Still Waiting To Board Dec 26th Breeze - 3:38 pm

[cjnix29]

Ok I wondered when I started reading this review if you were the people I snorkeled with at Nachi! Sure enough!!! So hello....from the woman on the Magic that was Oh So Sad to have to leave so early! ;-) Great to read your review!!

[nealstuber]

With respect to Galveston / Houston fog.....

 

We just drove 4 hrs past Galveston last week to catch the Dream out of NOLA.

 

There was EXTREME fog on embark and Debark day. The ships transit to/from Gulf / NOLA is much longer and than Galveston and Bayport.... Yet the ship arrived and departed on time.

 

Wondering if there is something better about the land based navigation support systems in NOLA that the Texas ports are lacking?

 

Also in NOLA's favor is that there are no silly TX state imposed restrictions on what drinks are available in port and the Casino opened almost as soon as the ship left the dock.

 

We are proud Texans and have found the state to be especially business friendly, but it appears we have significant work to do to be on par with LA as a home of cruise departure ports.

 

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Edited January 5, 2017 by nealstuber

[5 in OK]

Ok I wondered when I started reading this review if you were the people I snorkeled with at Nachi! Sure enough!!! So hello....from the woman on the Magic that was Oh So Sad to have to leave so early! ;-) Great to read your review!!

 

Hello!! Yes!! I was so sad for you guys! Leaving so early! The Magic was a beautiful ship! If I recall Cozumel was your last day before you headed home. The end of the cruise seems to come so fast doesn't it?

[5 in OK]

With respect to Galveston / Houston fog.....

 

We just drove 4 hrs past Galveston last week to catch the Dream out of NOLA.

 

There was EXTREME fog on embark and Debark day. The ships transit to/from Gulf / NOLA is much longer and than Galveston and Bayport.... Yet the ship arrived and departed on time.

 

Wondering if there is something better about the land based navigation support systems in NOLA that the Texas ports are lacking?

 

Also in NOLA's favor is that there are no silly TX state imposed restrictions on what drinks are available in port and the Casino opened almost as soon as the ship left the dock.

 

We are proud Texans and have found the state to be especially business friendly, but it appears we have significant work to do to be on par with LA as a home of cruise departure ports.

 

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WOW!! That is good to know! We had heard other ships were sailing in their fog but had not heard any specifics! As we sat tethered to that dock in Galveston we were scratching our heads about why the latest technology couldn't get us out of that port. Especially when it is not extremely difficult to navigate?!?! I am afraid if Galveston continues to have fog issues they are going to lose passengers to NOLA - it isn't that much further for WAY more reliability.

 

My adult children were definitely saddened by the weird Texas alcohol laws - especially when it impacted them for more than just the normal one day.

 

Thanks for the info. We sailed from NOLA in December 2014 for our 25th anniversary cruise - if I recall it was a very user-friendly port! And those beignets - oh my goodness they were divine!

[llachance]

Is actually extremely difficult to navigate because it is quite crowded. Think of all the tankers and all you see during the day - and you see their lights at night. It is quite a site.

[5 in OK]

Is actually extremely difficult to navigate because it is quite crowded. Think of all the tankers and all you see during the day - and you see their lights at night. It is quite a site.

That's what we were confused about. ...surely the long navigation channel from NOLA to the Gulf is more difficult to navigate due to all of their tankers yet they go out in fog and Galveston is sidelined?

 

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[JaniceB]

Thanks for all your tips. They will be really helpful.

[5 in OK]

Continuing with Day 5 Costa Maya! Our family had been to Costa Maya way back in 2007. We did a Segway Tour and Snorkeling. This time around the family voted to find a wonderful beach and just relax for the day. So I spent a lot of time researching and found a Beach Break Resort called Maya Chan that sounded like just what we would love!! The price was $59.00 per person for the day – that included transportation, all you could eat and all you could drink. Kayaks, paddle boards and float chairs were also included in the price. You are required to pre-pay the entire amount, however, it is 100% refundable if your ship doesn’t get into port for whatever reason.

 

The Fun Times said we would be docking at 7:30 a.m. and we were there right on time. As we walked off the ship the turquoise water was just mesmerizing. Absolutely gorgeous day – just a few puffy clouds in the sky and no wind. We were getting pretty excited!

 

We were off the ship and to our meeting spot (they sent us a map for where to meet). You have to walk through the “port” shops and out the security gate for about a block and their stand is very visible and easy to spot. In the email with the directions they warn you about other vendors trying to get your business and there were a few that asked if we had plans. We told them we had already prepaid for Maya Chan and they pointed us in the right direction.

 

When we get to the Maya Chan stand a sweet lady greeted us – had us each sign a waver and then loaded us up for the 20 minute ride to Maya Chan in taxi vans. Now – in the email we received with directions they stated that the dirt road to Maya Chan was pretty bumpy and they were waiting for their government to repair them, however, everything moves slowly in Mexico. Well……she was 100% telling the truth! The dirt road was BUMPY!! But the view while you drive (along the ocean front!) was 100% worth it. And the taxi drivers do a really, really good job trying to dodge the giant potholes though!

 

After about 20 minutes we arrived at Maya Chan. It was absolutely beautiful! They had hand-raked the entrance and we were greeted by the owner with a genuine smile. From that moment we were treated as favorite guests! We were given a tour of amenities (showers, restrooms, bar, restaurant area and all of the “beach toys”). Then we were introduced to the bartender, massage therapist and the cook (who had already begun cooking our lunch – which smelled divine – tacos with all of the trimmings!). We were greeted with warm smiles and we felt they were just happy to have us there. Then each family/group (there were maybe 8 families/groups with 6-10 in each group) was taken to their hut. Each hut had 4-6 wooden beach chairs, a couple of hammocks and then a thatch umbrella out in front of the hut with 2 – 4 chairs and a table right on the water! Then they immediately delivered a basket with chips and fresh guacamole (the best I have every had!) and rum punch for everyone (regular punch for those of us who didn’t drink). We all stashed our stuff and spread out to enjoy our day. (Our ship was sailing at 1:30! YIKES!) We thoroughly enjoyed watching our family try to paddle board – it is harder than it looks. My daughter and I went out in a couple of kayaks (they have doubles too) – they have a window in the bottom of each kayak so that you can view the bottom of the ocean as you go out. The visibility isn’t quite as good as Cozumel but we still enjoyed it!

 

The sand was different than Cozumel – just as beautiful but much easier to walk through. My daughter and I went out to snorkel – we saw a few fish but nothing spectacular. Then they walked throughout the beach announcing lunch was ready (it was only about 10:00 a.m. but we were all hungry from swimming and kayaking). They served tacos (soft tortillas) with your choice of pork, chicken and beef with ALL of the trimmings. Everything was fresh ingredients – absolutely the best meal we had had on our trip!! She had some kind of garlic butter on it that was just delicious! All you could eat – as many times as you wanted to come back!

 

After lunch we were all sitting in the floating beach chairs and playing with this ball that skips on the water and our waiter came wading out into the water (waste deep) with a tray of drinks we had all ordered! All the way up to his waist in water to deliver our drinks – the service was just outstanding! If they knew what you wanted they were eager to deliver – just top notch service!!

 

Around noon they called our cab for us and we were back at the Port by 12:30 p.m. We shopped for a few minutes (Costa Maya has open air markets – we love shopping at open air markets – they are just more fun! My husband and daughter both loved the cotton hammocks we sat in at Maya Chan – not the colorful rainbow ones that you typically see in Mexico but the white cotton solid hammocks – they are so comfortable – and they found them at one of the shops – they were very excited) and then headed to the ship. We were back on board, showered and watching for pier runners by 1:30. Never saw any pier runners as the line was over 500 people deep to board the ship and it never went down until 2:30. Finally, around 2:40 we set sail!

 

We all went to Guys, had a burger and then some ice cream and then rested. Around 5:30 we went down to get in line for dinner – it was one of our favorite dinners (baby back rib night) – Maya and her team made dinner a lot of fun each night!!!

 

After dinner my husband and two sons went to watch football in the Red Frog and my daughter and I went to play BINGO (probably one of the worst ways to spend money on a cruise…..IMO). Then there was an 80’s Rock and Glow Party on the Lido by the pool at 10:30. So we went back to the room, slept an hour (we were so tired from playing in the sun all morning) and then went out and danced to some really awesome 80’s music (that was my prom era….). While I might have impressed my children with my awesome planning skills I did NOT impress them with my dancing. They just don’t get the cool moves from the 80’s! We all crashed around 11:30 p.m. in fun anticipation of our last sea day! Today will go down as our favorite day of the cruise!! We LOVE Costa Maya!!!

 

I’ll post about our last sea day soon – it was our favorite sea day of all – we finally figured everything out! Funny how that works – you finally figure out the ship and then it’s time to get off!!

[5 in OK]

Maya Chan

 

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[5 in OK]

More pics from Maya Chan, Costa Maya

 

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[easyboy]

Just some things we learned about the Breeze:

 

:)

 

I'll post more later!

Those tips are most helpful. Thanks.

[Gumbo4Life]

THANK YOU for your detailed post. I know this has taken a lot of time but believe me WE appreciate it!! We are taking the Breeze on our 1st (yes FIRST) ever cruise in a few weeks and can't read enough about what to expect, plan, do, etc! I think the "preparing" for the cruise is part of the total experience!

 

Anyway, have a question. You mentioned getting an egg crate for the bed to make it more comfortable. How do you make this request, to your room steward?

 

Also, my better half (the boss) is very allergic to feathers in pillows, comforters, etc. and I'm really assuming that they are not used on a cruise ship - can you confirm? Our travel agent, well, couldn't...

[5 in OK]

THANK YOU for your detailed post. I know this has taken a lot of time but believe me WE appreciate it!! We are taking the Breeze on our 1st (yes FIRST) ever cruise in a few weeks and can't read enough about what to expect, plan, do, etc! I think the "preparing" for the cruise is part of the total experience!

 

Anyway, have a question. You mentioned getting an egg crate for the bed to make it more comfortable. How do you make this request, to your room steward?

 

Also, my better half (the boss) is very allergic to feathers in pillows, comforters, etc. and I'm really assuming that they are not used on a cruise ship - can you confirm? Our travel agent, well, couldn't...

Hey there! I am just like you - I read everything I can get my hands on about our ship before my Cruise vacation! You are going to love, love, love the Breeze AND cruising! It's quite addictive!

 

On your questions. ......on the first day when you board and get to your room you will have a chance to visit with your room steward (we usually see ours within about an hour of when we gain access to our rooms (if you have faster to the fun the room stewards come by pretty quick to meet you). They will ask if you want your room serviced in the morning or evening (we always pick both and then tip very generously). At this time - the first time you see them - let them know about the mattress topper. This is also a good time to let them know any other requests - we always ask them to keep our ice bucket full.

 

On the bedding.......Our beds were pushed together for one large bed (just a bit larger than a queen maybe) and we had 6 pillows - I believe 2 of them were feather or down. You might contact guest services ahead of time if she's allergic and make that request. (You can also request extra pillows if you need them! ) I would imagine email would be the best. I do not know that email address but this forum is filled with cruise experts who could tell you. 😊

 

Have a wonderful time - so much fun! Send any questions my way - I would be so happy to help if I can!

 

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[5 in OK]

Another tip. .....

 

Something important I left off the tip sheet. ....we typically plan our cruises months in advance - sometimes up to a year in advance. Then, we go to Lowe's and buy Carnival gift cards for almost every occasion (birthdays, Easter, Christmas, tooth fairy - when the kids were little - Valentine's Day etc...) and give them as gifts. When the day finally comes everyone has around $200 each to start their onboard credit - just a fun way for to celebrate cruise anticipation! For this cruise my husband and I bought a $100 Carnival gift card each month and boarded with $800 for onboard credit. We dont drink so this was plenty for all of our onboard fun! At the end only $16 went on our credit card so we basically came home debt free! 😊

 

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[5 in OK]

Thrill Theater on the Breeze...

 

After we woke up on Day 2 still docked in foggy Galveston my daughter and I ventured down to the Thrill Theater to check it out. It was about $4.00 for one show or $12.95 for unlimited. We got the unlimited pass and watched our first show. 20 seats in the theater (4 we broken with signs on them - but we're fixed by the end of the cruise). You wear 3D glasses. There are 3 rows of seats - it is not stadium seating so the front row is best for optimal viewing. The seats move - water sprays at you anytime there's water in the movie (they use this one the most), and there's bursts of air/wind on your face and by your feet. There's 5-6 regular movies (all are animated I believe) and 3-4 scary ones (you have to pay extra for these). We are not scary movie watchers so only got the regular package.

 

Okay - if you've been to Disney you will have experienced the moving chair, spritz of water rides. These are close to those just not quite as good - great for a cruise ship though! Seats were a bit more jerky than Disney. We ended up only hitting 3 movies but felt we got our monies worth.

 

There were lines at every show and they sold out pretty fast (so you would just wait for the next show - the typically happened every 30 min.). Get there 30 min early and you'll be first or second in line. 😊

 

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[5 in OK]

Our final Sea Day – Day 6 on our cruise. These always come too fast! We couldn’t believe we only had one day left! AND it was New Year’s Eve – what a great way to bring in the new year right?!?!

 

During dinner the night before (the one time I am guaranteed to have everyone in my family at one place at the same time) we decided that we were going to try Deck 12 around the Lido just in case Carnival honored our request to show the bowl games on the big screen. (We had asked about 5 Carnival employees from the Guest Services Desk to the Bars and were told they would look into it.) So my husband and I got up at 6:30 a.m. and gathered up all of our towels from home and our towels from Carnival and headed up to Deck 12. We had scoped out our “spot” the night before and when we got there someone was already there with towels spread out for their family. So – no big deal – we scooted down a few seats and got 6 really nice chair locations. We used our Towel Clips (from Wal-Mart) to secure our towels from home – it was a bit windy on Deck 12. Then we sat down and I actually nodded off for a bit. By 7:30 most of the chairs were reserved. I will say that most reserved spots had at least 1 or 2 people actually stay with their stuff most of the morning. By 9:00 4 of our 6 had joined us and by 9:30 we were all enjoying the beautiful sunshine. At 10:00 a.m. the Lido starts up with the live DJ and then at noon they did the Groovin’ for St. Jude fundraiser – that was entertaining. It was starting to heat up (what I would give for that 90 degree heat now – as our high today in Broken Arrow, OK is 26) and we were glad for the windy conditions to help keep us cool! We went to grab lunch around 12:15 – our spot in the back was taken so we scooted inside to enjoy the air conditioned area by the back door leading to the back pool.

 

I do recall everyone complaining about their weird selections for lunch today – not a lot of our favorites and then Cacino del Capitano had put out a sign that said their pasta bar was full – apparently everyone else found the choices to be lacking as well. We didn’t leave hungry though – everyone found something to eat! (They went to Guy’s!)

 

We went back up on the deck to discover that the Bowl game would not be broadcast so the guys started going back and forth to the Red Frog to catch the score on the bowl game. (Carnival told us that they did not have the “rights” to broadcast college or NFL games with the exception of Dallas Cowboy games.) So around 3:00 p.m. we gave our seats to some very happy souls who happened to be walking by looking for seats and headed down to shower and rest up for a jam packed evening of New Year’s Eve fun. (We were getting pretty toasted too.) We ordered our usual room service (BLT with chips, chocolate cake, cheesecake and veggie platter) and rested and enjoyed our balcony until it was time to dress and get ready for dinner. This was “elegant night” with prime rib and lobster – the family was excited. We got in line at the same time (5:30) but were 5-6 families back as everyone was coming to dinner due to the lobster. There were so many people trying to cut in front – so rude! Carnival does have a way to find out those who are trying to cut though. They come through at 5:30 and get your name, cabin number(s) and preference for seating and write them down on these small papers. (They did this for the first 10 or so groups in line.) Then, they keep them in order as you walk in once the doors open. If your group does not have one of those papers you are directed to wait to the side until all of those who have papers are seated. This is probably the best diplomatic ways we’ve seen to send the message to stop cutting to those who seem to always feel the rules do not apply to them.

 

Our dinner was DELICIOUS – the lobster tail was a pretty decent size – my son ordered two and at them both up. The service from Maya and her team was awesome but it did take longer since there were just so many people! The My Time Dining area was completely full by 6:00 p.m. – just 15 minutes after they opened. The line to get in was wrapped around the lobby - go early on elegant night for sure! Or come really late – like 8:30 ish. Even with the large crowd we ate and had our dessert and coffe and were finished in 90 minutes!

 

Then, the guys went to the Red Frog to watch the next bowl game – my daughter and I went to the theater to see Flick. This was 100% by far the best show we have ever seen – a “Not to Be Missed” show. Sit on deck 4, 2 rows behind the sound guy. Just fantastic lighting, vocals – all around an amazing experience!!

 

After the show we went back to our room to change and begin that most unpleasant task of packing. We always keep our luggage and self-assist off the boat first (another Faster to the Fun perk!) so we don’t put our luggage in the hallway. But there were lots of notes and information left in our cabin instructing us to have our luggage out by 11:00 p.m. if we were not doing self-assist. So, we packed for a bit and by now it was about 10:00 p.m. We knew we wanted to go up on the Lido for the New Year’s Eve Party at 11:00 so we laid down for about an hour (our guys stayed on the Lido from 10:30 on (that’s when the party actually started) so we went out onto the Lido (our rooms were on Deck 10 – the Lido so easy commute) and were surprised to find over 2000 people on the Lido and on decks 11 and 12 around the Lido!! SO MANY PEOPLE!!! It was very loud with music playing and general celebrating going on! Lots and lots of alcohol flowing – lots and lots of very drunk people! We arrived around 11:30 and 30 minutes was PLENTY of time for us to enjoy that party! Whew – it was just nuts. Really good music though – the DJ was rocking it out! Finally, midnight came and we headed back to our room to finish packing and then crash. By 1:00 a.m. we felt we were packed up enough to finish in just a few minutes the next morning.

 

Our alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. – not much rest for the weary! The Lido Buffet opened early to get everyone fed for the final meal onboard. Funny enough – there weren’t just a whole lot of people eating breakfast – too much drinking the night before….. Our adult children would be a part of that group and opted to skip breakfast for just a few more minutes of sleep - they knew we could hit McDonald’s on the way our of town. (=

 

We were instructed to go the Faster to the Fun Self-Assist debarkation waiting area – Deck 3 Ovations Theater with all of our luggage at 7:00 a.m. We got there right at 7:00 a.m. were directed to a seating area (they keep you in order of arrival as that is how you are dismissed). Okay – here is another tip! If the ship has not docked you have time to stay in your room longer!!! Even after the ship docked (7:45 a.m.) it was another 30 minutes before they let us off. (I believe we were delayed a bit by…..you guessed it FOG! But it wasn’t thick enough to keep us from coming in – much to the happiness of everyone who had a flight out of Houston that morning!!!) So – check outside – if the ship is on-time go ahead and head down to the Ovations Theater at the noted time, however, if there is any type of delay wait to come down – there were lots and lots of people who already knew this and came to the Ovations Theater a full hour after us and only had to wait 10-15 minutes or so to get off after us – definitely worth the wait!

 

We were ushered off of the ship at 8:45 and made it through customs and were out waiting for our hotel shuttle (Hotel Galvez – I HIGHLY recommend them!! They are wonderful!) by 9:05 a.m. We were in our car headed home (well headed to McDonald’s) at 9:30 a.m. Pretty fast turn around.

 

Over all I would still give our cruise 9 out of 10 stars even with the foggy 24 hour delay in Galveston. It is just a lovely ship with excellent customer service. The only reason I couldn’t give it a 10 out of 10 is because of the food – it was good but not great.

[5 in OK]

More Tips for the Breeze:

 

1. When we received the survey for Carnival we realized that the Hub app is supposed to allow you to "communicate" with those who are in your room AND those who are not in your room. So - ours was either human error (most likely) or it wasn't working. If you need to communicate with people who are not in your room keep trying or get some help and you should be good to go!

 

2. Ropes Course......the hours for the ropes course are pretty short and the lines were pretty long. I believe they were open a couple of hours in the morning and then from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. each afternoon. Get in line right before they open and stand in line to wait and you should not have any trouble getting on. No one in my group did the ropes course - most using it were between the ages of 8 and 15 so it was not a drawing card for my adult children. We did see some adults using it but most were parents going along with their younger children.

 

3. Only place to catch football, basketball games etc...without the smoke in the Casino was the Red Frog Pub. Not a lot of comfortable seating but you can sit and watch as long as you'd like even if you aren't drinking.

 

4. Take a Wal-Mart gift card (or any empty gift card) to put in the slot by the lights so that you don't have to use your sign and sail card. The lights will only stay on for a few minutes once the card is out. (The lights will only stay on if your sign and sail card is in the slot.) We actually an old sign and sail card (from the Triumph last year) and this worked great too!

 

5. The laundry service is actually pretty reasonable if you need something cleaned (same day or next day service) or pressed. We are considering taking less clothes for night-time dining and just send them out for cleaning so we can re-wear them.

 

That's all for now! Enjoy the Breeze - we loved her!

[JaniceB]

Thanks for the info on the Thrill Theater. We plan to do this on our cruise. I have never heard of the 80's Rock and Glow Party.

Costa Maya looks very nice, one port I haven't been to on the Western side.

[easyboy]

More Tips for the Breeze:

 

3. Only place to catch football, basketball games etc...without the smoke in the Casino was the Red Frog Pub. Not a lot of comfortable seating but you can sit and watch as long as you'd like even if you aren't drinking.

 

That's all for now! Enjoy the Breeze - we loved her!

Very applicable for us!

[cruise pup]

You mention that Cucina was filled up on the final sea day. I was advised to go early on in the cruise because word gets out and final sea day gets mobbed. Apparently that was good advice.

 

I went to Maya Chan too. I had an optional massage. It was wonderful. A fraction of the cost for one on the ship. Plus there's nothing better than having it on a beach, outdoors with a gentle sea breeze.

Edited January 9, 2017 by cruise pup

[5 in OK]

Thanks for the info on the Thrill Theater. We plan to do this on our cruise. I have never heard of the 80's Rock and Glow Party.

Costa Maya looks very nice, one port I haven't been to on the Western side.

Costa Maya is lovely - felt like authentic Mexico. And just beautiful!

 

We had never heard of the 80s Rock and Glow party either but we really enjoyed it! We could understand every single word of all of the songs they played - very refreshing! The entertainment crew was walking around with free glow Sticks for everyone! It was fun!

 

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[5 in OK]

You mention that Cucina was filled up on the final sea day. I was advised to go early on in the cruise because word gets out and final sea day gets mobbed. Apparently that was good advice.

 

I went to Maya Chan too. I had an optional massage. It was wonderful. A fraction of the cost for one on the ship. Plus there's nothing better than having it on a beach, outdoors with a gentle sea breeze.

I KNOW! It's just magical getting a massage on the beach! And so cheap! I wish I was there right now with all of this ice in the forecast!

 

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