Mini Breeze Review

[dawnjam1]

We just returned from the June 5th Breeze sailing! As very experienced cruisers we marveled at how drama free the cruise was. No real issues. Made LOTS of new friends! Planning again now!

 

The ship is lovely and having been on the Magic, very much the same. The decor is nice. Show Entertainment was pretty good and the comedians were excellent. One thing I think this cruise lacked was a really good band like they had in old style cruising. I missed that on the Magic, too. 2-3 players just isn't enough sometimes, though I know they have to scale back witht he way the newer ships are set up.

 

Casino was lively and VERY full all the time! I can't complain as I spent A LOT of time here and came home a winner! Smoke was BAD, but it is to be expected. I just put myself under the smoke eaters and played. My only gripe would be that I did not get a bounce back cruise offer! LOL!

 

My BIGGEST gripe, and it has merit considering the number of cruises I have done, was the food this time. We all know that most of the Lido food is semi OK, but edible, as it was this time. There are a always a few hits and many misses, but you are never hungry. As a matter of fact, by the 4th day of a 7 day cruise I am normally not hungry at all. But my gripe was with the MDR food. I was SO excited to have new cruisers with me to experience this! They probably DID enjoy it more than I did, but the food was TRULY not great! With the exception of the Filet, the steaks were not very good. The apps were often cold and not as tasty as normal, and I missed having some of the cold soups and options that they used to have. Many of the dishes were flat out BAD. And I try several apps a night as well as a main. Service was only mediocre though he smiled though it! We did not "meet" our team on the first night like normal. Lots of come and go of who knows what positions over the week. There was a lot of confusion over who to ask for what. It just was NOT up to the normal or the PAST Carnival standard. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't wonderful. I do not care about table clothes or bread baskets. I like the baskets and water jars. I heard a comment from a friend on the trip that this dining room looked very buffet room style. I pointed out that the cloths were gone and she said "oh yeah....maybe that is it!", but I saw her point! Just Average at best!

 

One last thing I think is lacking.....my daughter usually LOVES Camp! I have to say by the end of the second day she wasn't very interested. It was also very poorly attended so we could not be lone wolfs on this! I got to know some of the Camp Ocean staff later in the cruise and must say they were delightful girls, but the activities are really lacking. Especially during the Night Owls portion. This is the time most parents NEED them to be on their game so that we can have a little parent time. And no go!

 

None of this put damper on the trip. Just my observation! I do not like to complain as I am a former crew member. Maybe that is why I notice subtle things, but try not to judge it too harshly.

 

We had a Deluxe OV Room! I have to say it was WONDERFUL to have the extra bath and space of this room! I just took over the small bath and left the kids to the rest. It was very comfortable and the housekeeping staff is amazing! In fact, the whole crew seemed to be very friendly and accommodating there was not one time I passed one that ever had a sour look! I think that was AMAZING considering there is always that one! I can pinpoint who would have come closest in the race, but she didn't go there.

 

Overall, this was a very enjoyable and fun filled week! Nothing I have mentioned breaks the bank. And we go with the flow. But we here at CC, we need details, so there you go!

 

Have a great cruise guys!

 

Dawn

[fivemonkeysplus1]

Thanks for the review! :D

[JaniceB]

Thanks for the review, sorry the food wasn't memorable. Did you eat at any of the specialty restaurants?

[loubetti]

Nice review! Just curious, what did you do as a "former crew member", was it with Carnival? No doubt you have a keen eye with that kind of experience. :)

[dawnjam1]

Nice review! Just curious, what did you do as a "former crew member", was it with Carnival? No doubt you have a keen eye with that kind of experience. :)

 

I started with Delta Queen Steamboat Co back in the early 90's and went on to Royal. Started as dining room to get in the door and moved to Entertainment Staff after. Yes, I DO probably see a LOT more and I am probably much more patient when cruising because of that! Probably why I get so up in arms on here sometimes about tipping etc. LOL!

[dawnjam1]

Thanks for the review, sorry the food wasn't memorable. Did you eat at any of the specialty restaurants?

 

No Janice. I have experienced them all before and was with several budget cruisers. The MDR has steakhouse offerings, and they are great, I like that they offer them as well, but there is enough on the main menu to hold my attention. Just wish it had tasted as good as it sounded! LOL!

[JaniceB]

This will be my first time cruising with them as a pay option on the menu.

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[MaiTaiMary]

What age group was your daughter in at camp?

[ShutterbugMomTN]

We are going in October and our youngest son will be 10. He did not like Camp Carnival last summer on the Fascination AT ALL. I am really hoping he likes it at least some -- we'd like to go to the Serenity Deck just a little and maybe an adult comedy show. What did she not like about it? Part of the problem with my younger son is he was jealous of our then 14 year old and what the 12-14 year old age group got to do.

Edited July 1, 2016 by ShutterbugMomTN

[jst]

Hi Dawnjam1,

You mention they could use a good band, was there any Latin Music? we love to dance and

don't care about shows etc having done over 60 cruises, but this will be our first time on

Breeze.

[Ready2Cruise2016]

Thank you for your review! My daughter does sign language videos, and wants to do one on our upcoming cruise on the Breeze. Can you think of a good little 'nook' she can do one, where the background is mostly ocean and scenic? On the Dream, all we found was a spot near the walking track. It wasn't ideal, but doable. our biggest problem was having to move out of the way for those that were walking... which meant a lot of starting over. I feel like we just somehow missed the perfect nooks of the ship, and don't want to do the same this time. I thought about the lanai, but the barriers on those make that area impossible.