My 8 Day Semi Cruise from hell aboard the Carnival Breeze 10/26/13 - 11/4/13

[Leo's Rule]

Before I begin again, as stated earlier, I'm writing this from memory...I'm writing and then posting. I spent some time uploading my photos from my computer to social media so I can then post them here since CC doesn't allow you to post photos directly from your computer.

 

More pre-cruise

I arrive at my favorite parking lot; the Parking Spot 2. If you've read my Valor review you may remember that the lot was full and I had to search for another another lot to park my car and had to pay highway robbery!

 

Well, I didn't want to chance it happening again, so I made a reservation to ensure I had a spot. Turns out I didn't need it, but it's always better to be safe than to be sorry.

 

We had a direct flight on American Airlines. After arriving in Miami, we purchase our passes for the Metrobus and we head to South Beach; it was only $2.25 per person. I made friends with two guys who were visiting from N. Carolina. One of them was a real cutie, but I had the sneaking suspicion they played for the other team.

 

Turns out they were staying in SOBE too, but their hotel was further up from ours. Once we reached our stop we parted ways and my mom and I headed towards our hotel.

 

Check in at the Colony was a breeze. We put our luggage away, took some pictures, and then we headed out for food at TGI Friday's.

 

Here's pictures of our room:

 

 

 

 

 

[Leo's Rule]

More photos of the Colony Hotel

 

I exited the door where all of the rooms are. The stairs lead down to the small lobby and bar.

 

My mother; looking so serious

 

The lobby

 

More of the lobby. The check-in desk can be seen behind the partition

 

The bar

 

At Friday's, I had the chicken and shrimp pasta and my mother had, yep, chicken strips. I couldn't eat all of my food and took it to go. Since we were sailing in the morning, we walked to the CVS and purchased Coke for my mom and water for the both of us.

 

We headed back to the room, but my mom opted to stay in. I walked Ocean Drive on my own and looked in all of the shops. I saw a pair of boots I'd rock, but not for the price.

 

[Leo's Rule]

Though I've been to SOBE before and have taken a picture in front of the Versace Mansion; I have no idea where it is, so I took another photo of it and then I headed over to Lummus Park.

 

 

 

I saw some foolishness at the beach, but I decided to be on my best behaviour and not take photos of it. I took pictures of the ships I saw sailing in the distance instead.

 

I'm not sure what ship this is:

 

But this one is the Norwegian Sky:

 

I ran into Jalen and his friend (the guys from the bus) and we exchanged numbers. We were going to meet for drinks at Wet Willie's. Wet Willie's was next door to my hotel and they have awesome daiquiris at reasonable prices. We agreed to meet later that night and I eventually head back to my room and heat my food. (There are no microwaves in the room, I had to ask the bar if it was ok to use the microwave).

 

My friend I mentioned earlier was supposed to be on this cruise with her dad. She booked a pre cruise stay in South Beach as well. I received a call from her earlier in the day stating her dad missed his flight and she missed her connecting flight. She eventually sent a text stating that she made it to Miami, but her luggage did not. So after I finished eating, I thought I'd check on her. Her luggage was still a no show and her dad was M.I.A. I already knew where this was going, but I was genuinely concerned. I checked on her again and learned one of her sorors (she's in a Greek sorority for those of you who don't know what that means) picked her from the airport and she was just going to stay the night there because her hotel had been canceled. Long story short, she opted not to go on the cruise because all of her luggage hadn't arrived and she did locate her father. She supposedly flew home that morning.

 

I was getting sleepy and sent Jalen a message that I would not be joining him and his friend for drinks. Alarms went off in my head when Jalen became persistent that I come out for drinks. I watch a lot of crime shows and though the hotel was next door to the bar, I just wondered what they were really up to. It may have been nothing, but I got that feeling and went with my gut. Besides, I was operating on a little sleep; maybe 6 hours over 2 days. I called it a night.

 

I didn't do anything I planned on doing in SOBE other than eating at Friday's for my mom. I really wanted to go to Wet Willie's and eat at Big Pink's later that night.

 

*Notes about Colony* If you're a light sleeper you will hear every conversation people are having. The walls are thin. I can't say I heard people while they were in their rooms, but I did hear them while they were in the hall. The beds were comfortable and the water gets extremely hot, so be careful. Ignore all of the bad reviews about the hotel...some of the reviews made you think the place was a flea bag motel. The reviews on the noise level are true.

 

Embarkation Day

We're up and at 'em. I had a banana nut muffin for breakfast; my mother rarely eats breakfast, so she skipped it. I phoned for a cab and one was there in 15 minutes. While waiting for the cab I got a phone call from another cab company asking if I was ready. What happened was, before I left Houston...even before the 25th, I scheduled a cab online, but realized they only took reservations 24 hours in advance...once I discovered that, I didn't think they'd call me; WRONG!

 

Yay; we're off to the Port of Miami to board our home for the next 9 days.

 

 

She was docked behind/in front of the Breeze:

 

[Leo's Rule]

Here's our home:

 

Everything was uneventful. We were among the first group of people at the port. We dropped our luggage with the porters and were first in line to check-in. (We weren't #1, #1, but we were the first in line out of the group that entered). Well, what do you know, I can't proceed because my passport says find me. Where is my passport? It was with all of my documentation last night. Oh no! Am I going to miss this cruise? Think, think, think; where is it? Ahhhh...I put it in the outside pocket of my luggage that I gave to the porter!!:eek: Please God, let my bags still be outside!!!

 

I raced out the door and thankfully I spotted the luggage. I go through my bag and and what do I see? My passport, yes!!!! After going through my bag I had to mess with the porter. I said I could have been anyone going through people's luggage and you just let me do it. He said he heard me when I yelled that I was going through my own bag and he figured it was mine anyhow since I went straight to it and wasn't going through other bags. We laughed for a quick second and I then I told him to make sure my luggage made it to my cabin during the first round of drop offs.

 

I wonder if this mishap (yes, my own) was a sign of things to come? I re-enter the building and now the lines are massive; I was just gone 10 minutes! I eventually get checked in and have to listen to my mom fuss at me for moving my passport.. Ugh!!!!

 

I don't recall what zone we were given, but we didn't wait too long to board the ship. We take our embark photo and off we go!

 

I take a couple of photos around the ship and then we search for food! I settle on the Mongolian Wok and I believe my mother had something from the salad bar. After lunch, approx. 12:30 pm, we locate our cabin and what do you know, our luggage is there and I didn't purchase FTTF!!! I wonder if the porter really did work his magic. :rolleyes:

 

I booked a Deluxe OV Cabin and though it was nice, I don't like being on the lower decks. We were on deck 1. I'll probably never book another OV.

 

The infamous pictures everyone takes:

 

[SweetpeaOne]

Great review. Loving the pictures. Baby is so cute.........

[Leo's Rule]

Pictures of the cabin:

 

View from entry.

 

View of bathroom 1 (me standing in the shower. Includes sink and toilet)

 

View of bathroom 2 (tub and sink)

 

View of room (twin beds, sleeper sofa, and big window)

 

Additional view of room (Tv & fridge)

 

My mother posing in the window

 

After dropping off our bags (the carry on with the soda and water) and taking some photos, we headed out again to explore the ship.

[Leo's Rule]

Great review. Loving the pictures. Baby is so cute.........

 

Thanks SweetPea

[Leo's Rule]

Photos around the ship:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Leo's Rule]

More photos around the ship:

 

Inside of Club O2

 

More photos of Club O2

 

The Library Bar

 

Inside the Library Bar

 

Seating inside of the Library Bar

 

The game room; I forget the name of it.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Nice review. Great pics.

[Leo's Rule]

More photos around the ship:

 

 

 

The bar inside of the casino

 

 

 

[Leo's Rule]

More photos around the ship:

 

Where the comedy shows were held

 

 

 

 

 

[Leo's Rule]

More pictures around the ship and a wrap to embarkation day:

 

How could I resist taking a picture of this? I am a Lioness and I am Royal, so this was perfect. My name says it all...Leos Rule!!

 

 

 

Eventually it's time to head to the muster drill. The drill was held in one of the dining rooms. I sat too long and I dozed off; I guess the lack of sleep was catching up to me. Photo courtesy of my mother:

 

 

After muster drill, but before sail away I head to the meeting spot for the informal M&G with a bunch of crazy people I met through the roll call.

 

After putting faces to some of the names, my mom and I head inside; I was really tired. We head to the room and I took a nap until it was time to go to dinner.

 

My mother woke me at a quarter to 7:00 and I didn't feel so good. My upper stomach was hurting bad. I had fallen asleep in my clothes and thought my bras the culprit (it has underwire). I removed it and the pain eased up just a little. I kept telling my mom to give me five minutes to move from the bed. Those five minutes became thirty minutes.

 

*Disclaimer* If you have a weak stomach, stop reading now and pick up when I get to the Fun Day At Sea

 

You're still with me? I did warn you. My mother soon realized I wasn't going to make it to dinner. My bladder eventually got me out of bed, but I guess the movement made everything in my stomach come up. Initially it was clear. It was like I was throwing up water. Then I saw green; the same color of the sauce from the food I had eaten at the Mongolian Wok! Oh no, do have food poisoning? I was miserable! My mom had me to drink a Sprite and you would have sworn I was the girl from the Exorcist; I had projectile vomit after drinking the Sprite. This went on allllllllllllllllllllllllll night. I couldn't get comfortable and just when I thought I'd get some sleep; I had to throw up again. I thought I was vomiting my insides out because eventually the vomit was thick and yellow. What in the world was wrong with me?????

 

NEXT UP, FUN DAY AT SEA. I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE TYPED TONIGHT, BUT CC EXPERIENCED A PROBLEM; MAYBE THEY WERE UPDATING THEIR SERVERS??? WHATEVER THE CASE, I COULDN'T GET IN FOR AN HOUR. SO I'LL START THE REST TOMORROW SOME TIME. GIVES ME MORE TIME TO WRITE ABOUT THE 1ST PORT OF CALL TOO.

[going2cruz]

More pictures around the ship and a wrap to embarkation day:

 

How could I resist taking a picture of this? I am a Lioness and I am Royal' date=' so this was perfect. My name says it all...Leos Rule!!

 

[img']https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1557658_10200618896309385_570674243_n.jpg[/img]

 

 

Eventually it's time to head to the muster drill. The drill was held in one of the dining rooms. I sat too long and I dozed off; I guess the lack of sleep was catching up to me. Photo courtesy of my mother:

 

 

After muster drill, but before sail away I head to the meeting spot for the informal M&G with a bunch of crazy people I met through the roll call.

 

After putting faces to some of the names, my mom and I head inside; I was really tired. We head to the room and I took a nap until it was time to go to dinner.

 

My mother woke me at a quarter to 7:00 and I didn't feel so good. My upper stomach was hurting bad. I had fallen asleep in my clothes and thought my bras the culprit (it has underwire). I removed it and the pain eased up just a little. I kept telling my mom to give me five minutes to move from the bed. Those five minutes became thirty minutes.

 

*Disclaimer* If you have a weak stomach, stop reading now and pick up when I get to the Fun Day At Sea

 

You're still with me? I did warn you. My mother soon realized I wasn't going to make it to dinner. My bladder eventually got me out of bed, but I guess the movement made everything in my stomach come up. Initially it was clear. It was like I was throwing up water. Then I saw green; the same color of the sauce from the food I had eaten at the Mongolian Wok! Oh no, do have food poisoning? I was miserable! My mom had me to drink a Sprite and you would have sworn I was the girl from the Exorcist; I had projectile vomit after drinking the Sprite. This went on allllllllllllllllllllllllll night. I couldn't get comfortable and just when I thought I'd get some sleep; I had to throw up again. I thought I was vomiting my insides out because eventually the vomit was thick and yellow. What in the world was wrong with me?????

 

NEXT UP, FUN DAY AT SEA. I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE TYPED TONIGHT, BUT CC EXPERIENCED A PROBLEM; MAYBE THEY WERE UPDATING THEIR SERVERS??? WHATEVER THE CASE, I COULDN'T GET IN FOR AN HOUR. SO I'LL START THE REST TOMORROW SOME TIME. GIVES ME MORE TIME TO WRITE ABOUT THE 1ST PORT OF CALL TOO.

 

I'm so sorry to hear you got that sick, being that sick at sea is H _ _ _ , It happen to us too on the Breeze in August.....picture this, since you went through it you'll understand....we had two cabins 5 people total .....WE ALL GOT IT AT THE SAME TIME...FIVE PEOPLE TWO BATHROOMS.....you can't control it the balcony and the room was a mess it was gross....both ends all night long....next sea day we went up to get air late in day and a lot of people said they were sick too or that their room mates were sick...everyone getting sick at the same time is no virus.....Our teen kids said if next year’s summer vacation is a cruise “ don’t to book us “........

Edited January 13, 2014 by going2cruz

[going2cruz]

Op...keep the review going....

[jemrtt]

Subscribing....

 

So sorry you were sick.

[ldlewis45]

Ouch! Sounds like possible gallbladder issues.

[sjn911]

Ouch! Sounds like possible gallbladder issues.

Wise advice...do get a sonnogram...(sp) on it op..a gentle test...Sarah

[Leo's Rule]

I'm so sorry to hear you got that sick, being that sick at sea is H _ _ _ , It happen to us too on the Breeze in August.....picture this, since you went through it you'll understand....we had two cabins 5 people total .....WE ALL GOT IT AT THE SAME TIME...FIVE PEOPLE TWO BATHROOMS.....you can't control it the balcony and the room was a mess it was gross....both ends all night long....next sea day we went up to get air late in day and a lot of people said they were sick too or that their room mates were sick...everyone getting sick at the same time is no virus.....Our teen kids said if next year’s summer vacation is a cruise “ don’t to book us “........

 

OMG! All of you? My stomach hurts just thinking about it. And it wasn't a virus? What was it?

 

I don't think I blame your kids for not wanting another cruise. Lol

 

 

 

 

Op...keep the review going....

 

 

I'm keeping it up...still writing, but work is getting in the way as well as life. When I get home I don't want to sit in front of my computer. I'll have to grab my laptop I guess.

 

 

 

 

Subscribing....

 

So sorry you were sick.

 

You and me both.

 

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Forums mobile app

[Leo's Rule]

Ouch! Sounds like possible gallbladder issues.

 

I'll learn what the problem is after the cruise.

 

 

 

 

Wise advice...do get a sonnogram...(sp) on it op..a gentle test...Sarah

 

I had an ultrasound done.

 

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Forums mobile app

[seguincruiser]

Leo and Vince Please tell me what you think called your illness. If you think it was something you ate I really want to avoid it. I suffer from panic attacks and having a stomach virus always sets one off. Luckily I have really learned how to handle my anxiety issues but an upset stomach is still one beyond my control.:(

 

Leo I hope its not a gallbladder please come back and let us know how your doing.

 

Also have to tell you how nice you and your Mom look. That dress you wore on embarkation day looked great.

[gemsm]

Oh I have had gallstones and that sounds like what happened to you...Can't imagine going on a cruise like that :( bummer

[sjn911]

"I had an ultrasound done."

 

Good..that's what I meant...take care and enjoying the review...thanks for doing it..you and your mom are gorgeous...Sarah

Edited January 15, 2014 by sjn911

[mephistoles]

Your doggy is adorable. Loving your review so far. Sorry to read about your getting sick. We are sailing the Breeze again this August and plan to stay at Hampton Brickell again (we stayed there prior to our Breeze cruise last year)....Ummm, I want to know the rates you got for the Hampton...I promise not to hate :D

[jaxstiles]

Thanks for taking the time to do this review. Cruising on the Breeze in June and can't wait! Sorry to hear about you being so sick! Hopefully it wasnt anything major.