Review of our 2013 Spring Break Carnival Breeze Cruise

jdvmd · April 19, 2013

Loving your pictures and review! Keep it coming!

deladane · April 19, 2013

What a fun review! I love all the photos- and you haven't even gotten to the cruise yet!! Can't wait to see how the rest of your vacation unfolds :)

PaulMedik · April 20, 2013

There was a full moon over Miami and I got to try out my Canon SX50HS zoom power;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

I switched camera brands in late 2011 from Kodak to Canon and now I'm all Canon. I brought four with me; Canon 5DIII, Canon SX50HS, Canon SX260HS, and a Canon Powershot D20 waterproof camera. Britt brought his Canon 6D. In hindsight, I'd bring all four with me again.

On Friday morning we managed to get up couple of hours earlier, but from the clouds it looked like a good morning to sleep in;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

Was it going to be a rainy day? Who cares? We sure didn't;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

Britt and Lucca worked on a sand project while Steve and Kimberly sheltered from the wind and enjoyed the sun;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

Similar view with different color settings;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

PaulMedik · April 20, 2013

Steve, Jaden, and I walked down to South Point Park to watch the activity near the Port of Miami and along the way we checked out Nikki Beach;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

Port traffic was closed along with all air traffic and most of the streets downtown for a visit by some guy that lives in Washington DC. This Yacht entered the port and cruised right up the channel while everything was locked down;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

The owner of the yacht was likely on board and headed for a meeting on Dodge Island with the DC visitor. Anyone wanna venture a guess as to who the owner of the yacht is? I'll give you a hint; the funnel in the background is one of many trademarks owned by his company;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

An armed USCG vessel did come out to approach and appeared to be in communication with the yacht, but then the yacht proceeded on in and the USCG passed and went on their way.

Steve found a comfy lounger at the Park and pondered what it would be like to own such a yacht and be able to travel on closed channels;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

I watched Britt and Lucca play football, basketball, and baseball all year together, but I think they had more fun playing in the waves;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

The Savoy was booked solid for Friday night so we had to check out at 1:00PM. We were booked in Hilton Downtown for Friday night, but given that all roads were closed for the afternoon due to the DC guy, Bryson set up camp in the Savoy lobby to keep an eye on our valuables and keep in touch with friends via the internet;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

PaulMedik · April 20, 2013

The late afternoon sunlight along with the back drop of The Savoy hotel pool area makes for some nice pics;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

The Savoy arranged transportation for all of us from The Savoy to Hilton Downtown. As you can see, the streets were still cordoned off into the evening;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

We booked a two bedroom corner and a suite at the Hilton Downtown and Karen, Britt, and I were on the 17th floor and Spencer, Jaden, and Bryson were on the 21st floor. Luckily we all had a clear view of the port and got to watch the ships leaving;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

PaulMedik · April 20, 2013

Bryson, Spencer, and Jaden's room;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

View from the room;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

Again I love the zoon on the SX50HS;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

This Huge room was Britt's room. See the couch at the far side? It is a sleeper sofa and he had the entire room to himself;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

This comparatively small room was for Karen and I;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

This somewhat out of focus fisheye demonstrates the layout of our room and how Britt's room was connected;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

indygirl76 · April 20, 2013

Loving the review, and dying at the professional photographer shot at the beach - work it out, sister! :) Subscribing to the fun...

PaulMedik · April 20, 2013

Britt's room from another angle;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

Britt's room from yet another angle;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

Fisheye view toward the bay;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

Fantasy class ship at Port of Miami;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

Would this have been what a picture would have looked like 15 years ago?

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

American Airlines Arena from our hotel window;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

PaulMedik · April 20, 2013

Hilton lobby;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

Hilton's outdoor auto lobby;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

Marina and Taylor in a trance;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

We walked a few blocks from the hotel to a Cuban restaurant and enjoyed a great meal. So great that I apparently forgot to take pictures!

Night time view of Miami from our hotel window looking toward American Airlines Arena and The Intercontinental Hotel;

Carnival Breeze PreCruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

Port of Miami at night (And reflection of my laptop floating above the port);

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

5:01AM picture from our window of the ships turning;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

Edited April 20, 2013 by PaulMedik

PaulMedik · April 20, 2013

While waiting for our ship to come in, I watched a dancing lady in the windows of The Intercontinental Hotel;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

Our ship along with four others lined up at the Port of Miami;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

Carnival Breeze!

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

At the time I took this pic, Carnival Liberty was still our favorite ship;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

PaulMedik · April 20, 2013

Wake up Bryson, it's time to head to the ship!

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

The fellow at the Hilton downtown that makes arrangements for things Consewhatever you call them, arranged for a shuttle to take us all to the ship. The view of the ships as we approach is always an exciting time;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

The trademark funnel;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

Rockee4055 · April 20, 2013

Absolutely loving your pictures. Can't wait to pull my canon out in 43 days and start filling up my memory.

Keep the pictures coming as I'm seriously enjoying your review.

Where did you stay at the port? Did I miss that? That room you stayed in was awesome and the view over the port was breathtaking.

Looking forward to more.

PaulMedik · April 20, 2013

We arrived at the port at 10:18AM;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

Everyone had to break out their iphones and get pictures to post on Facebook;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

iPhone Paparazzi;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

Jaden about to embark on his first cruise;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

gsp158 · April 20, 2013

Hey Paul Canival's own Micky Arison own's the Sirona III

gapearl · April 20, 2013

Great review so far! Hurry back with more please! :D

PaulMedik · April 20, 2013

Absolutely loving your pictures. Can't wait to pull my canon out in 43 days and start filling up my memory.

Keep the pictures coming as I'm seriously enjoying your review.

Where did you stay at the port? Did I miss that? That room you stayed in was awesome and the view over the port was breathtaking.

Looking forward to more.

Rockee4055,

We stayed at the Hilton Downtown Miami on Friday night. We stayed at The Savoy on South Beach on Wednesday and Thursday night. It sure would be nice to combine the features of the two hotels, but if given a choice I'll choose The Savoy every time.

It's always nice to see that Carnival is constantly cleaning the ships both on the inside and on the outside;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

After we went thru security we checked in and were escorted to a room to await boarding time;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

After a brief wait we proceeded through the terminal and upstairs to the Carnival photogs boarding photo;

Carnival Breeze Carnival pics by paulmedik, on Flickr

After the embarkation photo we all had to present our Sail and Sign cards for boarding even though we were still in the terminal. Every one's cards worked fine except for Britt's card and the Sonofa@#$$ that swiped his card refused to try it again when it didn't work on the first try. He insisted on going back down stairs and making a new card. I tried to get him to try again, but he insisted that he could not. We've boarded other Carnival ships with non functioning cards, but this guy was unrelenting. In the mean time, everyone else had to go on to the ship while Karen, Britt and I waited on the OCD anal retentive @#$@$ to go do what he felt he had to do. The two remaining checkin folks were left to apologize for their coworker.

I love to get pics when we first board and I had planned to get pics mainly of jaden since it was his first cruise, but the *^&% prevented those pics. It seemed like it took him forever to make it back with the new card.

Was I mad? Very much so. Am I still mad? You betcha! Did it affect my cruise in any way, shape, or form? Not even slightly. I would like to meet the fellow again some day and smack him up the side of his head and tell him to be less anal, but alas that's not likely to happen, but I can dream.....

Anyhow, at 11:23 Karen, Britt and I were crossing the gangway to the ship;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

The lobby pic is a little less exciting with just the two people to pose for me, but we were on board!

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

PaulMedik · April 20, 2013

Hey Paul Canival's own Micky Arison own's the Sirona III

gsp158,

You are correct. He had to be on board as well since it was allowed into the port at that time with all of the security. It would have been nice to get a pic of him, but I zoomed all the way in and could only make out the pilot of the vessel and no features....

We went straight to our room to drop off luggage and found Jaden checking out the view from our aft wrap balcony;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

My Lido Marketplace lunch;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

On all of the ships we eat lunch in the aft area of the lido buffet on deck above. On Conquest Class ships that area includes the Fish and Chips and on Dream it's the Pasta Café. On Breeze that area is Cucina del Capitano and is fully staffed with crew that takes your order and brings freshly prepared food to you. We arrived just before they opened for serving, but the accommodated us since we brought our own food and they all came by and we had nice conversations with all of them. You will read on Cruise Critic that the time to go there is early in the week and the crew confirmed that hardly anyone comes the first few days, but by the end of the week it will be packed.

Karen, Britt, Lucca and I enjoyed our lunch at Cucina del Capitano;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

The bread at Cucina del Capitano is the BEST bread I've ever had on any ship and better than most bread I've had on land. Karen and Britt are the official bread addicts and they also gave it high marks. If you like bread, be sure and try out the Cucina del Capitano bread;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

The Captain's table at Cucina del Capitano;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

cruises42 · April 20, 2013

gsp158,

You are correct. He had to be on board as well since it was allowed into the port at that time with all of the security. It would have been nice to get a pic of him, but I zoomed all the way in and could only make out the pilot of the vessel and no features....

We went straight to our room to drop off luggage and found Jaden checking out the view from our aft wrap balcony;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

What cabin did you have? We also have an aft wrap.

PaulMedik · April 20, 2013

Hey Paul Canival's own Micky Arison own's the Sirona III

I didn't get a pic of him on his yacht, but I did get one of him at Cucina del Capitano;

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

With all that's going on in the world right now, it's nice for me to take a break from the news and think back to our cruise. I must say that I'm relieved to see on the news that the second suspect is now in custody in the Boston bombing. Many of my fellow Cruise Critic members are from that area of the country and from Texas where the explosion ripped thru their community. It really puts things into perspective to know that life will have good times and bad, but good times are more easily recalled. While thinking back to my cruise, my thoughts and prayers are for all of those directly or indirectly affected by all that has happened in the time since our cruise. There, but for the Grace of God go I is a thought we should all keep in mind and cherish all of our precious time with our loved ones.

In my case I can look back and know that I might have been angered to miss a moment I had looked forward to in regards to boarding with everyone together, but in the overall scheme of things it sure is a less than minor annoyance. Luckily, or perhaps simply because of my ER background, I maintain that perspective pretty much every day.

Thank you all for the comments and for bearing with my rambling on. At least now we're finally on board the ship and hopefully tomorrow I'll get time to post more of our first day.

PaulMedik · April 20, 2013

What cabin did you have? We also have an aft wrap.

cruises42,

Our cabin was 6501. Bryson and Britt were in 6503 the aft balcony beside ours and Spencer & Jaden were in the inside across the hall cabin number 6497.

rdler · April 20, 2013

Paul, I echo your sentiments on all that has been happening lately. I try to count my blessings every day for the joy that my little family brings me.

I am glad you were able to put your experience with that anal card guy aside. Now, how are you feeling about that Porter 21 or something at Port of Miami? (That was you a few years ago, wasn't it?)

Ms. Fun Bunch · April 20, 2013

Loving your review!! I will be on the Breeze in August!!!! The Liberty is also my favorite ship!!! I really enjoy reading your reviews.

KenMo · April 20, 2013

Yay....I love reading your reviews!!

I'm always looking for hotel options. I've never stayed at the Savoy so I'm wondering what it is that you like so much about it. I might have to put it on my hotel list!

Thank you!!

kybluecruiser · April 20, 2013

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

Was your flight any cheaper in the long run? I live in Ashland,ky so I use tristate airport and allegiant. Never used Charleston before. Great review too.

rtw68 · April 20, 2013

Really enjoying another PaulMedik review! :D

We had a great time on the Breeze and look forward to the Liberty in just 7 days!

Looking forward to more of your review. Hopefully you didn't have to disassemble your laptop this time? ;)

Review of our 2013 Spring Break Carnival Breeze Cruise

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