze has more passengers than other Carnival ships we’ve sailed on, but not that many more. Self-assist didn’t start until around 8 a.m., and I believe they called platinum/zone 1 at around 8:15. I realize the ship has to be cleared for debarkation, so maybe clearance took a little longer.

 

Luckily for us, we eventually did get Luggage Express worked out, so we were off before the majority of passengers. Our instructions said to meet in the main show theater, and they announced that Luggage Express was cleared at around 8:45 a.m. We left the theater with our carry-ons and just merged into the line that was wrapping around the atrium. I think I had heard them call zones 3 and 4 right before the guy said if you have luggage express, you can go. Once we had been dinged off the ship and got downstairs in the terminal, there was a rep asking if we had all of our luggage (which we did since our checked bags were already on their way to the airport), so we were directed to the customs lines. There were 4 customs officials manning stations, but since we were off ahead of most of the crowd, we only had to wait about 5 minutes. Then to the taxi and to the airport in plenty of time. Since we knew ahead of time that we were going to purchase Luggage Express and knew that the flight time had to be 11:30 or after, we had booked a flight leaving at 12:58 p.m., which was really our only option since the other flights were prior to the 11:30 cut off. When we got to the airport, we went straight to the security checkpoint (no need to stand in the horrible line to check bags since that had been done for us). Unfortunately, even though I emphasized US Air to the taxi driver, he let us off at the American Airlines area (even though they are merging, they weren’t merged yet), so once inside we realized that we were going to have a decent walk to get to where we were going. Nevertheless, we were sitting at our gate by 9:30 a.m. and were able to relax. About an hour later, some people from the Breeze showed up, obviously anxious and frustrated, and they had missed their flight. They said the lines were horrible for customs. I felt bad for them. Later, when they had settled down, I reminded them next time to go to guest services and ask for an earlier debarkation time if they have an early flight time, but I can’t imagine booking a flight that early—their flight had to have been around 10:30. There is just way too much that can go wrong, even with an early debarkation zone. Yes, we had a little bit longer wait than I would have liked in the airport, but it beats being nervous that you’re not going to make it. My ideal return flight time is 11:30, but that’s getting harder and harder to find for us with all of the airline mergers.

 

OVERALL IMPRESSION: The Breeze is a nice ship. The food was great, and the service in the dining room and at most bars was fantastic. Our room steward was great, and this time we really couldn’t even complain about the entertainment. There was live music on lido, the comedy shows were good, and we enjoyed the Motor City show. I kind of like the shortened versions of the shows, which don’t seem to last more than about a half hour. We had heard lots of stories about how crowded the ship would seem, but we never really had a problem in that regard, at least no more so than on other ships we’ve sailed. I got a lounge chair with no problem every day, exactly where I wanted it.

 

I think the lido marketplace is set up a little better than on other Carnival ships, but I think they could still learn a lesson from what we saw on Oasis, where they have “islands” for the buffet. That system works much better, since you don’t have to stand in one long line if all you want is bacon or (insert any food).

 

Where the Breeze came up short (for us) was in organization. This needs work, and hopefully they do a better job by the time we sail on the Breeze again, which is scheduled for late winter 2016 before she is moved to Texas.

 

I'll finish up this portion of the review with a couple of photos of the Breeze anchored in Grand Cayman as taken from the tender boat, and then a favorite photo of the Caribbean sunrise:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I plan to start scanning the Fun Times soon and will get them posted here as well.

[CruzCrazy]

Okay, here are the Fun Times:

 

Day 1:

 

 

 

 

[CruzCrazy]

Day 2:

 

 

 

 

[CruzCrazy]

Day 3:

 

 

 

 

[CruzCrazy]

Day 4:

 

 

 

 

[CruzCrazy]

Day 5:

 

 

 

 

[CruzCrazy]

Day 6:

 

 

 

 

[CruzCrazy]

Lastly, the debarkation info sheets and the Luggage Express debarkation instructions:

 

 

 

[CruzCrazy]

Well, that's it for the review. Let me know if you have any questions. Hope you enjoyed the review and/or found it informative.

[sandij]

Great review and pictures, we go on her in March and can't wait to try out the cove balconies for the first time. Thanks for having such a good time.

[DaisyGirl55]

Lisa - what a great review! I love your style of writing, love the chapter headers, and the honest way you wrote about what you liked and did not like.

 

I am sailing on the Breeze in October and I am anxiously counting down!

 

Your pictures are great, and just enough. Thanks for taking the time to come back and do a report!

[CruzCrazy]

Lisa - what a great review! I love your style of writing, love the chapter headers, and the honest way you wrote about what you liked and did not like.

 

I am sailing on the Breeze in October and I am anxiously counting down!

 

Your pictures are great, and just enough. Thanks for taking the time to come back and do a report!

 

Thanks, Marylou! Hope you have a great cruise on the Breeze :)

[CruzCrazy]

Great review and pictures, we go on her in March and can't wait to try out the cove balconies for the first time. Thanks for having such a good time.

 

Thanks! We were torn about a cove. I wanted to try one, but DH thought it might make me prone to motion sickness--just by virtue of being so close and watching the water go rushing by. I've never heard anyone say that about the coves, though. Hope you have a great cruise. March will be here before you know it.

[Harborfamily]

Thank you so much for your review - really enjoyed it - and for taking the time to post the Funtimes. It's KILLING me to read them, but really making me look forward to being back on the Breeze in January. Thanks again!

[dcsetman]

Well, that's it for the review. Let me know if you have any questions. Hope you enjoyed the review and/or found it informative.

 

Great review, thank you so much for taking the time to share with us and for the fun-times and other information posted.

 

Penni

[Big Jay]

Great Review!

 

I Can't Wait To Sail Her!;)

[092306]

Loved your review style, thanks for sharing! Breeze is definitely on my short list.

[mjcs8]

Thanks so much for your terrific and witty insight. I sail the Breeze in October with my sister and her two daughters ages 10 and 12. My eighth Carnival cruise, third to Jamaica, it's a second cruise and first time to Jamaica for my sister and the girls. After reading your review and seeing the Fun Times now they are really excited. Woohoo can't wait. :)

[Pirate Dude]

Wonderful review. Thank you. I didn't known about luggage express, but will look into it in the duties.