Just Off The Breeze! My Opinions, Your Questions..

I'm horrible at reviews, so this is not really one of those.
This is more of "my opinions" and the thread is completely open to any questions. :)

We just debarked after an 8 day cruise on the Carnival Breeze, November 8 through the 16th, 2014.
This was our second time on the Breeze.
Our itinerary was St. Thomas, Antigua, San Juan and Nassau.

St. Thomas - Our second time in St. Thomas.
We found a cabbie that gave us a 5 hour tour of the island with shopping and a few hours at Coki Beach, for $25 each.
Coki Beach was gorgeous, but crowded.
Very small. Pushy vendors/wait staff.

Antigua - Our second time in Antigua.
We were literally off the ship for 45 minutes.
A little shopping with extremely aggressive vendors turned us off.

San Juan - Our first time in San Juan.
Loved it!!
We took a 2 minute walk to a ferry ($1 per person round trip) to Catano.
The ferry ride was about 15 minutes.
We then took a 5 minute taxi ride ($3 per person) to the Bacardi Factory.
The tour was FREE and lasted about an hour. The distillery part of the tour was closed for renovation so we found ourselves a little bored, but it was free.
We each got 2 free 9oz mixed drinks with any flavor Bacardi you'd like.
The gift shop was nice, good prices.
We then took a small walk around and found a place called "Don Tello", where we had lunch.
It's just across from the ferry station that brings you to Catano.
Delicious! Best rice and beans I've had.
After lunch we took the ferry back over to Old San Juan and had a few drinks/shenanigans at Senior Frogs.

Nassau - Our second time in Nassau.
My least favorite port, we contemplated just staying on the ship until a couple we met on the ship decided that we were going to book an excursion through Carnival because it was a heavy port day.
Just before the excursion desk closed, the day of, we booked an excursion called "Native Quest" and we had the best time ever!
It's sort of like The Amazing Race, where you have a scavenger hunt at Ft. Charlotte followed by Bahamian games and then a food tasting.
After that we got to sample several kinds of Bush Tea and Rums. It was well worth the $49.99 per person.
We tried a drink that we are all obsessed with now, called the Gully Wash.
I can't wait to go back to Nassau, just for that.

Cruise Director - Wee Jimmy.
Funny guy, but nothing special.

Entertainment - Orlando! Orlando! Orlando!
If anyone has the privilege of cruising with Orlando from Jamaica, you're going to have a great cruise.
He was the only entertainment staff that we enjoyed. If it weren't for him, we would have been miserable.
The shows are lacking, majorly. They need an update. We last cruised the Breeze in 2012 and they are all the exact same. YAWN.
In past cruises we found ourselves in positions of having to decide what to do, but this time we found ourselves begging for things to do. What happened Carnival?

Food - I love Carnival and I'll stand behind them, but the quality is declining.
We ate at Cucina del Capitano and enjoyed that (as usual).
The main dining room food was "ok". Wassana from Thailand is amazing. We loved her.
Lido buffet is comparable to Golden Corral anymore. Again, I truly like Carnival.
The pizza was tasty and 24 hours. My partner loves the Cantina and says it was very good, especially the breakfast burritos.
Myself, I loved Guys Burgers! Try them.

Stateroom - We stayed in 10202, very front, looking out onto the "private balcony".
The room is handicapped accessible so it was way bigger, as was the bathroom.
There were three of us and we never once felt cramped or crowded.
The motion in the top front is noticeable, but I like it. It helps me sleep at night.
Linda (we cannot remember where from), our room attendant was awesome! We tipped her very well at the end of the cruise.
Our air conditioning worked great, it got very cold, and no weird smells.

Bubbles Package - We were initially going to do the Cheers! package but they upped the price right before our cruise so we decided against it. Instead, we did Bubbles. For us, it was not worth it. We never drank $60 worth.
There are slips to sign now for every soda.

Crowd - This was a slot tournament cruise so we were sold out and at capacity a month prior to cruising.
With the exception of embark day, it never felt crowded. Ever.
Well, except the casino, with the tournament.

Random - Lydia (bartender at Sky Bar) is amazing! Tell her Steven, James and Gerri said hello.
Again, Orlando is amazing. He's such a hyper type who is never boring. He will be a CD very soon, mark my words.
Not a very lively crowd this cruise. Not many dancers or karaoke singers.
Slots were very tight.
Coffee Bar on Ocean Plaza makes great drinks and the prices are very reasonable. I spent a lot of time there.
A quiet getaway is the Library Bar. It's open until midnight every night.

I'll post more as I think of it.
Again, any questions, feel free to ask.

We will be on the Breeze soon (12/06). Did you happen to remember the senior Maitre D" name
in the Blush dining room?? Hope we enjoy the Breeze. We will be new Diamond members on our sailing. Thanks. John & Priscilla :)

[quote name='John F']We will be on the Breeze soon (12/06). Did you happen to remember the senior Maitre D" name
in the Blush dining room?? Hope we enjoy the Breeze. We will be new Diamond members on our sailing. Thanks. John & Priscilla :)[/QUOTE]

We had YTD and were in the Sapphire.
The Maitre'd name was Ivan.
I don't recall his last night, sorry.

Thanks for your feedback OP. We aren't booked on the Breeze but my 6-year old is begging for a ship with waterworks. Any thoughts on it? I imagine this was mostly an adult cruise but just checking anyway.

I totally agree with you about Coki Beach. Beautiful beach with the mountains in the background but the vendors were pushy and it was very crowded. Not sure I would go back there again.

Surprised at your comments regarding Antigua. It's one of my favorite ports. I thought the people there were so nice. We went to Valley Church for the day and shopped afterwards in the port area. I thought the vendors were rather nonchalant. Maybe we didn't look like we had any money. ha haa!:D

I think the kids would love the Waterworks in the Breeze! Looking forward to taking my own kids some day soon.

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Sent from my phone. Typos are inevitable.

[SIZE="3"]We were on the Breeze. The 6-day cruise in October 2014. We did not care for the Breeze. Ship was way too crowded with over 4300 pax. Buffet area was always crowded and could hardly find a seat. The Serenity area was a joke. Just a bar and a hot tub - no pool. And the Serenity was near the waterworks. There are two pools on this ship. They were very small and always filled to capacity. Like standing room only!On the plus side, food in the MDR was pretty good although service was very slow. Sometimes close to 3 hours for dinner. Casino was always crowded. Will not do the Breeze again but definitely will sail on another Carnival ship.[/SIZE]

[quote name='surfjock27']I'm horrible at reviews, so this is not really one of those.
This is more of "my opinions" and the thread is completely open to any questions. :)

We just debarked after an 8 day cruise on the Carnival Breeze, November 8 through the 16th, 2014.
This was our second time on the Breeze.
Our itinerary was St. Thomas, Antigua, San Juan and Nassau.

St. Thomas - Our second time in St. Thomas.
We found a cabbie that gave us a 5 hour tour of the island with shopping and a few hours at Coki Beach, for $25 each.
Coki Beach was gorgeous, but crowded.
Very small. Pushy vendors/wait staff.

Antigua - Our second time in Antigua.
We were literally off the ship for 45 minutes.
A little shopping with extremely aggressive vendors turned us off.

San Juan - Our first time in San Juan.
Loved it!!
We took a 2 minute walk to a ferry ($1 per person round trip) to Catano.
The ferry ride was about 15 minutes.
We then took a 5 minute taxi ride ($3 per person) to the Bacardi Factory.
The tour was FREE and lasted about an hour. The distillery part of the tour was closed for renovation so we found ourselves a little bored, but it was free.
We each got 2 free 9oz mixed drinks with any flavor Bacardi you'd like.
The gift shop was nice, good prices.
We then took a small walk around and found a place called "Don Tello", where we had lunch.
It's just across from the ferry station that brings you to Catano.
Delicious! Best rice and beans I've had.
After lunch we took the ferry back over to Old San Juan and had a few drinks/shenanigans at Senior Frogs.

Nassau - Our second time in Nassau.
My least favorite port, we contemplated just staying on the ship until a couple we met on the ship decided that we were going to book an excursion through Carnival because it was a heavy port day.
Just before the excursion desk closed, the day of, we booked an excursion called "Native Quest" and we had the best time ever!
It's sort of like The Amazing Race, where you have a scavenger hunt at Ft. Charlotte followed by Bahamian games and then a food tasting.
After that we got to sample several kinds of Bush Tea and Rums. It was well worth the $49.99 per person.
We tried a drink that we are all obsessed with now, called the Gully Wash.
I can't wait to go back to Nassau, just for that.

Cruise Director - Wee Jimmy.
Funny guy, but nothing special.

Entertainment - Orlando! Orlando! Orlando!
If anyone has the privilege of cruising with Orlando from Jamaica, you're going to have a great cruise.
He was the only entertainment staff that we enjoyed. If it weren't for him, we would have been miserable.
The shows are lacking, majorly. They need an update. We last cruised the Breeze in 2012 and they are all the exact same. YAWN.
In past cruises we found ourselves in positions of having to decide what to do, but this time we found ourselves begging for things to do. What happened Carnival?

Food - I love Carnival and I'll stand behind them, but the quality is declining.
We ate at Cucina del Capitano and enjoyed that (as usual).
The main dining room food was "ok". Wassana from Thailand is amazing. We loved her.
Lido buffet is comparable to Golden Corral anymore. Again, I truly like Carnival.
The pizza was tasty and 24 hours. My partner loves the Cantina and says it was very good, especially the breakfast burritos.
Myself, I loved Guys Burgers! Try them.

Stateroom - We stayed in 10202, very front, looking out onto the "private balcony".
The room is handicapped accessible so it was way bigger, as was the bathroom.
There were three of us and we never once felt cramped or crowded.
The motion in the top front is noticeable, but I like it. It helps me sleep at night.
Linda (we cannot remember where from), our room attendant was awesome! We tipped her very well at the end of the cruise.
Our air conditioning worked great, it got very cold, and no weird smells.

Bubbles Package - We were initially going to do the Cheers! package but they upped the price right before our cruise so we decided against it. Instead, we did Bubbles. For us, it was not worth it. We never drank $60 worth.
There are slips to sign now for every soda.

Crowd - This was a slot tournament cruise so we were sold out and at capacity a month prior to cruising.
With the exception of embark day, it never felt crowded. Ever.
Well, except the casino, with the tournament.

Random - Lydia (bartender at Sky Bar) is amazing! Tell her Steven, James and Gerri said hello.
Again, Orlando is amazing. He's such a hyper type who is never boring. He will be a CD very soon, mark my words.
Not a very lively crowd this cruise. Not many dancers or karaoke singers.
Slots were very tight.
Coffee Bar on Ocean Plaza makes great drinks and the prices are very reasonable. I spent a lot of time there.
A quiet getaway is the Library Bar. It's open until midnight every night.

I'll post more as I think of it.
Again, any questions, feel free to ask.[/QUOTE]

Do you happen to know where the NFL games were shown? I'm thinking the Red Frog Pub, but if you happen to know, that would be great. Thank you

Thanks for the review!!! I am going on the Breeze April 2015

[quote name='cruizinisthebest']Thanks for your feedback OP. We aren't booked on the Breeze but my 6-year old is begging for a ship with waterworks. Any thoughts on it? I imagine this was mostly an adult cruise but just checking anyway.[/QUOTE]

Having been on ships with waterworks and the Breeze. IMO the waterpark on the Breeze is the best of the Carnival ships.

We are doing the same itinerary in January, do you happen to have your Funtimes? Thanks for the information on your cruise it was helpful.

[quote name='CarolRoy'][SIZE="3"]We were on the Breeze. The 6-day cruise in October 2014. We did not care for the Breeze. Ship was way too crowded with over 4300 pax. Buffet area was always crowded and could hardly find a seat. The Serenity area was a joke. Just a bar and a hot tub - no pool. And the Serenity was near the waterworks. There are two pools on this ship. They were very small and always filled to capacity. Like standing room only!On the plus side, food in the MDR was pretty good although service was very slow. Sometimes close to 3 hours for dinner. Casino was always crowded. Will not do the Breeze again but definitely will sail on another Carnival ship.[/SIZE][/QUOTE]

We never felt it crowded but did have an issue with Serenity.
We went out at night on three different occasions to relax in the hot tubs and they were full of children.
I didn't say anything because I felt it was Carnivals responsibility to maintain that area.
Finally we just gave up.

[quote name='sailingawaysoon']Do you happen to know where the NFL games were shown? I'm thinking the Red Frog Pub, but if you happen to know, that would be great. Thank you[/QUOTE]

Red Frog and Casino Bar.
The games are listed in the Fun Times as to where they will be shown.
Don't ask to change the game or put a game on because they will tell you no.

Last night we wanted to watch FSU/Miami and it was only being shown in the Casino. We don't smoke and don't like the smell.
Red Frog had nothing on the TV so we asked them to turn it on and were told no because "Fun Times says it's in the casino".

[quote name='cruizinisthebest']Thanks for your feedback OP. We aren't booked on the Breeze but my 6-year old is begging for a ship with waterworks. Any thoughts on it? I imagine this was mostly an adult cruise but just checking anyway.

I totally agree with you about Coki Beach. Beautiful beach with the mountains in the background but the vendors were pushy and it was very crowded. Not sure I would go back there again.

Surprised at your comments regarding Antigua. It's one of my favorite ports. I thought the people there were so nice. We went to Valley Church for the day and shopped afterwards in the port area. I thought the vendors were rather nonchalant. Maybe we didn't look like we had any money. ha haa!:D[/QUOTE]

Your 6 year old will LOVE Waterworks.
We used the slides and "drench bucket" a few times.
It closes early though, I realized.

Our first time in Antigua we did a Carnival excursion and loved it.
This time we were exhausted from St. Thomas the day before so just decided to shop and have lunch.
We had vendors grabbing our arms, yelling at us.
At one shop I was contemplating a tshirt and decided against it, at which time the lady said "greedy Americans".
Turned off!

[quote name='hotpinkchica14']We are doing the same itinerary in January, do you happen to have your Funtimes? Thanks for the information on your cruise it was helpful.[/QUOTE]

No and I'm frustrated about it.
I kept all the Fun Times to scan in because people always ask.
Last night our room attendant threw them away.
I'm sorry.

Are the Christmas decorations up?

Thanks for posting the review. We're taking 3 teen grandchildren on the Breeze next July, staying in 10205 (front starboard) and 10207 (first balcony starboard).
None of them has ever been on a cruise, but hubby and I have been on 15+ cruises and the motion has never bothered us. I've been a little concerned about the motion so far forward but really liked the idea of the "inside" with the secret deck combined with the balcony cabin. Do you think it will be too much for cruise newbies?

[quote name='Mr305']Are the Christmas decorations up?[/QUOTE]

They were not, as of this morning.

[quote name='flahagan']Thanks for posting the review. We're taking 3 teen grandchildren on the Breeze next July, staying in 10205 (front starboard) and 10207 (first balcony starboard).
None of them has ever been on a cruise, but hubby and I have been on 15+ cruises and the motion has never bothered us. I've been a little concerned about the motion so far forward but really liked the idea of the "inside" with the secret deck combined with the balcony cabin. Do you think it will be too much for cruise newbies?[/QUOTE]

My partner and I have cruised before, so the motion was nothing for us.
We took my bestfriend this cruise and it was her first.
I assumed the motion would be ok because she loves rollercoasters.
The 2nd, 3rd and 4th night she had to take Dramamine because when she laid down she got sick due to the motion.
It's definitely more noticeable in the front and that high.
We loved the cabin though. It was quiet and as you said, it's as if we had our own private balcony right in the front.

We will be on the breeze in march. Do you know if the coffee places stay open late. My husband loves it. Thanks

[quote name='John F']We will be on the Breeze soon (12/06). Did you happen to remember the senior Maitre D" name
in the Blush dining room?? Hope we enjoy the Breeze. We will be new Diamond members on our sailing. Thanks. John & Priscilla :)[/QUOTE]

I was on the same sailing last week, and we were in the Blush. His name is Fernando, and he did a good job. Enjoy!

My husband and I will be sailing on the Breeze and wondered if you knew the name of the lounge band. I know that #Groove6 left last month. TIA

Hi lorib927, many thanks!! I had heard his name mentioned a few months ago. We always try
to send an e-mail to get a nice table for 2. John & Priscilla :) :)

[quote name='ROXY GIRL']We will be on the breeze in march. Do you know if the coffee places stay open late. My husband loves it. Thanks[/QUOTE]
10pm.

CC1 - The Good Lookins

[quote name='surfjock27']No and I'm frustrated about it.
I kept all the Fun Times to scan in because people always ask.
Last night our [B]room attendant threw them away. [/B]
I'm sorry.[/quote]

That was weird. I always save ours and I've never had a room attendant throw any away. Hope you didn't over-tip.

[B]As for Breeze: LOVED it.[/B]

1. I'm partial to bigger ships, and Breeze is plenty big enough for me.
2. Dining 2.0 was definitely an improvement over sister ship Dream last year.
3. I think the [B]change in decor[/B] is [B]fabulous[/B]. Carnival's new designer definitely understands "tropical" cruising.
4. I also think the new seating arrangement in the cafe (buffet) is a huge improvement: Compartmentalized into numerous smaller sections, more cozy seating options, and even though the palm trees are fake, they add to the esthetics. The "spread" in seating areas also helps to cut down on ambient noise, which for me is a huge plus.
5. Friendly crew (as per Carnival tradition) but in my opinion the Breeze crew takes it up another notch.

Overall, Breeze is at or near the top of my favorites list, right up there with RC Oasis. Edited November 18, 2014 by Moonarino