Quick Carnival Breeze review: April 25-May 3 (with a few pics)

Hello everyone.

My husband and I just sailed on an 8 day cruise on the Breeze from April 25-May 3. We sailed out of Miami to St Thomas, Antigua, San Juan and Nassau. We are 31 and 27 years old and had a great time and really loved the Breeze. This was our 2nd cruise. Our first cruise was on the Carnival Splendor last summer. I had a great cruise on the Splendor and thought it was nice, but I liked the Breeze more.

I don't usually post on these boards, but I do read them often. I read a lot of Breeze reviews before my cruise so I figured I'd post a quick review and a few photos.

A few pics of the Breeze:

Embarkation: We arrived at the Port of Miami at about 10am. Everything went quickly and we got Zone 2 boarding. We walked onto the ship at 12:15pm. We went to our room and it was ready so we dropped off our carry on luggage. However our checked luggage came late at about 6:30pm.

Views of Miami from the ship:

Myself

Balcony Room: We had a balcony cabin near the back of the ship on the 7th floor. We didn't hear much noise coming from deck 5 Lanai. Also, Deck 5 wasn't as wide under our cabin since we were near the back of the ship so we still had a nice view of the water. The room itself was nice and a decent size. There is a lot of storage space which was nice. I forget our stewards name, but he was good and would always say hi. Our room was always kept very clean.

View from our balcony:

Sunset from our balcony:

I probably won't be able to post more until tomorrow :)

Thanks for posting. I will subscribe.

Was on the same cruise with you, we had a great time, everyone agreed that this was our best family cruise yet. The ship had plenty to do and the weather was perfect, would sail the Breeze again, no questions asked.

thanks for the post and pics will subscribe. we will be on this ship June 20th.

Subscribing :)

Subscribing

Awesome start! Thanks for taking the time to do the review.

thank you for doing a review! I am doing this itinerary in Jan and am so excited! Looking forward to following along with you.

Was your cabin on the port or starboard side of the ship? Trying to figure out what our view will be in the ports.

Following along as I'll be on the Breeze next February and can't get enough of looking at pics.

Thanks everyone for following along!

Was on the same cruise with you, we had a great time, everyone agreed that this was our best family cruise yet. The ship had plenty to do and the weather was perfect, would sail the Breeze again, no questions asked.

That's cool! I'm glad you guys had a great time! I agree with the weather being perfect. There were days where I didn't see a cloud in the sky :) I would also sail the Breeze again. I've already been looking at dates for next year lol!

thank you for doing a review! I am doing this itinerary in Jan and am so excited! Looking forward to following along with you.

 

Was your cabin on the port or starboard side of the ship? Trying to figure out what our view will be in the ports.

Thanks!

We were in cabin 7441 so starboard side.

I have a few pics I took from my balcony in port so I will post them here soon.

Alright so since momof3cruisers was asking about port views from the ship, I figured I'd post some pics of the ports.

St Thomas:

View from our balcony:

Views from the other side of the ship on deck 11 I believe:

We went to Magen's Bay. We found a cab right after getting off the ship to take us and a few others there. The cab ride wasn't too long, and there were some nice views of the harbor and all the cruise ships docked along the way.

The beach was very nice. There is a bar there with some food as well and I saw a girl walking around serving people on the beach as well.

Here are just a few pics:

Antigua

View from our Balcony

The area right at the port in Antigua wasn't the best or the nicest. It was very crowded and the locals were VERY pushy trying to get you to do tours and to buy stuff.

We ended up taking a taxi to Dickenson Bay. It wasn't hard finding one because there were so many of them all over you trying to take you places.

The cab ride wasn't very long and the cost was $6 a person.

The beach has a Sandals resort on it and there were a lot of empty chairs that we just used and no one said anything. We stayed for a few hours and after that just went back on the ship.

Here are a few pictures of Dickenson Bay:

San Juan

I was a bit disappointed in San Juan. My plan was to walk around a bit and then take the Trolley around and to the Forts. We walked around a bit and then when we were finally able to get on a trolley, traffic was really bad and it took forever to get anywhere. We ended up just getting off and walking back to the ship. It was just taking way too long and I didn't want to waste my time sitting on the trolley barely moving. There was 3 ships in port that day so maybe that's why?

Anyways here are a few pics I took at sail away on one of the upper decks. My hubby watched sail away from our balcony and had the same views

A Panaroma shot

Nassau

There were other ships docked on both sides of us so I didn't really have much of a view at all. You could see Atlantis a bit. We didn't get off the ship in Nassau. We had just been there last summer and went to Atlantis. I also wasn't feeling very well that day so felt it was best to just enjoy the ship.

Food

Sorry I don' t have pictures of food but here are my thoughts:

Dining Room:

We had anytime dining in the Sapphire restaurant and never had to wait for a table, and we always got a table for 2. We usually went between 6-7pm. Service was usually pretty quick except for a few nights it was a bit slower but nothing to complain about.

We ate in the dining room for dinner every night but 2 nights. Everything we ate was so good! I am not a fan of seafood or too much meat so I can't comment on those meals. My husband enjoyed the shrimp options which he got a few times. I usually had whatever soup they had as an appetizer and the pasta dish as my main. My favorite items were the cream of broccoli soup, and the spaghetti carbonara. Honestly all the soups and pasta dishes were very good. I had dessert a few times, the Chocolate Melting Cake. It is good, but I don't find it to be amazing.

We went to sea day brunch twice in the Blush restaurant and I had egg white omelets and hash browns both times and it was excellent.

Cucina del Capitano:

We had dinner here 1 night and it was excellent. The bread with ricotta and tomatoes was good. I had the fried Rissoto balls for my appetizer and I loved them. You have to try them! For my main I had the meatballs and linguini which was good as well.

Buffet:

We had the buffet for dinner the first night and I didn't really enjoy it at all. I ate some breakfast there twice on the trip and it was just ok. I'd grab a few things at the buffet here and there like some fruit or veggies, but I felt there were much better options elsewhere. The seating in the buffet area was very nice though, I loved the tropical feel.

Guy's Burgers:

So good! I really liked the fries as well. I never had to wait in line for long so that was a plus. The toppings bar had good options as well and was never overly crowded. They were open for lunch from 12:00-2:30pm. Then open again later on for dinner. I believe it was 5:00-9:00 pm but I could be a bit off.

Blue Iguana:

I only had the chicken tacos once and they were good. Not my favorite though so I guess that's why I only ate there once. I had planned to get breakfast there but it never happened. Oh well maybe next time!

Pizza:

I really like the pizza, I had it a few times on the ship. I had to wait in line every time I went there but it was never too long of a wait.

I really loved the décor of this ship. The colors are all very nice and the ship has a tropical theme. Even the public restrooms, the hallways to the cabins and the stairwells keep up with that theme.

The atrium was beautiful, I love the lanterns!

The Breeze is one of my favorite ships! Great job on the review!

We were on the breeze the month before you. I miss her lol. Love your pics

Food

 

Sorry I don' t have pictures of food but here are my thoughts:

 

Dining Room:

We had anytime dining in the Sapphire restaurant and never had to wait for a table, and we always got a table for 2. We usually went between 6-7pm. Service was usually pretty quick except for a few nights it was a bit slower but nothing to complain about.

 

We ate in the dining room for dinner every night but 2 nights. Everything we ate was so good! I am not a fan of seafood or too much meat so I can't comment on those meals. My husband enjoyed the shrimp options which he got a few times. I usually had whatever soup they had as an appetizer and the pasta dish as my main. My favorite items were the cream of broccoli soup, and the spaghetti carbonara. Honestly all the soups and pasta dishes were very good. I had dessert a few times, the Chocolate Melting Cake. It is good, but I don't find it to be amazing.

 

We went to sea day brunch twice in the Blush restaurant and I had egg white omelets and hash browns both times and it was excellent.

 

I pretty much agree, but we had early seating, our dinners were generally pretty good, I did have several of the meat products and I learned that if you want medium, a warm pink center, you need to ask for medium rare. Bitter & Blanc was exceptional as always

 

Cucina del Capitano:

We had dinner here 1 night and it was excellent. The bread with ricotta and tomatoes was good. I had the fried Rissoto balls for my appetizer and I loved them. You have to try them! For my main I had the meatballs and linguini which was good as well.

 

We also had dinner here one night, the first night, getting the free carafe of wine. We also though this was very good food, although my Italian steak was a bit overdone, I had not learned the medium rare rule by that time. My DD8 fell in love with this place for lunch, she loved the pasta bar. I would get a big bowl of veggies and some pasta but no sauce, they simply splashed in some olive oil. Wonderful place

 

Buffet:

We had the buffet for dinner the first night and I didn't really enjoy it at all. I ate some breakfast there twice on the trip and it was just ok. I'd grab a few things at the buffet here and there like some fruit or veggies, but I felt there were much better options elsewhere. The seating in the buffet area was very nice though, I loved the tropical feel.

 

Not a buffet fan on land or sea so never would consider diner at one, that said we did also use it for breakfast several port days, it was adequate to fill us up.

 

Guy's Burgers:

So good! I really liked the fries as well. I never had to wait in line for long so that was a plus. The toppings bar had good options as well and was never overly crowded. They were open for lunch from 12:00-2:30pm. Then open again later on for dinner. I believe it was 5:00-9:00 pm but I could be a bit off.

 

These were good hamburgers but not sure what all the hype is about, except they are great hamburgers considering there were no other options for miles ;)

 

Blue Iguana:

I only had the chicken tacos once and they were good. Not my favorite though so I guess that's why I only ate there once. I had planned to get breakfast there but it never happened. Oh well maybe next time!

 

This was a very good option for a quick breakfast place, lunch too but it was very useful in the AM. It was good and tasty

 

Pizza:

I really like the pizza, I had it a few times on the ship. I had to wait in line every time I went there but it was never too long of a wait.

Agreed, when in doubt the pizza was the go to meal for our kids or if roaming the ship and needing something quick

I will add to the food that the Red Frog Pub Grub was quite good, the wings especially, a little bit of a wait and the wings were rather small, but tasted very good, the grouper fingers I was less impressed with. Order two orders of wings in order to have more than a snack.

Also Bonsai sushi was quite good, my DD8 likes sea weed and rice and they were able to accommodate her by simply choosing the California roll and marking through the veggies and fish. DW got veggie sushie the same way, just marking through the fish in the California roll.

Tandoor, the Indian place, was very good, some of it was very spicy, a large part of the crew eat there for lunch, we enjoyed eating there very much. The hot fresh naan bread and chicken and rice, top notch.

We did the chef's table which was excellent, well worth the cost.