Die-hard Disney fan cruises the Breeze on 11/8/14 and LOVES it or HATES it???

So the kids beg to go on the waterslides before we go to dinner...I oblige and off we go!

At this point I can not believe how much fun we have packed into the past 4 hours we were aboard the ship!

We start to sail away as they are having fun in the Waterworks!

We make them get out and dry off right around 6, so we can head to our room and change for dinner. We selected Your Time Dining as we like to eat early, but also wanted the option of eating later left open just in case we changed our minds!

We find this guy on our bed! The kids were happy to see a towel animal!

Subscribing. Trying to convince myself to try a cheaper cruise than DCL.

One thing that makes my head spin when I look at other lines is all of the options and extras you (can) pay for. I really like that I know I'm not paying extra on DCL for early boarding or soft drink cards or dining at specialty restaurants (outside of Palo or Remy) or Walkie-talkies. I know the extra that I pay upfront covers all that and way exceeds the cost of those things. I have a hard time wrapping my head around what my real cost is when I look at other cruise lines because I know there are extras I'll have to pay for where with DCL it's pretty much done when I make the final payment.

Subscribing. Trying to convince myself to try a cheaper cruise than DCL.

 

One thing that makes my head spin when I look at other lines is all of the options and extras you (can) pay for. I really like that I know I'm not paying extra on DCL for early boarding or soft drink cards or dining at specialty restaurants (outside of Palo or Remy) or Walkie-talkies. I know the extra that I pay upfront covers all that and way exceeds the cost of those things. I have a hard time wrapping my head around what my real cost is when I look at other cruise lines because I know there are extras I'll have to pay for where with DCL it's pretty much done when I make the final payment.

With all due respect, the soda card ($42 for a seven day cruise), specialty restaurant $30/person, and early boarding ($50) do NOT add up to the extra cost you pay for DCL, for the same amount of time/destination.

Sent from my Galaxy S4. Typos inevitable.

Subscribing. Trying to convince myself to try a cheaper cruise than DCL.

 

I know there are extras I'll have to pay for where with DCL it's pretty much done when I make the final payment.

That should read "if I want to" pay, not "have" to pay.

Loving your review. We have sailed with Disney 4 times and finally left for Carnival because the prices just kept climbing and climbing . Also, we wanted a ship with a casino. One reason Disney is so expensive is because there's no casino. They are big money makers for cruise lines. The thing I miss from DCL is Castaway Cay, but when I'm sitting on my huge balcony on Carnival, I'm happy, happy, happy.

Have you gone on a cruise where the itinerary includes Half Moon Cay? I have been to both and strongly encourage you to get to HMC! We don't even care where else the ship goes. LOL It is, IMO better than Castaway, though you do have to tender.

That should read "if I want to" pay, not "have" to pay.

I really think you won't be disappointed. Pay the $50 per cabin for early boarding and room access if that's important to you, otherwise just arrive to the port around 10:30 and you will still be on pretty early. Budget $42 per person for a week long cruise for the soda cards and don't go to specialty restaurants. (I never have and have been very pleased with the dining options. ) choose a newer ship with the 2.0 upgrades and enjoy your savings! :)

Subscribing. Trying to convince myself to try a cheaper cruise than DCL.

 

One thing that makes my head spin when I look at other lines is all of the options and extras you (can) pay for. I really like that I know I'm not paying extra on DCL for early boarding or soft drink cards or dining at specialty restaurants (outside of Palo or Remy) or Walkie-talkies. I know the extra that I pay upfront covers all that and way exceeds the cost of those things. I have a hard time wrapping my head around what my real cost is when I look at other cruise lines because I know there are extras I'll have to pay for where with DCL it's pretty much done when I make the final payment.

You don't have to get any of those extras to enjoy a great Carnival vacation. I've only ever purchased the priority (faster to the fun) pass. Never the drink or soda package. Never eaten in a specialty restaurant. Those extras on Carnival and other cruise lines certainly don't make up for the extra cost to sail Disney. Perhaps other things do, but nothing you named. There's plenty of stuff to eat and drink without spending a penny extra. And the faster to the fun pass value is subjective. Not everyone buys into its necessity.

Subscribing. Trying to convince myself to try a cheaper cruise than DCL.

 

One thing that makes my head spin when I look at other lines is all of the options and extras you (can) pay for. I really like that I know I'm not paying extra on DCL for early boarding or soft drink cards or dining at specialty restaurants (outside of Palo or Remy) or Walkie-talkies. I know the extra that I pay upfront covers all that and way exceeds the cost of those things. I have a hard time wrapping my head around what my real cost is when I look at other cruise lines because I know there are extras I'll have to pay for where with DCL it's pretty much done when I make the final payment.

We are not big soda drinkers so that did not bother us, you still have free lemonade and iced tea (and juices and milk in the morning) and you can bring on one 12 pack of soda or water per person if you wish ;)

We did not do the specialty dining on Disney or Carnival so not extra $$$ for those.

We did not purchase FTTF but for only $50 per cabin (not per person) I think it is a good value.

Every time I cruise out of Miami it is insane, even if there is only two ships in port. Miami is the first or second busiest cruise port in the world. If there are five ships in port you can guarantee the chaos is going to be at the maximum.

Disney cruises, or Disney in general (or any theme park) has no draw for me. I am 45, single, and no kids--in fact I really don`t like anyone`s kids that I don`t know (and even some of the kids of the people I know). I don`t know how people can justifty spending that kind of of money. I would rather pay more and go on Princess if I wanted a higher class experience, but why when Carnival`s product suits my lifestyle, needs, and most of all BUDGET!!!!!!

Hopefully you had a great time and enjoyed your RnR time......

Loving your review, we are going on the Breeze during a Premier Casino Cruise in February so interested to see how you felt the crowds were. I have been on 2 Carnival cruises so far and then next June doing a family cruise on Disney the first time. I understand the sticker shock :) For what we are paying for a 4 night Disney cruise I could take 2 7 night cruises with Carnival. But DH really wanted to try a Disney Cruise and the kids will be super excited.

Have you gone on a cruise where the itinerary includes Half Moon Cay? I have been to both and strongly encourage you to get to HMC! We don't even care where else the ship goes. LOL It is, IMO better than Castaway, though you do have to tender.

I wish CCL offered a cruise where they anchor off HMC for five days and just tender us back and forth.

How about it HMC all day with crystal clear water, music, booze and BBQ. Then tender back to the ship for supper, the casino and sleep, then start the whole process over the next day.

Yep HMC is numero uno in my book.

I wish CCL offered a cruise where they anchor off HMC for five days and just tender us back and forth.

 

How about it HMC all day with crystal clear water, music, booze and BBQ. Then tender back to the ship for supper, the casino and sleep, then start the whole process over the next day.

 

Yep HMC is numero uno in my book.

So I had to snap some pics. from our cove balconies before heading to dinner!

I can not tell you how excited I was to finally get to have a balcony!

are bars on Disney ships, but the monies generated are lower because the vast majority of Disney cruisers are families with children and that demographic is not conducive to ringing up a high bar tab.

As a frequent DCL cruiser, I wouldn't say that bar tabs on Disney are lower because we are families. IMO, our bar tabs are lower because Disney allows you to BYOB, as much a you can carry on. It's not unheard of to see folks with multiple carry on suitcases of adult beverages. For our last two trans-atlantic sailings, you would have thought some folks were opening a bar on board with the amount of alcohol they brought. :D

We had Your Time Dining, so we just walked up one flight of steps to the Sapphire dining room, hopped in line and were seated within 5 minutes.

Not having to cook and clean is a major perk of a cruise for me, in our household I do everything! TBH I could not have been more thrilled then to have someone wait on me for change. (One main reason we did a cruise and not WDW to celebrate my 40th birthday)

So we got our food super fast and I wanted to take pics. of the food, of course the kids were embarrassed....oh well! They decided to make some goofy faces for me so I snapped some!

My 1st ever warm chocolate melting cake and I had to have the creme brulee too!

We were very impressed at the service and the food. Everything came out in a perfectly timed manner, our water glasses were never empty and our servers were so very nice and doted on the kids.

We liked them so much we requested the same table every night and were not disappointed.

I think since there were not as many kids on the ship as there is on Disney, that the kids actually got more attention then we did both times we sailed Disney. The servers on the Breeze also seemed much less rushed and seemed to be enjoying their jobs.

After dinner (we were done in about an hour!) we went up on deck to see the full moon and Ryan wanted to play some pool and minigolf again. We also stopped at the kids club so Ryan could meet his counselors and go to the welcome party for a bit. Then off to shower and go to bed.

The older kids had their party later, after the little guy went to bed. We gave them some rules, esp. that they come back to the cabins together, and off they went. Hubby and I sat out and enjoyed our balcony...aaaahhhhhhhhhh.

All in all we had a FABULOUS first day aboard the Breeze and could not wait to enjoy 7 more!

I am still enjoying your review. Keep up the good work

Enjoyed the Pics..thanks.

I'm so wanting to do a DCL but can't bear to pay the price. Now I'm salivating to try the Breeze. LOL Love this....

REALLY excited to see this! I have a Disney cruise booked for April 2016, but I'm nervous.LOL! I have a 3yr old, will be 4 then, so it's mostly so we get Disney and a cruise for me! We went to the parks for the 1st time and it was just tiring. Maybe it's because I didn't want to miss anything. I'm a single mom, so it was easier staying in a Disney hotel and not having to drive back and forth to a hotel and dinner,etc but it was still tiring. I'm hoping this isn't so tiring. I know how relaxed cruises are!

I wish CCL offered a cruise where they anchor off HMC for five days and just tender us back and forth.

 

How about it HMC all day with crystal clear water, music, booze and BBQ. Then tender back to the ship for supper, the casino and sleep, then start the whole process over the next day.

 

Yep HMC is numero uno in my book.

HMC for 3 days then Grand Turk for a few more. Perfection.

I wish CCL offered a cruise where they anchor off HMC for five days and just tender us back and forth.

 

How about it HMC all day with crystal clear water, music, booze and BBQ. Then tender back to the ship for supper, the casino and sleep, then start the whole process over the next day.

 

Yep HMC is numero uno in my book.

Not a bad idea.....

Subscribing! Keep the pics coming. Every good review needs LOTS of pics. I so want to go on the Breeze next year.:D