JerseyshoreBruce

Makes perfect sense to me. I found our Autoprogreso guide to be pretty good, and people on my tour were satisfied. Report back and let us know how it went! Hopefully the weather will change....a little too much rain here in Mexico.

I will definitely report back! Thanks for your help by doing what you do :)

Its very safe and lots of shops, a flea market and restaurants. Corona Beach is right as you get off the dock! Armed police and soldiers were all around when i was there....will be there next week again!

i just booked with autoprogreso cause of the possible bad weather next week scared me to spend much more.....it was a good price....will try William Lawson next year.

We are brining our 10 and 11 year old kids on our next Carnival Cruise. Our first stop is in Cozumel. We were debating on going to Playa Mia or Passion Island.

 

Can anyone comment on playa Mia as far as how far out are the water play on toys? My kids both swim well but I'm nervous the toys will be out too far..

 

Also, has anyone booked this excursion using:

 

http://www.cozumel-watersports.com/excursions/playamiadaypass.html

 

Could I purchase the All-inclusive package for my husband and myself ($59.99 each) and then just get the kids a admission pass to the park ($24.99 each) or do I also have to purchase a all-inclusive pass for them as well?

 

Also, if booking through this company and we get to Cozumel and it's raining or weather is bad can we cancel and get our money back? Just curious if anyone has had any experience with this company.. Shore Excursioneer?

 

Thank you very much!

I love that beach....the trampoline is pretty far out but i made it....never made to the iceberg....way too far. Unless things have changed as this was back in 2007. IMO its the best all-inclusive out there....we did Nachi last year and the service didn't compare and drinks were weak....Playa Mia all the way! I booked through Carnival and we did it twice and tried Nachi but will be going back to Playa Mia

Booked the Xcambo Ruins / All-inclusive Technotel through Autoprogreso...anyone like this excursion? If so what drinks are you allowed at Technotel resort? Food good?

How could you tell it was a handicapped room? By the fold down seat in the shower? I love it! Im in bed by 11pm and up by 7am so it would be not noisy then right?

Thanks for the great review......i live a hour and 15 minutes from the port but have yet to cruise out of NY. You almost have me convinced. Just sailed on the Breeze 2 1/2 weeks ago and you brought back memories of those great Thirsty Frog Reds...love them but they are very filling and made me sleepy. My new favorite beer now! Leaving in 3 days for New Orleans to sail on the Elation so will have the Thirsty Frogs soon enough. I could have cruised a 8 day on the Splendor for less then the Elation with airfare but just the thought of 2 sea days each way in the Atlantic changed my mind. Thanks again i really enjoyed your review! Picture of my buddy with our Tube of Thirsty Frog Red

Thanks i just contacted Lawson's about2 possible excursions and he already got back to me

he only thing i find hard to believe is when we got off the ship on 9/8/13 the windows had no salt on them.....so how did they get so bad in one day?????????I also thought it was the best food in a few years. Some things better than others but unedible????? The butterfly shrimp on the buffet is some of the best i ever tasted! IMO

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Great pics :-)

 

Thank you :-) so looking forward to this cruise ... our last few were on the Miracle and this is quite a bit larger ship and we had the extended balcony on the Miracle but this looks so close to the water :):) hoping for flying fish and dolphins :-)

We did see flying fish but no dolphins this time :( By the way the Miracle was my favorite ship till the Breeze....but i still like the less people on the Miracle!

Thanks for the nice review....i miss the Ringer....my favorite to and our whole gang hung at the Red Frog Pub on our 8/31/13 sailing also. The only thing i don't agree with you on is the male guitar player played well but constantly forgot the words to some songs! We loved the female guitarist Angie!

Thanks everyone for the pics and U-Tube ... we were not sure if we were fully or partially under the life boats .... we are Ok with the shade but just wondered ... also we have been on the extended balconies on the Miracle and had a long lounge chair instead of the regular chair out there and wondered if there could be enough room for one regular chair and one lounge chair on the balcony cove :-)

Its fully shaded and same length as regular balconies just wider! You will love it! Mine were from the Breeze

Here is where the smell was! aft deck 5 area and i guess a few cabins. The cruise was great, i wasn't expecting private butler service!:D

Hope this helps!

My DH went on the Breeze in April with DD's and loved it. So, the two of us went on the 9/8 sailing, just off today. What a change since April. First of all, before going I had read on this message board about a sewage smell in the aft part of the ship. Since our cabin was in the aft, I called Carnival to inquire about this and was assured the problem was fixed. Not so. I could smell it as soon as we got in the hall and worse in our cabin (7440)

Called guest services and they said they would send someone up to check. Well, no one came so we went out for lunch and to explore. After lifeboat drill, I told DH it smelled awful in here. (had already unpacked because we were told ship was sold out) so we went down to guest services to talk in person. They went up to the cabin and agreed with us and said they could move us to 9220, in front of ship. Great!

After the repacking and then unpacking again we set out to enjoy the ship.

Dinner was great on service, lacking in food. DH said it was much changed from April. Nothing was bad, just nothing was GOOD. This trend continued every day. Buffet was barely edible, scrambled eggs looked like scrambled eggs, but had 0 flavor. Bread and rolls looked good, but weren't. And so it went every where ever we ate.

 

The ship's windows were caked in salt and we could barely see out of them. Especially in the dining room. They have built in sprinklers to wash them but apparently never use them. I wonder why?

 

The shows have gone from a big production cast in April to 6 people now. Set designs now are all lighting with animated character's singing. Not enjoyable.

 

After returning this morning a friend told me about the new 110 percent money back guarantee, I called Carnival. Lady listened to me and said, " well, you would have had to get off the ship to qualify, and since you didn't, nothing we can do" How could I know about this when it just started???? Gee, I thought they would like to know, but I guess not.

 

I know many recent cruisers rave about Carnival, and I respect their opinions. I just didn't like it. For the record, I am not new to cruising, having over 40 cruises under my belt, but this was just my second on Carnival.

Sorry you had such a bad time....we just got off the ship 9/8/13 and the only thing we experienced was the sewage smell when we walked on the aft deck (lower) Food was very good and always hot....i didn't go to the shows but knew ahead they were 6 person shows. The bread was good and the scrambled eggs i only had once but they were just okay as they always taste the same over the years to me. And the windows were clean in the dining room and at everyport they were always cleaning windows and touching up the paint on the hull.....Beautiful ship ....my new favorite now over the Miracle! Best service i had also over the past 4 or 5 years!

We miss that upper level on the Lido - it's one of our favorite spots on the Conquest! The Elation won't be too crowded at embarkation lunch if you arrive fairly early - but it WILL be crowded the rest of the cruise. On embarkation day, not too many people know about the Mongolian Stir Fry or the deli, so those are good spots to check out the first day when it's not crowded at either location.

When are you on the Elation in Sept?

I just realized, I haven't posted any pics of our ports. The POC were Key West, Grand Turk, and NASSAU.....

 

 

We didn't book anything through Carnival. We did the "hop on-hop off" train in Key west. That was fun and a great way to see Key West if you're only there for a day....

DSC00040 by graphicguy1, on Flickr

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I've been to Key West many times. I know it's the southern most portion of the U.S. If your want your picture taken at the marker, you'll wait in line. I've got pics at the marker from just about every Key West trip I've ever made. Didn't feel like waiting in line for another.

 

Same goes for Hemmingway's home (woth seeing if you've never been).

 

OVerall, we just jumped on and off the train ($20/pp) whenever we saw something that might interest us. A pretty good way to go. Plus, the train "conducters" give a good history and commentary about Key West while on board.

 

Side note, these are not real trains, but long passenger caravans made to look like a train. There's even a train museum stop if you're interested.

I really need to do Key West someday....looks really nice.....nice photos...what camera is that?

Thanks, Bruce. I didn't know that. I saw one that was broken. If there were more, I'd probably consider that a "defect" in materials and workmanship from whomever made the glass doors. I'm sure Carnival would be holding their feet to the fire about that, given it's a new ship.

1 or 2 were just panels on the lido deck side railings near the Red Frog Pub and my buddy said those could be from the ship still settling cause its new!

Thanks so much. All of you are so kind. I'm enjoying this. Love all the comments.

 

Answer a few questions, and comment on a few comments.

 

The Breeze's beds....I have a Tempurpedic at home, My GF complained it was hard. I personally love it. Plus, it seems I was out late just about every night on board (usually in the casino). So, after a long day of cruising, then dinner and the shows, plus the casino action, I was probably pretty tired. All that said, I found the beds to be just fine.

 

But, I will say that the most comfortable beds I've had on cruise were on the NCL Epic.

 

Lines for breakfast.....I had a routine every a.m. I had hot water and tomato juice delivered by room service at 7:00 a.m. Hot water was for my own Starbucks coffee packs. I'd sit on the balcony early a.m. to drink my coffee and juice (love to start the day that way).

 

I would then throw on a t-shirt, my gym shorts and head to the gym about 7:30 a.m....workout until 8:30 a.m., take a shower in the locker room and meet up with the other "lollygaggers" in my group by 8:45 a.m at the Marketplace for breakfast.

 

Granted, I would only grab some fruit and toast for breakfast, but the others in my group would get omelets. I don't recall them being delayed, but I never went through the omelet line, either.

 

About the broken glass door, I didn't notice it until Thursday, probably. So, it could have been there the entire time and I just hadn't used that door.

 

As a side note, I asked one of the officers who seemed to be in the Marketplace every a.m. about the broken door. He said they were waiting for a replacement (coming from the ship builder's manufacturer), which was taking awhile since Carnival had the doors custom etched.

 

I will give Carnival some credit here. all-in-all, the Breeze showed high quality build and materials throughout. I couldn't say that about the NCL Breakaway.

 

On and off the ship....I never had any issues here. Any line we encountered moved quickly getting on or off the ship. Frankly, we didn't even encounter any long elevator waits (excepting between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on the first embarkation day).

 

1,500 kids on the ship? I'm surprised. I had a group of tween girls on a scavenger hunt sponsored by the ship's activities person who asked me to sign their sheet since they needed someoen wearing "boat shoes" which I was (not hard to come by on a cruise ship). And, I ran into some as I passed O2 and the activities deck. All of them, without fail, were polite and couteous. I shouldn't be surprised at that last statement, but that was a first, on any cruise ship I've ever been on.

 

Someone asked about trivia. I have a proudly displayed, much coveted, "Ship on a Stick" for winning a trivia game on a previous Carnival Cruise.;) As such, I didn't seek out any trivia games. I heard a couple going on right inside the Ocean Plaza area...one sounded like a Beatles trivia game. The other seemed to be a famous quotes trivia game. I didn't hang around long enough to participate, though.

 

I think that covers everything. If not, ask away. I'll do my best to help. More pics on the way.

There were about 4 glass doors and windows shattered throughout the ship.....the one leading to the lido deck pool was probably cause the doors open really slowand someone was probably running towards it.....it was all broken already when we boarded.

I never missed Half Moon Cay in 3 cruises!

Uh oh! This has me concerned I'm sailing on her on 10/06/13 with somebody that has a bad back. (Disc issues) what was wrong with the mattress?

 

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They are hard.....uncomfortable....and had me getting up before i wanted to cause it made my back ache! Nothing like the older ones :(

DSC00079 by graphicguy1, on Flickr

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I loved the smell of lime in the entrance to the lounge....did you notice it?

Just returned from the 6 night Breeze sailing out of Miami. Ports were Key West, Grand Turk, and NASSAU.

 

I will have pics coming, but need to sort them so I can post. Unfortunately, it seems one of my memory cards was damaged, but I'm trying to recover the pics. That said, iPhone and pics from a 2nd camera are available.

 

Just to mention up front, I've come to the conclusion that there is no correlation between the price of a cruise and how good the cruise will be. After 10+ cruises (including some that aren't listed in my sig), on all the major cruise lines, usually on the biggest, best ships available from each line, the amount you spend does not have any relationship to how good the ship is or how good the cruise will be.

 

This cruise was the least expensive of all the ones I've ever been on. It was also one of the very best. As someone said to me as we were disembarking the ship...."this wasn't a good cruise...this was a GREAT cruise." Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

I'll pick some nits....but it's exactly that...nit picking!

 

Let me get some of the common questions out of the way.

 

The Breeze is a BIG ship. This seems to be the new wave for all the cruise lines.....BIGGER is better. You either like that, or you don't. Personally, I feel the newer, bigger ships are all the cruise lines attempt to put their best foot forward, with the most innovative entertainment and dining, as well as putting their best personnel on display.

 

I never felt crowded. The lines were never long. Matter of fact, from check in, to embarkation, to dining (we had "any time dining"), to seeing shows, to Guest Services, etc, we never had to wait more than a couple of minutes.

 

It was easy and quick to embark, and disembark. Never waited with any time dining. That was good given we always seemed to show up between the 6:30 to 8:00, prime time dining hours.

 

The longest we waited was at the Blue Iguana, and that was only while they made our food.

 

From the time we set foot in Miami cruise terminal, to the first time we set foot on the ship, to every crew member in between, we were always greeted, and greeted with a smile.

 

There were more people cleaning the ship than I've seen on any ship.

 

Food ranged from good...to really good.

 

Arnold Donald, Carnival's new CEO was also on the ship before it sailed. I literally bmped into him on the Lido deck before sailing. As I was getting ready to say "excuse me", I looked up and it was a familiar face. It took a moment, but he finally registered with me.

 

We didn't talk more than about 5 minutes, but it was a very good conversation. Paraphrasing, I had my sign and sail card in my hand at the time (gold). Noticing this, he sincerely thanked me for being a loyal Carnival customer (what he didn't know is that I sail more than just Carnival). He asked me how I liked the ship. As I told him, "so far, so good". He said it had been a tough 12 months for the company and that all the passengers that stood by the cruise line were of particular improtance to Carnival. He also said it was an opportunity to make the cruise experience better..that the goal was to offer the best cruise experience possible while also offering the best value. Lofty goals, but ones that I think they're well on their way to achieving.

 

So, gotta get busy sorting pics.

 

Stick around if you'd like!

I agree so far 100% with everything you said....i just did a mini review as i cruised 8/31 and had nothing but good to great experiences. Just hated the mattresses.

DH and I really enjoyed the beach right across from the Seaquarium. We experienced none of the problems you heard about and we loved the snorkeling. It was pretty intense snorkeling for strong swimmers only. We look forward to doing this again in January.

Thank you!

Well any suggestions....its getting close need to book something or have plans anyway!