LittleMissMagic's 2014 8-Day Carnival BREEZE S.Caribbean Cruise - A Photo Review!

[LittleMissMagic]

 

 

Before re-boarding the ship, Max and I stopped by the Margaritaville store to purchase t-shirts and shot glasses. We also had to browse through the duty free store, as Max was in awe by the over-sized liquor bottles. He had already purchased a 3-liter Crown Royal on the ship and convinced me to go halvesies with a 3-liter Bacardi... the liquor store on the ship had price match and assured us that their prices were the same or better as anywhere in port. Well, I paid $43 for that bottle of Bacardi, and it was being offered in Grand Turk for $38.... I had a feeling that was going to happen which is why I really wanted Max to wait until the end of the cruise to make these purchases.

 

Max fell in love with a 4.5-liter bottle of Grey Goose (when I say "bottle" I mean just that..... he likes the bottle.... it doesn't matter what's in it), but it was $360, and I told him that it would be a terrible investment and that he should not buy it. That's when he asked me if they had these stores at every port, and I told him yes. Well, it turns out that none of the other ports on our itinerary had duty free stores as extensive as the one in Grand Turk, so if you're looking to stock up on booze or fragrances, I'd suggest you do it then.

 

 

 

I was wishing I had my D7100 for these shots, but the Nikon 1 did okay.... I would have loved to grab my camera and get back off the ship just to take a few pictures around the port, but our departure time was 2:30, and the line to re-board the ship was ridiculously long.

 

 

[LittleMissMagic]

 

 

The difficulty with an early afternoon departure is that everyone is trying to re-board the ship at the same time. I believe we waited ten minutes.

 

 

After returning to the ship and eating lunch, Max was ready to get his tan on. We found chairs by the pool to lay out in. Unfortunately, the DJ was playing country music. Despite my southern upbringing, I absolutely despise country music. I have to say that this is the most country music I have ever heard on a cruise. Most people on the pool deck seemed to be enjoying it, as many people were singing along loudly. Eventually, I looked around to get a glimpse at those belting out, "Save a horse, ride a cowboy," and came to the realization that almost everyone else on the pool deck was completely hammered. Don't get me wrong - I don't hate a party. I just hate country music.

 

When returning to the room, Max realized that he was sunburned. I realized that I had tan lines. I was incredibly confused considering that I had taken my straps down to tan..... and that's when we realized what had happened. On the boat, we had our shirts off and got a lot more sun than we had realized. Then walking back, I put my shirt back on, and Max left his off.... which is why his chest and shoulders were burnt. At that time, neither of us had on sunscreen. I had forgotten how strong that southern Caribbean sun is!

[Hoosier-Cruiser]

Victoria,

Thanks for the tip about the Grand Turk Duty-Free. Luckily, it is our last stop in June, so ww can buy anything that we didn't find already at the other ports.

[debee1015]

Max fell in love with a 4.5-liter bottle of Grey Goose (when I say "bottle" I mean just that..... he likes the bottle.... it doesn't matter what's in it), but it was $360, and I told him that it would be a terrible investment and that he should not buy it. That's when he asked me if they had these stores at every port, and I told him yes. Well, it turns out that none of the other ports on our itinerary had duty free stores as extensive as the one in Grand Turk, so if you're looking to stock up on booze or fragrances, I'd suggest you do it then.

 

Did it have a spout at the bottom? The one I saw a few years ago in St Thomas had a Spout near the bottom of the bottle. It was about 5 feet tall. I Love Grey Goose so I was trying to A) Figure out how to afford it at the time I was without a job and B) How do I get it back on the ship? It's kind of obvious when you come back through US Customs carrying a 5 foot tall bottle of Grey Goose. and C) where would I put it in my home, and D) does my purchase of a 5' tall bottle of Grey Goose automatically qualify me for Alcoholics Anonymous?

 

That is a bad investment though, 1 Liter of GG in most liquor stores (and this is a higher price) is close to $50 a Liter in the US. In St Thomas or St Maarten it's around $25-35 a liter.

 

But that bottle, its like a Keg at a frat party, if your frat party is more upscale and serves Martini's.

[LittleMissMagic]

 

Max and I always arrived to dinner before the doors opened. This *never* happens when I cruise with my family... we always arrive "fashionably late." It might have helped a bit that the dining room was just one floor above our stateroom.... the location was very convenient.

 

I noticed that the dining room was.... quieter. And that's when we realized that almost no one else had arrived to dinner that night. Our service was absolutely spectacular. We felt the special attention as our glasses were continuously refilled... and our Diet Cokes actually had bubbles in them!

 

Before dinner, Max had lost his temper with the bubble-less Diet Cokes. We were planning to go to Guest Services after dinner and let them know how dissatisfied we were and ask if they could remove the package from our account. However, we each had three really good Diet Cokes at dinner, and Max decided that if we continued to have good Diet Cokes at dinner, then that was worth it.

 

The appetizers were really good that night...

 

 

Smoked Chicken Quesadilla

 

 

Black Bean Soup

 

 

"A Study in Sushi"

 

 

Max's favorite sushi was the ahi tuna, so he requested another plate of sushi with just tuna.

 

 

And then Max got the everyday flat iron steak as an entree. I had requested that the sushi be me entree.

[LittleMissMagic]

 

For dessert, I ordered the warm fig, date and cinnamon cake. Max was initially really skeptical, but after he tasted it, he wanted to trade.

 

The dining room staff danced for us tonight, and I won our waiter over by agreeing to dance with him. That's when I realized just how empty the dining room really was and why we were getting so much attention.

 

Our head waiter's name was Subrata, and our assistant waiter was named Myat (not positive about the spelling). We had another assistant waiter, but I don't recall his name.

 

We knew that we were getting special treatment when Subrata insisted that he take our photo outside of the dining room. He also brought a chair to set beside me where I could place my camera. That chair was there every night after!

 

I was really glad that we were lucky enough to be there on a night when the dining room was practically empty and that our dining team really stepped up our service from then on. This was the wonderful dining service that I remember from the early 2000s, and honestly, it was something that I wasn't positive Max would ever get to experience.

 

[lara_lox]

 

I love this dress, it's an outfit I would wear! :)

[Winnigirl]

As fabulous as ever Victoria! Your pictures are just amazing. I'm sure I say this about everyone of your reports - but you can't improve on perfection! You and Max are an adorable couple!

[MichelleChell]

Love your review and pics!

[LittleMissMagic]

After dinner, Max and I went to the Punchliner Comedy Club to watch Tom Foss's adult show. As always, it was standing room only when we arrived. However, two seats opened up shortly after, and I was grateful. Max, again, found Tom Foss hilarious. I thought his adult show was much funnier than his preview show. And he poked fun at the girl with blue hair which made me laugh. "Wait - I just freaked out the girl with blue hair?" :D

 

[LittleMissMagic]

As fabulous as ever Victoria! Your pictures are just amazing. I'm sure I say this about everyone of your reports - but you can't improve on perfection! You and Max are an adorable couple!

 

Aww, thank you, Llama!

[LittleMissMagic]

Was Taylor Pete's assistant? She was very bubbly on our cruise, him not so much.

 

Carry on & thanks.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

 

Hi, Jo!

 

I'm not sure the name of Pete's assistant, but it was another man. Almost all of the entertainment crew was male! His assistants were all so much more energetic than him, though.

[Single_dreamer]

Aww, thank you, Llama!

 

If I read your review prior to booking, I would have chosen the Breeze...hands down! Awesome review!!!

[LittleMissMagic]

Tuesday, March 18, 2014 - La Romana, Dominican Republic

 

It was another early morning for us as we had booked the Dune Buggy excursion for 9:30 AM. There was a morning and an afternoon session of this tour, and we decided to do the morning so that we would be able to shop in port or perhaps go to the beach after.

 

The buffet was ridiculously crowded that morning. I regretted not pre-ordering breakfast to the room.

 

Getting of the ship for a 9:30 AM excursion was a nightmare, considering that we arrived in port at 9:00 AM and almost all excursions were scheduled for 9:30. I complained to Max after we finally made it to dry land that I have been on much larger ships, but crowds have never been that bad. Or perhaps I've just never been trying to leave the ship at peak time before...

 

Finding the Dune Buggy excursion was a bit of a struggle. The signs directed us to a parking lot full of buses, but unlike in Grand Turk, there was no Carnival Rep pointing us where to go. Perhaps she just wasn't set up yet. We split up, and Max went to look around the parking lot to see if he could find our bus, and I went to wait in line at an information desk to see if they could help. The information desk line was at a stand-still, and I heard Max's whistle before I ever moved forward.

 

It was about a ten-minute ride from the port to the Dune Buggies. It turns out that the Dune Buggy tour and ATV tour are actually run by the same company, but the Dune Buggies have much higher ratings on Carnival's website.

 

 

As soon as we arrived, they brought out bandannas and sunglasses for sale. The bandannas were $5 each, and sunglasses ranging in price from $6-8. I had a cheap pair of sunglasses with me, but Max did not. I am SO GLAD that we decided to purchase the bandannas and sunglasses for Max. It would have been absolutely miserable had we not. I don't think Max would have even been able to drive without sunglasses because of all of the debris that flew on us throughout the excursion. Now, unfortunately, their sales pitch and overpriced bandannas caused Max and I to spend all of our small bills which resulted in no cash to tip them with at the end, but I guess that's the breaks.

 

After securing our bandannas, sunglasses, and safety helmets, we got into the tiny dune buggy. Max was driving because I had absolutely no desire to. However, the steering wheel and pedals were so close that he could hardly fit his legs in. Max is 6'1" which I suppose in on the tall side (and he's definitely more legs than torso), but nothing near abnormal. I am guessing that the steering wheel and pedals are so close so that short people like myself are able to reach.

 

 

I made sure that this time my selfie included Max....

 

 

 

I was armed with the GoPro and my Nikon 1.

 

There were also these guys racing ahead of us and capturing photos and video...

 

 

The photos at the end of the tour weren't a bad price - $13 for the 4 in the envelope (but they also weren't great photos). The video was $45, though.... I'm not going to spend $45 on a video that I can't preview.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

 

 

 

 

We had read in the reviews about being taken by residential areas where children beg for money. However, it seemed like all the children were interested in collecting was high-fives. Being in the passenger seat, I was the designated high-fiver. :cool:

[LittleMissMagic]

 

You can see the debris being spun up by the dune buggy in front of us...

 

 

 

 

 

[LittleMissMagic]

 

 

 

Our first stop was here -

 

 

They had water and soda for us and sugar cane to try.

 

 

All of the Dune Buggy employees were very professional. I was impressed.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

 

 

So we're going full speed down this road, and Max says, "The brakes are out." I didn't believe him for a second. "You're kidding." "No... really. The brakes are out." He pumped the brakes, and they started working again. This continued, and our brakes would go out temporarily, and then he'd be able to pump them and get them working again. He kept making comments like, "That's not a good sound." "That's a bad sound."

 

 

 

We were right about here when the brakes stopped working entirely.... everyone is very lucky that I wasn't driving because I would have just rammed into the back of the buggy in front of us. Max is a much better driver in situations of crisis, though, because he was able to off-road us and turn us so we were going uphill which caused us to stop. I then remembered the sign for "We're having car problems." And pointed my finger up in the air. We were soon assisted by one of the staff, and he told us to take his buggy.

 

And his buggy was much better!

[LittleMissMagic]

 

 

 

It was also much faster at the back of the pack because we didn't have the ATVs stopping in front of us and slowing us down.

 

 

Our second stop was at a bathroom and souvenir store.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

 

I thought Max was dirty, and then he showed me my face....

 

 

I think we were the dirtiest of all. Perhaps because when the cars in front of us would drive around a puddle, Max would make a point to drive through it.

 

 

 

The downside of being at the back of the pack is that someone in front of us was throwing out coins for the children. So now when we drove by them, they were hoping for money. Before, high fives were enough to make them happy, but now some jerk (nice, generous person) ahead of us was raising their expectations and making us look bad!

 

 

[LittleMissMagic]

 

I struggled again with the GoPro, today. I had made sure to copy all of the video and photos from our dive to my computer the night before so that I could format the memory card and have plenty of space for the Dune Buggies. But I forgot to format the memory card. So about halfway into the drive, there was no room left on the card. And having no preview screen, I couldn't just thumb through and delete things because I would have had no idea what I was deleting.

 

 

 

 

 

The distortion on the lens is ridiculous. It's almost like a fisheye. Makes for some interesting shots.

 

And here's the link to my Dune Buggy video -

[gambee]

That is a common complaint of the gopro, it really does look like a fisheye. I love a well done fisheye photo, as a matter of fact I plan on attaching my fisheye lens on the NEX almost exclusively on my next cruise. However the fisheye effect on the gopro is like half way done. That is mainly why I have stayed away from purchasing one, although it would be so much easier to handle than my current rugged camera.

[Loonbeam]

It is a problem. To me, the plus to the go-pro is the casing and attachments, like the ability to link to your phone, or use a remote.

 

That is a common complaint of the gopro, it really does look like a fisheye. I love a well done fisheye photo, as a matter of fact I plan on attaching my fisheye lens on the NEX almost exclusively on my next cruise. However the fisheye effect on the gopro is like half way done. That is mainly why I have stayed away from purchasing one, although it would be so much easier to handle than my current rugged camera.

[LittleMissMagic]

That is a common complaint of the gopro, it really does look like a fisheye. I love a well done fisheye photo, as a matter of fact I plan on attaching my fisheye lens on the NEX almost exclusively on my next cruise. However the fisheye effect on the gopro is like half way done. That is mainly why I have stayed away from purchasing one, although it would be so much easier to handle than my current rugged camera.

 

Yeah, I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about the GoPro, but I'm glad that I rented it to give it a try.

 

I think it's good at what it's intended for - high definition action video. I think that if I had more practice with it and actually had an idea of what I was doing that it could be really effective. I read a few reviews and tutorials in addition to the manual, and I decided from that what to make my "standard" settings, but I had no trial and error experience with it, so there was a big learning curve.

 

What I wasn't too happy with were the photographs that it took. The distortion isn't quite fisheye. If I were going to buy the GoPro for a still camera, I think I would rather spend the money on the Rokinon 8mm f/3.8 fisheye lens. I also really missed a viewfinder. I understand that it can't be as small as it is and have a viewfinder, but shooting blindly ("no scope" Max would say) leaves many composition surprises.

 

That being said, I'm still considering purchasing one because its size and all-weather casing make it a very versatile yet compact camera. It's a fairly inexpensive underwater camera (for up to 100' - deeper than I'd ever go), and I like the idea of having an action camera.... but I also feel like I can't dedicate enough time to it and my DSLR. I suppose my dream scenario is that Max would pick up the GoPro.... but that's very hopeful considering that he has just started to show an interest in the process of photography and not just the results (more on that later!).

[gambee]

So funny that you mention the Rokinon lens, I have the 8mm 2.8f! Such an amazing and creative lens, I think it is my second favorite one.

 

I think I have just now hit the sweet spot with all my camera equipment. So far I have no interest in expanding it anytime soon. The olympus for the price is an underwater monster of a camera, and the RX100 is so simple to use and light that it is hard to justify using the NEX so often. I am mainly keeping the NEX for the Rokinon and low light food pictures. The RX100 still struggles in that department. But other than that the result of are excellent, not DSLR perfect, but definitely on the top of the spectrum of point and shoot cameras. I imagine the pics compare to the Nikon 1, although Sony and Nikon differ substantially in the technique of their results. At one point I had all Nikon, can't even recall why I sold... I think I loved the results, lol, go figure that one out...