Thanksgiving Breeze Review

[cruising maniac]

I just wrote this for the review section but I thought I would cut and paste and put it here for all to review sooner. I know that I can't get enough when I am getting ready to sail. Remember, this is my opinion. We had a wonderful time on this beautiful ship.

 

 

I have been seeing a lot of negative reviews about the Breeze lately and I think those people either work for another cruise line or they are very hard to please!! A few things were not perfect, as always, but we had a fantastic time.

 

Embarkation- We are platinum so were able to board after about a 30 minute wait. We arrived about 11:30 which is peak time so we expected a wait. I am told by others that the wait in the regular line was at least an 1 1/2 hours so you might want to come a little later. We actually had lunch in the Sapphire Dining room which is right where you enter the ship in the atrium. That is the first time that this has ever been offered and it was nice and peaceful. It was a limited menu but it kept us from having to fight our way around what I'm sure would have been a very crowded Lido deck. Good way to relax after the hectic travel and embarkation.

 

Food- We did not eat in the Bonsai Sushi, Jimmy's C Side, Hot Dog stand, or room service other than breakfast. Fahrenheit 555 was delicious and the service was very good. We did have a little communication difficulty with our waitress but just listened a little closer and got through it okay. I had a cowboy steak and my DH had a sirloin. Very good on both counts. We ate at the Italian restaurant for lunch and were unimpressed so we did not return for dinner. There is a big difference between al dente and under-cooked. The buffet was pretty typical cruise food. Some was really good and some was just okay. The only thing that we found inedible was the powered eggs at breakfast. Good God they were beyond horrible. The good news is that the omelet station makes good eggs and the cantina has breakfast burritos, arepas, and heuvos rancheros which were all awesome. We really enjoyed the Sea Day Brunch and I particularly liked the mac and cheese with steak. Although it really wasn't "steak", it was pot roast and it was GOOD. My DH thought the salmon was really, really good and had that several times.

 

The layout of the ship is confusing in my opinion. Several decks don't go through and you have to go up or down then forward or aft. It took some getting used to the layout. This is my 25th cruise so I have seen a lot of ships.

 

Entertainment- We only went to one show and it was so loud, uncomfortably loud, that we left half way through. We also tried trivia a few times but one group kept getting all 20 right and that wasn't much fun for the rest of us. I figured out that they do this every cruise and know the answers before the questions are asked. We'll do this next cruise and fill up our suitcase with ships on a stick. :) The Dive In Movies were wonderful and seemed to be enjoyed by all ages. We saw Antman and ate popcorn under a full moon wrapped in a blanket. What's not to love. There really wasn't a lot of entertainment choices but we keep to ourselves and don't really need to be entertained. The kids on the ship seem to have been busy and that is important. We did listen to Karaoke one night and it was horrible. What were those people thinking. We also played putt putt and that was a blast. However, both of us hated the slide. I thought I was going to drown and my DH said it was too fast for him. Aw, to be young again. We didn't try the ropes course of the Thrill Theater.

 

Smoking- We did not notice anyone smoking on their balcony. I know this is brought up a lot and I would have smelled smoke it was happening. But, the casino is unbearable if you are a non-smoker or an ex-smoker. Something has to done to change this since about 85% or the population don't smoke. This might stop me from doing another Carnival cruise in the future.

 

Service- The service was beyond excellent. Most staff had smiles on their faces and looked as if they were happy in their jobs. The ship was clean and well cared for.

 

Itinerary- We went to Grand Turk, La Romana, Dominican Republic, Curacao, and Aruba. This was an exceptional itinerary with the exception of the DR. We have been here before and did not leave the ship. We absolutely loved Curacao and Aruba and will definitely visit these islands again.

 

Disembarkation- NIGHTMARE. There was no communication once we got into the lounge where platinum met for early disembarkation. They certainly could have and should have handled this better.

 

Don't hesitate to sail this beautiful ship.

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed your balanced review.

 

Keith

[shellsd]

We also tried trivia a few times but one group kept getting all 20 right and that wasn't much fun for the rest of us. I figured out that they do this every cruise and know the answers before the questions are asked.

 

We have experienced this too and it does take the fun out of it. There is an unlimited amount of trivia in the world. I wish they a new set of questions each week. The same ones could be used on all ships so you are just coming up with one new set for each trivia each week. DJ Trivia around here does that.

[torwa]

Doing this itinerary in February, all new islands for us. Thanks for the review.

[riclop]

Thanks for your review.

[cruising maniac]

You're welcome to all. One thing I forgot to mention is the MDR. We had anytime dining and only ate in the Sapphire Dining Room once on the first elegant night. The service was pretty slow, the lobster barely lukewarm, and the prime rib could not be sawed through with a serrated knife. But we took our chocolate melting cake back to our room and watched Kyle Busch win the NASCAR championship and that was freaking AWESOME!!!! That is a wonderful memory for me that I will never forget. You know how you have something from each cruise that stands out and makes a good memory. Well, this and almost drowning on the slide made for children will be it for this cruise. :D

[RubyGold]

Good review!!

 

What did you do for Curaco and Aruba in port?

 

I'm looking for ideas and want a relaxed, stress free day in each!

[BEAN4870]

Also did you fly in or drive? Looking for info on transportation. We fly in and out of FLL. Don't really want to pay the shuttle price of $40 each way times 5, if I don't have to.

[cruising maniac]

We live in Orlando so we drove down via rental car. We return the car and pick up another one for the trip home. In both ports, we walked through the port area to all of the people holding laminated maps trying to talk you into taking their tour. We went with the person who promised us air conditioning and both ports the tours were $20 each. Great deal. They can either drop you off at the beach and pick you up later or drop you off at the ship or shopping area. In Curacao, it is a long walk back from the shopping are but there are many little shops and places to buy a drink and rest up for the next leg. I loved Curacao and I think we're going back on our next cruise.

[cruiseonthebrain]

Great review! Thank you!!!

[hlauburn]

We live in Orlando so we drove down via rental car. We return the car and pick up another one for the trip home. In both ports, we walked through the port area to all of the people holding laminated maps trying to talk you into taking their tour. We went with the person who promised us air conditioning and both ports the tours were $20 each. Great deal. They can either drop you off at the beach and pick you up later or drop you off at the ship or shopping area. In Curacao, it is a long walk back from the shopping are but there are many little shops and places to buy a drink and rest up for the next leg. I loved Curacao and I think we're going back on our next cruise.

 

Thanks for the review! We are also going on the Breeze in March and I'm interested to know more about renting a car to drive down since we are also in FL. Where did you drop off / pick up the rental car at the port? Does it end up being less $ than just driving and parking your own car??

 

Thanks again!

[cruising maniac]

We used Avis both ways which was the best price at the time. The drop off is in downtown Miami and they shuttle you both ways in their Avis vans. I bought gift certificates from AARP which saved us an extra 10%. DH is really funny about leaving our car at the port and since the rentals are cheaper than parking at the port, this is the best option for us. If you park off site, it is cheaper but make sure it is self park and not valet parking or they could be joy riding in your car for 8 nights while you cruise. Driving your own vehicle and parking off site is the cheapest option. Renting is second cheapest if you search around for a good deal. And parking at the port is the most expensive. We paid about $105 for rental cars both ways and did not have to worry about our car while we were eating Guy's Burgers. :eek:

[spyingeyes]

Can you please tell me which nights were formal? Thanks very much!

[Msgunn]

I was boarding the day you got back. I have to agree w your review. The ship I think was built for more relax time and lounging.. I did notice that the entertainment options were alot less than the smaller ships Ive been on. My boyfriend enjoyed his first cruise so I was happy. We noticed alot of things were unorganized w getting off the ship at Grand Cayman where we had to use a tender boat and back in Miami.. But overall.. I enjoyed the ports Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel..

[cruising maniac]

We were on an 8 night cruise leaving on Saturday and returning on Sunday. The formal nights were Sunday (first sea day) and Friday (2nd sea day). It worked out really well because of Thanksgiving being that Thursday which on a 7 day cruise would be the second formal night. By the way, I did not see anybody really, really dressed up. Everyone just looked nice and it seemed more than appropriate for a Caribbean itinerary.

[spyingeyes]

We were on an 8 night cruise leaving on Saturday and returning on Sunday. The formal nights were Sunday (first sea day) and Friday (2nd sea day). It worked out really well because of Thanksgiving being that Thursday which on a 7 day cruise would be the second formal night. By the way, I did not see anybody really, really dressed up. Everyone just looked nice and it seemed more than appropriate for a Caribbean itinerary.

 

 

Thanks very much! We are on for Christmas, this is helpful!

[NIATPAC29]

Don't let some smoke ruin it for you. You know carnival is number one for a reason

[Msgunn]

Iwas on for the 6 day and the first sea day monday and then that Wednesday were the formal nights

 

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

[CocoCandy]

Good review!!

 

What did you do for Curaco and Aruba in port?

 

I'm looking for ideas and want a relaxed, stress free day in each!

 

 

I was on the same Breeze Thanksgiving cruise as OP.

 

For Curacao, we booked the $25 island & beach tour with Irie Tours. You can search for them on FB and message them there to make a reservation. The beach they take you to is Seaquarium Beach. It was lovely. Cost includes bottled water, beer, and soda. I highly recommend this tour and company as we had a blast.

 

For Aruba, we crossed the street upon exiting the port and bought $4 R/T bus passes for the #10 bus to Palm Beach. We got off at De Palm Pier and spent 2 and 1/2 hours there. We opted to not rent any chairs or umbrella and just put a towel down in the sand to sit our beach bags on while we lounged in the beautiful water.

 

 

Have fun!