!!! BREEZE !!! Western Caribbean ^_^ The Ultimate Review and Complete Pictorial Guide

[miss tea]

 

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This is my first time aboard a Carnival ship!

As always I have a lot of material to share with everyone.

My reviews are loaded with fun times, great pictures and as always an unbiased point of view.

I have been told that I have a great eye for detail, and it will be all here for you to enjoy.

I welcome again all of my fans and new followers as well. Thank you kindly for being a part of this ^_^

 

I invite you to come and sail with me on my first SOLO Cruise!!!

 

 

Introduction

 

Hello everyone it has been quite sometime since my last review. I have been extremely busy since I started college again and had to put cruising on the back burner until I could get some time off. For those of you who are not familiar with me, you can check out some of my old reviews so you can get a feel of my review style. I am known for going all out and documenting every possible aspect of a cruise. From the pre-cruise planning down to details on how to log into their internet service onboard and everything else in between. I will attempt to do the same with the Carnival Breeze in this review.

 

In the past I have said that we have been jumping from cruise line to cruise line to find the one who fits us best. Now things have changed, I now realized that there is no such thing as the best cruise line for us. We have thoroughly enjoy each and every cruise we have been on, and it is now that I noticed that each cruise line offers something in particular that we enjoy and cherish.

 

For example, Celebrity was not precisely the most active cruise line for us. However with the high level of luxury, fine dining and service it would be the prefect cruise line to sail to Alaska or in Europe in style. Disney on the other hand is a cruise line that all children should travel on at least once. If you can manage to save money for a Disney cruise, you definitely should! I can guarantee you that it will a vacation that your kids will never forget. Disney offers an unparalleled cruising experience. Cliche or not, our Disney cruise was magical in every possible way. Last but not least, although I know many disagree with me, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian both offer similar experiences. With very active and varied cruises that will accommodate people from all age groups. But I will say that RCCL stands above Norwegian in several aspects, that might change in the future, who knows. Now I am here, and I am trying out Carnival cruise line to see where it stands and how it compares.

 

 

Why Solo?

 

So lets get this party started, this cruise was very different from my other cruises. When I say different, I refer that this was my very first time sailing Solo. Every other cruise I have been on I have traveled with my mom and on some with more people. I have to admit that I was very tempted to canceling this cruise several times because I was not sure of the idea of sailing alone and even more so without my mom. Like I have said in my past reviews, a cruise is not a real cruise unless my mom comes with me. Call me a mama’s boy if you like, actually that won’t be far from the truth :D. I get a lot of joy from sharing cruising with my mom, and I consider myself very fortunate that it is possible to sail with her often. It was a real shame that she could not come with me on this sailing.

 

So why did I sail solo this time around? Well it is kind of complicated. Between college and family issues, we were unable to match our vacations together for this cruise. And as it turned out that was the only week that I could take off from both college and work. It was a real unfortunate situation, as it would of been very nice to be able to share this cruise with her. My good friend Sarah was also unable to come with me, since she had other prior obligations and needed to use her vacation time wisely for this year. And since you last heard from me other aspects of my life have also changed. I am now single, since last November my bf and I decided to part ways. I can honestly say that is the best decision that I have made in the recent years. Some people are just not meant to be together, he was a good person, but we did just not click in any way possible. Either way it is not like I would taken him on the cruise, since he really did not like the idea of cruising that much on the first place. Other than the usual group of people that I sail with I could not think of anyone else to bring with me on this cruise. I have not yet started dating, mainly due to a lack of time and I also wanted sometime for myself. That is the story of why I finally went on my first SOLO cruise, I guess it was due to happen sooner or later.

 

This was not only first solo cruise, but it was also my first solo vacation ever in general. As you could imagine my mind was racing with thoughts and questions. Personally I never saw the benefit of traveling alone, but we grow, mature and learn. I think with my old mentality traveling solo was something that would have never happened. However, in the past 7 months I have made significant changes in my live and the way I think. I think I have fully adopted the YOLO mentality, life is too short to obsess over things you can’t control. I guess ill go more in details as the review develops.

 

 

Cruise Details

 

The main reason I decided to go on this cruise was because Carnival was having a great sale that allowed single cruisers to pay only for one person. This was just what I needed to catapult me into booking my first Carnival cruise. But as the day got closer the price drops were insane, I think I would have ended paying much much less if I have waited until the very end. From my knowledge now, I think I am done booking cruises in advance. On most cases I have lost substantial money with the price drops. Oh well what can one do, live and learn, right?

 

One thing that I was not crazy about, was that this would be my third western caribbean cruise. But the bright side of it, is that it was stopping on my favorite western ports Cozumel and Grand Cayman. And in addition to those two ports, it was also calling port in Key West one of my personal favorite land vacation destinations. So all in all it was a great itinerary after all, I just had to get a little creative and explore new things in each port.

 

 

 

Stateroom Selection

 

When it came down to booking the room I gave it lots of thought. Of course I wanted the lowest rate possible and that meant booking an inside stateroom. While I have done it in the past, and I have nothing against it. There is simply no comparison to having your own private balcony. Ocean view was out of the equation, since I never personally saw the benefit of it. Like I have said in the past different folks, different strokes. In the end I decided to book a nice balcony stateroom for myself.

 

So here is were I stop and give Carnival an excellent review for the pre-cruise customer service. I have never dealt with a cruise line that is so focused on making the customer happy. Like I said before the price drops were substantial and I was originally booked on a balcony room on deck 7. The main problem with my particular reservation was that I did not have a price guarantee and I was tied to a Florida booking rate that had me locked in. Anyway, long story short, they were nice enough to grant me an upgrade to Lido deck. Overall I was very satisfied. They were not able to get me any on board credit, but had I been a past guest they said more could of been done. In any way it was a true pleasure dealing with them under the circumstances.

 

This is the first cruise line who has showed me true interest in making the customer happy before they board the ship. RCCl, X and NCL are ok, but not to this level. Props to you Carnival, you have done a great job in this department. Special thanks go to my personal vacation planner Kevin for pushing through for me.

 

I would like to say that if anyone from MSC is reading this, you should really look into how to run a real company and learn from Carnival on how to treat a future potential customer in the pre-cruise experience. The bottom line is not always the way you want to go, and you always consider special situations. Carnival made me very happy prior boarding the vessel, which is the total opposite from what you has done to me so far! Not that it matters now since MSC decided to pull out of the US market next year...

 

Great Job Carnival, Thank you!!

 

 

Carnival Website

 

Let me tell you something, Carnival’s website is by far the best cruise line website that I have ever used. Let me explain, while celebrity, Norwegian, Disney and Royal Caribbean have decent websites that let you modify some parts of your cruise. Carnival goes all out and lets you modify pretty much everything about your cruise. From bed configuration, dining time, easy comparison of price drops and stateroom bar setups. There are just so much more options, and the site is so much easier to navigate. The site just flows and at great speeds, this is one of those sites that you're tempted to keep checking, even if it is just for the cruise countdown. Carnival’s website is the perfect example of how a website should run and operate. Well done Carnival, keep up the good work!

 

 

 

Welcome Aboard The Carnival Breeze!!!

Cant wait to read your review

[melsmom303]

awesome review i cant wait to be on the breeze. cant wait to see casino photos lol. :D:D

[gambee]

LOVE LOVE the revue. I am especially interested in how you edited some of your photos to have that 'cartoonish' look to them while still being able to tell exactly what it is? What did you use to do that? BTW your photos are amazing. I've sailed the Breeze twice and love reminiscing.

 

It is called illustration mode on some Sony cameras, not sure of the specific models. But the RX100 was the one to introduce this feature.

[PittsburghGirlee]

I am loving this review and am so happy to be able to see all the great pics....FINALLY.

I was on the Breeze in Feb/March and she is by far my favorite ship....

 

Thanks for making the font size and formatting such an easy read :)

Keep it coming....

[gambee]

Awesome review! I have sailed once before on the Breeze and will be on her again this December, both solo. With so much to do on this ship, there were some things I didn't get to do last time.

 

Glad to hear the steam room and sauna are free. How do you go about accessing these? Ask at the spa front desk?

 

From what I was told you got to the front desk and inquire about it, they will assign you an appropriate wrist band. I did not use it, actually ironically I forgot about it :D. Go figure that one out.

[gambee]

Gambee!

Love the review so far, looking for your text since the pictures - as awesome as they are- are familiar to me. The Breeze is one of my favorite ships! We have booked spa cabins on both past cruises and for next Spring Break. Having the spa privileges (and getting the free scrubs that you might enjoy) are worth it for us!!! The scrubs were made for us when we checking in on embarkation. They are free for the spa cabins, maybe that's why you never saw anyone making them - if you were there after the first day. Looking forward to the rest of your review!

 

Rachelle

p.s. so can I ask the price of your Sony smaller camera? Could be a good choice for our upcoming Baltic cruise….. you can say no, I know its kind of a personal question...

 

Its the Sony RX100, it is a very expensive camera for what you get. But she is the best of the best, I paid like $630 for it. But better deals can be found now that it has aged a little.

[gambee]

Loving your review. I just wanted to forewarn you to really look in the Divina before booking. We were on her last year, and if it were not for the fact we did the Yacht Club (Had a free upgrade) I do not believe I would have enjoyed it. The outside deck on the lower deck was full of lifeboats. No real walking or viewing area at all. No where could you walk around and see out the front of the ship. and the rear of ship had a pool with limited area. Just check out pictures on line and you'll see what I mean. I believe they are having to sell cheap because there are so many better ships out there, layed out much better.

 

Yeah I am well aware of a lot of issues with her, however I still want to try them out. Some late reviews seem to be better, and the price is just hard to pass by. We will see nothing is written in stone, but from what it looks I might rebook her.

 

Thank you for the advise, it is greatly appreciated :)

[gambee]

Going to disagree with you here.

Sorry

You may think it's a waste of money, but you got on the ship at 11:55. Cannot access your cabin until 1:30. You were one person. For a family, lugging around carry-ons, soda, water, etc, it is a GODSEND to be able to go DIRECTLY to your cabin and drop that off.

Nothing worse than trying to maneuver the Lido Buffet/Guys/Blue Iguana with heavy bags.:D

Ok, you may continue your awesome review!!!!!

 

Yeah like I said different folks different strokes, I am simply reporting on my experience with it and tracking times. In this cruise I would had regretted if I payed for it, I am sure other situations differ.

 

Thank you for sharing your point of view on this topic :)

[gambee]

 

So I just got home from work, a little later than I expected it. I am humbled and very grateful for all the kind comments. I have to admit that I was not expecting these numbers, I can't wait to deliver the rest of the review.

 

I will try my best to finish day 1 tomorrow, thank you for following and being a part of this :)

 

[themnms]

Fabulous so far

 

Sent from my GT-P5113 using Forums mobile app

[LMaxwell]

I admit, I bag on Carnival a bit because they aren't what they were...but I've secretly been playing with various mock bookings on the Breeze just to see...I'm super excited to read and look at what is sure to be the most thorough review out there.

[OurDogCisco]

Loving the review. I've had the sony a7 camera for several months now and love it. It takes awesome indoor/low light pictures. Great camera... Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

[jaxstiles]

Gambee!

Love the review so far, looking for your text since the pictures - as awesome as they are- are familiar to me. The Breeze is one of my favorite ships! We have booked spa cabins on both past cruises and for next Spring Break. Having the spa privileges (and getting the free scrubs that you might enjoy) are worth it for us!!! The scrubs were made for us when we checking in on embarkation. They are free for the spa cabins, maybe that's why you never saw anyone making them - if you were there after the first day. Looking forward to the rest of your review!

 

Rachelle

p.s. so can I ask the price of your Sony smaller camera? Could be a good choice for our upcoming Baltic cruise….. you can say no, I know its kind of a personal question...

 

 

Loving this review!! I am learning so much and we are only on day 1! I was especially excited to learn of the free scrubs. What a treat! I booked a dream spa a few years ago and sadly we were never given body scrubs or loofah with our bands....oh well! You better believe I will def ask about it for our upcoming cruise in June!! :)

 

Now....back to this amazing review! :D

[Freq Traveler]

Gambee, SO EXCITED for your review! Thank you, Thank you for taking the extreme amount of time from your school schedule and work. As you can tell! We love you and your reviews!

[vfangue]

Loving the review. Wondering if you will be sponsoring a "cruise with Gambee" soon? If so, please make sure there's rooms for solo cruisers!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Aquahound]

Gambee, I don't give a crap what kind of camera you're using. This is Cruise Critic for heavens sake, not Travel & Leisure magazine. All I know is your pics look great. :)

 

And by the way, as always, your review is EXCELLENT! I'm always looking for a new cruise experience and I'm actually looking at Breeze as an option. Thank you very much for the level of detail you provide.

[BugsyCruiser]

Gambee, I don't give a crap what kind of camera you're using. This is Cruise Critic for heavens sake, not Travel & Leisure magazine. All I know is your pics look great. :)

 

And by the way, as always, your review is EXCELLENT! I'm always looking for a new cruise experience and I'm actually looking at Breeze as an option. Thank you very much for the level of detail you provide.

 

LIKE!!! :)

 

Sent from my HTC6600LVW using Tapatalk

[AF-1]

gambee, I have a few questions for you.

 

Based on the reviews you have done I have a few questions:

1. what is your favorite cruise line and why

2. which line food service has the most variety

3. which line has best adult entertainment

4. which line has the best kids entertainment(this can include watermarks)

5. which line is the most economical for families

 

*** I know you're not married but I still value your opinion

[gambee]

Gambee, I don't give a crap what kind of camera you're using. This is Cruise Critic for heavens sake, not Travel & Leisure magazine. All I know is your pics look great. :)

 

And by the way, as always, your review is EXCELLENT! I'm always looking for a new cruise experience and I'm actually looking at Breeze as an option. Thank you very much for the level of detail you provide.

 

I think this is your first post on one of my reviews, I could be wrong of course. Hard to keep track of everyone here. Either way thank you for following along :)

[BugsyCruiser]

Gambee I assume all the pictures we have seen so far are with the RX 100?

 

Sent from my HTC6600LVW using Tapatalk

[gambee]

gambee, I have a few questions for you.

 

Based on the reviews you have done I have a few questions:

1. what is your favorite cruise line and why

2. which line food service has the most variety

3. which line has best adult entertainment

4. which line has the best kids entertainment(this can include watermarks)

5. which line is the most economical for families

 

*** I know you're not married but I still value your opinion

 

1. Almost impossible question to answer, they all differ in many ways and have their pros and cons. Ill try to address this answer at the end of the review.

 

2. Food variety? for lunch Carnival, for dinner maybe NCL, or RCCL? Not sure again maybe to early to comment on this. I make a lot of comments on this as the review follows along.

 

3. That depends on your humor type, Carnival has a lot adult of entreatment, but the comedy shows can be very dirty. I loved them. RCCL and NCL do a good job as well.

 

4. There is no competition here, DISNEY takes the lead and leaves everyone in the dust.

 

5. Again it all depends on the particular ship you're sailing, but I think I am going to have to say Carnival. Much more on this later.

[gambee]

Gambee I assume all the pictures we have seen so far are with the RX 100?

 

Sent from my HTC6600LVW using Tapatalk

 

All of them except for the fish eye lens ones are from the RX100, the fish eye are from the NEX. You can tell they have better color and are sharper. Then again that Rokinnon lens is a monster in itself. I think that lens alone would prevent me from ever leaving the NEX line.

 

A few pictures that I will post of food tonight are from the NEX camera.

[gambee]

Anyway, lets keep on moving.

 

I also got the breakfast room service menu.

 

 

I got ready and took a few pictures from the balcony, NEX CAMERA

 

 

As you can tell I am good at spotting these exotics from far away =). NEX CAMERA

 

 

These guys are always having a blast! NEX CAMERA

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

As I was heading out for Muster I went to check out the “secret” balconies which are located on the forward part of most upper decks.

 

 

 

This one came out really nice, really love that mode.

 

 

I just had to, lol.

 

 

 

So many different perspectives.

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

This area is really nice, and they are particularly empty for sail away. Just saying ;-). Although I can very very windy up there, but that comes with the territory.

 

 

 

It was time for muster so I headed down stairs, my muster was located on the Theater. I have stated in the past that I am not a fan of these type of muster stations. I much rather be on the outside of the ship in case of an emergency, but I guess the cruise line knows what it is doing and hopefully I am always sailing with a competent Captain that is looking for my best interests :D. I remember reading a review when they said the MSC Muster was so chaotic that they fear the ship sinking. Carnivals was pretty organized, just kind of slow.