Chrissandra's Carnival Breeze US Inaugural B2B Review (11-22 thru 12-2)

[ardnassac79]

Chris & Cass, so enjoying your review (as always!) and very happy we finally got to sail with you guys! Really looking forward to see what you do with Aruba...gonna be hard to keep that one G-rated for sure!:eek::p Hope you found that you liked cruising with a big group...it definitely adds a whole new dimension to the cruise experience!:D Just think, we can do this whole crazy thing again in October!

 

Hi Linny!!! It was great meeting and sailing with you and Dave, and really looking forward to Victory!! I'm bummed we didn't get to hang out more, we'll have to make sure we do on our next adventure together :D

 

Yeah... there are definitely some photos that won't make "the cut"... LOL!!!

[vivavegas]

Hi Cass! Loving your review and really missing everyone! Looking forward to the Victory too! Hope you're having a good day!:)

[ardnassac79]

Hi Cass! Loving your review and really missing everyone! Looking forward to the Victory too! Hope you're having a good day!:)

Hey Lois! Yeppers miss you and everyone too - it'll be great to get everyone together again!! Hope you're having a good day too :D

[Stevie17]

I just wanted to thank you for taking time to do this. We board the Breeze on the 22nd for a Christmas cruise....can't wait! Love the review and love the pictures!

 

Regina

[ardnassac79]

Thursday – Aruba -

 

Even though the TV ordering for Room Service had been working up to this point, Chris didn't want to be woken up prior to having to really wake up, so we took a gamble and put out the room service tag for breakfast... and it arrived right on time.

 

Neither of us barely ate anything since we were both still trying to digest all that food from the Steakhouse the night before. We were supposed to dock around 8am but we had already docked when we woke up at 7. After getting ready, we decided to head down to debark a little early and was glad we did. After exiting the ship and the little shops area you have to walk through immediately upon exit, we saw Al, who organized this excursion for us, and Chris's automatic flirt magnet for the day (Jenny) from Jolly Pirates.

 

Side Note - this was not a Carnival Excursion - one of our group, Al, got everything set up for us prior to the trip - and we all had to book individually direct with Jolly Pirates, Aruba - and tell them we were part of "Al's group" to get the special pricing he negotiated for us (payment up front - A little over $50pp - lunch and adult bevvies included).. which also included transportation aboard the awesome Banana Bus to their beach since we had such a big group!

 

We signed up and got onto our bus which was already almost full of Funatics. Had to wait about 15 more minutes for other stragglers but we were off on the fun bus and everyone was ready for a good time.

 

 

 

 

When we signed in with Jenny, we were each handed an official pass, which would later grant us access to the mighty vessel...

 

 

 

I absolutely love the license plates on this island...

 

"One Happy Island".... :D ....Indeed

 

[ardnassac79]

There were about 40 of us on this excursion - most were all booked with us, but there were a few people that booked with Jolly Pirates that weren't part of our group... I immediately felt bad for them knowing the kind of shenanigans that may be in store (especially since there were some kids and teenagers) , but oh well!! The more the merrier, and it's Party Time! ...and in all honesty, if you book an excursion with included adult bevvies, you better know what you're setting yourself and your children up for! It was about a 15 minute ride over to the resort area where our ship was waiting.

 

A Royal Caribbean ship was also docked right next to us:

 

 

Banana Man Rob!

 

 

Front of our Bus

 

 

To the back

 

 

On the way

 

 

Chris and Mikey = Cuddle Bunnies

 

[ardnassac79]

This was actually the first Caribbean port I've ever been to that didn't feel so poverty-stricken while traveling through the "mainland" to get to our destination. The random beaches along the road looked inviting... quite a difference from what we have seen in Nassau, Freeport, and even Curacao. We even passed a few familiar places like Wendy's and Dunkin Donuts. Although we did pass a tattoo parlor named "Rat Land" - which Erman and I decided would NOT be a good place to get a new tattoo, LOL. Unfortunately I didn't get a pic of the nefariously named parlor...

 

Random side beach... looking habitable!

 

 

 

Resort with some massive water slides...

 

 

The Riu - evidently an all-inclusive resort...

 

 

We made it!!

 

 

 

[ardnassac79]

It was about a 15 minute ride over to the resort area where our ship was waiting. The water was beautiful and we could see our ship anchored a little off shore, which they They took us over to in a little dingy.

 

 

 

 

 

[carnivalcruiser10]

I love photo I was first time Aruba in 2009 of summer true enjoy beach!

[ardnassac79]

I just wanted to thank you for taking time to do this. We board the Breeze on the 22nd for a Christmas cruise....can't wait! Love the review and love the pictures!

 

Regina

 

Ahh! As we were all sitting around waiting to debark, the staff was busy putting up all the Christmas decorations on board - I'l sure it will be lovely!

[vivavegas]

I love photo I was first time Aruba in 2009 of summer true enjoy beach!

 

Hi Taylor! Yes, Aruba does have some beautiful beaches. I really enjoyed sightseeing while we were there! Whatcha been doing today?:)

[ardnassac79]

The tour had 3 stops, a ship wreck, a reef, and a close to shore stop that had tons of fish. The crew handed out all the gear and gave us the obligatory safety briefing - Wear the vests (which I do, but never bother blowing up), not to go behind the ship once we were in the water, and to come back to the ship when we heard the loud whistle, otherwise we'd be swimming to our next stop LOL.

 

Heading out to our first stop

 

 

 

 

As we were getting our gear on Chris asked me for our Kodak underwater camera……uh oh. ...yeah, someone had left it in the cabin. Our regular camera does have an underwater setting, but we have never used it, and didn't want to risk not getting the settings right. Thankfully the open bar was already open and Chris was first in line. He gave me a kiss on the head and put his gear on. The snorkeling was good at the wreck and it was very interesting to see such a large ship that the captain had apparently sunk to avoid it being captured. The only problem was that there were two other snorkeling tours there at the same time and the water was very crowded. And, I might add the water was a bit murky underneath the waves and around the wreck, and I'm not sure we would have gotten very good photos anyway... (defense!)

 

We stayed there for about 20 minutes and then headed to our next stop. This small reef had a lot of colorful fish (sorry you’ll have to take my word for it) and Chris saw the largest puffer fish (about a foot around) that he'd ever seen. While we were in the water, a member of our group - Bob (aka, Kokomo Man) pointed out a Brain Coral that was directly underneath where we were in the water. He swam down to it to show us that the little floral parts on the coral would pop inward as a defensive mechanism if you waved your fingers close to them... I had never dove beneath the water while snorkeling, but this was too cool, and I wanted to try. I let the snorkel pipe out of my mouth, took a deep breath and bended at the waist with a big kick to head straight down.. lo and behold as I got closer and wiggled my fingers (without touching!) the little floral parts sucked straight inside the coral! I was delighted (and a little irked at myself for forgetting the camera at that point). After another 20 minutes or so, the horn sounded, and we were on our way to our 3rd and final stop.

 

 

 

 

[rickb]

Hiya, Rick! Yes, Chris and Cass will fit in just fine:) Looking forward to finally sailing with you and Laurie and everyone else again in October!:D

 

Looking forward to it also. It should be a great time. :D

 

Hi Rick! I'm glad you're enjoying it - this is the first time we've sailed with a larger group (that we didn't even know yet met face to face) but felt like we knew everyone after a year of "getting to know you" though our roll calls... I admit I was a little apprehensive because I am shy around people I don't know well (which is taken as standoffish in real life) which the internet buffs, but hell... alcohol cures all LOL. It was great, we met a lot of wonderful people, and I'm sure we'll have a blast on the Victory!

Sounds pretty similar to us. We went on our first group cruise in 2007 (Saints and Sinners group) not knowing anyone and were pretty nervous also. We came away with new friends for life and are going on our 6th group cruise next month. We're generally pretty quite also but the great thing with a group is that you can do as much or as little as you want. And yes, the alcohol helps. :p:D

Edited December 9, 2012 by rickb

[ardnassac79]

We made our way to the third and final stop that everyone was waiting for. It was close to shore, but had a deep drop off, which made it a perfect spot for THE ROPE SWING!

 

This area is considered "Aruba "Hollywood"" and was surrounded by a lot of private homes that were absolutely gorgeous.

 

 

My future home hehe

 

 

 

 

 

I think this was another Jolly Pirates ship

 

 

[zibbster]

Love love love you're review! I'll be on the Breeze in January and CC and your review has been my entertainment today as I stay cuddled up in my house while there is a blizzard going on outside my door!! Thanks for taking the time to share!!

[gapearl]

Tee hee... ok ok.. (arm twist)

 

Just some alligator fritters and eggrolls here folks... nothing to see.. move along :p :D

 

 

Oh my! LOL :o:p

 

I love this picture of you. No wonder I hate getting out of bed in the morning

 

Awwwww, mushy mushy. ;)

 

I have some pictures of Topher in my Valor review from last year. I don't think I've seen a review to Grand Turk yet with no pictures of him. I wonder if he knows how famous he is?

[gapearl]

 

The hot dog cart was open so we decided to split one. They are huge. Cass could barely get her mouth around it. But seriously, a very good hot dog and nice mid afternoon snack.

 

 

I'm guessing that harness is mandatory? Was it at all uncomfortable?

 

I'm just more accustomed to having smaller things in my mouth :p... (who's the funny one now!?) BAZINGA!!! :D:D

 

OH SNAP! :eek:

 

I think I like y'all so much because your shenanigans are just as bad as mine!

 

LMAO!!!!! :D

[Anung Un Rama]

I'm guessing that harness is mandatory? Was it at all uncomfortable?

 

 

 

OH SNAP! :eek:

 

I think I like y'all so much because your shenanigans are just as bad as mine!

 

LMAO!!!!! :D

 

 

Yes the harness is mandatory and for good reason. It'd be about a 20-25 foot drop without it. It wasn't terribly uncomfortable and you are focussing so hard on what you're doing, you barely notice it.

[Anung Un Rama]

I'm sorry folks. I was really hoping Cass could finish Aruba, or at least our excursion so I could work on the rest. She spent 2 hours editing a video of the rope swing and we wanted to get everyone's permission before we posted it. I'll see if she can get that posted tonight but my poor baby has about a 15 hour work day and I'm just hoping she's home before 9.

I'll work on getting the rest of the review typed up so it should be quick after that.

[Spudder]

 

 

 

LOVE the shirt!!!!!!

[bsdmhutch]

Reading your review makes me wish Brian and I were going to be doing the Victory in October. We decided on the Valor in September for our 25th instead. I love the group that's going on the Victory and yes, you seem like you will fit right in. :) (we were with most of them on the Destiny and the Legend). :eek:

[ardnassac79]

Love love love you're review! I'll be on the Breeze in January and CC and your review has been my entertainment today as I stay cuddled up in my house while there is a blizzard going on outside my door!! Thanks for taking the time to share!!

Thank you!!

 

Blizzard... eek!! You'll be sipping a DOD in sunnier lands soon!

 

Oh my! LOL :o:p

 

 

 

Awwwww, mushy mushy. ;)

 

I have some pictures of Topher in my Valor review from last year. I don't think I've seen a review to Grand Turk yet with no pictures of him. I wonder if he knows how famous he is?

 

Yeah he is their unofficial (or official?) mascot!

[ardnassac79]

Reading your review makes me wish Brian and I were going to be doing the Victory in October. We decided on the Valor in September for our 25th instead. I love the group that's going on the Victory and yes, you seem like you will fit right in. :) (we were with most of them on the Destiny and the Legend). :eek:

Aww, thanks! We are really looking forward to seeing everyone again already!

[ardnassac79]

Well I had almost an entire post typed out and my finger brushed over the trackpad and closed my browser window.... GRRRRRR..

 

So.. yeah... lets try this again... thanks for bearing with the delay today, it's been a long day, but I'll see if I can get this finished up.

 

So we made it to our last stop which first included a 3rd snorkel opportunity for another 20 minutes or so. This one was near the shore, and there were huge schools of little fish (I mean thousands of them!). Some of us also swam to the shore and got up on the rocky area. Seriously, this was one of the most beautiful places I'd ever seen.

 

 

After everyone got back on board, the crew started getting the rope swing ready, and now it was Chris's turn to act like a teenage girl at a Bieber concert (sans the tears, just the giddy excitement)... He asked both Floatie and Al if they wanted the honor of going first and both declined so he stepped up to the plate. In retrospect, he said he really wished they had shown us how to do it properly but that didn't stop him from giving it the first go - he had enough liquid courage to do it anyway. Let's just say he was a little too quick on the release (hehehe)... My poor baby was booed (although he said upon watching the video I was taking that he would have booed himself too). He learned from his mistakes however, and got back in line to try again. After watching people go, I realized the trick was to hold on for longer than you thought you should... to let go when you were in the upswing, not at the very bottom of the swing.

 

I was mostly shooting video of the swings, so I didn't get many photos... luckily some of our cruise buddies got some and graciously allowed us to use:

 

Amazing photo by the lovely and talented Alicia D'Amico (aka italianfemmy) with PureEmotions Photography:

 

 

This was on Chris's 3rd or 4th attempt - Rock Star pose (another great shot courtesy of Linda (aka irishlinny) and her hubby Dave):

 

Each attempt Chris got better and he would have had a blast doing this all day. I decided to give it a go, and handed the camera over to Chris. I was mainly worried about not having the arm strength to keep myself up, but it turned out it wasn't too bad. Chris unfortunately didn't get any photos or video (it wasn't recording when he thought it was), but luckily Alicia (italianfemmy) got another great one of me as well.

 

 

LOL ready for a faceful of water!

 

As mentioned, I shot mostly video during the swings, and was able to get a few good clips of some of our group... Please feel free to take a look (link below)!!

 

 

 

[ardnassac79]

They let the group swing for about 45 minutes or so, and then we realized they were bringing out the food... woo hoo! It was really yummy with some bbq ribs and chicken, potato salad, and rice. Just what we all needed to soak up that rum punch. After we ate, we headed back to shore.

Our awesome crew:

We had to get a shot of Chris with his crush :rolleyes::