Live from the Breeze - Kim and Joe's European Adventure Part Dos

Hello All....It was two short years ago I, a naive Canadian from suburban Toronto, first ventured here to Cruise Critic , at the urging of my adoring wife, to share our wide-eyed exploits aboard the Ruby Princess as we sailed from Venice to Barcelona. (Note: Original thread can be found at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1229778 )

It is with great anticipation that Kim and I have now found ourselves back in Barcelona, this time accompanied by our two sons Owen and Jordan, as we look forward to getting on the brand spanking new Carnival Breeze tomorrow. We thoroughly enjoyed our Princess cruise of 2010, but decided to give Carnival a whirl this time. Our itinerary is very similar to our last cruise, and we are looking forward to bringing our boys to some of the amazing places we experienced last time.

I plan on using this Live thread to share with anyone who is interested....our last trip had way more views than I ever expected to see...as well as sharing our adventure with friends and family back home.

Our last visit to Barcelona involved a shuttle from the ship to the airport, where we caught a flight to Paris. It left us wanting to see more of the beautiful and historic city. We were delighted to work out two days here before our cruise this time....and the city has not disappointed us in any way.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon fairly exhausted from our flight here ( through Frankfurt)...a twelve hour ordeal altogether. We had a nap and then started walking down the Rambla Cataluyana down through La Rambla, stopping for some Tapas and drinks along the way. The meal was best summed up by our nine year old, Owen, who commented,"If the chef if a nine year old girl, I'd like to marry her!"

Barcelona is a bustling city, with every building and passageway having a distinct look and feel. It reminds me, in some ways, to our time in Paris. The people are very friendly and welcoming.

Today (Sunday), our day involved touring around, like the tourists we are, on the HOHO bus, seeing the city, enjoying the food, and marveling at the history and beauty of Barcelona. We were able to get around much of the city today, with the highlights being the Sagrada Familia(simply amazing), and the Barcelona Cathedral.

We look forward to our embarkation and sail away tomorrow, and our walking tour of Marseille with our greeter, Gerard, on Tuesday. I look forward to sharing my initial thoughts on the ship tomorrow. Also looking forward to meeting the legendary John Heald, our Cruise Director.

So happy to see this thread started. We'll be on the Breeze Oct 25th and are hungry for information. I just read through most of your Ruby Princess "Live From" thread and it was very well done indeed.

Bon Voyage!

Have a great cruise/trip. Will be interested in hearing about it as I'm thinking of taking my daughter on a cruise out of Barcelona next year as a graduation gift.

Thanks! I will enjoy this. We are doing a B2B on the Breeze-- Aug 26 and Sept 7 sailings.

Looking forward to your review! We sail on the Breeze in Feb. 2013 and I am greedy for as much ship info as I can get! Hoping for lots of ship pictures...pretty please? :D

Have a great cruise! :)

Looking forward to your review! We sail on November 24th and can hardly wait for our turn! Enjoy your cruise!:)

Have a great cruise! We're sailing on the Breeze in December so I'm looking forward to as much information and pictures of the ship that you can squeeze in :D

We just did that cruise on June 15th. You are going to have a blast!! The Breeze is the most amazing ship ever. There are so many great places to eat that it will take you 12 days to find them all. Don't miss the Seaside Barbecue only offered on sea days of which there are very few. It was so good. Also if you like Indian food the Tandoor at the back of the ship is excellent. The burrito place is great too, they even make breakfast ones. We spent a lot of time on deck 5 the Lanai. It goes all around the ship with several hot tubs jutting out of the side of the ship. There was always some shade too. We had 12 days of sunshine and calm seas so I wish the same for you. The ports were pretty awesome too especially as it was my first time in Italy. The first four days are very intense and you really need that sea day to recover. We also spent two days in Barcelona doing just about the same things that you did. So glad we arrived early. I really loved Barcelona. Hope you have a great time and looking forward to your review.

Hope you have a fab cruise, I look forward to reading more of your adventures. We are sailing on Breeze with our two boys Aug 14th, can't wait!!

Just finished your Ruby Princess review....wow, if this one is anything like that review, I can't wait. We are sailing on the Breeze mid October in the Med...so we look very forward to your thoughts! Thank you for your time!

WOW!!!! A Breeze "Live From" ..... yippee!!!

Exciting!!! Have a great time :)

Wishing you a fantastic cruise. Will follow your thread with great interest as we cruise on August 2nd an our excitement is building. We fly to Barcelona 3 weeks today!

Pam.

Looking forward to hearing about your cruise experience, would love to hear how your 9 year old enjoys the excursions. I will be taking my daughter as well and haven't decided on the excursions yet.... Let us know your feedback on them! Have a great time!

We will also be crusing on Oct. 25th. The day can't get here quick enough for us.

I'm in!!! This morning I put our deposit for a cruise on the Breeze May 25. I can't wait for all the details, and hopefully pictures!!!! ;)

So so excited to see this thread, we sail on 21 July cruise on Breeze and hard to Barcelona next Monday for 5 days pre-cruise, woo too! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the breeze and thanks so much for giving up precious holiday time to post - it is appreciated! Any thoughts on Camp Carnival (I have a very excited 4 year old eager for details) would be fantastic!

Look forward to reading more and have a fabulous trip

Nicky

We will be on the Breeze on september 7 and like everyone else cant wait to here your thoughts. Hope you have a wonderful time.

Can't wait to read the rest!!!!:D

We have done Princess in the Med and we did the Carnival Magic last June from Barcelona. I know you will have a terrific time. I'm looking forward to reading your review.

We will also be crusing on Oct. 25th. The day can't get here quick enough for us.

Ditto and we are staying on for the TA.

Great job so far on the review...awaiting the next installment!

Thanks for doing this! We are so excited to get on the ship in November and can't wait to see what you all think of it. :D

Ditto and we are staying on for the TA.

 

Great job so far on the review...awaiting the next installment!

WOW! 27 days on the Breeze. I am jealous! :)

My apologies for taking so long.....busy busy.

Day 1 – Embarkation

Ahhhhh…the Breeze. After setting sail on the Ruby Princess two years ago, the expectations were high with the Breeze. We figured with it being only the 4th sailing, we were expecting something amazing….and the boat did not disappoint.

After a late breakfast (errrr…lunch, rather….after being kept up all night by some partying Spanish ladies….arrrr..), we caught a cab and headed down to port. The embarkation process was smooth as silk. Picked up the keys, and had the luggage up to the room in about two hours. The rooms were very clean, and felt more spacious than the Ruby. A little less choice on the TV’s (not really a problem), but they still had the Map channel, which Kim loves so very much. Our Room Steward, Ovi (no relation to the Capital Winger, apparently), has been awesome. There is something to be said for having everything new.

Our little man, Owen, had picked up a bag (nicknamed, The Burden), in which he had quietly packed his bathing suit, upon hearing that the luggage wouldn’t be up to the room right away. After we found our rooms (8th floor, Aft), he was in his suit and ready to swim. So, while Kim and Jordan explored the ship, Owen and I went up to the Aft pool where he moved between the pool and the hot tubs….I found the bar.

Muster drill was a snap, and up to the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet, where a lovely lady (Val) had prepared name tags for everyone. We enjoy meeting some people right away to say hi to around the ship, right from the get-go.

Off to dinner, to the lovely, but bright Sapphire Lounge. While the line was huge (anytime Dining), if moved very quickly. Now, one of the things we really enjoyed about the Ruby was that all the tables were set for 8 or 10 people, which meant we sat with different people each night. Sometimes the conversation was great, sometimes it wasn’t, but we really enjoyed meeting people each night. On the Breeze (at least where we eat), there are tables for anywhere from 2-12(or more). When we go to eat as four, we eat as four. While it is nice sitting down together, we do miss the forced interaction we had on the Ruby….not a big thing, but different.

Dinner was ok….thus far, our experience with the food has been nothing more than….meh. The appetizers have been better than the mains, for the most part thus far, which is a little disappointing. One of the things we raved about on the Ruby was the quality of the food. Thus far on the Breeze, I can’t say the same….there’s still lots of time.

Although we signed up the boys for Camp Carnival, and 02, Owen just tooted around the boat with Kim, the first night. Jordan spent the night up at O2 and had a blast. A little 3-card poker for me (not so good, but fun), and off to bed. We are over our jetlag, although tired from our restless night before. For day one, a nice day on a lively boat…..Adios.

Day-2 – Bonjour, Madame – Marseilles

As Kim woke up the boys, Owen asks, still in a morning daze,”Are we in France?” Upon confirmation of that fact, he utters,”Well then Bonjour, Madame!” I’m pretty sure that was the last French to come out of his lips for the day….three years of French classes in school, coming through big time.

After a breakfast at a packed buffet…not enough time to really enjoy it….we were off to Marseilles. Now none of the ship tours really turned our crank for Marseilles, so, after some research on the internet, we came across Marseilles-Provence Greeters. It is an organization (with many in other parts of Europe, and in North America), that matches you up with a local volunteer to take you on a stroll about the city.

The ship had arranged for shuttles busses from the pier to the city center….cost…14 Euro per person each way. We decided to take in a cab….cost…20 Euro for four people…..you do the math. We arranged to meet our Greeter, Gerard, on the Main Street of downtown. He was an older man, a retired butcher, who just enjoyed volunteering his time to promote his city.

We progressed on a stroll through the old town of Marseilles, which took us through small, charming streets and alleys, and up to the highest point of the old district to Le Panier (the basket). The highlight would have to be walking through an old workhouse that has now been transformed into a museum. Very impressive structure.

Marseilles is a busy, historic city, which is in a bit of a state of transition. There is currently a lot of construction going on in the downtown core which should be a wonderful place in a couple of years. Our impression of the city was best summed up by our watching a man walk out of his building in his less than ample striped underwear, going down to a little fountain, pulling out a bar of soap from his cup, and , as Owen put it, “aggressively” washing himself . I would not say Marseille gave the impression of a clean city. Our doggie-do count had to be in the 50’s. One thing you have to love about much of Europe, is the ability of drivers to drive in the smallest of confines, with little regard for pedestrians. One of the things that really struck me about Barcelona was the respect given to pedestrians. It is a very ‘safe’ city to walk in, and crosswalks and pedestrian crossing lights are very respected. With all the construction and traffic in downtown Marseilles, driver patience was almost non existent.

After another night of “meh” food at the Sapphire (where they kindly celebrated our 15th Wedding Anniversary), it was off the Camp Carnival for Owen. He had a blast, and was well taken care of. In fact, upon going back to pick him up at 10PM, he insisted on staying another hour. A better night of 3-card poker, and a late night of dancing at O2 for Jordan and it was off to bed. A nice, very relaxed day for us in France. We are looking forward to the ‘Good Stuff’, starting tomorrow. Au Revior.