portlandpete Posted May 25, 2013 #1 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Background: My DH (Mark) and I (Franny) married 37 years and from Maine set sail on May 11. We have been on Celebrity and Princess and have wanted to try Carnival. We had a balcony cabin on Lido deck, F2F (Fast to the Fun), a spa pass, Cheers (drink package), ATD, ate at the Fahrenheit 455 Steakhouse, Fat Jimmy’s barbeque, visited the casino (DH won!) and had the best time EVER. My review will be honest (especially about the food and some venues) but very few things went wrong. We really had a fantastic cruise and did not want to leave. Right now I can’t even believe someone is in OUR cabin and probably using OUR balcony! We arrived in Miami and went directly to my sister’s condo which is on Lincoln Road in South Beach. Unfortunately my sister was out of state at my niece’s college graduation so we weren’t able to visit with her. The views from her condo are beautiful and we could see the cruise port from her balcony. Her condo is right on the street that leads to South Beach. We dropped our bags and walked to South Beach. There are many shops and restaurants on this road and we ate at a restaurant named Nexxt which had lots of outdoor seating and was great for people watching. The portions were huge and had we known we would have ordered 1 meal and split it. The sandwich we ate was called a Cuban sandwich and had pork, ham and cheese and was also served with a huge portion of French fries. After eating we walked to South Beach and just enjoyed the views. Everything is so beautiful and was really a great way to start our vacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruizinman Posted May 25, 2013 #2 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Love a fair review, gonna did the sisters address for future reference ;):p:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlandpete Posted May 25, 2013 Author #3 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Embarkation: We were so excited that the day had finally come. We called a taxi at 10:30 AM and asked the driver to first bring us to Publix to get soda. I am a Pepsi drinker and I know the ship only has Coke so no way was this girl not having Diet Pepsi for 8 days! DH got 2 12 packs of Diet Pepsi and off we went. We arrived at the port just before 11 and all I can say is seeing the size of the ship and how beautiful the ship is our first impression was WOW! We got F2F and it was worth it! Everyone saw our tags and whisked us right up to the correct line without us even asking. I would say total time from leaving taxi and sitting down in the boarding area was 10-15 minutes tops. The waiting area was really nice. Since we had F2F we went directly to our cabin which was Lido deck cabin 10276. They did have crew checking to see if we had F2F before we could go to our cabin. We loved this location. We were so close to everything on Lido deck. Anytime we wanted anything from the buffet to the bars it was a minute. In the future this is the deck we will stay on. Our luggage was already in the cabin when we got there. We met our cabin steward Randy who was fantastic the whole week. He asked if we had any special requests and we just said ice for our cooler. The cabin has so much storage and plenty of coat hangers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlandpete Posted May 25, 2013 Author #4 Share Posted May 25, 2013 The shower was good sized and curtain never stuck to our legs. Our balcony was a little small but, it was OK for two people. It had one straight back chair and one which could recline. We did enjoy the balcony and used it all the time. There were freebies in bathroom The reason we got F2F was because we wanted to get as many photos as we could before the ship got too crowded. Also, I wanted to get the spa package for the week and I knew there was a limit on them. We wanted to send as many pictures to our daughters and family in Maine before we left Miami and had to turn our phones off. So 50 bucks to get all the photos we wanted, early access to get the spa pass and also delivery of our luggage early made it so worth it to us. Although our plan was to unpack early there was so much to see on the ship we never did unpack early! We left cabin and went EVERYWHERE on the ship and I don’t even think photos show how beautiful it all is. Entrance to the spa Thalassotherapy pool which I loved! It overlooked the ocean. Heated loungers that were so relaxing... More loungers that were even hotter and what a view! A steamroom that was REALLY hot! More about the spa later in the review where I will show phto of the really nice and big showers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cccer Posted May 25, 2013 #5 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Very good so far. Keep it coming:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlandpete Posted May 25, 2013 Author #6 Share Posted May 25, 2013 More photos around the ship Here is the outside exercise equipment we used everyday NOT Actually this is the only time we saw it!! Basketball court Ropes which we wouldn't even pretend to do!! Underneath the ropes there was mini golf. There is something for everyone on this ship. I loved the bright colors and all the sitting areas plus the umbrella's for shade. This area overlooked the Waterworks. This area was so impressive! Wish I was a kid! A view looking back to the main pool on Lido deck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlandpete Posted May 25, 2013 Author #7 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Love a fair review, gonna did the sisters address for future reference ;):p:D Ha Ha! Her place was amazing not only could you see the port but you could walk everywhere. Miami is such a fun place and my sister always comes home to Maine but I think we will be visiting her more often now. After all I never knew how much I missed her! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlandpete Posted May 25, 2013 Author #8 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Very good so far. Keep it coming:) If there is anything you want to ask please feel free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchy05 Posted May 25, 2013 #9 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Yay!! Another Breeze review. We also purchased F2F pass, mainly because I want to get the spa pass. Did you go straight to the spa and purchase the pass? Was it worth it? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickrate Posted May 25, 2013 #10 Share Posted May 25, 2013 I do have a question. We sailed Breeze in Jan. in a cove balcony. DH wants to be higher up when we sail her again in Oct. I know because of the promenade deck a lot of the balconies look down on that deck but not on the water which is a deal breaker for my DH. Could you look down on the water from your balcony without having an obstructed view? I'm getting ready to book and trying to pick a cabin. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom_2_4_boys Posted May 25, 2013 #11 Share Posted May 25, 2013 we were on this sailing with you and didn't take any pictures of the ship itself haha! so I am glad for this review. We were in 10290 and I LOVED it.... I will never NOT do a lido balcony again.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlandpete Posted May 25, 2013 Author #12 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Yay!! Another Breeze review. We also purchased F2F pass, mainly because I want to get the spa pass. Did you go straight to the spa and purchase the pass? Was it worth it? Thanks. Yes, after taking photos of the cabin we went straight to the spa. It was the main reason we got F2F pass. I loved going there so for me it was so worth it. I did have something I didn't like but it will be in my review later. I loved the spa area so go there as soon as you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlandpete Posted May 25, 2013 Author #13 Share Posted May 25, 2013 I do have a question. We sailed Breeze in Jan. in a cove balcony. DH wants to be higher up when we sail her again in Oct. I know because of the promenade deck a lot of the balconies look down on that deck but not on the water which is a deal breaker for my DH. Could you look down on the water from your balcony without having an obstructed view? I'm getting ready to book and trying to pick a cabin.Pat We loved the Lido deck! When we looked straight down yes we could see the Promenade deck and also the whirlpool on deck 5. But it was not a problem at all because we looked straight out. We used our balcony all the time and it was not an issue at all for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlandpete Posted May 25, 2013 Author #14 Share Posted May 25, 2013 we were on this sailing with you and didn't take any pictures of the ship itself haha! so I am glad for this review. We were in 10290 and I LOVED it.... I will never NOT do a lido balcony again.. We took a lot of photos. I am assuming you have young kids and I have to tell you I was so impressed with the waterworks area. I really only saw it on the day we boarded but it looked like so much fun. We loved the Lido deck. I will review it more later on but I think it is the best location for what we wanted to do. Hope your cruise was as fantastic as we though it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inlinesick Posted May 25, 2013 #15 Share Posted May 25, 2013 You sound like a satisfied first time carnival customer!! Keep the review coming! CIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchy05 Posted May 25, 2013 #16 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Yes, after taking photos of the cabin we went straight to the spa. It was the main reason we got F2F pass. I loved going there so for me it was so worth it. I did have something I didn't like but it will be in my review later. I loved the spa area so go there as soon as you can. Ok, great. That's what I was planning to do. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlandpete Posted May 25, 2013 Author #17 Share Posted May 25, 2013 You sound like a satisfied first time carnival customer!! Keep the review coming!CIA I am telling you we had the best time EVER! We have had fun on our other cruises but this was the best one we have ever taken. There were a few things we didn't care for and I hate to sound like a "cheerleader" but we are right now looking into booking another one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlandpete Posted May 26, 2013 Author #18 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Serenity deck Library where you could use you sail and sign and get a glass of wine This is a lounge for kids! I don't even go to places like this now! Piano Bar Yes we had Ron Pass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupcrazy Posted May 26, 2013 #19 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Really enjoying your review. So far it sounds like your first Carnival experience was a good one. Looking forward to the rest of this review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlandpete Posted May 26, 2013 Author #20 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Limelight Lounge Punchliners yup this is the closest we would get... we were looking forward to it BUT the wait was just too long. Sushi this was located on Deck 5 and you did have to pay for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEXIpoo Posted May 26, 2013 #21 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Thanks for the review!! How much was the Spa pass? I'm trying to get one to surprise my parents with! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlandpete Posted May 26, 2013 Author #22 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Really enjoying your review. So far it sounds like your first Carnival experience was a good one. Looking forward to the rest of this review Yes we loved it! Thanks for reading it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Carnival Posted May 26, 2013 #23 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Great Job - Nice Pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpadalik Posted May 26, 2013 #24 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Great review so far! Sailing Oct 2014 in the Breeze, so I'm reading as much as I can about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riclop Posted May 26, 2013 #25 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Great review and pictures looking foward for the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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