Calamity Jane's Son's Breeze Review

[Delta Dear]

Our son and his wife celebrated his 43rd birthday on the Breeze last week. He did join Cruise Critic, but instead of writing a review, he asked me to share the review he wrote to me on Sunday when they returned. He and his wife live in Hollywood, FL.

 

The review is brief, no photos, but just a few of their adventures and his opinions of their Breeze experience. Enjoy.

 

 

Breeze recap

 

 

Breeze Review: Embarkation day: I won't make the obvious pun but it was a...relatively simple process. The Port of Miami people are pros so it was hassle free. Lunch on Lido, long lines at Guy's and at the bars. Double dipped on the fries at Guy's (a cruise long theme) and enjoyed the sail away party. The show that evening was better than I anticipated. I had heard that it wasn't as good but I rather enjoyed the upgrade, the better 'showmanship' incorporating technology and thank God they updated the musical selections. If I heard one more tribute to the Beach Boys or Neil Diamond I would toss a deck chair into the ocean.

 

 

Day at sea: Got a lay of the ship, enjoyed trivia gatherings, relaxed a good while, got more Guy's fries. Enjoyed the show again this evening and some time on Lido afterwards.

 

 

*Side note on Guy's, they are quite skimpy on the fries. They tend to distribute fries like there volume was directly connected to their 401k. I would ask for a double order which usually equated to two small handfuls. Other guests also remarked about this as well. That being said, they are crazy delicious.

 

 

Our cabin: 6206, which is the interior 'plus' (unsure of the correct title) but it's forward, directly below the captains deck. We had a porthole looking out over the front of the ship. We liked the cabin, the only thing was the noise. Since we are right above the front of the ship we felt and heard a lot of the ocean movement. The sways weren't bad at all, but the noise..whew. I've never lived below a bowling alley or above a bomb disposal facility but I'm guessing it would sound just like this. When the ocean swells hit the hull, "BOOM...rattle rattle rattle". It woke both of us up a couple of times a night.

 

 

*DISCLAIMER* We usually don't book our tours through Carnival/Excursion desk but for the activities we wanted in Grand Turks and Aruba, Carnival pulled a gangster move and bought out all of the tours so when we contacted the vendors directly they told us we had to go through the cruise line. Well played Carnival, you got us...this time.

 

 

1st Port of Call-Grand Turks: Realistically could be called Mini Turks; small island with fewer residents than the cruisers (3600 residents-4000+ on the ship). Perfect beach/water activity day (for those inclined) for others an island tour by horseback, jeep or ATV (our choice) were the best options to see something. ATV was fun, not hard or vigorous, most time was spent on the main roads, very little off roading but that was fine. Our preference would be more off road ATV adventure but there wasn't that much real estate to be able to pull that off. Had another round of Guy's fries as a mid afternoon snack. The juggler/comedian had his moments in the evening show but won't be a household name anytime soon. The late night comedians were pretty good but again nothing spectacular.

 

 

2nd Port of Call-La Romana: We kind of got some bad info from our cruise guy at Carnival who did this itinerary in June. He indicated to book a tour directly thru Carnival here as well because the port and all of the city/tour related activities were a ways off. He failed to mention there would be cab drivers and other tour options available at the port though. He will be receiving a text when we get back to the US. We did the Countryside 'Adventure' which was a bust. Hot, open air bus, boring locations (a nusery to see flowers we also have in the US, a sugar cane 'plantation' which could have just been pulling off on a side road and a souvenier shop with inflated prices) and not much activity other than riding. On a 4 hour tour about 3 hours was driving. Complete waste of money. Came back and did lunch and drinks on Lido (more Guy's fries and mocha chocolate getaway) and chilled thru the evening before enjoying the deck party at night.

 

 

3rd Port of Call-Curacao: Best day so far. Despite a late debarkment (2-11pm in Curacao) and a brief rain delay, we had a fun time. We walked across the mall and then the bridge into town, had lunch at a waterside cafe (Iguana Cafe) which also had free wi-fi so I could check some quick business e-mails. I had the chicken estoba (stewed chicken) and wifey had the whole red snapper. Both were delicious. Then we spent the afternoon wandering downtown until coming back onboard for appetizers and dessert in the dining room. A quick cruise break to watch Survivor and later the deck party.

 

 

4th and final Port of Call-Aruba: Hands down best excursion of the trip. We did the Jeep Safari Natural Pool. It was a rugged, off road, through the hills and crevices of the Aruban countryside and we LOVED IT! We were in a Land Rover with 3 other couples among a caravan of 4 jeeps. Lots of fun as the driver bounced us around ping ponging off of the rocks and terrain. We visited a cave (eh) and then arrived at the natural pool. It was about a 80 step walk down to the pool, which was an area where the ocean and rocks formed a calm area to swim and snorkel. Being inexperienced in both, I just went far enough to where I could kick back to the rocks but I did see some fish through the snorkel apparatus. We got rained on pretty hard on the way back but still really enjoyed our day. This night we did the steakhouse which was pretty great. Excellent service, nice atmosphere, really good food.

 

 

Sea days 2&3: We basically just relaxed and did little things (trivia, future cruise destinations, Love & Marriage show, etc.) around the ship and enjoyed our days. More Guy's fries and Mocha Chocolate Getaways. Friday was pretty much a weather washout due to rain with the exception of late afternoon & evening. Tried Fat Jimmy's C Side BBQ on Saturday, eh-pass on it. Relaxed a little more, went to see Hasbro Game Show, a good way to spend an hour but wouldn't schedule my day around it. Packed and got ready to depart in the morning.

 

 

General notes: I can't say enough how much more we like the shows in the theatre compared to before. The songs are much more current, the digital graphics really make a difference and the performances were high quality. I hope all of their entertainment on the various ships follows suit.

 

-The Punchline Comedy Club-The logistics are terrible in the show scheduling and execution. For a small club space, too many people trying to get in and out around the shows and having to clear the lounge fully between shows is just mass chaos. They need to either make tickets available on a first come first serve basis during the day or adjust the schedules to make it more viable to clear traffic.

 

- Overall it was a great trip, we had some cool perks (our dinner table was a table for two right at the window overlooking the water) and really enjoyed the ship itself. Liked being on a relatively new ship. In a few months, may be ready for another sailaway!

 

*** Mom, here again. I asked if they did the Brunch; yes, twice, very delicious.

 

Italian restaurant twice for lunch. Food was ok, service terrible. "Glad we didn't pay for it."

 

Loved the 'cruisey decor" of the ship.

 

The comedian whose name I don't remember, got better as the week went on.

 

I'll field questions if you have them, but he has a project with a Friday deadline that he is working on this week, so answers may be delayed.

[belkin]

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Breeze 1/4 sailing and are really looking forward to it.

[alreadypacked]

Thanks for posting your son & daughter-in-law's review of the Breeze!

 

After taking a year off Carnival to experience other lines, we are getting ready to book our 2014 Fall cruise and the Breeze is topping our list--the interior of the ship from several photo reviews looks beautiful and we're hoping the additional eating establishments are an improvement over the non-2.0 ships as well.

 

The next month or so, I'll be interested in all upcoming Breeze reviews --the good, bad & ugly--as we come to a decision.

 

By the way, we are literally right next door to Hollywood, FL! Hello, neighbors!

[gapearl]

Hi Jane! Glad to hear they had a good time! :)

[riclop]

Our son and his wife celebrated his 43rd birthday on the Breeze last week. He did join Cruise Critic, but instead of writing a review, he asked me to share the review he wrote to me on Sunday when they returned. He and his wife live in Hollywood, FL.

 

The review is brief, no photos, but just a few of their adventures and his opinions of their Breeze experience. Enjoy.

 

 

Breeze recap

 

 

Breeze Review: Embarkation day: I won't make the obvious pun but it was a...relatively simple process. The Port of Miami people are pros so it was hassle free. Lunch on Lido, long lines at Guy's and at the bars. Double dipped on the fries at Guy's (a cruise long theme) and enjoyed the sail away party. The show that evening was better than I anticipated. I had heard that it wasn't as good but I rather enjoyed the upgrade, the better 'showmanship' incorporating technology and thank God they updated the musical selections. If I heard one more tribute to the Beach Boys or Neil Diamond I would toss a deck chair into the ocean.

 

 

Day at sea: Got a lay of the ship, enjoyed trivia gatherings, relaxed a good while, got more Guy's fries. Enjoyed the show again this evening and some time on Lido afterwards.

 

 

*Side note on Guy's, they are quite skimpy on the fries. They tend to distribute fries like there volume was directly connected to their 401k. I would ask for a double order which usually equated to two small handfuls. Other guests also remarked about this as well. That being said, they are crazy delicious.

 

 

Our cabin: 6206, which is the interior 'plus' (unsure of the correct title) but it's forward, directly below the captains deck. We had a porthole looking out over the front of the ship. We liked the cabin, the only thing was the noise. Since we are right above the front of the ship we felt and heard a lot of the ocean movement. The sways weren't bad at all, but the noise..whew. I've never lived below a bowling alley or above a bomb disposal facility but I'm guessing it would sound just like this. When the ocean swells hit the hull, "BOOM...rattle rattle rattle". It woke both of us up a couple of times a night.

 

 

*DISCLAIMER* We usually don't book our tours through Carnival/Excursion desk but for the activities we wanted in Grand Turks and Aruba, Carnival pulled a gangster move and bought out all of the tours so when we contacted the vendors directly they told us we had to go through the cruise line. Well played Carnival, you got us...this time.

 

 

1st Port of Call-Grand Turks: Realistically could be called Mini Turks; small island with fewer residents than the cruisers (3600 residents-4000+ on the ship). Perfect beach/water activity day (for those inclined) for others an island tour by horseback, jeep or ATV (our choice) were the best options to see something. ATV was fun, not hard or vigorous, most time was spent on the main roads, very little off roading but that was fine. Our preference would be more off road ATV adventure but there wasn't that much real estate to be able to pull that off. Had another round of Guy's fries as a mid afternoon snack. The juggler/comedian had his moments in the evening show but won't be a household name anytime soon. The late night comedians were pretty good but again nothing spectacular.

 

 

2nd Port of Call-La Romana: We kind of got some bad info from our cruise guy at Carnival who did this itinerary in June. He indicated to book a tour directly thru Carnival here as well because the port and all of the city/tour related activities were a ways off. He failed to mention there would be cab drivers and other tour options available at the port though. He will be receiving a text when we get back to the US. We did the Countryside 'Adventure' which was a bust. Hot, open air bus, boring locations (a nusery to see flowers we also have in the US, a sugar cane 'plantation' which could have just been pulling off on a side road and a souvenier shop with inflated prices) and not much activity other than riding. On a 4 hour tour about 3 hours was driving. Complete waste of money. Came back and did lunch and drinks on Lido (more Guy's fries and mocha chocolate getaway) and chilled thru the evening before enjoying the deck party at night.

 

 

3rd Port of Call-Curacao: Best day so far. Despite a late debarkment (2-11pm in Curacao) and a brief rain delay, we had a fun time. We walked across the mall and then the bridge into town, had lunch at a waterside cafe (Iguana Cafe) which also had free wi-fi so I could check some quick business e-mails. I had the chicken estoba (stewed chicken) and wifey had the whole red snapper. Both were delicious. Then we spent the afternoon wandering downtown until coming back onboard for appetizers and dessert in the dining room. A quick cruise break to watch Survivor and later the deck party.

 

 

4th and final Port of Call-Aruba: Hands down best excursion of the trip. We did the Jeep Safari Natural Pool. It was a rugged, off road, through the hills and crevices of the Aruban countryside and we LOVED IT! We were in a Land Rover with 3 other couples among a caravan of 4 jeeps. Lots of fun as the driver bounced us around ping ponging off of the rocks and terrain. We visited a cave (eh) and then arrived at the natural pool. It was about a 80 step walk down to the pool, which was an area where the ocean and rocks formed a calm area to swim and snorkel. Being inexperienced in both, I just went far enough to where I could kick back to the rocks but I did see some fish through the snorkel apparatus. We got rained on pretty hard on the way back but still really enjoyed our day. This night we did the steakhouse which was pretty great. Excellent service, nice atmosphere, really good food.

 

 

Sea days 2&3: We basically just relaxed and did little things (trivia, future cruise destinations, Love & Marriage show, etc.) around the ship and enjoyed our days. More Guy's fries and Mocha Chocolate Getaways. Friday was pretty much a weather washout due to rain with the exception of late afternoon & evening. Tried Fat Jimmy's C Side BBQ on Saturday, eh-pass on it. Relaxed a little more, went to see Hasbro Game Show, a good way to spend an hour but wouldn't schedule my day around it. Packed and got ready to depart in the morning.

 

 

General notes: I can't say enough how much more we like the shows in the theatre compared to before. The songs are much more current, the digital graphics really make a difference and the performances were high quality. I hope all of their entertainment on the various ships follows suit.

 

-The Punchline Comedy Club-The logistics are terrible in the show scheduling and execution. For a small club space, too many people trying to get in and out around the shows and having to clear the lounge fully between shows is just mass chaos. They need to either make tickets available on a first come first serve basis during the day or adjust the schedules to make it more viable to clear traffic.

 

- Overall it was a great trip, we had some cool perks (our dinner table was a table for two right at the window overlooking the water) and really enjoyed the ship itself. Liked being on a relatively new ship. In a few months, may be ready for another sailaway!

 

*** Mom, here again. I asked if they did the Brunch; yes, twice, very delicious.

 

Italian restaurant twice for lunch. Food was ok, service terrible. "Glad we didn't pay for it."

 

Loved the 'cruisey decor" of the ship.

 

The comedian whose name I don't remember, got better as the week went on.

 

I'll field questions if you have them, but he has a project with a Friday deadline that he is working on this week, so answers may be delayed.

I think the guys burgers and fries were so over rated, i had them twice and do not see what the fuss is about, McD way better. The Italian retaurant for dinner was so good that we went there 4 times during the 8 nights. I remember seeing you around the ship a few times . Glad you enjoyed it.

[SailingRNC]

Hi Soror! Love your review!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[silvercrikhix]

Thanks to you & your son for sharing his Breeze review !

Very thoughtful of you both :D

[SASA13]

Thanks for the review. I too, enjoyed the shows with the new songs and the lighting effects. There are a lot of folks who don't like the "new style", but I did. Thanks again.

[kcwingwalker]

Nice review...............thanks for sharing:)

[Delta Dear]

Hi Soror! Love your review!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Thanks, Soror. Did you read my review in addition to my son's ?

 

There is a link to mine in my signature.

 

Were you at Centennial ? What a thrill.

[SailingRNC]

Thanks, Soror. Did you read my review in addition to my son's ?

 

There is a link to mine in my signature.

 

Were you at Centennial ? What a thrill.

 

Hello, I just finished reading all four of your reviews. I feel as though I were sailing with you :)

 

No, I wasn't able to make it to Centennial. I heard it was awesome!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[ch27088]

Our son and his wife celebrated his 43rd birthday on the Breeze last week. He did join Cruise Critic, but instead of writing a review, he asked me to share the review he wrote to me on Sunday when they returned. He and his wife live in Hollywood, FL.

 

The review is brief, no photos, but just a few of their adventures and his opinions of their Breeze experience. Enjoy.

 

 

Breeze recap

 

 

Breeze Review: Embarkation day: I won't make the obvious pun but it was a...relatively simple process. The Port of Miami people are pros so it was hassle free. Lunch on Lido, long lines at Guy's and at the bars. Double dipped on the fries at Guy's (a cruise long theme) and enjoyed the sail away party. The show that evening was better than I anticipated. I had heard that it wasn't as good but I rather enjoyed the upgrade, the better 'showmanship' incorporating technology and thank God they updated the musical selections. If I heard one more tribute to the Beach Boys or Neil Diamond I would toss a deck chair into the ocean.

 

 

Day at sea: Got a lay of the ship, enjoyed trivia gatherings, relaxed a good while, got more Guy's fries. Enjoyed the show again this evening and some time on Lido afterwards.

 

 

*Side note on Guy's, they are quite skimpy on the fries. They tend to distribute fries like there volume was directly connected to their 401k. I would ask for a double order which usually equated to two small handfuls. Other guests also remarked about this as well. That being said, they are crazy delicious.

 

 

Our cabin: 6206, which is the interior 'plus' (unsure of the correct title) but it's forward, directly below the captains deck. We had a porthole looking out over the front of the ship. We liked the cabin, the only thing was the noise. Since we are right above the front of the ship we felt and heard a lot of the ocean movement. The sways weren't bad at all, but the noise..whew. I've never lived below a bowling alley or above a bomb disposal facility but I'm guessing it would sound just like this. When the ocean swells hit the hull, "BOOM...rattle rattle rattle". It woke both of us up a couple of times a night.

 

 

*DISCLAIMER* We usually don't book our tours through Carnival/Excursion desk but for the activities we wanted in Grand Turks and Aruba, Carnival pulled a gangster move and bought out all of the tours so when we contacted the vendors directly they told us we had to go through the cruise line. Well played Carnival, you got us...this time.

 

 

1st Port of Call-Grand Turks: Realistically could be called Mini Turks; small island with fewer residents than the cruisers (3600 residents-4000+ on the ship). Perfect beach/water activity day (for those inclined) for others an island tour by horseback, jeep or ATV (our choice) were the best options to see something. ATV was fun, not hard or vigorous, most time was spent on the main roads, very little off roading but that was fine. Our preference would be more off road ATV adventure but there wasn't that much real estate to be able to pull that off. Had another round of Guy's fries as a mid afternoon snack. The juggler/comedian had his moments in the evening show but won't be a household name anytime soon. The late night comedians were pretty good but again nothing spectacular.

 

 

2nd Port of Call-La Romana: We kind of got some bad info from our cruise guy at Carnival who did this itinerary in June. He indicated to book a tour directly thru Carnival here as well because the port and all of the city/tour related activities were a ways off. He failed to mention there would be cab drivers and other tour options available at the port though. He will be receiving a text when we get back to the US. We did the Countryside 'Adventure' which was a bust. Hot, open air bus, boring locations (a nusery to see flowers we also have in the US, a sugar cane 'plantation' which could have just been pulling off on a side road and a souvenier shop with inflated prices) and not much activity other than riding. On a 4 hour tour about 3 hours was driving. Complete waste of money. Came back and did lunch and drinks on Lido (more Guy's fries and mocha chocolate getaway) and chilled thru the evening before enjoying the deck party at night.

 

 

3rd Port of Call-Curacao: Best day so far. Despite a late debarkment (2-11pm in Curacao) and a brief rain delay, we had a fun time. We walked across the mall and then the bridge into town, had lunch at a waterside cafe (Iguana Cafe) which also had free wi-fi so I could check some quick business e-mails. I had the chicken estoba (stewed chicken) and wifey had the whole red snapper. Both were delicious. Then we spent the afternoon wandering downtown until coming back onboard for appetizers and dessert in the dining room. A quick cruise break to watch Survivor and later the deck party.

 

 

4th and final Port of Call-Aruba: Hands down best excursion of the trip. We did the Jeep Safari Natural Pool. It was a rugged, off road, through the hills and crevices of the Aruban countryside and we LOVED IT! We were in a Land Rover with 3 other couples among a caravan of 4 jeeps. Lots of fun as the driver bounced us around ping ponging off of the rocks and terrain. We visited a cave (eh) and then arrived at the natural pool. It was about a 80 step walk down to the pool, which was an area where the ocean and rocks formed a calm area to swim and snorkel. Being inexperienced in both, I just went far enough to where I could kick back to the rocks but I did see some fish through the snorkel apparatus. We got rained on pretty hard on the way back but still really enjoyed our day. This night we did the steakhouse which was pretty great. Excellent service, nice atmosphere, really good food.

 

 

Sea days 2&3: We basically just relaxed and did little things (trivia, future cruise destinations, Love & Marriage show, etc.) around the ship and enjoyed our days. More Guy's fries and Mocha Chocolate Getaways. Friday was pretty much a weather washout due to rain with the exception of late afternoon & evening. Tried Fat Jimmy's C Side BBQ on Saturday, eh-pass on it. Relaxed a little more, went to see Hasbro Game Show, a good way to spend an hour but wouldn't schedule my day around it. Packed and got ready to depart in the morning.

 

 

General notes: I can't say enough how much more we like the shows in the theatre compared to before. The songs are much more current, the digital graphics really make a difference and the performances were high quality. I hope all of their entertainment on the various ships follows suit.

 

-The Punchline Comedy Club-The logistics are terrible in the show scheduling and execution. For a small club space, too many people trying to get in and out around the shows and having to clear the lounge fully between shows is just mass chaos. They need to either make tickets available on a first come first serve basis during the day or adjust the schedules to make it more viable to clear traffic.

 

- Overall it was a great trip, we had some cool perks (our dinner table was a table for two right at the window overlooking the water) and really enjoyed the ship itself. Liked being on a relatively new ship. In a few months, may be ready for another sailaway!

 

*** Mom, here again. I asked if they did the Brunch; yes, twice, very delicious.

 

Italian restaurant twice for lunch. Food was ok, service terrible. "Glad we didn't pay for it."

 

Loved the 'cruisey decor" of the ship.

 

The comedian whose name I don't remember, got better as the week went on.

 

I'll field questions if you have them, but he has a project with a Friday deadline that he is working on this week, so answers may be delayed.

 

Thank you so much for sharing your review with us, and glad you and your wife enjoyed the cruise. I'm waiting for your parents to take another trip so we can read their reviews as well! :D