Kverlinger

Finally booked another RC cruise, after a few Carnival cruises. We are a family of 4, booked on HOS, March 2018. The last RC ship I went on was Oasis back in 2010! Back before my time dining and before booking shows in advance. That is a thing now right? I have to book in advance? How far out can I book? What is the drinking package like on RC? Do both people in a cabin over 18 have to buy it? Any other big changes I should know about? Room service fees?

Thank you all in advance...:p

Thanks guys! I'm sure it will be great.

Husband and I are going on a quick getaway without the kids. We booked the Fantasy 2 weeks out because we wanted a quick/cheap trip. Mobile is only a 3.5 hour drive for us. Never been on a cruise shorter than 7 days and never a ship this small! My expectations are pretty low. I know that the ship is small and old, but I'm sure we will have a great time just being together.

Are there any major differences between, lets say, the Dream, vs Fantasy? Obviously, the size! Anything I should know about? Is there only one pool? What about a comedy club?

Also, Progresso. Never been. Should we book an excursion here?

We leave in 13 days and are concerned, as well.

How was your room temp? A lot of people have complained about hot rooms. We will be in a cove balcony in 2.5 weeks!! ...I choose to stay low on the ship, hoping it would make a difference and somehow be cooler! :confused:

Be careful though. I made sure mine was within limits before my cruise because I wanted to carry on in Miami. I got turned away. The lady wouldn't even let me through the front door with my luggage (she worked for the port, not Carnival). I pointed to sign RIGHT BEHIND her that had bag specs and told her mine were good...she didn't care. She refused to measure them or even acknowledge the sign, saying that she was told all big bags need to checked in by her boss. I asked for a manger, but it was taking forever. I ended up checking them just to get off the side of the sidewalk.

We had a deck 6 balcony on the Breeze. Forward, above the theatre. We liked the location. We heard noise from theatre but it stopped after last show. I guess around 11ish, so we still got a good nights rest. We were at the part where the promenade on deck 5 started to narrow so we got more of that sea view and not alot of foot traffic!! :)

One more thing I should add based on our W Caribbean itinerary last week.

 

When checking in we were told our hours in Grand Cayman and Cozumel would be shortened for operational reasons.

 

Had a chance to talk to the capt and this is due to a propulsion issue that cannot be fixed until next drydock.

 

As a result we got to Cozumel an hour later and left an hour earlier than originally scheduled. This would have left us with only about 3 hours at an AI beach club and we decided it was not worth it for that time.

 

Based on this we would avoid the Dream on at least a West Coast itinerary until this is fixed.

 

Should also mention that comedy club manager Jeff the fun guy does a great job and is about the only one that adds something to the experience.

 

Also Stanley Ullman one of the comedians is probably the funniest one we have ever seen on Carnival and is someone we would book a cruise to see.

What?! Are all their ships having issues? Geez :( Leaving late July.

On the breeze, the coffee bar pastries were extra. I assume its the same on the Dream.

I just got a refund of $140 for our upcoming July cruise on the Dream. Price keeps going down for us. It is actually cheaper to get a cove balcony room then it is a oceanview right now. Crazy! Maybe its just price hikes for the Vista because everyone (almost everyone) wants to book her.

If you weren't impressed with Royal Caribbean after Celebrity...I don't think you would be impressed by Carnival. They are both very similar. Royal is a little better in my opinion. Never been on Celebrity.

RC has better entertainment. RC has nicer ships. They both have the same friendly staff. Carnival has better food and since we started bringing our kids, we chose carnival due to the water slides. Also, being a family of 4, carnival has better prices and usually has better itineraries. Without kids, I would probably go with Royal. Try it out though, you never know until you try. It depends more on the ship, rather than the cruise line!

On breeze, we had a regular balcony on Deck 6. It was forward, so it was at a spot where the deck below started to narrow and no-one was hardly ever on the deck below us. Because it was at the narrow part of the deck beneath us, it gave us a really good view of the ocean.

I currently have a 4J booked on deck 10 on the Dream. It has a window with a walkway view. I'm most excited about the location. I've never stayed on the Lido and really want to BUT I'm thinking I might miss the balcony and always wanted to try out a cove. The cove would end up being around 300 more for a 7 day cruise (total). I would love a balcony on Lido, but thats about $700 more and not really an option. SOOO...

Would you rather have an interior in a great location or a balcony in a bad location?

Great review! I love looking and different peoples pictures, we will be cruising Breeze in September 2016! May I ask what room number on floor 6 you were in? We are booked on 6 and I keep seeing mixed reviews due to deck 5 sticking out and also noise from the different clubs and casinos right below! Thanks!!

We were in room 6233. Anything forward to our room, would also be perfect. We were at the point were deck 5 underneath us was narrowing and there was never anyone below us. The deck was so quiet.

The only noise complaint would be the theater underneath us but the last show was 11ish, and thats when we went to bed, so it didn't bother us.

Great. I'll check him out. Does he book just 1 family or must you go on tour with others?

I don't think he does private. We had a total of 3 families.

Sodium leaves the body when water does...My only suggestion would be to drink lots of water. I would also check with doctor before buying water pills. The last thing you want is to become dehydrated. Just my opinion... :)

Thanks for the review. Really enjoyed it and the pics. What was/were your cameras?

Great review! I'll be on the breeze in December. What camera did you use?

iPhone and Cannon Rebel :)

What excursion in St. Kitts were you doing with the climbing. Did your kids enjoy it? Looks adventurous.

We did My island Tours by Javin. I found out about him through this website. He was great! It was a full day adventure. He took us to the black volcanic rocks and we got to climb them. He helped anyone that needed help. It was a great photo opportunity at that location. Then we went hiking in rainforest. After that it was snorkeling. My kids did not do well snorkeling so I stayed behind with them, but the rest of the group went out to a shipwreck. Up next was a beach stop. He feed us yummy food, as well. I highly recommend his tour.

I couldn't see your photos until San Juan. I think you must have had too many views on Photo Bucket. Great commentary and the photos I saw were lovely. We enjoyed the Breeze in 2012, on the Mediterranean. So far, she is my favorite ship. I'd love to sail on her again. Thanks for the review.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

Thanks for telling me. I had no idea that could happen. I fixed it though! :)

I write for a living, and your review was right on-target. You get a lot out of each word, and know people like pictures more than anything!

 

I don't comment often on reviews... But you got some skills there!

You made my day. Thanks! :)

I'm glad people find this review helpful. I love pic reviews.

Final Review: I'll give each category a rating on a scale from 0-10. :)

Ship: 9

This is a great ship if you have kids. They loved waterworks. We only went to the aft pool once and never to the main pool. Sports square was a nice area. I loved the ropes course... the kids did it twice. I can't comment on the gym, I never went, unfortunately, lol. I never went to the spa. I never went to serenity. Casino was average. The ocean plaza area is a nice feature. I love that you can walk around deck 5.

Food: 9

I really like carnival food. I can always find something good to eat. I actually like the food better on carnival than RC. Guys Burgers was the best. Cantina was average. Buffet was ok (I'm not a buffet person). Dining room food was really good for brunch and dinner! BBQ was ok. Didn't try the sushi or steakhouse, but I would highly recommend Chef's Table!! Oh and the pizza was surprisingly good!

Activities/Shows: 7

Camp Carnival kept the kids entertained. Comedy Club was fun according to my husband. We went to the Hasbro Game show, but other than that we didn't really go to any of the shows. Nothing really interested me. I think this is where RC shines, but I can't really make an opinion because I didn't go.

Overall we had a good time. Trying the Dream out next summer because it is close to us. Let me know if you have any questions!

The last seaday was sad. I always hate the last day. We mostly swam. Finally went to the aft pool with the kids. I finally tried the bbq that day. It was ok. It really wasn't worth standing in a long line for.

Grand Turk was a good beach day. We went down past the crowds to Jack's Shack. I wanted to see the golden doodle because I have two poodles at home and absolutely love the breed.

I found Topher!!!

We played with the dog, swam, and snorkeled a little. There wasn't mush to see snorkeling. We decided to head back early for lunch and some more waterworks fun.

We didn't do a lot at night. I was usually in bed by 10-11pm. lol Husband and In-Laws went to comedy show one night and they thought it was funny.

Off to Grand Turk tomorrow...

Back on the ship. Ready to see the kids!!

We took some picks leaving San Juan and then off to Waterworks before dinner!