Carnival Breeze 8 Day 1/3/15 Review

I am trying to make sure that Snapfish lets the pictures show before I get started:

Waiting patiently lol

I guess I will have to use photobucket... grrr. Stand by....

I can see the picture….

Standing by :D We leave on the Breeze on Sunday :D

There we go!!

We are a family of 4. Me (47), DW (47), DS (19) and DS (17). This was our 10th cruise as a family and 6th on Carnival. It was supposed to be our last together for awhile because our oldest is in his sophomore year of college and out youngest will be entering college in September. But....we had such a blast we are now thinking about another one together! Just have to see if the boys' breaks match up.

We left NY on 1/2/15 at 3:45 am for our 6:00 an flight on JetBlue from LGA to FLL. Now before people start to think we are bragging, we usually take a cab or ask family. However, the last 2 years our cab experience has been awful. One year the transmission in the car was crapping out and we barely made to the airport, the next year we had a little snow on the ground. I mean a little. The driver barely went over 35 mph the whole trip. Then the trunk opened on the Grand Central Parkway and he had to pull over so I could close it. So, this year we got a Groupon deal on a limo and surprised the boys. Flawless. What a pleasure.

Now, we never have flown JetBlue before and were thrilled that we could actually check bags for free! No more cramming all our stuff into 4 carry ons!!! Yay, for everyone except me. I still crammed my stuff in a carry on and everyone else got a big bag plus the shared garment bag for formal night. Having done NCL the last 2 years, we were looking forward to dressing up. I brought my tux and we rented tuxes for the boys from Carnival. Pics to come later...

Uneventful flight to FLL. We booked with SAS Transport to get to the Intercontinental in Miami. We got our bags (remember I have a carry on) and Lawrence picked us up at the designated spot. We shared the van with 3 people going on the NCL Pearl.

So we stopped there and unloaded them and their luggage. Paying attention? We get to the InterCon and unload the bags. Hey, where's my carry on? Yup. Missing. I mean how do you lose a carry on! So back we go to the Pearl and I search the racks. No bag. I talk to the owner of the transport company, he tells me to go back to the airport. I go. JetBlue baggage services says, unless it was a checked bag it will be taken to security, scanned and sent to lost and found...2 terminals away... tomorrow. Yup when the cruise leaves. So I have no clothes except the tux in the garment bag and what I'm wearing, a Red Stripe T-shirt and jeans (as well as one underwear and one pair if socks). Gonna be ripe in 8 days...Luckily, the InterCon is right near Bayside Marketplace and the transport company offered to reimburse me. Oh yeah finally back at the Intercontinental reunited with my family and had delicious appitizers and a beer or 3.

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Forgot to mention sock monkey. It's a long story but it was a gag gift fron my sister last year and now Sock Monkey goes with us on our vacations and I send pictures of him in exotic locales to torture my sister. She loves me.

Here he is at the InterCon trying to get my much needed beer....

He will be popping up from time to time.

Shopping was great but not what I wanted to be doing the night before my cruise. Toughest things to find- underwear, shorts and a bathing suit. Really??? Isn't this Miami??? I figured there would be shirts and bathing suits everywhere. I asked a salesperson and she said, "they aren't in season." Really? Isn't it the same season all year round? Finally bought a suit at Bubba Gumps. Yup, a Bubba Gump bathing suit. Stylin....

Great dinner at the Cuban place in Bayside. The Cubano sandwich:

After shopping we actually had a good time at Bayside watching a terrific Latin band and the crackheads dancing in front of them. Very entertaining.

End if an interesting Day 1. But we are cruising tomorrow!!!!

Embarkation Day

We are all early risers and love to get to the port early. I ran down to Starbucks in the lobby and got coffee and chocolate filled croissants. Boys not hungry. Huh? Maybe getting ready for the 8 day gorge-a-thon. So we pack up, hail a cab and hit the port at about 9:45. Holy crap! There are so many people here before us!!! Oh wait, these people are leaving ... Lol. We Breezed right in. Get it? Handed off our bags and tipped the porter nicely. Security was once again, a breeze. They didn't even ask about our two bottles of champagne. I think we could have brought more. Group 1. Yeah baby! Who needs FTTF, just get there early.

Boarding started at 11:30 and we were on the Lido deck by 11:50.

On our previous cruises we always loved Mongolian Wok. So DW cruises the buffet and I wait on line for the Wok. Boys are on their own. I get our 2 orders of chicken and veggie szechuan (?) with noodles and find them. Boys are eating Guys Burgers with expressions on their faces that can only be described as euphoric. Where's Mom? She went to get Guys. Lol. So I dig in to the wok. Yuck. The chicken was not good. Grizzly. Really? Nasty. DW comes back with a Guys Burger and we split it. OMG now I understand their faces. That good. Probably not good for you but awesome nonetheless. Also never a line. Ever.

Now we go exploring and discover that our rooms are ready! It's barely 1:00! Once again FTTF is a waste of money. DW and I had a Cove Balcony mid/forward. Boys were across the hall inside. I selected this spot after much research. I discovered that there are some Coves that are not directly under lifeboats. Ours had a nice gap. In fact, we were directly under the embarkation ramp! Awesome watching them detach it so we could sail away. Not so much watching them reattach it for debarkation.

We loved the Cove. So close to the water and very roomy. Much more roomy than NCL balcony cabins. Plenty of storage and robes!

As we are taking it all in, hey what was that sound? Open the door. Our bags have arrived! Once again, FTTF? No. So we unpack a stow the bags not to be seen again for 8 days.

The previously mentioned ramp right above our balcony:

Sock monkey ready to roll:

Blue Iguana Bar is a cool place to hang out:

First of many:

Aft with Getaway in the background:

Outdoor pool table. We wondered how they keep it dry when it rains:

Enjoying your review, we are planning this trip for 2016!!

Waiting to leave....

There goes the gangway...must be a good sign!

Sorry to hear about your carry on. That really stinks! Did you find any good deals for your hotel?

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Trust me, the view from the Cove gets better. Here is a taste:

Sorry to hear about your carry on. That really stinks! Did you find any good deals for your hotel?

 

 

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We got a great deal by booking waaaaay early. I think it was $189 for the night.

What was your room number?

Thanks for taking the time to post your review! Can't wait to read more!

We got a great deal by booking waaaaay early. I think it was $189 for the night.

Did you book directly with the hotel or with another site? How early did you book?

Subscribing! We will be on the Breeze in 20 days!

What was your room number?

We were in 2276. Great spot. A little sunny on the way back to Miami, but no big deal.

Did you book directly with the hotel or with another site? How early did you book?

Directly with the hotel. I think we booked in March for the January date.

You have a good attitude, glad the bag issue did not get you down and ruin your trip before it started. ☺. Love the review, going on the Breeze in a few more weeks.

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The muster drill was held in the Sapphire Dining room. Very comfortable and quick. But hey, we are moving already!!! Gotta get topside for sail away!

Now, I know most people love Matt Mitchum, and I personally think he does a great job as CD. He loves to control the party though. This is why my kids hated him. He loves to do organized dances, which are great and people seem to love it. But the boys said he would take a party that was just getting good and bring it down. Oh well, can't make everyone happy. Believe me, they had a ball.

So we watched sail away, enjoyed the party, had a few drinks and then went down to the room to get ready for dinner.

Bye Bye Miami from the Cove: