Carnival Breeze Super Bowl Cruise

[Gumbo4Life]

Introduction

My wife and I took our first cruise recently, sailing on the Carnival Breeze out of Galveston, TX on February 5. When we booked the cruise we didn’t know it was the “Super Bowl” cruise but other than some difficulty finding a hotel it turned out to be a good choice. My sister worked on a cruise ship when she was just out of college (the Big Red Boat was one of her ships) and has been encouraging us for years to jump on the cruise bandwagon. Well, lots of research later we made our booking and started counting down the days!

Thanks for those that organized the Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle, it was fun to meet our Entertainment Director, Hugo and our Hotel Director Ivaylo. They spent a full hour with us answering our questions and giving us some of the “behind the scenes” information including a lot of fun banter between them. Also provided drinks and snacks for the group. If you can be sure to go and show your support for CC.

We watched the Super bowl in the Ovation theater which was cool, ended up missing the 4th quarter (I know, bummer, story for another time...) but did get to see overtime on the Lido deck. Cool. :)

Ship

We were impressed with the Breeze overall. We thought that since it is headed to dry dock in a few months it would look ragged and worn but that was not the case. Where there were telltale signs of age if you looked closely (rust here or dust there) basically the carpets looked fresh, floors clean colors bright, etc. We really liked the ship layout, especially how we could do laps on the 5th level or the front from the 5th, 6th or 7th levels. As we were in the middle of the 7th floor it didn’t take long to get to either the top front (Serenity deck) or bottom aft (Limelight Lounge) in just a few minutes.

Very nice to catch the sunsets from an optimal viewing location each day. We only took the elevators when we were hauling luggage so we clocked in many steps each day going up and down the stairs. Good exercise I’m told.

Cabin

We had the Ocean Suite room 7334 and liked it very much. I was a little worried about the potential for noise coming from hot tub below on the 5th deck but with the exception of one gentleman who talked very loud noise was not a problem. The hot tub closed fairly early, I think about 10:00 (?) so 1:00 am parties were not a problem!

The minifridge is a fridge in spirit only. It kept its contents slightly cooler than the room but no more. If you have medication that really needs to be kept cold then ask for a mini mini fridge for that purpose, otherwise there is a reason your room stewards fill up the ice bucket twice (or more) per day.

Food

We used Room Service for breakfast a few times and a late night snack once. No complaints, food was fine and delivered fairly quickly (and at the designated time for breakfast).

Using our “Your Time Dining” option we found ourselves in the Main Dining Room for dinner on three nights. Again, no significant issues, food was pretty good. I had the lobster on the first elegant night and it was fine. I had a Jambalaya dish on the last night and it was wonderful, I could have had that every night and been happy. We had to wait on the first night but had no waiting on the next two visits.

I think one of best kept secrets on the Breeze is the “brunch” served in the Blush Dining room on sea days. I say secret because in all of our research prior to the trip we didn’t even know it was available. Our waiter in the MDR told us about it and we ended up eating there twice. If you like steak and eggs…

We splurged on the third night and ate at the Fahrenheit 555 steakhouse which didn’t disappoint. We arrived at our designated time and were promptly seated. They say plan for 2 hours and sure enough we left right at 1 hour and 55 minutes. Would do again.

On another night we had reservations at Cucina Capitano. My wife really liked this meal the best. In addition to the food we ordered we were also given a few additional appetizers. Hint, the Risotto balls were fantastic! Would definitely do this again. At $15 each probably the best value option of the additional cost meals.

The Buffet was, well, a buffet. Lots of choices and lines but good for a quick bite, snack or full on meal. I probably enjoyed breakfast the best, well, at least stumbled up there for coffee first thing in the morning as well as the occasional biscuit and gravy. Lines for the omelet bar were long so I’m assuming they were yummy.

We ate at Jimmy’s BBQ (on “C-days”) once and it was ok. Coming from Texas we are used to really good BBQ so think of it as fast food BBQ. Guy’s burgers - I had one, it was ok, wife had 2 and thought they were the best ever (hey, I make the burgers at home…hmmm?). I had tacos at the Blue Iguana Cantina that I thought were good, never got a burrito despite wanting to, just ran out of meal opportunities. We had late night pizza on a few occasions, always hot and right out of the oven.

We did not eat at Bonsai Sushi so can’t comment except to say it looked nice and had plenty of people eating there during peak times.

Entertainment

The shows in the Ovation theater were really good, actually better than we expected. A new crew was on the boat learning the show so the actors that we saw are probably on vacation now. I was not particularly excited with any of the singers, good to hear once but not to go back for another round. This was a disappointment as I really had planned to hang out in the Red Frog pup and listen to live music. Instead we played games when the non-live acts were playing. The comedians were ok as well.

Carnival Breeze, view from Cozumel

 

 

Room view

 

 

Guy's burger

[Gumbo4Life]

Excursions

On Jamaica we took the Carnival Rose Hall tour. The start time said 11:00 but when we got there right at 10:00 (ship time, remember, stay on ship time) we had a full load waiting and the tour operator started the tour right then which was great. I’m assuming they started a tour as soon as enough people showed up to fill the van. The tour was basic with the obligatory picture in front of Rose Hall which was an optional $10. Juice was provided at the end and the tour guide did a great job telling us all about the history of the house, where the hidden passage way was, etc. Tour then went to their sponsored shopping center for about 45 minutes before taking us back to the port. We got back on the boat then and enjoyed a somewhat quiet rest of the day.

In Cayman we did not book an excursion but rather hired a driver to take just the two of us on the “tour” which comprised of the regular route but we were able to stop at a few additional places for pictures, spend a little more time here and a little less time there. You get the point. Basically a private tour guide for a few hours. When that was over we went back to the port area and walked around and did some shopping, t-shirts, Hard Rock Café, et. I got the Jerk Chicken lunch at Margaritaville and it was fantastic. It was the only “jerk” meal I had on the cruise which was a shame as I was really looking forward to eating more Caribbean cuisine on this trip.

We were feeling brave once we reached Cozumel so after walking around for a little while we ended up renting a car for the day and drove around the island. This was really nice as it reminded us of when we did the same thing in Oahu many years ago. We stopped at many places along the way and got some great pictures. Enjoyed lunch at a beach restaurant at Playa Chen Rio and returned the car with a few hours to spare.

Finally, since this was our first cruise and I’m interested in how things work we booked the Behind the Fun tour our first day aboard. The tour takes 16 people on the last sea day on a 3 hour walk around the boat to a few places you generally don’t get to go, such as the galley, food storage freezer, engine control room (not engine room), an employee café, the HR training center and backstage of the Ovation theater and the Bridge to meet and have a Q&A with the Captain. We also got pictures with the Captain which was nice. There was quite a few places we didn’t get to see but it was enjoyable overall. Our guide did a great job, lots of energy. But since we couldn’t take our cameras on the tour I didn’t get her picture or name…

Rose Hall, Jamaica

 

 

Hell, Cayman Island

 

Cozumel Beach

 

[Gumbo4Life]

Staff

Our Room Steward Nataliya from Romania did a great job. My wife is very allergic to down (feathers in pillows, comforters, etc.) and when we got on the ship and met her we told her and she promptly changed out the comforter for 2 blankets (the pillows did not have any feathers). She kept ice in the bucket and the room tidied twice per day as well as interesting towel art each day – which my wife really enjoyed. It was like getting a surprise present each day when we got back to the room to see what creature was new to our room!

Our Cruise director, Leigh waseverywhere all of the time. Not sure how he did it or how he always had that much energy, but he did a great job.

Generally the staff were friendly, saying hello in the halls or remembering what our drink order from the previous day, etc.

Cloud 9 Spa

Based on what we read on CC we pre-purchased the spa pass for the week, $219. Once we checked in we got a full tour of the place (not really sure how that happened…). A few days later I noticed we were charged again for the spa pass so a quick visit to guest services got that corrected. We went a few times and found it too crowded to enjoy so we didn’t go back. I think that was a good thing as it seems several people that frequented the spa got the flu (which I’m sure was just a coincidence). My wife got a drink of lemon water on her first visit (which she was really looking forward to) only to find out she picked a glass from a stack of dirty glasses stacked where the clean glasses should have been, no clean glasses at all. No, she was not happy, but did look closer at such things for the rest of the cruise! I would not purchase the week pass on future cruises.

Logistics

Carnival did a commendable job getting that many people on and off the ship in a short period of time. We had a check in time of 10:30 and got on the boat right about 12:30. We were fortunate as our room was ready so we dumped our luggage in the room and headed to Cucina Capitano for the pasta lunch. Our introduction to Carnival was off to a good start!

The disembarkation worked out well also, we got off the boat by 10:30 and were out of customs/immigration and on our way to the truck by 10:40.

Other tidbits

We did miss quite a lot as there is so much going on. We didn’t even know about the fundraiser party for St. Jude for example! I relied almost exclusively on the app for the daily schedule of events and it wasn’t until we got home that I noticed that the Fun Times handout provided each day gave a more complete picture of the day’s events and easier to read. I will definitely read it first next time and use the app as a backup once we have decided what to do.

We played putt putt once and walked around the Lido deck a few times but only hung out there once to listen to Caribbean music late one afternoon which was really good or for a quick stop to get a taco or burger. We didn’t watch any of the outdoor movies or even swim in the pool. Not that we didn’t want to but there were only so much time during the cruise!...

We thought we would hang out on the Serenity deck more than we did but was only able to get a cove seat once and the hammock once, the rest of the time the place was packed and we just kept going. There was no trouble at all getting a lounge chair on the lower decks for some quiet time. Most of the time they were 80% empty, especially on the side with the shade.

We purchased the premium internet package and it worked as advertised. We were able to facetime with the kids each night and keep up with the goings on back home.

Summary

For our first cruise we were pleased. It was a very good experience and we are already looking for future dates that may work for our next cruise. We would definitely go on the Breeze again based on our experience.

88 Keys show

Towel Art

Sunset, the journey is over... for now :)

[Hooked!]

Thanks for posting! That towel monkey on the toilet, reading the Fun Times...too funny!

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[douglinc@msn.com]

Enjoyed you review, we will be on the Breeze Sunday (1-19)

[BoomerSoonerCruisers]

Thanks so much for the review. We are cruising the Breeze in June are also staying in cabin 7334! I was also concerned about the hot tub below and am glad to know noise was not an issue. I know that "comfortable room temperature" varies per person but I would appreciate any thoughts you had on the temperature of the room. TIA

[ginjer2911]

Thanks for the review. We were on that sailing also. I hope to do a review soon. We also had a great time and I am quite sad that I don't have another cruise booked yet to look forward to.

[Gumbo4Life]

Thanks so much for the review. We are cruising the Breeze in June are also staying in cabin 7334! I was also concerned about the hot tub below and am glad to know noise was not an issue. I know that "comfortable room temperature" varies per person but I would appreciate any thoughts you had on the temperature of the room. TIA

 

We found precious little (well, none) info on this room before the cruise but it ended up being a great room. On the temp side my wife likes a room to be on the "cool" side and for me I was downright freezing on some nights (she was fine btw ;) ). We brought a fan but ended up not using it. It was only about 85 degrees outside on our trip though, with your trip in June I'd expect it may be considerably warmer. I would not hesitate to stay in this room again.

 

View of hot tub from 7334 on the Breeze

[eeudj]

Thanks so much for the review. We are cruising the Breeze in June are also staying in cabin 7334! . TIA

 

Heading out June 25... so excited!!

[camijo]

Great review! I sail on the Breeze July 2018.

[JaniceB]

Thanks for doing such an informative review.

[BoomerSoonerCruisers]

Heading out June 25... so excited!!

 

 

We are two weeks before you on the 11th.

[Badfinger]

When you say the Spa was crowded, what do you mean? All the heated loungers taken? No room in the T-Pool?

 

I lived in the Spa on our Breeze cruise last August. Only once was the T-Pool crowded to the point that you would be invading someone's personal space, but I guess that everybody defines that differently. To me, in the T-Pool, give me 12" and I am good. As for the loungers, I am tall, or they are too short, but either perspective uncomfortable for me so I didn't really pay attention.

 

 

I rarely saw anyone else in the various sauna/steam rooms, and if so, only for a few minutes.

 

 

On our cruise they did not offer beef at the Blue Iguana. I found that very strange for a cruise out of Texas.

[Gumbo4Life]

When you say the Spa was crowded, what do you mean? All the heated loungers taken? No room in the T-Pool?

 

I lived in the Spa on our Breeze cruise last August. Only once was the T-Pool crowded to the point that you would be invading someone's personal space, but I guess that everybody defines that differently. To me, in the T-Pool, give me 12" and I am good. As for the loungers, I am tall, or they are too short, but either perspective uncomfortable for me so I didn't really pay attention.

 

 

I rarely saw anyone else in the various sauna/steam rooms, and if so, only for a few minutes.

 

 

On our cruise they did not offer beef at the Blue Iguana. I found that very strange for a cruise out of Texas.

 

Good question and I probably should have better elaborated since the spa is very popular. We got registered and had the tour on the first day and the place was very packed and busy, giving tours and such. We headed back on the 2nd day, I want to think after lunch and actually got in but getting changed, getting the locker to lock (wife never figured out how to make that work ;) ) I went to the pool and she went to the cool room. She couldn't find a seat so she went to get a glass of water (see detail above). I got in the pool but was in the 12" you referred to then after awhile ventured over to the hot lounger. I did get one and really enjoyed that! We went back twice and it seemed at about the same load capacity so we gave it a pass. Being our first cruise we found plenty of stuff to do and didn't miss it. I think one of the things that was odd was that when you came in you have to wait and the desk attendant had to open the door (for the pool) and when we were there there were several folks ahead, buying stuff, asking questions, etc. and finally someone came out so we were able to go in. I am sure there were better times to use the spa we just didn't get there then!! Next time we will opt for the day pass!

[easyboy]

Enjoyed your review. Very nice photos too!

[KSParrotHead79]

Heading out June 25... so excited!!

 

 

Me too!

 

 

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