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Review of August 25 Carnival Breeze


Heather1972

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Hi all -

 

I'm finally getting around to my review of the Breeze. All in all we loved it, but I regret that we didn't get to do everything on the ship. I guess all together we didn't miss out on too much though.

 

We flew into Miami the day before. We started off with a scenic tour of the Everglades as we dumped fuel and the pilots figured out what was wrong with our hydraulics. Eeek! Emergency landing with the pilot yelling, "Brace! Brace!" is NOT fun.

 

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Everything was fine in the end. We were only about 30 minutes or so past schedule.

 

We got a very rude taxi driver to South Beach. It was very hot in his car. He first said the price to our destination was $14 and then $22. By the time we got there he said it was $33. What the??? Beware of the price!

 

We stayed at The Savoy on South Beach. Loved it! We somehow got upgraded to a suite over looking the pool. I wish we had more time to spend there.

 

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We ate at News Cafe for both dinner and breakfast. Nice spot for people watching and the prices were reasonable for Miami.

 

We left the hotel about 10:30. We were on the Breeze by 11:30. The lines moved very quickly. My only complaint about the process was that they have LOUD music speakers above the area where you go up to check in. Whose bright idea was that? We could barely hear what was being said.

 

First view of atrium --

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Son's first burrito of many --

 

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I only tried the burrito when we first got on the ship. I found too many other interesting things to eat otherwise. Notice the line around the buffet in the photo?? Go to the aft buffet... almost always no line and it's the same food.

 

Shots of Spa Balcony Room #11210 port side

 

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9712789220_c218dd336e.jpg

 

will post more soon!

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Hi all -

 

I'm finally getting around to my review of the Breeze. All in all we loved it, but I regret that we didn't get to do everything on the ship. I guess all together we didn't miss out on too much though.

 

We flew into Miami the day before. We started off with a scenic tour of the Everglades as we dumped fuel and the pilots figured out what was wrong with our hydraulics. Eeek! Emergency landing with the pilot yelling, "Brace! Brace!" is NOT fun.

 

9709356273_319bfda6d6.jpg

 

Everything was fine in the end. We were only about 30 minutes or so past schedule.

 

We got a very rude taxi driver to South Beach. It was very hot in his car. He first said the price to our destination was $14 and then $22. By the time we got there he said it was $33. What the??? Beware of the price!

 

We stayed at The Savoy on South Beach. Loved it! We somehow got upgraded to a suite over looking the pool. I wish we had more time to spend there.

 

9709364567_8299027cee_z.jpg

 

 

We ate at News Cafe for both dinner and breakfast. Nice spot for people watching and the prices were reasonable for Miami.

 

We left the hotel about 10:30. We were on the Breeze by 11:30. The lines moved very quickly. My only complaint about the process was that they have LOUD music speakers above the area where you go up to check in. Whose bright idea was that? We could barely hear what was being said.

 

First view of atrium --

9712788944_1a0aabb897.jpg

 

Son's first burrito of many --

 

9709551607_3cfd6cde25.jpg

 

I only tried the burrito when we first got on the ship. I found too many other interesting things to eat otherwise. Notice the line around the buffet in the photo?? Go to the aft buffet... almost always no line and it's the same food.

 

Shots of Spa Balcony Room #11210 port side

 

9709555029_53c3ebc377.jpg

 

9712789220_c218dd336e.jpg

 

will post more soon!

 

Hurry back! We sail Breeze soon and can't wait to hear more.

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9712791424_7eecdb4fd6.jpg

 

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First night we ate at steakhouse Fahrenheit 555. Even though I thought it would be OK for hubby to wear shorts at the restaurant this night only (from my research here on the forum), he was snickered at by the hostess. :eek: Mind you, me and my son were also wearing shorts. Any way, we got past her and we had a lovely meal. I saw most men were also wearing shorts!

 

Hubby and I split the lobster and the ribeye. Would I do the steakhouse again? Yes! I'd just eat several of the chocolate dessert samplers. Haha!

 

Son's filet mignon -

 

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The 18 ounce ribeye we split -

 

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The amazing chocolate sampler. No we didn't share this!

 

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Monday - Port Key West

 

Weather - rainy in the morning. We cut the day short because we were tired of walking. I think things were further away than we thought. We walked around the shopping area, then the cemetery and then to Blue Heaven for key lime pie.

 

Breeze in Key West - view from highest hotel in the city

 

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Key Lime Pie - Best I ever had? Not really. Most meringue? Yes!

 

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My one and only burger from Guy's Burger Joint, but it was very good!

 

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We spent the rest of the afternoon at the spa. I didn't like the thermal suites as much as I thought I would. I guess it's really not my idea of fun to hang out in hot & steamy areas. Hubby got more use out of the spa than I did. However, I did like the larger shower in the spa locker room. The shower is the same as the one in the gym locker room, but with just more a private space to change your clothes behind the glass door. The showers in the spa and room had excellent water pressure, but I found the temperature in the shower spa wouldn't stay put. It was always changing from hot to cold and back again.

 

The elevator and stairs for the spa are not a private area. Anyone can use them. However, the elevator was not working 99% of the time I walked by. This is also a convenient way to get up to the Serenity deck. I used the Serenity deck more at night. I loved the hammocks up there.

 

Monday was our first time in the main dining room. We were on the lower level of Blush and had assigned dining at 6 pm. I wasn't fond of the where the table was. We were behind a couple of walls and couldn't see much. That wasn't the worst of it though...

 

We have only cruised once before, but one thing we loved about it was getting to sit with people and talking during dinner. This wasn't the case at this table. The table was for 12 people, but it was just the 3 of us and another couple with their 8 year old daughter. Sighs... Dinner was miserable. They didn't really talk to us and the child was no angel. Anyway, we put in a request the next morning to be moved to another table. Done deal and the rest of our dinners were much better.

 

Melons and prosciutto ruffles -

 

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People learning to dirty dance -

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Pay for desserts at coffee shop - deck 5 -

 

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We went to see Marcus Monroe at the Ovation Theater. He's a very good juggler and comedian.

 

Don't miss the beach party at the beach pool on deck 10 this night. You get to see the white boy from Minnesota shake his groove thang. LOL That's Butch the cruise director. When I grow up I wish I could dance like Butch.

 

Forgot to mention the strawberry cake pops on the buffet (aft) on embarkation day. OMG. These are to die for. I couldn't stop eating them! They have chocolate fudge ones later in the week, but they don't compare to the strawberry ones.

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TUESDAY - Sea day -

 

My kid stayed up too late partying with Butch and the gang!

 

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It's all a blur! Over the past few days I've played bingo and slots... won nothing big. Boo. Watched the morning show on the big screen by the pool. Played trivia with hubby off and on. I think he lived on deck 5 with the trivia and near the coffee.

 

We ate lunch at the taste bar where they make a salad in front of you with your choice of items. The taste bar also had oatmeal and toppings in the morning. I also had a pork sandwich from the BBQ buffet. The porkinator sauce was good.

 

In the afternoon we hit the Red Frog Bar. Get the conch fritters!

 

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Also enjoyed the early comedy show. People start lining up an hour or more before the adult comedy shows. :eek:

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We were on your same sailing!

 

Say, were you seated at a table for 12 in the MDR where a couple showed up the second evening with their son and then never came back after that one night? :eek: ;)

 

Great review so far, thanks for taking the time to share your experience. :)

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Love your review, we are in Northern VA and I would like to ask you some questions since we are thinking about flying to Miami next summer and boarding the Breeze.

 

Would you mind emailing me at: morganaenterprises @ yahoo dot com?

 

Thanks so much!

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WEDNESDAY - Grand Turk

 

Pictures say it all - Carnival Breeze and Carnival Pride in port. Funny thing is that we were originally going to go on Pride, but figured out we could fly to Miami and go on the Breeze for the same price. Go figure.

 

Hubby and son headed out for an early morning snorkeling excursion while I stayed on the beach. I decided to walk down the island to find a conch shell. We met back up and had a snack on the ship and then walked down to Jack's Shack for a bit. Only $9 for that plate of chicken shown below. Spent an hour or so at Margaritaville. Boy is that pool DIRTY!

 

Will post more tomorrow.

 

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I want to know what airline you were flying on?

 

We were on American Airlines. I'd still fly AA again though. Hubby knows about planes, so he was able to explain to me what was going on. Here he is recreating what happened when we landed. I can laugh about it now... kinda. :D

 

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We did the August 11th sailing and had a blast. We also did the steakhouse on the first night and even though I have read (on this forum) that the dress code wasn't as strict, I also read that it was so we decided to dress up...just a little. However, we did see people wearing shorts, flip flops, t-shirts (but no tank tops). I truly enjoyed it and was amazed at how much food our 11 year old son put away. I highly recommend the steak house. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

ETA: EEEEK at that flight! I would've freaked out!

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We live 20 minutes from port of Manhattan, so sail exclusively from here which is nifty keen but limits us to ships and itineraries. I SO want to sail on the Breeze, but it's not gonna happen unless I win the lottery, so I am loving your review! Thanks for sharing your cruise with me! :D

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Say, were you seated at a table for 12 in the MDR where a couple showed up the second evening with their son and then never came back after that one night? :eek: ;)

 

Great review so far, thanks for taking the time to share your experience. :)

 

LOL!!

We did have a large table but was all folks my age - no kiddos. :D

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Son on the sky course. He loved it. However it wasn't as open as much as he would have liked.

 

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Beach pool and big screen.

 

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I wasn't interested in going to the main dining room on Wednesday night, so we did the sushi restaurant instead. AMAZING! Best thing we had all week was the wagyu beef appetizer. I tried saki for the first and last time. :o

 

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Ovation theater.

 

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wow at the Ovation Theatre! It is beautiful. I just think the whole ship is absolutely breathtaking. Great review so far!

 

Questions for you pls :o

 

How much was the embarkation picture?

 

Did you see lots of fish in Grand Turk?

 

That is sad they dont clean the pool at Grand Turk :(

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