Review of our 2013 Spring Break Carnival Breeze Cruise

[PaulMedik]

Our Spring Break Carnival Breeze cruise was an 8 day Southern Caribbean departing from Miami Florida March 30 2013 with stops in Nassau (Grand Turk was cancelled), Dominican Republic, Curacao, and Aruba.

 

The ship was outstanding, the food was great, the ports were wonderful, and we had a great time.

 

For those only interested in the brief details, please refer to the above info. If you like pictures and more detail, keep reading.

 

Cruisers were myself 'Paul,' my DW Karen, DS18 Bryson, DS16Spencer, DS12 Britt, and Spencer's friend Jaden age 16. We also had two other families from our hometown cruising wtih us; a family of four +1 friend and a Mother and Son (Heather and Jacob that have cruised with us before).

 

We flew out of Charleston WV via Delta on March 27. Here's the boys unloading the luggage at the airport;

 

Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

And patiently waiting for our flight;

 

Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

We had a scheduled layover in Charlotte NC of 47 minutes, but due to our late arrival we had 11 minutes to go from one end of the airport to the other. Luckily Charlotte has 'moving sidewalks' to speed pedestrians;

 

Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

[pacarolinagirl]

Wooohooo!!!! A review from paulmedik. I was just thinking last night it should be time for one. :D Can't wait to read the rest & see the pics. I'm leaving on this exact cruise in 23 days.

[AryMay]

Yay! A PaulMedik review! Anxiously awaiting more...especially since this route is one I would love to take.

[weluvcruises]

I have my popcorn ready... cant wait to keep reading

[dadof2boys]

Awesome! Can't wait. It's kind of cool to have read your reviews over the years and see the boys grow up. It's strange to feel like I know your family even though we have never met. All that to say, really looking forward to the latest installment.

[ch27088]

I've read your reviews before and loved them. I'm sure I'll like this one as well. Thanks for sharing your review.

[star453]

Sounds like a great time was had. Glad I found your review Paul

[pe4all]

Re-living my December 8 dayer on Breeze thru you!! (also loved my 6 day a few weeks ago!) Can't wait to hear what your thoughts were on everything.:)

[MrsJones02]

Doing this itinerary in 2 weeks on a different ship. Still looking forward to your review!!

[TakeMeAway1001]

I am really looking forward to this review Paul :)

[MzOhioLady]

I was hoping you'd do a Review of your Breeze Cruise.

You get Double Kuddos and 11,963,495,432 Cool Points for having pictures that I can ACTUALLY SEE While I'm at WORK!! ;)

[cruiseclues]

Thanks for doing another one of your reviews...looking forward to it. :):):):)

[Coolcruise02]

Can't wait...................

[Catrin]

So Excited!

 

This is the first year in a while that we have not followed you on the same cruise a few months later!

 

But... we hope to cruise on the Breeze with that itinerary soon!

 

Cannot wait to once again live vicariously through your family.

 

Thanks!

Catrin

[joshd33]

Looking forward to this review... You always have great recaps!!

[islandwannabee]

For me, reading your reviews is like reading a great book!!

I can't thank you enough for letting us share in your family adventure.

[PaulMedik]

Thank you all for the kind comments and my apologies for the brief intermission.

 

In past years we've been flying Allegiant Air which offers direct flights to Fort Lauderdale from WV. This year Allegiant lowered their weights to 40 pounds, raised their per bag fees and kept their prices high so we flew via US Air which takes longer; seven hours vs an hour and a half with Allegiant. We also flew into Miami instead of Fort Lauderdale which meant a long wait for bags. We flew in on Wednesday (Sailed on Saturday) in order to get some extra beach time. Bryson volunteered to be the bag watcher;

 

IMG_6506-1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

We arrived in Miami just after midnight and it was an hour or so later by the time we made it to The Savoy. I took some pics along the way, but night time pics from moving cabs tend end up the recycle bin.

 

We booked a two bedroom suite at The Savoy which also included a sleeper sofa for Spencer and his friend Jaden;

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

Bryson and Britt claimed one room and Karen and I managed to grab the other bedroom.

 

I had planned to be up at sunrise for pics of the ships coming in, but the late arrival combined with the super comfy bed caused me to sleep in until almost noon. When I did go outside, I realized quite quickly that I was missing a great day;

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

The walkway from The Savoy out to the beach was very inviting;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

Getting closer;

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

A quick look back toward The Savoy;

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

[PaulMedik]

Looking South toward Government Cut;

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

And looking North;

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

The Savoy has a nice setup on the beach that includes two chairs and an umbrella for each day;

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

They even have a nice sand pit for the kids along with multiple buckets, shovels, and toys;

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

It was just a little bit windy and the temps were in the 70s so most of the locals were frozen, but since we left freezing SNOW and the boys had two snow days right before we left, it's safe to say we were OK with temps in the 70s;

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

It suffices to say that I enjoyed this position quite a bit during our time in Miami and throughout our cruise;

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

Edited April 19, 2013 by PaulMedik

[joshd33]

Side comment-

 

When I joined CC several years ago, your reviews were always extremely helpful and fun to read.... It's hard to believe that the kids in your review now are the same kids in your avatar pic! Where does time go, ha!

 

Thanks again for doing these

 

-Josh

[Mistyhon]

Great review so far, I'll be reading it up until boarding on Sunday! Thanks for doing this. :)

[PaulMedik]

The yellow building right above Spencer's head is the Hilton Bentley South Beach where Karen and I stayed after our 20th anniversary cruise on Carnival Destiny;

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

The water was just cold enough to cause you to become numb in a matter of minutes, but I insisted that Jaden come try it out. As you can see, he was a bit cold;

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

The water was just too enticing for me to avoid;

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

Cold or not, I LOVED it;

 

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

[fofita01]

Yay!!! I'm so excited that you've started your Breeze review... something to keep me entertained until my time comes to sail on her.

 

I've been a fan of your reviews for years. *anxiously waiting for more* :D

[ciera123]

Always enjoy your reviews! Looking forward to more...

[VegasGalNIk]

Love the pics!!! Great review so far :)

[pacarolinagirl]

Side comment-

 

When I joined CC several years ago, your reviews were always extremely helpful and fun to read.... It's hard to believe that the kids in your review now are the same kids in your avatar pic! Where does time go, ha!

 

Thanks again for doing these

 

-Josh

 

Josh, I was thinking the same thing. They can't be that old yet. It is like we have watch these boys grow up via cruise reviews. :)