Breeze 2016 vs Breeze 2017 - Cutbacks, Improvements and a Spa Junkie!

Wow...that did not work. My cut and paste from Word really messed up the format. Ugh.

I hope you get it posted. I sailed on her August of 16 and just got off her again last Sunday. It will be interesting to read your thoughts regarding the sane relative time period.

Wow...that did not work. My cut and paste from Word really messed up the format. Ugh.

Okay I had about 3 pages on a word document all ready to go, but the cut and paste jacked up the format, making it almost unreadable (Word for Mac can be a a bit fussy). So I guess that was a waste of time.

But here is a summary:

Last year we cruised on the Breeze to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. We did the exact cruise this year., returning this past Sunday (20 August). Here are some comparative tidbits:

Food: Some was better, some was worse. Overall I would say better, especially the beef entrees in the MDR. The filet, flat iron steak and beef tenderloins were all better than last year. More flavor and more tender. Prime rib...still not very good. Pizza not as good as they are really skimping on the sauce and cheese. Mongolian Wok is excellent. I went there three times but to be fair it was the same chef every time. Worth the wait if there is a line. Guys Burgers are just burgers and good enough for that quick bite when you return from an excursion, etc. They have taken smashing the bun to new heights. Omelet station was excellent, and like the Wok, worth the wait. One lunch they served roasted veal on the buffet. It was probably the best cut of meat the entire week. Very good. The room service chocolate cake was awful. Obviously cut from a sheet cake as compared to past years when it was an actual slice from a round layer cake. Worst cake ever! One bite and out in the hallway it went. The overall entree champion once again was the Salmon. It is excellent. Once again I ordered it four times. We had 6pm dining and every evening my son and I were done and out of the MDR by 7pm, which was a nice change from the slow service on our last two cruises. And yes we did order desert. The WCMC was not as runny as last year..which means it was better!

Comedians: Of the four, only Joe Marlotti was funny. I went to four of his shows. Very good. They had two obese comedians who basically made self-deprecating jokes about their weight, food, seat belt extenders, etc. Not funny. Sad. The fourth did a Mom's Mabley routine so not original and really inappropriate for a family show (jokes about having sex with a young teenager in the audience). Overall, not as good as previous years. Sorry Joe...the others brought you down.

Shows: Again I did not attend any shows in the theatre or any audience participation events. Don't feel I missed anything. I had my fill of those on our first cruise in 2012.

Bands: The string trio were good, but for me a little bit of electric violin goes a long long way. 10-12 minutes was all I needed for the entire cruise. The band on deck 5 was entertaining, playing lots of crowd favorites. I felt the bass player was an excellent musician. The others were average, but average was all that was needed for the songs they were playing. Overall, the bands were better last year.

Embarkation: Dropped the bags at 11:50 and was in the Italian restaurant by 12:20. What more could you want? Much faster than last year.

Debarkation: Our zone was called at 9:20 and we had collected our luggage, cleared customs and was driving down Harborside drive by 9:50. We parked right across the street in that pink building. Again, what more could you want? Last year we carried our luggage so cannot compare.

Tender in Grand Cayman: They started tender service about 0715. We went down to deck 0 about 7:45 and got right on a tender. No waiting. Sweet! And coming back was the same. Walk up to the dock and got right on. No waiting. Last year there was at least a 20 minute wait on each end.

Excursions: Seven mile beach in Grand Cayman. What is not to like about that beach? Everybody loves Rays and Sharks in Cozumel. No in their natural element, but a neat excursion none the less. It pushes the limits of my snorkeling ability!

Spa: This is where I lived. I visited the Spa 18 times, and stayed an average of 2 hours per visit. They must have put a new pump in the T-Pool during dry dock because the jets were really pumping out the bubbles compared to last year. And this year, the oriental steam was hotter than the aroma steam, a flip from last year. The benches and stone loungers were warmer as well. For me, no Cloud 9 Spa, no cruise. Period.

Gym: As usual, busy in the mornings but thins out as the day goes on, but never crowded enough to use as an excuse to not work out.

Lido Deck: I hate the lido deck and all those stupid activities and avoid at all costs. Once again the music was too loud and the pool was jammed full of people. But whenever I passed through, I would always spot an empty lounge chair or two, even at the busiest times. Yeah there were some chair hogs (towels spread our early morning) and I once saw a lady put crap on 12-14 chairs on decks 10, 11 and 12. Yeah I am talking about you in the purple tank top! But if you wanted a chair, you could find one...but probably not 3-4 in a row at peak times.

Passengers: Over 4800 on this cruise, I have been on the Magic twice and the Breeze once before, all during the summer and this was by far the largest passenger load of any of the cruises. And you could feel it in the lido on the first day and also during the breakfast buffet on our first port day. A mass of humanity indeed. Hopefully with our kids now out of high school, we can cruise in mid-late May and avoid such crowds.

Forgot to mention Pig and Anchor. Somebody tell Carnival that charred is not BBQ. The beef I had was not seasoned at all. Fatty and tough. The only BBQ flavor was from the sauce you had to put on yourself. Bad. Really bad.

Thanks for the review.

Thanks for the report.

Thanks for all the comparisons.

I agree we experienced a smoother and shorter embarkation and debarkation. I had FTTF both cruises, but on embarkation having the S&S cards in the mailbox seemed to make a huge difference. This is a great improvement.

I really like the improved photo shopping. It was so easy and quick to find our own and then purchase or delete without standing in line.

My granddaughter had salmon in the MDR at least three times. I skipped ordering an entree three times but thoroughly enjoyed the appetizers.

I hate to see the Breeze leave Galveston.

Thanks for all the comparisons.

 

I agree we experienced a smoother and shorter embarkation and debarkation. I had FTTF both cruises, but on embarkation having the S&S cards in the mailbox seemed to make a huge difference. This is a great improvement.

 

I really like the improved photo shopping. It was so easy and quick to find our own and then purchase or delete without standing in line.

 

My granddaughter had salmon in the MDR at least three times. I skipped ordering an entree three times but thoroughly enjoyed the appetizers.

 

I hate to see the Breeze leave Galveston.

Agree, the new approach to photo's is great. You can shop them from the App as well (and screen shot any you do not want to buy...yeah the water mark will be there..but it will still have the memories).

I hate to see the Breeze leave as well. The t-pool in the Vista is about 1/3 the size of the one on the Breeze. That alone could be a deal breaker for me.