GAPearl's Big BREEZE Review! 8 Day Southern Itinerary 9/28/13.

[gapearl]

This was the first time I had no desire to sit by the pool. Normally, I like to be right in the middle of all the action. This trip though, I didn’t feel like wandering around looking for a chair, didn’t really want any noise, and didn’t want to see the pool activities. I mean, how many hairy chest contests does one need to see in a lifetime? Since I wanted to eat at Fat Jimmy’s C-Side BBQ for lunch, I headed to deck 5 and grabbed a chair out there, but only after stopping by the casino bar for a frozen margarita first.

 

This is the third book in the Cruise Confidential series. Read them all, they're hilarious!

 

 

Deck 5 was pretty empty and quiet. I don’t think I saw more than 15 people out there all morning. The jacuzzi was not hot at all. It felt more like a pool. I kind of liked it, though. It was like having a pool to dip in since it was so hot outside.

 

I looked to my left.....

 

 

Then I looked to my right.....

 

 

Imagine that! Not a single chair hog in sight! :D

[gapearl]

Fat Jimmy’s C-Side BBQ is only open on sea days. It’s scheduled to open at 12 noon, but there was already a line and people were being served when I headed over at 11:45 am. Get there early because the line gets long quick.

 

 

 

Well I'll be d@%n#d. Carnival finally got cornbread right!

 

 

There were plenty of places to sit and eat in the Ocean Plaza area, but I went back to my deck chair.

 

Grilled BBQ chicken topped with onions, creamed corn, carrots, and cornbread. It was a good meal!

 

[gapearl]

Our meet and greet was from 2-4 pm. We had a GREAT turnout! Over 100 people! Quite a few people tried to play matchmaker for me (*cough cough, Sondra and Liz*). I made my rounds snapping pictures of everyone and named myself the unofficial photographer. We had the 2 hour paid party, open bar, for something like $19 per person. Thanks for all your hard work putting this together, Christen!

No, I didn't win a ship on a stick. CC member LibratPDX gave it to me since I've never had one. Thanks again, Cala!

 

 

Me with a couple of new friends.

 

 

Gifts given to us from Butch and John Heald.

 

 

I asked the tour coordinator I was working with for our La Romana excursion if we could bring school supplies and toys for local kids. When I posted in the group asking for people to donate, everyone really went all out!

 

How amazing is all this? These supplies will bless a lot of children.

 

 

After the meet and greet, I headed up to the spa for the first time. You give them your name and cabin number, and they put a sticker on your sail and sign card to allow you the spa access. You also get a white wristband to wear when you come in. I made my rounds through all the steam rooms and finished in the thalassotherapy pool. Needless to say, I felt great afterwards!

 

I was back in my room around 5 pm, where I broke down and purchased an internet package. It was $29 for 45 minutes and not that fast.

Time to get ready for dinner and our first elegant night!

[gapearl]

We headed to dinner around 7:20 pm. When we walked in, the waiters were already singing That’s Amore. I asked the hostess again if we could be seated at a large table, and she said there were none available. We were seated at a two top, but in the middle of a row of four very close two tops, so it was almost like sitting with others.

 

I didn't see as many people as dressed up as I have on other cruises. On my other sailings, there were lots of cocktail dresses and suits. This cruise, lots of ladies wore sundresses or pants with a sparkly top and men wore a button down with slacks. I saw maybe 5 people in the MDR wearing jeans and sneakers. Really? :rolleyes:

Service tonight was really, really, really, REALLY slow. I’ve never had service this slow ever in all my cruises. It took 15 minutes before we even had water glasses placed on our table, and 5 minutes after that before we got water. Dinner was just S-L-O-W. One of our waiters did apologize at the end. He said they were overwhelmed and very busy but they would do better the next night.

 

Spaghetti appetizer. You can order it as an entree as well.

 

 

Strawberry bisque. Love this stuff.

 

 

Ribs. My mom got a lid and took half of it back to the room. It was a lot of food. She said they were very tender and the meat just fell off the bone.

 

 

Grilled chicken breast with vegetables. I also had a side of mashed potatoes.

 

 

Thumbs up for my favorite dessert!

 

[gapearl]

Dress: $99. Wine: $11. Gym Membership: $28.

 

Looking fierce on a cruise: PRICELESS. :D

 

After dinner, I went to the 10:15 pm Punchliner comedy show of John Wing. He was just ok. After the show, I hung out with G, his brother and cousins for a while, watching the end of a football game. (Note: I do NOT watch football, so I must like this guy. LOL) We headed to Liquid Nightclub when the game ended. The DJ had me confused. No joke, he played DMX (rap), James Brown, and salsa all in 3 songs back to back. :confused: The club was packed and people were standing around, wanting to dance and have a good time, but no one would because the music was so bad. He eventually got some good Latin music on, followed by some Pitbull. It got somewhat better from there. G and I just weren’t feeling it tonight though and left. He wanted to get some coffee on the lido, so that’s where we headed. We talked for hours and asked those typical getting to know you questions. What do you do? What’s your middle name?

So has GAPearl made a love connection?

 

Up next: Prison, fighting donkeys, and Happy Feet.

[Shake-n-Bake]

Fat Jimmy’s C-Side BBQ is only open on sea days. It’s scheduled to open at 12 noon, but there was already a line and people were being served when I headed over at 11:45 am. Get there early because the line gets long quick.

 

 

 

 

Well I'll be d@%n#d. Carnival finally got cornbread right!

 

 

There were plenty of places to sit and eat in the Ocean Plaza area, but I went back to my deck chair.

 

Grilled BBQ chicken topped with onions, creamed corn, carrots, and cornbread. It was a good meal!

 

When I saw Cornbread on the menu I just started laughing uncontrollably. We all saw that sorry excuse for Cornbread in an earlier review of yours. Glad to see they got it right this cruise. :D

[Lady N Red]

I got that dress at Ross for only $16.99! I get most of my maxi dresses from Ross, TJ Maxx, and Marshalls. You have to dig through the racks, but can find some cute dresses for cheap. What a sweet story you shared!

 

 

Ross is my favorite store, TJ Maxx my second. Get review, lots of information, great photos, I have 53 days before I sail the Breeze again.

[travlngrl1996]

Double Post

Edited October 9, 2013 by travlngrl1996

[travlngrl1996]

You must mean the CCPPF group. Yeah I posted a few times there on embarkation day. Glad you're back again!

 

 

 

Yes CCPPF. I loved your teasers that you posted. They gave me something to look forward to this week!!! :D

[Delta Dear]

 

 

 

 

 

For full appreciation of this post, GAPearl, you MUST post the corn bread picture from your previous cruise. Those of us who read that review know just how far Carnival has come. LOL

 

OOPS, I didn't quite copy this to include your words about Carnival finally getting the corn bread right.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Delta Dear

[Handsome58]

and I had the C-side bar-b-q twice on our cruise in September and we liked it. But like Gapearl has posted get there early or you may be stuck in a long line. We got there early both times and when we looked behind us the line was long and growing. They did have someone from one of the shows doing card tricks for the people in line one day though.

[ch27088]

You are brave holding a baby alligator and doing the tour. I am the biggest wimp when it comes to animals. Don't like them at all!!! Off to a great start on your review!

[ATL2LAS]

As usual, I have had to subscribe to your review. I was so glad when I saw that you did another one. Please go on and pull the trigger on a short cruise so you can hit Platinum this year....it is so worth it:D

[Lizzrd4483]

We headed to dinner at 7:45 pm. This was our first time trying your time dining. I’ve always had late dining but decided to give this a try to have a little more flexibility, and also because late dining was too late for my mom on our last cruise. There was a short line but no wait. I asked the hostess if we could be seated at a large table with others and she opened a 6 top for us. She sat two middle aged ladies from Ohio with us, but the other two seats remained empty. We had great conversation all night. Service was good but pretty slow. It was close to 30 minutes before we got our appetizers.

 

Our waiters for the night.

 

 

Vegetable spring rolls appetizer.

 

 

Fruit cocktail appetizer.

 

 

Salmon entree.

 

 

Chicken a la greque. It was a tad bit salty.

 

 

In addition to being a pretty darn good review writer, I'm also a poet! Allow me to showcase my skills.

 

Ahem.

 

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Never order just one ice cream with your warm chocolate melting cake,

Always order two!

 

HA!

 

 

The first night I ordered it with 2 ice creams and when our waiter delivered it he would say "mickey mouse" and turn the plate so the 2 ice creams were at the top... For the rest of the cruise we just ordered the mickey mouse..lol

[JaniceB]

Really enjoying your review and pictures, can't wait to find out if you made a love connnection!

[oneboysmom]

Absolutely loving your review!!! Your body looks fabulous as well!!! I'm hoping to take the breeze next year, its 1 of the 3 narrowed down. But, unfortunately, my Son has to get braces so that might put a damper on the cruise...hoping not tho :confused: Glad you had a great time and can't wait to read the rest!!!

[angelofsin]

your mom gets the queen of efficiency award.. you knew I had to come back to read your review.. you are slowly tempting me to try a carnival cruise..

[MIZZ_K]

Sunday, 9/29

 

Well I was going to post a million ship pics next, but it's going to take much longer than I thought to go through them all. So, moving right along to the next installment instead! :)

 

I woke up hoarse and with a headache. I swear EVERY. SINGLE. CRUISE. I lose my voice. It must be because I hang out at night in the club and have to scream over loud music to talk to people, plus it’s really smoky in there. I can’t help but wonder if it might be something else in the air I might be allergic to as well. Despite sounding ten times worse than Weezy Jefferson with a throbbing head, I took two Advil and headed to the gym for a run around 9 am.

 

Beginning my cool down. Well that takes care of 3 bites of the wcmc.

 

 

Me post workout. I lost 20 pounds in recent months. I still had to work to maintain it, even on vacation!

 

 

Back to the room to shower, change, and head out for some late morning sun.

 

Funny- my mom's toiletry shelves.....

 

 

And mine. LOL

 

 

Lol@ the toiletries.

[nycchic12]

Seriously love this thread! I'm deciding between the Breeze and the Dream at the moment and this thread has me leaning towards the Breeze.

[mephistoles]

For full appreciation of this post, GAPearl, you MUST post the corn bread picture from your previous cruise. Those of us who read that review know just how far Carnival has come. LOL

 

OOPS, I didn't quite copy this to include your words about Carnival finally getting the corn bread right.

 

That corn bread post was a classic! (Hi Jane....from Yvette -FB)

[michigancruiser0715]

Love the Breeze! We'll be sailing her again in January, with this itinerary, and cannot wait!

 

For now, I'll just live vicariously through your awesome review. :)

 

Thank you!

[lbfluffy]

I'm loving your review. On the Breeze next month. So excited. And you look fantastic.

[April29]

GAPearl...you look great !

 

I could tell from the 1st pic you posted that you had lost weight.

 

Way to go !

[Jilpo]

I'm a little behind in my reading - but, you had a video at your muster drill???? I was in the Sapphire DR and WE didn't have any videos!:( I feel cheated - NOT:D

[gapearl]

When I saw Cornbread on the menu I just started laughing uncontrollably. We all saw that sorry excuse for Cornbread in an earlier review of yours. Glad to see they got it right this cruise. :D

 

IKR! It's about time! LOLOL :p

 

Ross is my favorite store, TJ Maxx my second. Get review, lots of information, great photos, I have 53 days before I sail the Breeze again.

 

Yes, you can find some great things in those stores if you have the time to really look. Thanks for reading! I wish I was sailing the Breeze again in 53 days.

 

Yes CCPPF. I loved your teasers that you posted. They gave me something to look forward to this week!!! :D

 

This might sound bad, but I love leaving my audience hanging on wanting more! :D