Breeze Review & and why i will never sail carnival again

[my_crib_too]

Thank you for taking the time to put this post together. I finished reading about your vacation experience and thought, typical vacation experience. Some things go well while others do not. I wouldn't have complained about any of it. But that's me. In general, reads like you had a nice time.

 

 

So, Carnival isn't for you. These are great days to cruise, plenty of options in the market and Carnival is not the most opulent brand. More of a value play, like plenty of other cruise brands.

 

Thanks again for posting, I enjoyed your thread.

[cherbear4000]

None of the complaints individually are that bad, but I can see how having all those things happen would be annoying. I am surprised about the steakhouse because I have always received excellent service there. As for the MDR, it is always slow. That is probably my biggest complaint about Carnival overall.

 

Just a couple of things I wanted to mention regarding the review. The room stewards cannot remove the items in the mini bar from your cabin, as they have nowhere to store them. The best they can do is place the items on the shelf, which obviously you can do yourself. As for the snoozin/cruisin sign, I have personally seen children and drunk people flip the signs on people's cabins as they walk by.

[tkportersat]

To each their own but I read your post and it sounded like a good vacation and probably would have been great if you wouldn't have let every little bitty thing bother you all week. If I was your girlfriend I would have told you to go eat a rock.

 

I have been a mom for over 22 years, so on vacation I am happy as a clam to be waited on or to be able to have a long quiet, uninterrupted conversation over dinner with my husband. Vacation is meant to move at a slower pace. As far as folks forgetting things, shoot I forget stuff all the time...my husband and kids haven't fired me yet. People are human, maybe your Steakhouse waitress was missing her family she hasn't seen for 6 months and was having a bad day. You never know what folks are going through, is 20 minutes really that bad?

 

Good luck to you, these "small" things can happen just about anywhere.

[mark290]

Thanks JP for taking the time to post a well balanced review.

 

It is not enough for me to just not be at work and not have to cook

for me to feel like I received the proper value for my vacation dollars.

 

I blame a lot of these posters for the decline of the service received.

I'm only half joking. You don't have to make a second job out of

complaining about poor service but if all of you would take a minute

to voice your displeasure over service issues they would be corrected.

 

I appreciate JP taking the time to alert Carnival of his service issues

and I'm sure at least one of his issues did not happen to at least one

passenger. JP actually made somebody else's cruise better in some small

way.

[ajee622]

Don't expect a Rolex at Timex prices. Service can be inconsistent.. You get what you pay for. Go upscale if you want attention to details. Sorry if I sound unsympathetic, but it's the reality of the situation. Didn't sound like your vacation was really that bad, and they did attempt to reconcile the problems.

 

Agree with this. It's carnival a party ship. You want high end. Pay high end prices. Meaning $7k per person. It honestly didn't really sound like your cruise was that bad.

 

To your point though my wife and I did do the dream and felt like we didn't get the individual attention we did on smaller ships that we were on. That said we are doing the breeze in a month so I'll let you know how it goes.

 

 

 

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[L&J]

Don't expect a Rolex at Timex prices. Service can be inconsistent.. You get what you pay for. Go upscale if you want attention to details. Sorry if I sound unsympathetic, but it's the reality of the situation. Didn't sound like your vacation was really that bad, and they did attempt to reconcile the problems.

 

I agree with this. If you want perfection, sail on a more expensive cruise line and then expect it to be perfect. I don't agree Carnival is the "party" cruise line but it is a budget cruise line and it is the cheapest. Things will go wrong, although it is rare, and they do an amazing job at giving a wonderful experience. Sounds like they did very well to make amends so I don't see a major problem here other than it was perhaps irritating. If you don't want to deal with these annoyances then look at sailing with a different cruise line, just expect to pay more for it.

[trixiegal]

It's funny because I stopped sailing Royal Caribbean about 8 years ago because I felt like I was paying sky high prices for subpar service. My last cruise on them almost had me give up cruising altogether until I took a chance with Carnival two years ago. We had a blast on the Dream, although there were small issues, then we went on the Breeze last year and had even more fun. I like the ports Carnival goes to in the summers and think it's a good value. Paying more doesn't necessarily mean you'll have stellar service but you do have to keep it all in perspective. A mass market line has thousands to cater to and a little honey goes a lot further than vinegar.

 

My family and I have had absolutely awesome service both cruises, except for a rude steward on the Dream, and I'm extremely high maintenance and work in the hospitality industry. I know that being human and friendly gets you what you want 95% of the time. If you are always complaining and going to Guest Services, you are wasting precious minutes of your vacation. I only make an issue out of something if I can't imagine experiencing it again, i.e. account overcharges, nasty attitudes or unmet expectations during an excursion. Waiting for a distracted server during dinner is a snafu that is sure to happen when one is dining out.

 

However, the steakhouse is an up charge so service should be tip top at all times. And complaints should be taken seriously by the management. I will say I wasn't impressed by the Breeze's steakhouse and wouldn't go again if I'm back on the ship. It's too small. The Dream's steakhouse was soooo nice and the food was delicious. Definitely in my Top 20 dining experiences! Glad you liked the Italian restaurant. Sounds like all the difficulties you had were balanced out by good ones. Try another cruise line but remember, things happen so don't let it bother you unless it truly needs to be brought to the attention of management to make it better for those that come after you.

 

 

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[jp12687]

Thanks JP for taking the time to post a well balanced review.

 

It is not enough for me to just not be at work and not have to cook

for me to feel like I received the proper value for my vacation dollars.

 

I blame a lot of these posters for the decline of the service received.

I'm only half joking. You don't have to make a second job out of

complaining about poor service but if all of you would take a minute

to voice your displeasure over service issues they would be corrected.

 

I appreciate JP taking the time to alert Carnival of his service issues

and I'm sure at least one of his issues did not happen to at least one

passenger. JP actually made somebody else's cruise better in some small

way.

 

thank you. You should never have to "accept" bad service. They should be notified of issues so they can attempt to fix them. They should also be notified of staff who go out of their way to do good and those staff should be recognized (which i did as well on the cruise).

[nissach]

yep..sounds like they made a tremendous effort to make amends for any real or perceived flaws but those were rebuffed.

 

Agreed!!

[wallybone]

You had a bad steakhouse experience. They offer to give you another nice free. That didn't work for they give you money back free bottle of wine. Refund you money from a excursions that carnival doesn't own. Free chocolate covered strawberry. Everyone called to kiss your button and you still aren't satisfied. As far as the drinks can't you get up just every once in awhile to go to the bar and get a drink. Some people can't be pleased, You Would Have A Right To Be Upset If They Had Not Try To Make Things right.

[nissach]

It's funny because I stopped sailing Royal Caribbean about 8 years ago because I felt like I was paying sky high prices for subpar service. My last cruise on them almost had me give up cruising altogether until I took a chance with Carnival two years ago. We had a blast on the Dream, although there were small issues, then we went on the Breeze last year and had even more fun. I like the ports Carnival goes to in the summers and think it's a good value. Paying more doesn't necessarily mean you'll have stellar service but you do have to keep it all in perspective. A mass market line has thousands to cater to and a little honey goes a lot further than vinegar.

 

My family and I have had absolutely awesome service both cruises, except for a rude steward on the Dream, and I'm extremely high maintenance and work in the hospitality industry. I know that being human and friendly gets you what you want 95% of the time. If you are always complaining and going to Guest Services, you are wasting precious minutes of your vacation. I only make an issue out of something if I can't imagine experiencing it again, i.e. account overcharges, nasty attitudes or unmet expectations during an excursion. Waiting for a distracted server during dinner is a snafu that is sure to happen when one is dining out.

 

However, the steakhouse is an up charge so service should be tip top at all times. And complaints should be taken seriously by the management. I will say I wasn't impressed by the Breeze's steakhouse and wouldn't go again if I'm back on the ship. It's too small. The Dream's steakhouse was soooo nice and the food was delicious. Definitely in my Top 20 dining experiences! Glad you liked the Italian restaurant. Sounds like all the difficulties you had were balanced out by good ones. Try another cruise line but remember, things happen so don't let it bother you unless it truly needs to be brought to the attention of management to make it better for those that come after you.

 

 

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Totally agree. A lot of time wasted at Guest Services complaining. And as another stated, Carnival offered money back, free items, etc. And still not happy??

[rocking-m-cruiser]

The only thing I have to add here is I get very annoyed when I see people expecting perfection in any kind of dining facility, even on a cruise ship. I waited tables to put myself through school for 6 years. I was a damn good server and I had many regulars. That being said, I had my bad days and our restaurant had its bad days as well. There were days where half of the staff called in sick leaving the rest of us to take care of food prep on top of taking care of tables. There were also days (like at the beginning of my pregnancy) where I had I spent 8 hours at school then came to work an 8 hour shift and the mere smell of chicken sent me running for the bathroom. It would appear that I was a terrible server, but in reality I was having an off day. So, with that in mind, you don't know what the reasoning behind you bad experience was. MAybe some of the kitchen staff were sick that day. I guarantee you would rather wait 20 minutes than have norovirus all over your food. We have not always had the best service on our cruises, but, with both my husband and myself having been in the service industry, we understand that things can't always be great. And now, with my husband in the Army and having been deployed and most likely deploying again next year, we just chalk it up to the little things that do not have any kind of bearing on our lives. In our minds cruises for us are times where my girls and I get to cherish the times we have with the man in our lives and an extra 20 minutes of having to wait in a restaurant is an extra 20 minutes of undivided attention and making silly memories. Just keep it in perspective people!

 

Very well said. Enjoy your cruising...

[bizeemom4]

I fail to see how ANY of your complaints are deal breakers. Seems like an awful lot of whining about nothing.

[rocking-m-cruiser]

Totally agree. A lot of time wasted at Guest Services complaining. And as another stated, Carnival offered money back, free items, etc. And still not happy??

 

No matter what someone tries to do to help some people are just unhappy people.:confused:

[redheadslovebacon]

I was on this cruise, too and also had the worst cruising experience I'd ever had.

 

The steakhouse was absolutely terrible. I went up to confirm our reservation time and she insisted I was another party. Then as I was leaving she said, "Just so you know, you can't dress like that when you come back." I was wearing shorts and a tee, so she was right, but I had no intention of it and she was rude about it.

 

Then we had very similar problems at supper. They actually tried not to give us the free wine. Service was absolutely dreadful and slow. The tables around us (that arrived after us) had their food before we even ordered.

 

This was my in laws first cruise and BIL forgot to print his email for an excursion. He went to the desk for help and the man told him to "get out of his face".

 

I was so embarassed that we had convinced them to join us based on all of our excellent experiences and then they (and we) had comparatively dreadful service.

 

BIL's card that he kept in the light thing was also taken, but ours was not. Same housekeeping team. I wonder if perhaps it's because we always remembered to turn our lights off?

[jp12687]

I was on this cruise, too and also had the worst cruising experience I'd ever had.

 

The steakhouse was absolutely terrible. I went up to confirm our reservation time and she insisted I was another party. Then as I was leaving she said, "Just so you know, you can't dress like that when you come back." I was wearing shorts and a tee, so she was right, but I had no intention of it and she was rude about it.

 

Then we had very similar problems at supper. They actually tried not to give us the free wine. Service was absolutely dreadful and slow. The tables around us (that arrived after us) had their food before we even ordered.

 

This was my in laws first cruise and BIL forgot to print his email for an excursion. He went to the desk for help and the man told him to "get out of his face".

 

I was so embarassed that we had convinced them to join us based on all of our excellent experiences and then they (and we) had comparatively dreadful service.

 

BIL's card that he kept in the light thing was also taken, but ours was not. Same housekeeping team. I wonder if perhaps it's because we always remembered to turn our lights off?

 

was your waitress at the steakhouse a short blonde woman who disappeared for large chunks of the night?

[redheadslovebacon]

was your waitress at the steakhouse a short blonde woman who disappeared for large chunks of the night?

 

 

No, he was an Asian gentleman.

[jp12687]

No, he was an Asian gentleman.

 

there goes the argument it was just one bad waiters "off night"

sorry your up charge experience did not work out well on that cruise.

[wnc]

DW and I are platinum on Carnival and have multi cruises with RCL. We have never had a bad cruise on either. I do remember years ago there was a rather sullen member of the wait staff. He wasn't there the next day and we did not see him again (we did not complain and don't know if anyone else did or if the other members of the wait staff addressed the situation). Having said that, DW and I are easy going and fairly easy to please. Remember the old adage, a bad day on a cruise is better than a great day at work! Prior posters have addressed the specific issues brought up here. I would just add that a little common sense can prevent many of the little irritants from adding up to a big resentment. For example, one of the first things I do when we get to our cabin is empty the fridge. DW and I like to use the fridge for what we want to use it for. But as other posters have said, try one of the other upscale cruise lines. Only you can decide if the higher cost is worth it. Good luck and happy cruising!

[Rock712]

Thanks for taking the time to write a detailed review. All in all a very fair review in that both the good and bad were noted. One thing I will say is that I don't think you should say you'll never sail Carnival again because of the bad experiences. Every cruise is different. For instance , the last time we were in Cozumel we did the same inclusive beach house excursion and it may have been the best excursion we ever took. Service and food were fantastic. Now , having said that on our day there were maybe 15 people there. We've done the steakhouse on two different ships and both times it was fantastic. Again though , I don't think your review was unfair. There is no excuse for the fact that you couldn't get anyone to respond to your complaints. I don't think you were being unreasonable about things. Below par service deserves a below par tip.

Thanks again , but never say never. your next Carnival cruise may be the best one yet

[flahagan]

Well, after 15 cruises on various lines (Carnival, RCCL, HAL, Celebrity, Princess, MSC), I'd really LOVE to create my own cruise line.

It would have cabins as spacious as Carnival and HAL, entertainment as good as MSC and Celebrity, food as good as HAL and , well sorry, but I really like Carnival food, promenades like RCCL, the International Cafe like Princess. You get my drift.

 

We were on a 14-nt trans-atlantic on RCCL and never once was lobster on the menu. Didn't ruin our trip. On Princess, the cabins are TINY, you have to go up to a mini-suite to even get someplace to sit down and don't even think how horrible the bathrooms are, combine that with horrible service in the Steakhouse, but we still had fun. We found the food on Celebrity a bit too froo-froo for us and the public spaces inadequate on the Solstice class, but we had a blast on our Med cruise with them. On HAL, the entertainment is pretty awful and you have to dodge the motorized scooters and the walkers, but the overall experiences have been terrific. On MSC Divina, it was the most stunning-looking ship we've ever been on and the entertainment alone was worth the price of the cruise, but the horde of kids running amok in the buffet area was really bothersome.

On our 15-nt Carnival Miracle cruise to Hawaii, the large number of truly morbidly obese people onboard was sort of off-putting, actually keeping us from ever being able to squeeze into a hot tub, yet we had a fabulous time.

Yep, we've had foibles on each and every cruise and I really would love to combine the best from every line we've sailed on. But we don't sweat the petty stuff. We've booked 2 cabins on the Breeze for this summer, taking grandkids, and while I'm sure it will be far from perfect, I'm also sure it will be a memorable trip for all of us.

Sorry you had so many problems on this trip that it has tarnished the entire brand for you.

[In2why]

I have been on 14 cruises and never had a bad experince and we've had fires, missed ports, total port changes, no ports at all, really really rough water, horrible servers, theft out of our luggage, gas leaks in our rooms that made it unbearable to even step foot in and probably worse. I have also traveled everything from celebrity to carnival.

 

The problems you are talking about happen on the nicest ships to the worse.

 

I have been on celebrity were dinner has taken 2 and a half hours to get through sometimes 20 minutes between courses. But my family never dwells on it. We sit relax, hang out, talk and enjoy our selfs because at the end of the day were not cooking so who cares.

 

As servers walking around on the desk there are only 1 or 2 that walk up and down the whole top deck getting drinks for the thousands of people aboard and they are usually only out during peak ours. So its hard to cater to one couple or even one area of the boat. There a bars all over the boats its very easy to get your own drink. A lot of cruises these day are a lot of self serving.

 

As for the singer not showing up maybe he or she was sick some times thing happen something that minor should not effect a vaction.

 

For your steward not clearing out your fridge. They are human with a lot of rooms with multiple guest and co workers telling them things throughout the day sometimes they forget things just like you would. Tip for next cruise just write a little note and put it on the bed. Thats what my family does and while they are in there cleaning they will see it and do what you have asked.

 

My luggage has arived at 10 oclock at night thats how all cruises are. Tip for next time You should pack Everything youll need for the day in your carry on. This tip is listed on every cruise website...

 

Cruise ships want you to buy everything and every anything you should of done your research on the pictire program before purchasing. Asked what price and size pictures were included ect. Thats not their fault you didnt ask or know what was included. Pictures are also expense they are on every cruise.

 

All the problems you have stated mostly aren't problems to begin with are just the way most cruises work. Maybe you should just a different vaction next time.

 

Yes some things aren't ideal but you make the best out of every situation. I guess my family being a waitress, my mom a lunch lady and my dad a police officer were just happy to be on a vacation.

 

Do your research before your cruise so you no what its like and your not upset with the ending result.

 

If cruising was as you described I would never cruise. Heck if there were many people who had the experiences you have I would never cruise. I love it, But I really like when I book a week in a beach house as well. You had a gas leak in your room and that was fine with you? Seriously? People stole things out of you luggage and no biggie? You were just glad to be on a vacation? I am just not that laid back.

[vicky3vicky]

We got off the Magic last week. We just booked for the Nov 2016 Breeze re-positioning cruise from Miami to Galveston. When I read the title to your post I was a little worried that booking the Breeze was a mistake.

 

But, I no longer am.

 

Before our cruise on the Magic we considered booking a dinner at the steakhouse, but we READ that we should count on it to take several hours from start to finish. I understand that to many people, the long length would be part of the "dining experience." Not so for me. So...we did not book it. [shrug]

 

We never asked our cabin steward to empty the bar because there was still plenty of room to store my Glucerna, grapefruit juice, and my husbands milk containers. if there had not been, we would have taken the items out of the fridge and put on the counter.

 

My understanding is that Carnival was faced with a choice between substantially raising prices or sacrificing a bit in amenities. Research showed that most people did not want to pay more, so, though it was awesome in the past to be able to fall in love with your room steward only 15 minutes after first entering your cabin, that is no longer the case. They are now helping more with delivering luggage[ not erely to save costs, but because people tend to get angry if they do not have their luggage delivered until after dinner.

 

One thing I noticed about people who "overcomplain," they "prove" to themselves and others that they are really not being unreasonable, because if they were, they would not go out of their way to praise some other things.

 

You seem to be expecting the same quality that you would receive if you were on a cruise that costs 3 or 4 times as much money. That is unreasonable.

 

BTW, I think you were way too over-compensated. It is a good thing, though, that you whined so often over such trivial issues. Why? Because one complaint can cause an employee to lose their job. With that many complaints, combined with your refusal to be appreciative of the steps taken to make things right, you are probably just considered a compulsive complainer.

[jp12687]

Totally agree. A lot of time wasted at Guest Services complaining. And as another stated, Carnival offered money back, free items, etc. And still not happy??

 

offering refunds is great. but should i not write about the issues that fueled being refunded?

 

Refunding and trying to fix things are great-- but does that mean you just look the other way to the fundamental issues?

 

My review stands as is and we will cruise when and where we want going forward and not be loyal to just carnival.

 

If others read this and don't think the issues are issues good for them-- but if i can warm one person where this stuff WOULD bother them-- then my review is worth posting.

[xeroxme]

offering refunds is great. but should i not write about the issues that fueled being refunded?

 

 

 

Refunding and trying to fix things are great-- but does that mean you just look the other way to the fundamental issues?

 

 

 

My review stands as is and we will cruise when and where we want going forward and not be loyal to just carnival.

 

 

 

If others read this and don't think the issues are issues good for them-- but if i can warm one person where this stuff WOULD bother them-- then my review is worth posting.

 

 

JP,

Thank you for sharing your review and the negatives you dealt with. I have not had those experiences because of brave people like you are willing to post a review on here so I know what to avoid and that has allowed me to have the best experiences cruising. Being dissapointed with bad service or not getting what you expected for your vacation dollar should be respected by anyone and its a shame that when someone does post a review instead of dealing with the problem or offering solutions the person posted has to be belittled and personally attacked. One big problem is sometimes a bunch of small problems combined. I thank you for your bravery and I wish you the best on however you spend your valuable vacation time in the future.

 

Im sure someone will glady take the time to attack me now.... Thanks in advance. Lol