Just returned on the Carnival Breeze May 17-24

This isn't a formal review by any stretch but I did want to post some of my thoughts on the Breeze. We just returned from a 6-night Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Breeze. We stopped in Falmouth, Jamaica; Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico.

The Ports:

I enjoyed the Ports of Call on this trip. I was pleasantly surprised by Falmouth and the people there were wonderful. We were a little lost at first as we didn't plan an excursion there. We walked up to one of the podiums and spoke with a very polite, well spoken woman. She made several recommendations and eventually recommended that we just go hang out at Margaritaville until we figured out where we wanted to go. She said that we looked a little lost and that sellers would swarm us if we just stood around. She walked us around to a few little places then actually walked with us to Margaritaville. She said she would be back to check on us later and made good on that promise. We tried to tip her and she wouldn't accept our money. We ended up hanging out at Margaritaville for the day as my teenaged son and his friends were having a blast. They played the games that the DJ set up and even won the dance contest.

Grand Cayman was beautiful, like always. We spent the day at 7-mile beach and did some snorkeling, jet skiing and the kids played on the trampoline and other toys. We did some shopping and ate at Rackam's Waterfront Bar and Grill.

In Cozumel we took a 3-reef snorkeling trip with a 3rd party outfit and ate at a local restaurant. Once again, we had a great time and met some amazing people.

The Ship:

Unfortunately, bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. Somewhere between the Fascination and the Breeze is the perfectly sized ship with all of the amenities and none of the crowds. For us that ship was the Carnival Legend last year. Although much smaller than the Breeze, it had more space per person and there were never any lines for anything. The Breeze, on the other hand, was like a crowded mall at Christmas. The lines for every restaurant, buffet, bar and entertainment venue were absurd and getting into a comedy show was impossible if you didn't arrive an hour early. The pools were overcrowded and getting a seat for Dive-In movies was difficult at best. The ship itself was beautiful and the Children's Waterpark was the highlight of my 4yr old's trip. While we couldn't find a seat near it that wasn't occupied we did hang out in it with her for hours at a time.

Guy's Burgers and the Blue Iguana Mexican Cantina served amazing food and I found my favorite meal of the day to be a breakfast burrito from the Blue Iguana. On the last sea day we spent the entire afternoon playing round robin cornhole tournaments with complete strangers and had a blast.

The cruise director was Dr E. He is awesome and was the life of the party wherever he went.

The comedy shows were excellent and on the last night most of my family ended up on stage playing the "dinner party game" with Dr E and the comedian. My son's best friend was "Bill Clinton", My Brother-in-Law was "Bruce Jenner", his girlfriend was "Monica Lewinski" and my son was "Justin Beiber".

We had a great time and cannot wait to cruise again. However, I think I will stick to the Spirit Class ships for the next one.

This isn't a formal review by any stretch but I did want to post some of my thoughts on the Breeze. We just returned from a 6-night Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Breeze. We stopped in Falmouth, Jamaica; Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico.

 

 

The Ports:

I enjoyed the Ports of Call on this trip. I was pleasantly surprised by Falmouth and the people there were wonderful. We were a little lost at first as we didn't plan an excursion there. We walked up to one of the podiums and spoke with a very polite, well spoken woman. She made several recommendations and eventually recommended that we just go hang out at Margaritaville until we figured out where we wanted to go. She said that we looked a little lost and that sellers would swarm us if we just stood around. She walked us around to a few little places then actually walked with us to Margaritaville. She said she would be back to check on us later and made good on that promise. We tried to tip her and she wouldn't accept our money. We ended up hanging out at Margaritaville for the day as my teenaged son and his friends were having a blast. They played the games that the DJ set up and even won the dance contest.

 

Grand Cayman was beautiful, like always. We spent the day at 7-mile beach and did some snorkeling, jet skiing and the kids played on the trampoline and other toys. We did some shopping and ate at Rackam's Waterfront Bar and Grill.

 

In Cozumel we took a 3-reef snorkeling trip with a 3rd party outfit and ate at a local restaurant. Once again, we had a great time and met some amazing people.

 

The Ship:

Unfortunately, bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. Somewhere between the Fascination and the Breeze is the perfectly sized ship with all of the amenities and none of the crowds. For us that ship was the Carnival Legend last year. Although much smaller than the Breeze, it had more space per person and there were never any lines for anything. The Breeze, on the other hand, was like a crowded mall at Christmas. The lines for every restaurant, buffet, bar and entertainment venue were absurd and getting into a comedy show was impossible if you didn't arrive an hour early. The pools were overcrowded and getting a seat for Dive-In movies was difficult at best. The ship itself was beautiful and the Children's Waterpark was the highlight of my 4yr old's trip. While we couldn't find a seat near it that wasn't occupied we did hang out in it with her for hours at a time.

 

Guy's Burgers and the Blue Iguana Mexican Cantina served amazing food and I found my favorite meal of the day to be a breakfast burrito from the Blue Iguana. On the last sea day we spent the entire afternoon playing round robin cornhole tournaments with complete strangers and had a blast.

 

The cruise director was Dr E. He is awesome and was the life of the party wherever he went.

 

The comedy shows were excellent and on the last night most of my family ended up on stage playing the "dinner party game" with Dr E and the comedian. My son's best friend was "Bill Clinton", My Brother-in-Law was "Bruce Jenner", his girlfriend was "Monica Lewinski" and my son was "Justin Beiber".

 

We had a great time and cannot wait to cruise again. However, I think I will stick to the Spirit Class ships for the next one.

Nice quick review. If your desire is in sticking to Spirit class ships (I can certainly understand why you like them), your choices are fairly limited. I have not heard of the dinner party game, sounds like fun.

One thing I really liked was the new Carnival Hub app on the Breeze. Everyone in the family downloaded it and we could text each other on the ship the entire trip.

We too were on that sailing.

Last Breeze sailing for us unless it comes to a closer port than Miami.

I didn't enjoy "Dr E" as much as everyone else seemed to. I think he can be appealing to a younger crowd, and for me, it was difficult to understand much of what he said because he talked so fast all of the time.

Thoroughly enjoyed Hasbro the game show as an alternative to the same-ole same-ole with other ships.

We hadn't sailed Carnival in quite a while, and many things on the Breeze reminded us why we haven't.

We didn't think the guys burgers were "all that" - but we aren't really burger fanatics either.

It also depends on the time of year you sail. We were on the Breeze in September 2014 and had our best cruise ever! No crowds, no lines...just great weather, friends, and FUN. For me, the Breeze has been my favorite ship so far.

Going on Breeze in September, and I'm hoping that "off-season" timing will help with those crowds. It's not so much the mass people everywhere, but having to wait in lines for everything is quite the annoyance.

So the Carnival Hub App worked well all throughout the ship? Is this free? What else did it do besides the texting?

It also depends on the time of year you sail. We were on the Breeze in September 2014 and had our best cruise ever! No crowds, no lines...just great weather, friends, and FUN. For me, the Breeze has been my favorite ship so far.

Definitely a consideration. However, last year, on the exact same week, we took the Legend and it was amazing. They were good at moving people efficiently and the entertainment schedule was such that no lines backed up. We never waited for food and there was always room in one of the pools or hot tubs.

We took the Liberty over Thanksgiving in 2013 and had a similar experience. However, I don't think it was full so I won't count it.

Going on Breeze in September, and I'm hoping that "off-season" timing will help with those crowds. It's not so much the mass people everywhere, but having to wait in lines for everything is quite the annoyance.

One thing we really disliked was the fact that after hours the only restaurant that was open was the pizza parlor and there was a 10+ person line there at all times.

So the Carnival Hub App worked well all throughout the ship? Is this free? What else did it do besides the texting?

I started another thread on it here.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2214305

We too were on that sailing.

 

Last Breeze sailing for us unless it comes to a closer port than Miami.

 

 

 

I didn't enjoy "Dr E" as much as everyone else seemed to. I think he can be appealing to a younger crowd, and for me, it was difficult to understand much of what he said because he talked so fast all of the time.

 

 

 

Thoroughly enjoyed Hasbro the game show as an alternative to the same-ole same-ole with other ships.

 

We hadn't sailed Carnival in quite a while, and many things on the Breeze reminded us why we haven't.

 

We didn't think the guys burgers were "all that" - but we aren't really burger fanatics either.

Hi. Im a NCL Haven cruiser and sail RCCL in standard balconies.

We have cruises booked on each as well as Disney in September but decided to give CCL Breeze a try for January to get out of the Northeast cold.

Can you please elaborate more on your comments of what reminded you why you dont sail CCL. As a non Carnival sailer, Id like to be prepared.

Thank you.

I was at that show... it was soooo funny!!! When she got down on her knees it was priceless!!!

We loved the Breeze when we were on it in January 2014. Never felt crowded, always could find a deck chair, loved all the hot tubs around the Promenade deck(?) that were virtually empty most of the time and the itinerary. Great food and great staff. Best cruise we have ever been on. Well, our last one on the Liberty out of San Juan was right up there.

Going on Breeze in September, and I'm hoping that "off-season" timing will help with those crowds. It's not so much the mass people everywhere, but having to wait in lines for everything is quite the annoyance.

 

So the Carnival Hub App worked well all throughout the ship? Is this free? What else did it do besides the texting?

You could use the app to access the day's activities, you could mark them as "favorites" and it would notify you before that activity.

You could also access social media if you paid for that . ($25).

It was free for activities and accessing your bill.

It was $5 for texting your other contacts who are onboard with you.

$25 for social media package.

You put your phone on airplane mode, and it works off of Carnival WiFi.

It was nice to have.

Hi. Im a NCL Haven cruiser and sail RCCL in standard balconies.

 

We have cruises booked on each as well as Disney in September but decided to give CCL Breeze a try for January to get out of the Northeast cold.

 

Can you please elaborate more on your comments of what reminded you why you dont sail CCL. As a non Carnival sailer, Id like to be prepared.

 

Thank you.

I'm not sure when you're going, but......

It's a fabulous ship. It really is.

For me, it was personal preference. I think it had more to do with the clientele then it did with the ship, its staff, or Carnival.

If you go off season, I think you'll be fine.

Think of the difference between going into Walmart -vs- Macy's in regards to the people in the store. Its' the same difference. However, it gets rowdy in those same stores no matter what during Christmas right? Well, it was just prior to Memorial Day on the ship, and it was just a bit rowdy for us.

We don't have children, and disrespectful adults seriously make me shake my head. The week we were on the Breeze I think was more about the clientele than the ship, its activities, or staff.

In January, I think you will love it, and will be pleased.

I enjoyed the food. We have been on RCCL for so long, that we've become accustomed to the menu, and there are nights we don't eat in the dining room - but the week on the Breeze was a nice change. The food was good.

The cruise director was only there as an interim. Their regular cruise director was on vacation. If you subscribe to John Heald's blog post (He's the senior cruise director for carnival) you can see cruise directors' schedules and all kinds of stuff.

In January.... Breeze should be fabulous. Enjoy!

my dd and i sailed the breeze last sept and were amazed how empty the whole ship seemed, now we did anytime dining and usually ate early so i could movie watch lol. we had great service in the dining room and one night even sat with the nicest people that we met in the short line waiting for a table.

we too loved blue iguana and we ate a few burgers. eating dinner any where but the dining room was really a hit or miss for a line or any food left so this was the one and honestly only problem we had. this however was really my fault as i was addicted to sitting under the stars with a drink and ocean and watching a movie.

we loved the pub and the tasting and the steakhouse was beyond amazing. we loved it so much that we are going back in october and taking my granddaughters, they will be 2 and 7 and i hope they have as good a time as we did.

i think everyone has good and bad issues on any cruise with any cruise line, its just what you make of it and any cruise im on is a vacation that i intend to totally enjoy.

It also depends on the time of year you sail. We were on the Breeze in September 2014 and had our best cruise ever! No crowds, no lines...just great weather, friends, and FUN. For me, the Breeze has been my favorite ship so far.

I agree ,We have sailed on 9 different Carnival ships and The Breeze is the best in the fleet !