Carnival Breeze Southern Caribbean August 2014

[Moremajor]

Embarkation

We had Faster to the Fun. Do not waste money on this as they called group one to board the ship about 3 minutes after they called FTTF. We were on the ship by 12:30 enjoying a Guy's Burger.

 

The Ship

Very clean. Carnival employees work very hard to keep the ship clean and organized. We had a Spa Stateroom (11230). Our room was great in that the location was fantastic and the decor a welcome change from the peach and orange colours. Our room was always clean and the ice bucket full. However, on at least three nights the ship was really swaying badly. If you are prone to sea sickness, I strongly suggest you stay away from higher decks. This stateroom category came with spa access. We used the thalassotherapy pool three times. We found that this was not really worth the extra money. However, it was nice to have a more quiet area of the ship, nicer decor, secret deck access at the end of the hall and a separate elevator that went straight up to the Serenity Deck.

 

Food

There are so many options! We really liked The Blue Iguana for lunch, Guy's Burgers and I loved the Tandoori place. We enjoyed the Italian place for dinner and lunch, although I did not care for the tiramisu. One of the things we really enjoyed was the Red Frog Pub. We ordered food here and the Red Frog beer. Wings were fantastic as was the coconut cake. The service was great as well. There is no way you will go hungry. Although the ship was full, knowing to eat at slower times will ease the stress of line ups. We were always at breakfast by 7:30 then to the aft pool to relax. By 12:00 we were ready for lunch. Most people were not ready for lunch until 12:30 or 1:00, so we avoided the craziness. We ordered room service a few times. It was always on time.

 

Disembarkation

We always do self-assist. We walked off the ship, went through customs and at MIA in about 45 minutes. The process was very efficient.

 

Ports

We have done the snorkel thing on previous cruises, so we tend to just do our own thing now, which basically consists of beach breaks and exploring. Note that

due to Hurricane Bertha, our itinerary was reversed.

Curaçao: We walked around the port area, did some shopping, visited the markets and bridge. This was a nice port with interesting things to see.

Aruba: This was my favourite port. We took a city bus to Eagle Beach. You just walk out of the port, and buy a ticket at the stand. It cost us 4.00 each return for the ticket. The bus stops right at the beach and runs about every 15 minutes. It was a great way to get to the beach and so much cheaper than the ship sponsored excursion.

La Romana D.R.: Most people really dislike this port and many encountered issues here. However, we enjoyed what we did despite that there was mass confusion when we wanted to purchase our ticket. We took a shuttle to Altos de Chavon. It was $7.00 per person return. Wandering through this Mediterranean style re-creation was pleasant and the views lovely. We spent about 1 1/2 hours here then got back on the ship. From what I hear, Carnival will no longer visit this port in the new year due to complaints from guests and issues caused by locals.

Grand Turk: Wow, this area has really gone down hill. We were there last summer and the beach is so dirty now. People riding horses down the beach and into the water were people are swimming. Boats coming right up on the shore, dog crap on the beach, garbage...it was so sad to see what could be such a beautiful area be so unkept. If you stick to Margaritaville, then you will be ok. There are some nice shops at the port as well.

 

Entertainment

We saw some shows including The Brits and Divas. I would rate these shows maybe a 6/10. They were a time filler at best. What made the ship fun was the cruise director Matt Mitchum. He was fantastic. We never saw the comedians but certainly enjoyed the Dive In Theater movies. When we cruise we tend to stick to ourselves and enjoy our balcony. So I can't really comment on the bar scene or late night life.

 

Overall Comments

We loved the ship. There is so much to do. You can do as little or as much as you want. The Carnival employees work incredibly hard and are dedicated to the cleanliness and maintenance of the ship. However, we found some of the women who worked in the Spa very unprofessional and not really committed to their clients. We overheard some of them complaining about a co- worker and we had one of our appointments cancelled twice and on the second visit, the one who was to do the treatment did not show up. This is not what we expected. However, this in no way affected our love of the ship or our thrill of being on board. It was a great 8 days of no cooking, no dishes or no cleaning! We would very highly recommend the Breeze and sail on this ship again.

[kittycrusin08]

Thanks so much for sharing your review. We will be going on the Breeze in a little over 2 weeks. Still undecided about what to do in DR but your choice sounded like fun. Again thank you!

[kenrod]

Thanks for your review. We took the same itinerary back in February.

 

I was especially interested in your comment about the cleanliness of the beach at Grand Turk. I have read about CC members horseback riding and playing with the local dogs on the beach. While it seems nice, I was wondering about where the animals go to the bathroom.

[Moremajor]

There were two dogs at Jack's Shack that were fine, it was further down the beach. The horses were thin and it was hot. I felt sorry for them having to trek up and down the beach with people on them. They were in the water too, right where people swim. I didn't like that at all. Overall, I don't think the beach is looked after at all and it will be a real mess if things don't change.

[KPfromCT]

We were just on the Breeze for the 2nd time, in July.

Still my favorite ship, EVER!!!!!!!:D:D:D

In Grand Turk, we just went to Margartiaville, as DH wanted to do the Flowrider. lol

LOVE LOVE LOVE that ship.

[Moremajor]

We loved the ship as well. I would go again for sure.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[crazyboutdisney]

Was there a fee to get into Alto De Chavron?? I see mixed posts about this. Some people say no, others say $25. We are visiting there in February and plan on taking the shuttle there