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Review - carnival breeze with the funatics 11/22-12/2/12


Irishlinny

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When I booked this cruise with Floatie's Funnel Funatics over 500 days out (before the ship was even built!), I had every intention of doing a really in-depth review, since it was going to be the US Inaugural. That was

before I realized I would be joined by 3 of the most popular reviewers on the Carnival boards...Kokomo Man,

Chris & Cassandra, and Italian Femmy! There is no way I can do a review that compares to any of them (or

their photos), so I've decided just to do a mini review about some of our experiences. They all have reviews in

progress now, so if you've missed them, go find them!

My husband Dave and I booked this Official Group Cruise with Floatie back in May on 2011...this was the longest wait we ever

had for a cruise. We knew Floatie from our Saints & Sinners days, but hadn't seen her since 2008, so we were

very excited about seeing her again. She is a wonderful lady, and a whole lotta fun! We had a great time in

the roll call and elsewhere, getting to know everyone. After a year and a half of chatting, you REALLY get to

know people! We also booked the 2-day before, making this our first B2B and our first Platinum cruise.

For a number of reasons, we decided to fly down on Thanksgiving day...the day of the cruise. We never do that

any more, but it was beyond our control. Fortunately, all went well and we even arrived a half hour early! We

met up with Chris and Cass and shared an SAS shuttle (with a whole lot of others) to the port, arriving at around

12:30 or so. We zipped thru VIP security and then waited in the VIP Lounge for around 20 minutes. It was

fairly chaotic and they were having issues with their computers, but I think we were on board by 1:15 or so.

To be honest, I had my reservations about a ship this large...we have sailed Legend and Miracle 6 times, and are

definite Spirit Class fans. But when I walked into the atrium, I was in love! This is a BEAUTIFUL ship! While I

can appreciate the Farcus whimsy of millions of urns and giant grapes, it was a real pleasure to see a ship that

was just beautifully decorated. It is light and airy and so easy on the eyes. Some of our party said they

missed the Carnival feel, but I didn't get that feeling at all. The Carnival spirit of fun is still there...just a

different atmosphere.

We had our friends texting us to find out where we were, but honestly we were now very hungry, so a trip to

Guy's burgers had to come first. There was almost no line, and they move people through there very quickly, so

within a few minutes we had our lunch. Yeah, these are really good burgers! The toppings bar is great...we're

talking bacon pieces (not bits), grilled onions, pickles, sauces, etc. We sat down to eat and ordered our first

Funship Special. Life is GOOD!

Afterward we went up to deck 11 which overlooks Lido to find Floatie and have a smoke. For those of you who

still share our nasty habit, the port side of deck 11 and deck 5 allow smoking. There are numerous seating areas

on both of these decks, and some have really nice comfy chairs. The Red Frog Pub is port side on deck 5, so we spent a

lot of time there and up on deck 11 with all of our old and new friends. The only places you can smoke inside are

in the Liquid nightclub (while it is open for business) and at half of the casino bar. The only time I had an issue

with smoking was after getting ready for dinner and having to get windblown before going to the MDR, or when

it got so windy that they closed the outside decks (happened a few times). At those times, the casino bar got very

crowded.

After hanging out with the group for a while, we went down to our cabin. Again, such a nice change from the old

Carnival cabins...light and airy. They are basically the same, except for instead of the shelf that used to run along

the wall at the foot of the bed, there are 2 cubby holes up higher along the mirror. Same small shower,

unfortunately. We were portside and had a beautiful view of Miami and the water. Most of our group was

on deck 2 with the Cove balconies, but I really wasn't a fan of the closed in feeling or the potential spray, so

we booked on deck 7 right near the aft elevators. For the most part, this was an excellent location for the

places we frequented, so it worked out well...again, for the most part. One disadvantage was that we were a few

cabins behind the rear hot tub (which is also just aft of the Red Frog). If you are like us and like to go to the

balcony for some peace and quiet, you may not find it there. I think it was more of an acoustical problem where

sound bounced off the wall surrounding the tub and went back to the ship. It wasn't always a problem, but when

kids or rowdy adults were in there, we heard it all. In addition, they have a solo singer in the Red Frog in the

afternoons and evenings, and they pipe that music outside (but generally it is fairly laid-back music). I don't

know if it's better higher up or not...I imagine the starboard side may be a bit better (no pub), but then you

have Jimmy's C-side BBQ out there on sea days, and that sucker puts out some major smoke!

View of Panarama from our balcony

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Comfy chairs on deck 11

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Casino

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Seating near shops overlooking Atrium

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I cannot believe we don't have a shot of the beautiful atrium! You've seen it before many times...but when you see it for the first time, it is just SO impressive!

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Some more random ship pics...

 

Ovation Theater

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Ocean Plaza

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Seating area outside Ocean Plaza

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Sushi Restaurant

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Piano Bar

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While we spent quite a bit of time at the Piano Bar, I didn't care for the open layout. It is open to the walkway, and as you can see from the photo, some of the seating is quite far away from the piano (which is way in the back of this pic). So if you sit in the far seats, not only do you not feel a part of the action, you also end up hearing the music from the disco, which is directly across from those seats. Just not good design, sadly...

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Entrance to Liquid Nightclub

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More Piano Bar...you can see the doors where it can be closed off (but is only closed off for private parties). There is also a long bench with tables on the right side, but the walkway goes through it

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Elevator area near our cabin

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Our door...love the tropical panels by the doors!

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A seating area in the Lido Marketplace. All the little separate seating areas actually made the buffet area more quiet, and we always found a place to sit

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Before I continue, I would like to make mention of the people who made this cruise memorable...there is

something to be said for sailing a new ship or special sailing:

JOHN HEALD: While we were disappointed that he ended up only doing the 2 day cruise, it was wonderful

to see him again (we had sailed with him as CD on a Legend cruise in 2009). He is a genuinely nice person, will

do anything he can for anyone, and is very funny. If you have any negatives to say about him, don't say it to

me. While I would never ask him for anything frivolous (as many do), I need to thank him for his help in getting

Dave booked on this sailing when Carnival wouldn't let me because they had seriously overbooked this cruise.

KEN BYRNE: He is the most amazing Maitre D' one can hope for! He came to our table every night to talk to

us...such a nice man. And I have no idea why he never went into a singing career, as he is wonderful! And he's

Irish, with the same last name as my maiden name...nuff said!

RON PASS: The piano bar player with the mostest! He is a fabulous entertainer...if you have the chance to

sail with him, do it! Great pianist, great voice, and lots of fun.

TIMMY PIERCE: Solo singer in the Red Frog Pub. He was great! He's just like a piano bar player, except with

a guitar.

ALEX: Bartender in the casino by day and piano bar by night. This is the third time we've sailed with him

(previous 2 sailings were on Miracle) and he has become very relaxed and entertaining!

LINDEN: Waiter in the Red Frog Pub. He is just so good (as were the other waiters), but he was just special!

PETER: Our wonderful steward...he was friendly and did an excellent job.

DESI: Our headwaiter in the MDR. She was fabulous, as were the rest of our waitstaff.

STAFF: I don't have enough good words to describe the staff we encountered on this ship...they were top-notch!

I cannot think of one instance where I was less than very satisfied with any one of them.

John

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Ken Byrne (Blush Dining Room-aft)

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Our fabulous MDR staff

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Linden in the Red Frog with a Fishbowl Painkiller

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SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THE SHIP:

As I said, I think she is beautiful! So many different places to hang out...you didn't feel that you were on a ship

with so many people. Because of the extra food venues and bars on main Lido, the Lido deck seems smaller than

it should be, but I love the look of it. We always saw empty loungers, even on sea days. We also saw some (not

a lot) stickies with times on them, indicating that they were indeed watching for chair hogs. There are MANY

available loungers on deck 11 all the time. My only complaint is that they put the loungers (on Lido and elsewhere)

right next to one another....makes it tough to navigate on Lido, and who wants to be practically in their neighbor's

lap?

I LOVE the open aft Lido! That is what won us over to the Spirit Class ships and turns us off from the other

larger ships...I hate the ships with the enclosed aft Lido. Yes, I understand that they can close the roof back

there in inclement weather, but I've experienced that, and it just turns it into a big steam bath. So open aft

Lido is a big plus! I also love the comfy cushioned chairs they've added all over the outside decks...great places

to relax, read and people-watch.

The elevators will try anyone's patience! I have no idea why they are so bad on this ship...have never witnessed it

before. We often took the aft elevators...1 out of the 4 was out the entire 10 days. And for some reason, they

seem to be lacking a program that staggers them, so they can all be heading the same way at the same time. At

busy times, like dinner, you could wait forever. People finally started going in a down elevator to go up, just to geeet

in one. This also caused people to stuff themselves in when they wouldn't fit...that is NEVER pleasant. The

elevators were one of my biggest complaints on the ship...hopefully they will do something to fix it.

Overall, the food we had was very good. There are so many choices that you would really have to work at

trying everything. I have read other folks comments about terrible lines on Lido and I can honestly say I never

saw any outrageous lines for anything. I saw no differences from any other ship I have sailed on, and some lines

were even shorter. If the lines are long near main Lido, head to the aft buffet area...some people don't know

they have buffets back there. One complaint we did have is that they have changed the scrambled eggs...don't

know what they did, but the whole texture is different...we stayed away from those. Also something new (and

a little odd) at the breakfast buffet was that they had eggs bennedict on many of the days. However, a caution

that they are not always standard. The first time I had them, I noticed that something didn't taste right, only

to find out they made them on cinnamon raisin muffins! YUCK! Someone else told me the day before, theirs had

salmon in place of the Canadian bacon (that would have grossed me out). Another day I had them (at least the

sign indicated these were different) and they had meatballs in them! Actually those were actually good, but again

they put them on cinnamon raisin muffins (WTH?!?!). Some people had them with regular muffins, so no clue

what the deal with that was!

The MDR service and food were very good! Everything was served very warm, and the food (while not gourmet)

was tasty.

Guy's Burgers were great (as I mentioned) and we never waited 5 minutes to get one. I don't know why we

didn't try more things for lunch, but I heard very positive things about lunch at Cucina, Blue Iguana and Pizza

Pirate. And I discovered (after many times of eating at the Deli) that I like their tuna! We tried Jimmy's

C-side BBQ one day...the lines for that are LONG! And while it was ok, I never had the desire to eat there again.

The service was consistently excellent throughout the ship...possibly the best I have had. Everyone was friendly, warm

and efficient. Butch was the CD, and he was good...not coming over the intercom announcing things all the time...out

and about...a really nice guy.

Some more random pics & then I need to take a break. I have the review all written...just takes some time to add the pics. So hopefully it won't be long before I have this finished!

Our balcony view

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One of our favorite hangouts...outside the Red Frog Pub (you can see

the umbrellas for the Ocean Plaza tables beyond)

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Blush Dining Room (aft) - beautiful!

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Inside the Red Frog

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Sunrise in Nassau

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Looking forward to more.:)

Thanks! I'll try to get it done as quickly as possible!:)

Linda, don't underestimate your photo/review abilities - so far, so great:D

 

I'm looking forward to the rest of your review!!!! I know how excited you were about this cruise and it sounds like it did not disappoint.

 

Aww, thanks, Mir! Yes, it was a fantastic cruise! So many good times:D It's a little daunting when you sail with a professional photographer...LOL!

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What a beautiful ship Linda, I love reading this review. I also think the chairs on the outside decks look really comfy and inviting, I'm almost convinced to try one of the new ones.

I'd also be really inclined to try the coves, I love the sounds of the ocean and would rather hear that than the music or people!!!

We're really hooked on our spirit class ships. Next up is Hawaii next fall on the Miracle!!!

Carole

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Thanks for the wonderful review. Quick question, do all the balconies look down on the lania? We are used to being able to look right down to the ocean?...We were on the Caribean Princess and there is a deck that juts out so some of the cabins look directly onto other people's balconies, but if you have a higher or lower balcony it doesn't effect it. It looks like because the lanai is on the lower deck all balconies look on to it?

 

Thanks

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Hi Linny--loving your review!! As a fellow Miracle/Legend/Spirit class lover, I am hesitant to book the larger ships. However, I like the Breeze decor and some of the outside seating looks great. I was concerned about crowds in the lido and it seems this may NOT be a concern.

Loving your pictures too!!

Karen

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Thank you so much for your review!!!!

 

I remember reading your review of the Miracle as I sailed her shortly after you.

 

I have booked a balcony on Deck 7 just aft of the aft elevators port side as well and yes...I still share your habit ;) so I find your info helpful and I love your reviews!!!!!!!

 

Looking forward to the rest

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What a beautiful ship Linda, I love reading this review. I also think the chairs on the outside decks look really comfy and inviting, I'm almost convinced to try one of the new ones.

I'd also be really inclined to try the coves, I love the sounds of the ocean and would rather hear that than the music or people!!!

We're really hooked on our spirit class ships. Next up is Hawaii next fall on the Miracle!!!

Carole

Thanks, Carole! Yes, I loved all the seating areas outside...very unique! I thought I might feel claustrophobic in the coves, which is why we booked a regular balcony, but the coves would definitely keep you away from the noise. You know we love our Spirit class ships, but we really did love the Breeze. Even going from all of our bowling alley balconies to a regular balcony was not as big an issue as I thought it was. Lucky you...Hawaii on the Miracle! You'll have to write a review!:)

Hi Linny!!! Yay! I'm glad you started your review :) Even though there's a few from us, I love reading everyone's different experiences! Subscribing!

Yours is definitely more action-packed than ours, but yes, we all have different experiences when we cruise. Bring on the Victory in October!:D

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Thanks for the wonderful review. Quick question, do all the balconies look down on the lania? We are used to being able to look right down to the ocean?...We were on the Caribean Princess and there is a deck that juts out so some of the cabins look directly onto other people's balconies, but if you have a higher or lower balcony it doesn't effect it. It looks like because the lanai is on the lower deck all balconies look on to it?

 

Thanks

Yes, unfortunately all the balconies look down onto the Promenade deck which wraps around the ship (but they don't look down onto other balconies)...the only way around this would be to book a cove balcony on deck 2. The only downside to them, in my opinion, is that they feel a little closed in (they have lifeboats above them) and they get some sea spray. But many of our group had them and seemed to be happy with them.

Subscribed! Always live reading reviews of the Breeze, makes my 160 days move quicker, while I'm getting to know her. Also, thanks for the smokers point of view.

Hope some of my pics can pump you up (and I'm jealous;)). Yeah, those of us with the habit have to put out the info!

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Hi Linny--loving your review!! As a fellow Miracle/Legend/Spirit class lover, I am hesitant to book the larger ships. However, I like the Breeze decor and some of the outside seating looks great. I was concerned about crowds in the lido and it seems this may NOT be a concern.

Loving your pictures too!!

Karen

Karen, I think you and Gene would really enjoy her! And with her itineraries, that's another draw. I really didn't feel crowded most of the time.

Great review! I was on both those sailings and I agree wholeheartedly with everything you said! I had an amazing time.

Joanne

It really was a great time on a great ship!:D

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Thank you so much for your review!!!!

 

I remember reading your review of the Miracle as I sailed her shortly after you.

 

I have booked a balcony on Deck 7 just aft of the aft elevators port side as well and yes...I still share your habit ;) so I find your info helpful and I love your reviews!!!!!!!

 

Looking forward to the rest

Awww, thanks, Liza! We loved that location, despite the occasional noise on the balcony. It was very convenient to the places we liked to hang out. I rarely went forward on the ship (so I missed some things)...we were always midship to aft. One day maybe we'll end up sailing together!:)

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OK... let me see if I can get a couple more posts in before my eyes close....

I'm not going to do a blow by blow description of each day...just the highlights. We don't do a whole lot on our

cruises...we are there to relax and hang with friends for the most part. If I went through each day, a good number

of you would be hitting your heads on something as you dozed off. But we had a great time and a bizillion

laughs, which is why we cruise. We generally went to a few different areas most of the time....the "Situation

Room" was portside of deck 11 where the usual suspects would come and go, share a drink and some stories.

In the afternoons we often sat outside the Red Frog Pub...and yes, we could be part of the noise problem for

the poor balconies above, I'm afraid. Our other haunt was the Piano Bar at night...Ron Pass is way fun, and he

even has props. This is also the 1st PB where I've seen the bartenders join in the fun! Sometimes we could be

found at the casino bar as well. Hmmmmm...all our hangouts seemed to revolve around drinking...

ROUGH WATERS

In the early evening on our way to Nassau, we encountered high winds and rough waters. Now I do not get

sea sick on large or small boats, but I will admit, I was getting a little queasy. The outside decks were closed, so we

bellied up to the casino bar before dinner. Fortunately while we were at dinner it settled down. That was the

only time I really had any feeling of rough seas. This ship is very stable, and really quiet. I realized that when

we went to bed that night and you really heard and felt nothing, despite that we were aft in the ship. I was

almost missing that feeling of being rocked to sleep.

NASSAU:

As we have been there numerous times before, we decided to stay on the ship and hang out with friends. At one

point some decided to do the ropes course (not me and my height-fearing self!), and apparently it can be harder

than it looks. There are 2 different courses you can take...one more difficult than the other. Dave and I took

pics...and had some good laughs. One of our friends was in a panic the entire time, while another was practically

doing acrobatics by the end!

Early in the afternoon, we were told by one of our friends that our names had been put on the list for a cocktail

party in the piano bar. To this day, I'm still not sure what it was for...Diamond/Milestone, maybe, and we got

invited by a member? Still have no clue. But we got there, and John Heald, Calvyn, and the magician of Carnival

Guest Services, Mischelle were there. It was a pretty small group. We got gifts and had a chance to talk to

John for awhile, which was nice (that was where the earlier pic with John was taken).

Water was still rough in Nassau

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Water works

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Mini golf and ropes course

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Debbie in the white shirt...does her face say it all??

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Our other Deb doing acrobatics!

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