Carnival Breeze - the good, the bad and the great!

Day 1 - Embarkation - Boarded the breeze this past week for an 8 night cruise to the exotic Caribbean. It was DH, DD 6 and myself. This was our first Carnival Cruise so we wanted to keep an open mind. We have been on Celebrity, Disney, Princess and Royal Caribbean.

We purchased the FTTF and to be honest it was not worth it for us. We arrived to the port at 10am and there was no line to check in. If you are planning to arrive to the port after noon then it will he well worth it for you to avoid the line. We waited to board at 11:30. There are 2 Priority Boarding hard ticket passes. One is red, the other is blue. I can't remember which was which but one was for Diamond and Platinum, the other for FTTF. We were able to board right after Diamond and platinum. We got on board pretty quick. Boarded at 11:45 and were in the cabin by 11:55. No luggage yet but the cabin was ready. The doors on the deck were closed but there is a sign that says come on in FTTF guests.

We then headed to Cucina del Capitano for lunch. It was great no wait no crowd. There is no cost to eat lunch. We were given a form to fill out with your preferences available for lunch. You pick your noodle, sauce, veggies, meat etc. if you don't want pasta they have lasagne available as well as Caesar salad and bread. It was very good. DD loved the lasagne and it was pretty quick. Best kept secret is to go to Cucina del Capitano for lunch on embarkation day! It was great to avoid the crowds at the buffet.

After lunch we wandered the ship a bit, then headed back to the cabin. It was about 2pm and still no sign of our luggage. We called the FTTF guest service line and were told they didn't know where it was. We decided to head out and check out more of the ship. As we approached a different set of elevator banks far from our cabin we saw our luggage. Strange. So we asked a porter and he immediately took it off and took it to our cabin which was located on deck 6 aft. We decided to unpack a little. The girls put their bathing suits on and we headed to the pool.

We then headed to the muster drill. We were in the dining room and no life vests were required.

Right after the muster drill we headed to the pool deck for the sail away party which was a lot of fun. Very family friendly.

We then headed back to the cabin to get ready for dinner which was in the Blush dining room at 6. We had 15 of us traveling and everyone was now here!

Dinner was interesting. Our head waiter had been off for 3 months so this was his first sailing back on board. We had 2 assistant waiters and it seemed as if they were not communicating with each other. No one was offered a drink only water. My drink came at the end of the meal and I never got my hot tea. No worries we are on vacation and this was the first night. They seemed to be very short staffed but hey, I didn't have to cook or clean. The appetizers and entrees did not come out together and were not served at the same time. We did not order anything special but we did get our meals eventually. The dinner was just over 2 hours.

After dinner we headed to the ovation theatre to sign our DD up for Camp Carnival. When we arrived there was no one there. We went straight up to camp carnival and there was a sign that said closed, we will be at Liquid Night Club. So after the up and down (due to our dinner taking a long time) we made it to Liquid Night Club. They were hosting a Family Dance Party. The kids had a great time and I won the best mom dancer. Oh my! DD was very tired so we headed back to the cabin. We are still keeping an open mind as this was only day one...... More to come....

Here is the pasta bar menu for Cucina del Capitano

Day 2 - Sea Day

We wanted to give the dining room a chance for breakfast. It didn't open until 8:30 so we decided to head to the Blue Iguana Cantina which opened at 7:30. I think Carnival should open their breakfast earlier especially with so many kids on board. Our sailing had 1100 kids! We are early risers. The buffet didn't open until 7:30 either so we got a breakfast burrito. Yum! They were delicious. Once the older group traveling with us got up we all headed to the dining room. Uh oh the burrito filled us up but we headed there anyway. The food was mediocre (yes we ate again) and service was extremely slow in the dining room. It took over 2 hours for breakfast. We always love eating breakfast in the dining room and have never had such slow service. We were in great company so we were in no hurry.

After breakfast we headed to the waterworks slides etc... Wow this ship has a lot of bells and whistles for kids! Our DD was having a blast in the splash zone and did the slides over and over. There was not much of a wait for the slides. It moves very quickly. The most we waited was maybe 10 minutes. The height requirement is 42 inches. The great thing about this ship is there are a lot of umbrellas and shaded areas. We had Guys burgers for lunch. Oh mylanta! They are delicious! Soooo good. I can't believe I finished 2 breakfast and a guys burger! We had a very relaxing day!

We headed back to the cabin so DD could have some quiet time. After we got cleaned up we headed to the thrill theatre. Well worth it to purchase the unlimited pass. It was $7.95 for one movie or $15.95 to have unlimited access. It was a lot of fun.

We then headed to the dining room for dinner. Service was very slow again, food ok. We didn't starve but we are all about good service. I asked for an iced tea and again didn't get it until the end of the meal. I never got my hot tea with dessert until I asked 3 times about it. By then we were getting ready to leave. I guess we are just used to waiters remembering what we drink and having it served right when you sit down. The chocolate melting cake was very good! You have to order 2 ice creams with it (they are small).

DD was not feeling good - too much food already so we headed to the cabin with a few drinks. Good thing we had a balcony - we were able to watch the waves and enjoy the sea air while DD went to sleep.

I'm slowly finding all the paperwork as I unpack......here is the schedule for the Thrill Theatre

The kids menu from the Dining Room....kids can also order off the main menu if they prefer...

This is the letter we received in our cabin for the FTTF....

We decided to have breakfast in the buffet. The omelets were very good and self service was a lot faster. There are also beverage stations located around the lido deck with orange juice, apple juice, guava juice, water, ice, coffee and hot tea.

After breakfast we got off the ship and checked into our private cabana at Margaritaville. It was well worth it to have a shaded area for those that wanted to stay out of the sun and have a dedicated waitress. The kids swam in the pool for a little bit. At 8:45 we headed down the beach to Jacks Shack. It’s only located about 500 yards down the beach and was a very safe walk. Jacks Shack didn’t open until 9 so we got there right about opening time. This was well worth the trip. The owner Jack is so nice and accommodating. It is a family friendly bar. There is free WIFI too. There is a gift shop, bar and beach. If you want chaise lounges they will bring them down on the beach for you. There was no charge but Jack mentioned to take care of the employee so we gave him a tip. The owner has a dog named Topher that was so fun! He loves to dig for crabs and swim with you. He kept us entertained! We brought our own snorkel gear and if you head a little further down the beach to the old pier there was decent snorkeling. There is a sting ray that swims around there and a lot of fish and unusual shells. We stayed until around 10:45 then headed back to the cabana to get some use of it. We shopped at the port then headed back to the ship for lunch.

We headed to the lido Deck and had Guys Burgers! Forget about your diet folks! You have to have a Guys Burger while on the Breeze. So amazing they serve around 1200 per day!

We showered then headed to the Thrill Theatre again. The kids couldn’t get enough.

Shortly after that we went to dinner in the dining room. Service is slowly getting better. I actually was asked by the assistant waiter if I wanted an iced tea. We planned to go to the Family Friendly Comedy Show but yea no – the dining room took almost 2 hours again. :confused: I did ask our assistant waiter if they were short staffed. He said they actually had 40 covers with just 3 of them. We never saw him much and he said he was constantly running back and forth to the kitchen to get all the meals. The other tables around us had maybe 5 or 8 at each table so they were so overloaded with us. I felt bad for the crew as some tables around us finished dinner by 7:15 or 7:30. There were 15 in our party, the table next to us was another 15 and then a third table with 10. :eek: At the end of our meal I heard the head waiter say make sure she gets her tea tonight and I did. :)

Although the service was slow, we were in great company and no one had to cook or clean. :D

DH likes to get up early so he ventured out each morning to the Marketplace Buffet to get coffee and hot tea each morning. DD slept in until 7am which is late for her! We enjoyed our coffee and tea on the balcony then once DD was up we headed to the buffet for breakfast. The oatmeal was really good! After breakfast we walked on the jogging track a few times.

We arrived in La Romana about 9am. We decided to get off the ship to see what was right at the port. A few in our group took a shuttle into town which was $5 each. They said they were very uncomfortable in the outdoor market and got right back on the bus to come back. We did not go so I can’t say whether or not we would have felt the same way as they only ventured to an outdoor market. Apparently the locals were very pushy.

As we arrived at the port, the locals greeted us with dancers and music. Right at the port there is a small gift shop with cigars, liquor, T shirts, hand made crafts, magnets etc… and a bar (beer, soda and water). We looked around and decided to hang out right next to the gift shop for a local beer. We got back on the ship and headed to the Lido Deck. One thing I noticed on this ship was it is very quiet up until about noon. It was great for us because we are very early risers and we felt like we had the ship to ourselves. There was no line for the water slides. The pool was very quiet. I’m sure a lot of people got off in port for excursions but even on sea days we found the pool very quiet until lunch time. Once it was noon – it was like the people multiplied and it got busy. Even though it was a full cruise I never felt as if I had to wait more than 10 minutes or so for anything.

DD finally wanted to go to camp carnival and she did a Water Colors Picture Frame and Spin Art. She said it was boring but I think it’s because her older cousin is 9 and she didn’t want to do it. DD just wanted to hang out with her cousins since she hasn’t seen them in a few years.

Dinner took 2 hours again and the only thing I remember was the warm chocolate melting cake. It is delicious.

We did the thrill theatre again then headed to the Ovation Theatre for the Diva show. The kids really enjoyed the show. I wouldn’t say it was great but it was ok. As Simon Cowell would say, it was “Cruise Ship entertainment”.

Day 5 – Curacao

We didn’t arrive in Curacao until 2pm so we enjoyed the ship all morning. DD went to Camp Carnival and did sand art. We went to the Curacao shopping highlights. Today I decided to try the deli which is located in the Marketplace Buffet. This actually opens a little earlier than the other venues so I decided to try a roast turkey Panini. It was pretty good. Of course DH had a guy’s burger again and DD wanted pizza which was delicious.

We got off the ship at 2pm and headed towards the popular Pontoon Bridge. We passed through Fort Rif where there is shopping and we found free WIFI right in front of the Fort Rif entrance. There is a hotel, I think it was called the Renaissance right by the fountain and we were able to hop on their WIFI. There was a huge delay at the pontoon bridge because another cruise ship was docked right by the bridge so they closed it for a long time so they could depart. We waited for about an hour then decided to walk down to the ferry which was free to take. When we finally got to town to shop it was already 3:30. The stores close at 5 or 6 so we hit a few then walked down to the floating market. Not as exciting as I thought it would be but it was an experience. We then headed back over the pontoon bridge to come back to the ship. It was already 5:30 so we decided to skip dinner and keep shopping. DH, DD and my niece all got back on the ship about 6:30 so we went to the Lido Marketplace for dinner. The rest of the family went to the dining room and said the service was definitely getting better. They were out by 7:30! Maybe because there were 4 less people.

That night we just hung out with the family. The show was too late for the little ones but a few did go to the dive in movie and loved it. They had popcorn and towels to keep warm.

We went on the Best of Aruba Island Tour today booked through Carnival. It was a very smooth process; we got off the ship and saw the sign for our tour. We were told to go to bus 20. It was a nice air conditioned bus. The tour took us to the Natural Bridge, the Rock Formations, Alto Vista Chapel and the lighthouse. Our guide was Bert and he was very informative about the island. We didn’t realize that water is very expensive in Aruba. The adults had to pay to use the bathroom because of the lack of water/pipes. Children were free. The guide also stopped at Eagle Beach to let us take a few pictures. It was a beautiful beach.

After the tour, the bus driver offered to drop anyone off in town for shopping. We opted to get off. We shopped for a little bit then headed back to the ship for lunch. We had Guys burgers again.

I took my niece to the Red Frog Pub and bought her a Ting (non alcoholic grapefruit drink). She had never had one. We wandered the ship then headed to the cabin to clean up.

At 5:30 we went to the Red Frog Pub to listen to the pub guitar sounds to have a pre-dinner drink. There were a few other passengers “around the corner” and the waitress told us not to sit over there. Apparently they had too much to drink and she didn’t want our DD to see them which we appreciated. I felt really bad as they started to sing karaoke with the female crew playing the guitar. We could tell she was annoyed and very uncomfortable. A few other family members showed up and we finished our drink and headed to the dining room for dinner.

It was Thanksgiving so we all wanted to make sure we ate together this evening. Wow as soon as I sat down, the assistant waiter gave me an ice tea. It only took 6 nights. J The service was much better tonight and the crew were communicating and working together so it was a great experience. After dinner we took DD to Camp Carnival for Thanksgiving arts and crafts. We went to thrill theatre again and wandered the ship and gift shops. We went to pick up DD about 8:45, then headed to the ASAD show (comedy Hypnotist). It was really funny as they picked guests from the audience and made them to silly things. It was family friendly. We were worried DD wouldn’t be able to stay up but she did and she enjoyed it. After that we were exhausted so headed to bed.

We were up early today so we hung out on the balcony enjoying the open sea and our coffee/tea. We noticed each morning that they drain the hot tubs on Deck 5 early in the morning and refill before most people are up. We had breakfast in the Lido Buffet again. We then enjoyed the pool, water slides etc…

For lunch DH and I decided to try the Mongolian Wok and my sister took DD to get pizza. We headed there early because at 11:30 there was already a line. We waited from 11:45 to 12:40 then finally got our Mongolian. I was bummed it was too spicy for me. DH loved it. I then realized that you can just order soy sauce which would have been mild but you live and learn right. I then headed to get a pizza as I drank 5 waters on the way there – my mouth was on fire. I waited another 15 minutes for pizza then finally got to eat.

The afternoon was spent enjoying the pool again with an ice carving demonstration and Miss Carnival Breeze contest (was actually family friendly). It was fun to watch.

We ate in the Dining Room again for dinner. Service was much better tonight. The table of 10 next to us was not there so I think the waiters had a little more time on their hands. They were actually making conversation with us and entertaining the kids.

After dinner DH and DD went to Thrill Theatre and I went with the rest of the group to the Motor City Motown Show. It was decent.

Our last Lido buffet breakfast. There is a big selection for all tastes. If you want to eat healthy there is fresh fruit, oatmeal, cereal, grits or if you prefer more of an 18 wheeler breakfast there are scrambled eggs, french toast, pancakes, waffles, omelets, hash browns, bacon, sausages, beans and deli meat and cheese.

This was another pool day on the Lido Deck. I had a Panini again with Guys fries, DH and DD had Guys Burgers again.

At 3:30 we went to the Hasbro Game Show which was fun for the kids to watch.

That evening our dinner in the dining room went until 7:45 so we missed the family Comedy show again. We decided to go to the cabin and start packing. We had a few drinks then went to bed.

We always dread the last day on the ship which means the end to our vacation. Since we had a long drive home we decided to skip breakfast and get off the ship with our FTTF at 7:15. We grabbed a few cereal boxes and headed to our location. We were really delayed because of all the ships coming in so it was a bummer. By 8am we were still waiting. For some reason they let the self assist guests get off first before Platinum and Diamond. They should let them off first. I felt as if half of the ship did self assist so we waited until 8:30, then our number was called. Once we got off the ship, the line moved quickly. We found our luggage, grabbed a porter to help and then went through customs. DH went to get the car and we were heading out of the lot by 9am. The Miami Port is a mess. We circled around once and couldn’t find how to get out of the lot. The signage is terrible. Although it rained on the way home we did have a great vacation and really enjoyed the ship.

Pros – Great ship, great amenities, variety of food was good for casual dining, Guys Burgers, Islands, a lot of choices for entertainment, Rope Course - which I did when we were in DR. It was me, DD and my BIL and niece. My DD started to cry - 6 is too young and they only had the difficult side open which was much too hard for a little one. I took her back to the start then headed back out. It was really windy so they shut down the course while I was on it. Although it was really hard to get around due to the wind it was a lot of fun.

Cons – service in the dining room and service around the ship. Our waiters were great but with so many passengers to serve at their tables it was so hard for them. We could tell they were experienced and did the best they could.

We have always tipped our staff as they deserve it. We feel as though the “pre-payment” of these tips causes the crew to not really care about their job or the service. We are more than willing to provide extra tips if the service is great. This was not the case for this cruise. We did keep our tips on our account but did not provide additional. The steward did a great job and it was nice to come back to a clean cabin and have turndown service with towel animals each night. We did leave a gift for him.

Would we cruise with Carnival again? Possibly, if the price is right, but it will not be our first choice for the near future. It’s a shame because the ship is absolutely beautiful and the amenities are great. Service is very important for us so we will stick with Disney, RCI and Princess for our future cruises. This is just our honest opinion with our experience. We think Carnival is a great line and if you are ok with sacrificing service with price then go with Carnival. There were some great crew on the ship that provided good service in the Red Frog Pub, Thrill Theatre and pool bars. The wait times for lines was not that bad considering all the passengers and 1100 kids on board. I never felt as if there were that many kids on board. The layout of the ship is great and there are so many different activities and casual dining options available that it really spreads all the passengers out.

Is anyone interested in the Daily Fun Times or Camp Carnival Schedule? Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks so much for your review! Do you by chance have the camp carnival schedules you could post? We leave in two weeks.

Yes I will scan it tonight and post. We have the schedule for 6-8.

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Very well done.

Keith

Yes I will scan it tonight and post. We have the schedule for 6-8.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Awesome! Thanks so much!!

Thanks so much for your review! Do you by chance have the camp carnival schedules you could post? We leave in two weeks.

I didn't get a chance to scan the camp carnival schedule yesterday. I will take it to work today. You will love the Breeze, it's a beautiful ship.

Very well done.

 

Keith

Thank you!

Here is the schedule for Camp Carnival.

Camp Carnival Schedule.pdf

Here is a better copy of the Thrill Theatre Schedule and room serviceRoom Service Menu.pdf[/ATTACH]

Thrill Theatre Schdule.pdf

Here is the schedule for Camp Carnival.

 

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Thanks so much! I really appreciate your effort. :)

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your effort. :)

Are you not able to see the attachments? I just noticed they look strange.