Carnival Breeze 8 Day 1/3/15 Review

[Cruzface]

St. Thomas and the continuing saga of lost bags

 

I love watching the ship pull into St. Thomas. But the staying up late and getting up early thing was wearing on us. So we slept through the arrival. But woke up to some great sights!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our last two cruises we took the ferry to St.John and went to Trunk Bay. The most beautiful beach I've ever seen. This year we decided to stay local and we hopped in a cab to Coki Beach. Beautiful crystal clear water. DW only goes in the water when she can see her toes from waist deep. She had no problem here.

 

 

A little crowded but we found a spot. I hate the hawkers fighting over you. "If you want anything let me know, no one else mon." So much pressure! Lol. We are easily pleased and didn't need loungers or an umbrella. Love just spreading our towels and laying on the sand. We spend most of our time in the water anyway.

 

 

 

After swimming and sunning for awhile, we decided a bucket of beers was in order. Our handler is no where to be found. Waited, waited...no handler. So I go to the shack 20 feet away. Get our bucket and begin to enjoy a nice cold beer on a hot beach...Our handler shows up. Sees the bucket and looks as if we killed her dog. DW says, "We couldn't find you, but don't worry, we need another bucket!" Huh? Guess I'm drinking more, as DW can barely finish one beer. I wonder if the boys will help....lol...

 

Oh wait, Sock Monkey will help...

 

 

 

We stayed awhile longer and the boys needed to rehydrate with fresh coconut water. Just look at those coconuts!!!

 

 

We found our handler and asked her to get us a cab back to the port. As we waited, everyone hit the bathroom and we did a little shopping. Get into the cab and take the 20 min ride back to the port. As I get out of the cab, I suddenly realize - where's my backpack? Crap. I think I left it in front of the shops at the beach. Back I go. Luckily, it's right where I left it. My camera and go pro where still there too, as well as sock monkey. So $20 extra later, I have my bag and I'm hoping this is not going to be a trend for the entire cruise. Now, DW and the boys are intent upon making sure I don't lose anything else and I am treated like an incompetent for the rest of the cruise. Maybe they were right because I never lost anything again. As far as I know.

[Cruzface]

We all hit Guys again. Just great food. Then nap time.

 

Watched a great sunset from the balcony:

 

 

Look at this yacht all lit up:

 

 

Money can't buy you happiness, but you can wave at happiness from your yacht....

 

Carnival Liberty as we sail away:

 

 

Dinner in the MDR again and it was great. Comedian Tony Esposito was excellent. You do need to get in line early like 20 minutes or more in order to get a decent seat.

 

Line to get in:

 

 

Before the show:

 

[Cruzface]

Another lovely night on the balcony. The water seemed so close you felt like you could touch it:

 

 

Sock Monkey at it again:

 

 

Enjoying the deck party from the sidelines:

 

 

 

Long fun day in St. Thomas. Next stop Antigua. A place we have never been...

[Cruzface]

Antigua

We were really looking forward to this port as we have never been there. We woke up early to watch the ship cruise into port.

 

 

As the sun got higher the water got prettier:

 

 

 

Nothing special, but it was fun watching the Costa ship come in next to us. They came in really fast and had to use the thrusters a lot to slow down.

 

 

[Texasgalsa]

Following

[Cruzface]

Breakfast # 1:

 

 

Wait where did these knuckleheads come from????

 

 

Oh well, let them rest, time for breakfast #2:

 

[Cruzface]

Time to leave the ship:

 

 

Nice shopping area in the port:

 

 

I did some research on beaches and heard that Dickenson Beach was nice and had jet skiing. That was what we wanted to do. We found a cabby and he took us on a short and cheap trip to Dickenson Beach. $12 for all 4 of us! Wow, that would only cover 1 person in St. Thomas. Once at the beach, we are approached by a handler. Grrrrr. But we told her we don't need chairs or umbrellas. However we do want to jet ski. She says, $45 for 1/2 hour. I say, where do I sign up! I was expecting at least $60 per person. So, I'm a happy camper.

 

Money shots:

 

 

 

 

 

The beach is beautiful. The view is breathtaking. The water was...murky. Don't get me wrong, it was nice but remember DW needs to see her toes. Not happening here. Also, she claimed to feel little nibblers on her feet. I may or may not have felt them as well... We found a nice spot in front of Sandals Resort and staked our claim. One interesting thing was that there were a lot of moths flying around. Not a real problem, I thought they were pretty but our youngest found them annoying. Now he knows how we feel...kidding...

[BenjiRodney]

Breakfast # 1:

 

 

Wait where did these knuckleheads come from????

 

 

Oh well, let them rest, time for breakfast #2:

 

 

Loving the review, we are going in October, but to Grand Turk La Romana Aruba and Curaçao, nice to see what this ship will be like.

[Cruzface]

We hung around until it was our turn on jet skiis. We go for the safety briefing and then getting the life jackets from people coming off. The boys get jackets from 2 young attractive ladies, DW gets one from another young lady, I get one from smelly guy. I mean really smelly. Dude. How can you smell this bad after coming out of the water???? I had to keep going fast so the smell wouldn't fester... Anyway, we had a blast. Saw a giant turtle coming up for air. Cruised the cliffs to the right of the beach. Just awesome.

 

After that, we relaxed on the beach with a bucket of Wadadli.

 

 

One of my favorite pics of the cruise:

 

 

We decided to leave after lounging for awhile. DW tried to use the bathroom and was told they were having a water problem. OK, so how are you cleaning the dishes that are being used at the restaurant....eeeewww. That was our cue to leave. So we find our handler and she calls our cabby.

 

While we are waiting Sock Monkey reverts to his primate habits:

 

 

On the way back, our cabby tells us that Jolly Beach, closer to the port, is the nicest beach on the island and has jet skiis. Thanks for telling us ....now!!!!

 

Once back at the port, we do a little shopping and get back on board. DW and I go to the pasta bar in La Cucina. Excellent. Nice to sit down and enjoy a peaceful meal after a long day of fun.

 

 

Sail away was great, the rope guy was very entertaining. Danced for us as we went by. I love seeing someone who loves his job.

 

A little side note. Antigua was the southernmost port for the cruise. All the way down the water seemed very rough but we felt nothing. I couldn't believe how smooth the trip down was. As we were leaving Antigua our youngest and I were on the balcony and felt a noticeable list. When we hit open water, now we could feel the ship rocking. Bad. Not a major problem, just interesting. Perhaps a stabilizer issue?

[Jeansfanatic]

Loving this review!!! Will be on her in September of this year!

[Christine in MO]

Loving this review!!! Will be on her in September of this year!

 

Have you joined the roll call Crystal? Me & hubby are on the Sept 12 sailing as well and there has been a roll call board started :)

[WAHMto5]

Great review, thanks for sharing! Can't wait to read the rest!

[MickCruiser]

I want to try Fat Jimmy's anyway, so this is convenient. First day they opened late because we had a brief shower and then the line was ridiculous. So I was determined to make it today. Got there 20 minutes early. Ridiculous line. I mean 40 prople long. So I go back to the loungers and bide my time. At 1:00 I figure all the early birds are gone. Wrong. Still a long line. I decide to wait.

 

 

I was checking out the new Carnival tip videos on YouTube... it's the one that speaks of the inclusive options of cruising with CCL. A quick snippet shows Jimmy's and there's not a person in line. :-)

 

Seriously tho....a bit bummed they are (or are considering) changing the hours of Guys. 12-2 and 6-9. I dig the night option tho I don't think we would use it....perhaps a good option for Port nights after getting back on the ship for those later departs. But cutting back at lunch???

 

Not sure what is worse....not being able to get one after 2pm on a sea day by the lido pool OR getting back on the ship after 2 on a port day. ????? [emoji35]

 

Sorry...you can carry on now. Great review!! :-)

 

 

 

- JPO

[MickCruiser]

Antigua...]

 

Nothing special, but it was fun watching the Costa ship come in next to us. They came in really fast and had to use the thrusters a lot to slow down.

 

 

 

 

I am getting visions of Capt. Ron.

 

 

- JPO

Edited February 4, 2015 by MickCruiser

[kona_wahine]

Darn you! We decided on a Breeze B2B next year and I thought we had settled on an aft extended balcony. I've been in a cove before and after seeing your pictures i remember how wonderful they are and now I can't make up my mind!! What to do....what to do......:D

[Cruzface]

I was checking out the new Carnival tip videos on YouTube... it's the one that speaks of the inclusive options of cruising with CCL. A quick snippet shows Jimmy's and there's not a person in line. :-)

 

Seriously tho....a bit bummed they are (or are considering) changing the hours of Guys. 12-2 and 6-9. I dig the night option tho I don't think we would use it....perhaps a good option for Port nights after getting back on the ship for those later departs. But cutting back at lunch???

 

Not sure what is worse....not being able to get one after 2pm on a sea day by the lido pool OR getting back on the ship after 2 on a port day. ????? [emoji35]

 

Sorry...you can carry on now. Great review!! :-)

 

 

 

- JPO

 

I agree about Guys. One of the things we looked forward to after a long day on shore was hitting Guys when we got back. Now after 3 pm you will only have a choice of pizza or deli. Just not right.

[dltvermont]

Loving the review. We will be on the Breeze in April.

 

Last year we were in St Thomas and went to Coki as well at the suggestion of a friend who had been there a couple times. Its a great small "local" beach. Loved the clear water. How did your wife like all the fish swarming around to be fed? I had a blast with it, my wife wasnt so eager to be in the water with all the fish around her but I did convince her to try feeding them.

[quicksilver973]

Thanks. What is the sports deck bar? is that the lido deck screen. My last cruise they showed games in the ea sports bar but I don't believe this ship have that.

 

 

 

Great review. We'll be on the Breeze for the third time in December.

She's gorgeous and well laid out.

 

Also wanted to note that football is shown up on the Sports Deck bar as well.

I liked watching the games up there, underneath the night sky, and it was always quiet. :)

[Cruzface]

Thanks. What is the sports deck bar? is that the lido deck screen. My last cruise they showed games in the ea sports bar but I don't believe this ship have that.

 

The sports deck bar is up on the deck with the basketball court and ropes course. I never thought of hanging out there. Great idea!

[Cruzface]

San Juan

 

We have been to San Juan a few times before and love Old San Juan. We are all history buffs so the forts are our destination of choice. Besides, we could use a day off from the beach...

 

I love sailing into San Juan because El Morro is such a great sight and was our destination today.

 

 

 

We pulled in next to the Independence of the Seas and the Carnival Liberty was right behind us:

 

 

 

First attempt at panorama on the iPhone:

 

[Cruzface]

After breakfast, we made our way off the ship and started our stroll to El Morro.

 

 

Love the cobblestone streets:

 

 

And the history:

 

 

And the cat on a bar:

 

 

DW wants to live on this street. Maybe some day....

 

 

Beautiful church:

 

[Cruzface]

After a little shopping for some "essentials," we approach El Morro:

 

 

 

One of my favorite pics:

 

 

Great view of the entrance to the harbor, off in the distance is where they kept the leppers:

 

 

 

Another great view and note how high up we are. What amazed me was the people who decided to walk out to the edge of these walls. Not smart. It was quite windy that day and I could just see someone losing their footing and tumbling to their deaths. I'm afraid of heights, so maybe I am over-reacting...

 

 

The last part of the fort requires a 70 step climb to the main level with no hand-rails. I used to be in great shape....

Edited February 4, 2015 by Cruzface

[Cruzface]

Sock Monkey wanted proof that he was in San Juan:

 

 

Back at the Red Frog for some well deserved Thirsty Red in frosty plastic pints.

 

 

Awesome sunset from the Cove:

 

 

 

 

Great dinner tonight in Sapphire, rack of lamb...DW and I also did something we have never done, we posed for casual portraits. Actually had a blast and got some great pics.

 

Sock Monkey is sooo happy:

 

 

There was another deck party on the lido and we had a blast. Last sea day tomorrow!!!

[Lovefuninthesun]

You are doing an awesome job with your review -- just the right amount of details, pictures, etc. Kudos! :)

 

We will be on the Breeze in October (different itinerary). Question: on Liberty the Blue Iguana and Red Frog were actually outside on Lido -- in your pics it looks as if on the Breeze the Red Frog is inside?

 

Thanks again for a great review!

[wrigley80]

I am really enjoying your review. We are on the Breeze in 32 days for the 6-day itinerary. I can't wait to have a Guys Burger for lunch and Blue Iguana Cantina for breakfast.

Did you ever get your bag back??