goofytoo

I agree within the others buy it within the first 2 weeks of booking your vacation. Use a third party insurer, Carnival is super expensive. Buy an all inclusive package it is not that much more than medical and evacuation and it covers a lot more than Carnival's insurance.

We did use our insurance and I was glad that we had it.

I booked an inside spa deck room on the Dream. There will be myself and 3 teenagers 17, 14, and 13. The booking includes spa admittance for the first and second passengers. Will they let my 17 year old daughter use the spa admission?

My favorite saying about Carnival is "Carnival cruise rates are so cheap anybody can afford to book a cruise and they do!"

Carnival ships are diversified, that is what makes it so fun.

My tip for future cruisers to Grand Cayman. If the tender lines are backed up, there is a open air bar in the shopping area where the lines form. Just go sit at the bar, in the shade order a drink and enjoy the view of the ocean. They have a roof, so if it is raining, you won't get wet. Wait until the lines die down and then board a tender back to the ship.

Did you book the casino rate from the beginning, or did you price match an early saver rate?

 

Between this, and the last post, what I am trying to figure out is if you book as ES, then submit a ES rate request based on the casino offer, does that then put me on the list for the casino cash part of the offer?

I have gotten casino cash even when I did not book using the casino rate. I just went to the service desk in the casino and they accessed my account and told me the perks that I would get.

I am just off 3 weeks on Carnival. You can expect at least one rough day. There are 3 open ocean sea days (a negative with this itinerary) which can be rough. NO WAY to predict, it's an average.

 

I will mention, however, IF you wish to get some glacier viewing during the cruise you need to book excursions. From the cruise ship, you will only see a miles off glacier glimpse. Far superior and "necessary" in my opinion is the purchase of the add on Tracy Arm tour.

Thanks for the tip. I would love to book the Tracy Arm tour, however there are four of us. The cost is prohibitive. We are just going to have to settle for the Mendenhall glacier.

Besides, I don't think the Cheers program is offered on the Tracy Arm tour is it.:rolleyes:

The seas were not that bad on my cruise in early May last year. We encountered fog on the last sea day. The seas were not that rough on the entire cruise. That was my experience.

Thanks. Another needless worry scratched off my to do list.:D

We are going on a cruise to Alaska in 9 days.:p

It just occurred to me that the seas may be rougher between Seattle and the inside passage than they are in the Caribbean. Can anybody tell me their experience with sea conditions during their Alaskan cruise?

I usually book ES on line. About 50% of the time I see a price drop, the form we are supposed to submit on-line does not work. So I end up calling Carnival. About 25% of the times I call in for a price drop, the initial response is "I do not see that rate as being available."

I just keep repeating, "I am looking at it right now." Eventually they find it.

It is annoying.

It's warmer here in Texas :-D We are going to Alaska March 3rd-10th. I am excited. (warmer or cooler) :D

I hope you enjoy your trip.

It is warmer in Skagway today than it is in Wisconsin.:mad:

This will be our first time zip-lining. Can anybody explain the difference between the zip lines at Klondike Adventure Park and Grizzly Falls in Skagway?

Carnival is offering both excursions. Grizzly Falls costs over $60 a person more than Klondike Adventure Park. I was just wondering why there is such a difference?

I also just rented a car and wanted to know the same thing. Anybody have any suggestions?

I booked an Alaskan cruise using the early saver rate. So I have been checking rates 2 or 3 times a day using the Carnival fare viewer.

Anyway I checked the rates last night around 11:00 pm and saw a rate with the description 4 DAY GO SAIL. I put in a price drop request and got the price drop. Now when I check the fare viewer the sale is not listed. So basically this sale was listed for maybe 16 hours.

Was this sale really only 16 hours or less? Or should I assume that the fare viewer site does not list sale prices?

The form asks you what website you seen the lower price on, and I have submitted a price I seen on ***********. But Carnival is usually the lowest I see, and the ES qualifications have changed a bit in recent years.

 

Lol, you can't see the website

I know. I was wondering why they were asking what website you saw it on, if they were not going to offer the price offered on other websites.

ES is not for the Carnival website only, and just because you see a lower rate does not mean you can qualify for it.

I was told they will only check Carnival prices. The example she used was Priceline. She said they would not match the cruise fare on Priceline. If Priceline chooses to offer a lower price then that is Priceline eating the cost, not them.

I did double check the ES rate fine print and what she said was true. They will not honor other travel website prices if they are lower than Carnival's.

I just learned something new today. I booked ES. I thought that ES guaranteed you the lowest price on all advertised Carnival cruises.

Apparently - this is not true. I found an advertised rate on a website that was not a Carnival website offering the sailing for the same price I paid plus OBC. I submitted the price protection form and was denied the OBC.

Apparently ES is only for Carnival Website advertised prices.

Something for me to think about next time I decide to book with Carnival.

Last Day

I woke up round 9:00 a.m. I looked out our window and saw a beautiful view. Maybe booking the room wasn't such a bad idea.

I went down to the beach and looked for shells. They were all broken I went back to the pool area and sat in a chair in a location that I could see the ocean. I was playing on my computer when I looked up and saw something in the ocean. I wasn't exactly sure what it was and nobody else seemed to notice it. About 30 seconds later it flashed again. It was a dolphin swimming about 30 feet away from the shore. People were walking up and down the shore yet no one seemed to notice it. I went closer to beach to get a better view. A couple was walking by me and I pointed it out to them. It took a few moments but other people started to notice it. It had stopped and was playing in the water. It was splashing its tail and jumping up and down. After it left I went back to the room to wake up the rest of the family.

I told my family that I had seen a dolphin. They all went to the window. Sure enough that dolphin was working its way back up the beach. So we all watched it for a while. Then we showered, packed and put our suitcases in the car. We then went to the beach and spent an hour at the beach before we left.

We got to Orlando in time to grab a quick lunch before we went to the airport. We returned our car and were in the security line, when my daughter announced that she left her i-pod in the car. I went back to the rental car area. They had already taken the car to be cleaned. By the time they got back, the i-pod was gone. I only had 45 minutes before my flight started to board. So I left before I could talk to the manager. The flights home were relatively un-eventful, just the usual travel hassles that my family always manages to encounter. We pulled into our drive way around midnight on Sunday night.

Notes:

Ship's design - I loved the design of the ship. I really liked the 5th floor. If you sit at the ocean plaza bar, you feel a Breeze every time the doors open.

Cheers Program- My husband and I participated in the cheers program. I think Carnival made their money on us this time. We mainly drank beer or mixed drinks. I think there were only 2 days that we actually had more than 6 drinks and we never hit the 15 drink limit.

Un-ruly children- Ok, I am a mother of 6 kids. We have taken our kids on lots of cruises and know that they are not saints. This was our 17th cruise. Usually we do not see kids on the ship unless we are by the pool area. On this cruise there were kids everywhere. They were running up and down the corridors and playing on the elevators. One night when we were getting pizza we had the misfortune to be standing next to a teenage boy. He was flicking bent cards and hit me with one. He started laughing and then apologized. Fine we were all kids once. Then he starts doing it again. He hit some other people with the cards and started laughing. My husband pointed out that the woman standing right next to him was a Carnival employee. Sure enough she was one of the Club O2 youth counselors. She was just standing there watching him do it and did not tell him to stop. I thought that was highly inappropriate. For the most part they did not wreck my experience. I am just pointing out if you do not like seeing a bunch of rowdy children then maybe you should choose a different ship than the Breeze.

Stewards – This is the second cruise in a row that I have not been impressed with the stewards. I was happy that they honored our "Snoozin" card. I was however surprised by how many "My shift is done, I will not do that." responses that we received. Don't get me wrong I am all for them having set work hours. There were however more than one occasion where they did not complete their work. I understand that if we are in the room during their scheduled work hours, we should not expect our rooms to be cleaned. However, there were several times we were not in our rooms during their shifts, and they still did not clean our room. Usually they bend over backwards to please you, even if it is not in their job description. So I was a little taken aback by their "It's not my job" attitude. Before I start getting flamed, it did not wreck our vacation at all!! They actually saved us money. At the end of the cruise we usually give an extra tip in addition to the tips automatically added to our sail and sign card. We certainly did not feel the need to do so at the end of this cruise.

Other Staff – Very friendly and helpful. They actually seemed to enjoy their jobs. We especially liked the bar tenders at the Ocean Plaza bar and the atrium bar. We also enjoyed watching the waiter's in the Ocean Plaza area dance to the music.

Cove Balcony – I have mixed feelings about this room. First I loved the room itself. It fit the four of us just fine. The balcony is close to the water and we were protected from the sun and the rain. We could sit out on the balcony anytime we wanted and did not have to worry about the weather. I read that people could see fish from their balconies, but I was unable to see any fish.

The reason I have mixed feelings is that, since we had a balcony, I was very conscious of making sure that I used the balcony. We usually get an inside room or an ocean view room. When we have those rooms, I am not in the room and am out and about on the ship. This makes me participate in more activities. I feel I did not participate in as many activities as I usually do because I was sitting on the balcony.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I really enjoyed this cruise and the balcony, however I think I would have enjoyed the cruise just as much if I did not have a balcony.

Thrill Theater – this was not working the first half of the cruise. I did not realize that it was repaired until the last day of the cruise. By then we decided that we really did not need to see a show.

Air mattress – The kids stated that they wanted to sleep on the balcony. So I packed an air mattress for them to sleep on. The balcony is big enough for a twin air mattress and probably even big enough for a full air mattress. However even thought the balcony chairs remained dry throughout the cruise, the balcony floor was usually moist in the morning. I am not sure if it was due to sea spray or fog or some other type of condensation. So if you plan on sleeping on your cove balcony, be prepared to get wet. The kids decided not to sleep on the balcony.

The Ship Amenities – I chose this cruise due to the fact that it appeared to have so much more for the kids to do. However I don't even think they used the water slides, rope course or thrill theater. My daughter did like the Club O2. She said it was the best Club O2 that she has been in. There were also more children on the cruise, so this gave the kids a better chance to meet someone their age. They mainly hung out with a group of about 12 kids almost every night.

Crowds - I have sailed on all classes of Carnival ships. I usually like the smaller ships. There are less people to contend with. Although there are plenty of areas around the ship that are not inundated with people. I could certainly tell that there were a lot more people on the ship. The areas that I would expect to be crowded were crowded. The areas that I would expect not to have a lot of people in, were pretty much empty.

Recommendation- Would I book this cruise again? Yes!! :D

We are going on the same cruise in march...I remember you said you didn't remember what food you had each night, but is there anything about the menus you can remember? I have read that some of the ships now serve food "family style"...was this the case on the Breeze?

The food was not served family style. One side of the menu included selections that they offered every day. The other side of the menu had different entree's every night. This included at least one selection labeled comfort food. One night was meat loaf, another night had macaroni and cheese.

Day 6 – Debarkation Day

I woke up around 7:30 a.m. and went out on the balcony. People were already debarking from the ship. Everyone else woke up and we were out of our room by our 8:00 a.m. wake up call.

When I initially booked a cruise, I booked for a seven day cruise during President's day week. When I saw how expensive airfare was I switched the cruise to a seven day cruise beginning January 26 and booked our flights. Later I decided to change it to this six day cruise so we had an extra day before we had to catch our flight home.

Even though we had #1 luggage tags, I was not in a great hurry to get off the ship. We ate a leisurely breakfast. The cruise director announced luggage tags 4, 5 and 6. So I decided it would be safe for us to debark. This was a big mistake. Customs was slow and nobody was getting off of the ship. We stood around for about 30 minutes before we got out of line to go sit in the Ovation theater. Right when we were about to sit down the line started moving so we joined it. Apparently we were still in line with people that were doing self-assist. There were people and luggage everywhere. We finally got off the ship around 9:30 a.m..

We grabbed a porter and were through customs by 9:45. We went to the Dollar rent a car shuttle area and proceeded to wait for a shuttle. Finally I saw a shuttle that appeared to be driving past our stop. I went out in the traffic lane and waved him down. He did pull over and by the time our luggage was loaded the shuttle was full. When the driver was driving by the next ship there were at least 12 people trying to wave him down. He stopped and told them they would have to wait for the next shuttle.

We got to the airport and I got in line to rent a car. I waited in that line for an hour and 15 minutes. I had my husband go to other rental car agencies and see if they would price match for us but they would not. So I waited and waited. We finally got our car and off we went.

It was $400 cheaper for us to fly home from Orlando than it was from Miami. So we decided to spend our extra day driving through the everglades and up the gulf coast. We would stop at Captiva and Sanibel and look for some shells. We would then try to find a place to stop for the night. The next morning we would drive to Orlando

We took highway 41 through the everglades. We stopped at the Miccosukee airboat tours. That was perfect for us. $16 per person 10 minute airboat ride to a little oasis. We got out and walked around we saw baby alligators along with their mother and father. We then had a 20 minute airboat ride back to our car. As I said this was perfect for us. Not too long, not too short. The ride was real smooth. I was afraid my husband would injure his back on the ride. We did not feel any bumps at all.

Now we have been coming to Florida 2 to 4 times a year for 20 years and I have only seen one alligator. I now believe this is because we did not know what to look for. After we took the airboat tour we drove down Highway 41 and we must have seen 100 alligators. They were not sitting out in the sun, they were sitting in the shade beneath the trees. We had a great time spotting alligators and other wildlife while we drove through the everglades.

We stopped for a late lunch at the Chili's in Naples. I was hoping that they had Wi-Fi so we could book a hotel room while we were eating. No such luck. But apparently the super Target next door had Wi-Fi so we went in there and booked our hotel room.

By this time it was too late to make it to Captiva Island to do some shelling so we just drove straight to our hotel. I booked a room at the Trade Winds Grand in St. Petersburg. It was supposed to be a 4 star hotel on the beach. Hotwire listed the price as $147. By the time I booked it taxes made it $178. When we got there we upgraded to a beach view for $50 more dollars and we had to pay a $35 resort fee. So basically it was not that great of a deal. The hotel was old and had a rundown feel to it. The pools were small and the hotel restaurants were way overpriced. The rooms were clean and they offered lots of amenities. But it is my personal opinion this was not a 4 star hotel. Maybe 3 ½ stars.

When we got to the hotel we walked around, walked on the beach and then went to the room to watch TV. I was really beginning to regret booking the hotel. We could have just as easily watched TV at the Holiday Inn. We were in bed by 12:00 a.m.

HI all!

 

goofytoo ~ really enjoying your review but it's doing 2 things to me, making me want to go on Breeze again & feeling like a nap. Boy you sure do stay up late!;) I hope my next Carnival cruise is in a cove balcony, they sound neat!

Thanks for writing the review.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

Thanks. We do enjoy our naps!!!

I guess our family's biological clocks are set to a different time than most people. Even when I am not on vacation, I always tell myself I should go to bed earlier. I am lucky if I am in bed by 12:00 a.m. This makes for long days when I have to be to work by 7:00 a.m.

Day 5 – Sea Day

I woke up about 12:00 p.m. Everybody else was still sleeping. I took a shower and the kids woke up by the time I finished with my shower. My DS stated that he wanted to go to the barbeque place for lunch. I told him that it was raining and I heard the barbeque place was closed when it rained. So we chose to have burritos for lunch instead. The burritos were good, but I actually liked the chicken tacos better.

After lunch the kids went to find their friends and I went back to sit on my balcony. The waves were still high but not as high as they were before. My husband woke up and went to lunch.

When he came back he said that they were going to play a movie called the Brit's in the Ovation Theatre and did I want to join him. I told him no. He went to the theatre and I stayed on the balcony. About 15 minutes later I decided to get a drink. I went to the atrium bar and while I was there I noticed that a lot of people were going into the theatre. I decided that it must be a good movie, so I went to see the beginning of the movie and then I would determine if I liked it. I saw my husband and went to sit by him. It turns out that it was actually a show and not a movie. I did like the back drops they used for the show. My DH said that he was not impressed and wanted to leave. He is not very stable on his feet and the ship was rocking. We would have had to make people get up to let him out, so I told him to stay until the end.

After the show we went back to the cabin. I sat on the balcony. The kids and my DH watched a couple of movies. We packed and then we went to dinner.

When we were at dinner I went and found the waiters and told them that when I originally booked the cruise, it was going to be during my birthday. I told them that I changed cruise dates and now it was actually my DS's birthday instead of mine. So the waiters came and sang happy birthday to him in really loud voices. He was a bit embarrassed but he also enjoyed the attention. Dinner was really slow. I think it took us about 2 hours to eat dinner.

When we got back to the room around 9:30 it was not clean. We did not have the Snoozin sign up since 2:00p.m. My husband took one look at the room and left. He came back and said he did not see any stewards, so he went to guest services and told them he wanted our room cleaned. About 30 minutes later the stewards came to clean our room.

The kids had my permission to stay out with their friends and watch the sunrise if they wanted to. My DH and I went to listen to our favorite band. We went back to the cabin. We were in bed by 1:00 a.m. I woke up about 3:00 a.m. and noticed the kids were sound asleep in their beds. So much for watching the sun rise.

I'm enjoying your review. My family and I stayed in cabin 2258 in March. It is a great location.

Thanks.

This location is also a great location for someone with limited mobility. The door is located straight across from the elevator area. So if you have a scooter or a wheelchair you can enter the room with out having to turn corners.

Thanks for posting your review. I like your writing style. It has a nice, smooth flow. I was on the Breeze last year for a 7 day Eastern itinerary and I will be on again this summer for the 6 day Western itinerary.

Thanks, I hope you have a great cruise.

Nice review. We are going to be a room just a couple down from your room. Looking forward to trying a cove balcony. Hoping for a wave filled day or two. But not too big, want to use the balcony as much as possible.

Thanks. Watching the rough seas from the balcony was one of the highlights of my cruise. The ships lights would light up the waves. The different blue and white colors of the water reminded me of a dancing water show that one might see in Las Vegas.

Great review so far! I'm doing a 6 day cruise on the Breeze in March, although we stop at Montego Bay instead of Ocho Rios. Just wondering...which nights were the elegant/formal nights?

Elegant nights were the first sea day and the night we went to Cozumel. So that would be on Monday and Thursday nights if you leave on a Sunday.