Review of my side by side Splendor and Breeze cruises

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

Although we were docked until 7 pm we were back on board around 5 and had dinner at our usual nightly time of 6 pm.

We went to a show again as we did almost every night and headed back to our room early as we would be docking in San Juan in the morning at 7 am Our room was #7439 and was a balcony on deck 7, my favourite deck, aft Herry our steward was always friendly, cleaned our rooms at least twice a day and there was no questionnaire or choice, he just always did a great job.

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

We arrived in San Juan at 7 am and DH and I were off the ship at 7:30. I love getting off the ship at that time because it's not as hot or busy yet so great for walking around San Juan. We found the free trolley which was right across the street from the San Juan terminal. It takes you all around San Juan all day for free. There are 2 trolleys - a green bus and the while trolley. We went on both and they both took us to all the same places. We went to Castillo El Morro first. What an incredibly gorgeous place!!! Last time we were in San Juan we went to San Cristobal so we decided to do El Morro fort instead. As it turns out, it costs $5 to get in and it gives admission to both forts. We realized after taking the trolley there that it really wasn't that far so we walked back to the ship and stopped in a few shops along the way. It's about a 30 minute walk but there are gorgeous views everywhere a nice way to see the island.

 

 

 

 

rts.

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

[scuddles]

Excited to read your review. We were on the Splendor when she was in CA. On the Breeze next year. Can't wait!!! Thinking of one more trip on the Splendor before she heads overseas.

[cpshaye]

We were on the Splendor last year, and I'll be on the Breeze in May. Can't wait to hear more!

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review/report.

 

Keith

[jimbri]

Great photos!

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

The morning we were to dock there was an announcement that due to wind all water excursions were cancelled. I had a feeling we night have difficulty getting into board as we were on loungers on the Serenity deck and the wind was really strong. We finally got near the port and the ship kept turning, maneuvering, etc. Finally the dreaded announcement, the captain had tried to get us to the dock several times but the current and winds were too strong. There were no other ports to take us to so we would just have a day at sea.

Lots of boos and grumbling ensued for disappointed passengers.

After about 45 minutes of still sitting in the area, another announcement came on that we couldn't leave the area because there was a medical emergency onboard and they were waiting for assistance.

About half an hour after that we got another announcement that the captain would try again because the winds died down. Followed by another announcement the winds were up again. Finally, and VERY SLOWLY we made it and were able to dock. Kudos to the Captain!!!

Unfortunately with the Sunshine already there and all water excursions cancelled for both ships the port was way too busy. here was literally nowhere to sit at the beach or the pool. I've been to this port a few times and I have never seen it anywhere near as crazy as it was this day.

I didn't take any pics as they would have just been of crowds anyway. A bit disappointing but we went for a nice walk along the beach, swam for a bit in the ocean and headed back to the ship.

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

On our final night we were all really sad that it was ending. Even though DH and I were going on to a second cruise we were really going to miss the kids.

We really liked our dining room staff and so we left them each some extra cash for the outstanding service they gave us all week.

We went and saw another show which was great again, checked out our bills, picked up any last photos we liked, did a bit of shopping and headed to bed.

 

In the morning we went for a sit down breakfast. We went back to the kids room and helped them finalize the packing. At 8:00 we took them to deck 3 to disembark, said our good-byes and off they went. I got a text later that they got through immigration and got a taxi no problem but it took them almost an hour to get to the airport with all the traffic. They made it in plenty of time though.

 

We decided to stay on our balcony until 9 and then move up to the lido deck. We didn't want to get off the ship until at least 10 because we were just going next door to the Breeze. We had no trouble getting off the ship and through immigration. That was all done by about 10:30. Then we just wheeled our luggage next door maybe 100 yards, dropped off our luggage with a porter and into the next terminal.

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

Final thoughts on the Splendor:

Excellent service everywhere we went.

Room was really nice

Décor was pink but didn't bother us at all

Internet did not work well - got the Social media package and couldn't get on it so I ended up getting it refunded.

Shows were good

Piano bar, not so good

Room service was fast and got the orders right every time.

Serenity - much too small

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

So as I said it was smooth sailing to get over to the Breeze. We had faster to the fun again so we were directed to the priority line. That all went well although at the actual check-in counter there seemed to be a lot of confusion and they only had one wicket available for the priority line. Someone eventually figured out that they weren't directing the lines properly, corrected the flow and it was back to working well.

This second cruise REALLY caused me to rethink faster to the fun. I have been purchasing it since it was first available and have always thought getting on first and being able to head straight to your room was well worth the $50. It's now $60 and with the exchange it was $85.00 for us. Still I would likely be ok with that except, the Breeze started boarding late just like the Splendor did. We didn't get on the Breeze until after 12:30, and they allow room access on the Breeze at 12:30, not 1:30 as with other ships. The first 7 cruises we went on, boarding always started shortly after 11. The last 3 cruises boarding hasn't started until after 12:30.

Again the terminal was packed to the rafters, no sitting room for anyone, and again we had to fight through the crowds to board when they called faster to the fun. People were acting crazy crowding the areas they were told not to, and yelling at staff they wanted on the ship etc.

Funny/ridiculous story: a woman who I would guess was in her late 60's was yelling at one of the carnival staff that she was super pissed that the diamond and platinum, etc guests were boarding and she wasn't as she could barely stand let alone walk. The employee was trying to explain that's the boarding process. She was yelling at her that she's disabled and shaking her cane at her and saying she can't stand one moment longer. The employee eventually just let her on I'm assuming just to shut her up. Throughout the cruise I saw this woman on 4-5 occasions - no cane, no limp, 100% able-bodied :eek: Shocking what some people will do just to get on a few minutes before everyone else.

[INCHARGE]

I am loving your review! Thank You so much for making your photos bigger. My iPad and eyes are thanking you big time. I can't wait for more! :) one of these days I will do a back to back.

[mrpayroll]

Thanks for taking the time to let us enjoy your trip. We are doing a side by side in January. RCCL Oasis and then Carnival Vista.

[Scott6444]

Great review so far txs

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

Thanks for all the comments everyone. If anyone has any questions about either trip just chime in.

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

Once we were onboard we went to our room. Our room was very nice. The whole ship was really beautiful. Our balcony was a bit disappointing though. There was a lot of rust on it and we couldn't sit on the chairs because the paint was rusting/peeling so much we would have been scratched. The steward gave us towels to sit on and said she had reported the chairs but didn't know when they would be replaced. We did love being so close to the water line though

 

 

 

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

So amazing to be so close to the water.

 

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

They had these lit up sign/maps on each floor. It was really easy to read and looks really nice. I always find the ones that are posted at the elevator a bit useless - too small and dark.

 

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

When we went for dinner - anytime dining we were surprised by a few things. There was a huge line up. We've never seen a line up on any ship for anytime dining before. We usually go around 6 and never have a wait. We found on the Breeze that people started lining up before 5:30 and the dining room would open at 5:45. The décor was very neutral and definitely not opulent or gaudy as some are. The down side is there are no booths and all of the tables are extremely close together. Some are literally no more than 2 inches apart!!! We got lucky and got a decent table each night but I'm always confused at how they sit people when they have tables so close together. Rather that seating folks at every other table until the restaurant fills they put everyone side by side and it was really clear that many of the guests were unhappy with this. We had excellent service in the dining room. It was the only place on the ship where the service was really good. Brunch, breakfast etc it was actually poor service which was surprising as I have never experienced poor service on a ship before. We wondered if it is due to the size of the ship - were there just too many guests compared to the number of guests?

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

We got the Cheers package so we went for brunch and I got a Kiss on the Lips. It's a frozen drink with mango puree and peach schnapps. Perfect for breakfast. :D

 

We went to Serenity deck. I love the Serenity area on all ships but on the Breeze it is larger than I've seen on other ships and we never had trouble getting a lounger and even managed to get a clam shell on each day.

I don't recall everything we did this day (might have been due to starting out with cocktails at 9 am)

 

I do recall going to the piano bar in the evening. Ben was the pianist and he is THE BEST!!!! I wouldn't say his singing is better than others I've seen but he is a true entertainer. I've never seen anyone work a crowd quite like Ben. He was funny but for sure a lot of adult humour. The piano bar was definitely a highlight of the cruise.

 

A couple of the bartenders chatted with us about Cheers and told us that uptake on cheers is very low. On the Breeze they usually get about 200 guests sign up. That's less than 5%. They said that on the cruise we were on there were almost 500 guests with the package so they were busier than usual as many guests try to hit the 15 drink limit. I did get to the limit on 2 nights and they were both while in the piano lounge and when I started early in the morning.