Carnival Breeze Review - July 12-18, 2015

About us: DH and I are in our early 40’s and we traveled with our 16 yr daughter and her friend. This was our 7th cruise - our 6th with Carnival, as we did RC once. Stayed in South Beach overnight prior to cruise. We last sailed Carnival’s Valor. We did 1 ship excursion and 2 excursions on our own. We chose late seating and had dinner in the Blush dining room at 8:15pm. We stayed in an interior cabin on deck 7, midship.

We loved the Carnival Breeze and would definitely sail it again. Our 6 day itinerary:

Sunday: leave Miami

Monday: at sea (1st elegant/formal night)

Tuesday: Ocho Rios, Jamaica (was originally Falmouth)

Wednesday: Georgetown, Grand Cayman (2nd elegant/formal night)

Thursday: Cozumel, Mexico

Friday: at sea

Saturday: back in Miami

Improvements Carnival’s made since we last cruised in April 2011:

No more donning the life jacket and waiting outdoors for the muster drill! Instead, we were in 1 of the 2 dining rooms (sans life jacket) and all chairs were turned to face the Carnival employees that did the drill much like flight attendants perform on airlines.

Taste Bar on deck 5 behind the Casino. They serve tapas around 5 or 5:30pm each day. They’re samples from all of the restaurants on the ship.

Lanai Area on deck 5 midship. There are sturdy (plastic) wicker-like chairs and tables with large yellow umbrellas for shade. This area is so relaxing and away from the loud music by the main pool. Smoking is permitted.

Cheers program - 15 drinks a day

Corn Hole (bean bag toss) setup on deck 5 in between the Lanai area and the Red Frog Pub

You can order bar food in the Red Frog Pub after 4pm for a small fee. Conch Fritters were $4

Choose your own sides with dinner in the dining room. There were at least 6 choices.

Negatives (none of which would prevent us from cruising Carnival again):

No varied selection of late night food. All of the specialty restaurants (Guy’s Burgers, Blue Iguana, Mongolian Wok, etc.) close with dinner. Room Service and Pizza are available though. The night we were in Cozumel, there was a “Mexican Fiesta” near the main pool on Lido; however, there was no Mexican Buffet as in past cruises. Chips and salsa; that’s it.

The Carnival app, The Hub is a great concept but it did not work as designed which was frustrating for our family trying to keep in touch with one another. Often, it would not send/receive messages, and it would not show a message notification unless the app was open. I realize it’s new, and hope they get all of the kinks worked out soon. It would replace the paper daily schedules if you wished.

The pre-recorded music playing in the main casual dining area was just plain weird and boring. We laughed about it... Way worse than any elevator music!

We may have missed it, but didn’t see an ice carving demo or gala buffet

We thought 2 elegant nights for a 6 day cruise was excessive. We skipped the 2nd and didn’t eat in the Blush dining room.

Comedy shows within the Limelight Lounge at the back of the ship - there is not enough space there! It’s a must to go AT LEAST 30-45 minutes prior to start time to WAIT in line to get in. I wish there was a bigger space. On the last night, the line went half the length of the ship all the way to the casino! There was a show at 8, 9, and 10. Part of the line got in, and you had to continue waiting in the line for 1 hour until the next show.

Things we enjoyed:

Our formal night family photo is stunning! Kudos to the photographers

Sitting down for brunch in the Blush dining room at a table for 2 on sea days

Free room service for continental breakfast - you can’t beat breakfast in bed with your sweetie!

Wassan, our room steward was on point! Called us by our first names from day 1. We rewarded him with an extra cash tip.

Name that Song activity with our cruise director, Dr. E. In the Ocean Plaza on deck 5. It was sooo much fun!!

Mexican coffee (spiked with chocolate patron) from the coffee bar on deck 5. You could get adult milkshakes too!

The Run for Cover band was extremely talented - we really enjoyed them! Their female vocalist, Sarah was amazing.

Guy’s Burgers on Lido deck was delicious!!

Red Frog Pub at the back of the ship was quiet and relaxing. Hubby really enjoyed their red draft beer too.

Winning $250 at Bingo!! We’ve never won anything ever! Bring a dobber with you or buy one for $2.

The gym equipment was impressive and a great variety of free weights too. Yoga mats, bosu balls, medicine balls, etc.

Jonathan’s raspy voice in the Piano Bar. He was very talented.

Port of Call menu in the dining room for dinner.. It featured food from the port visited that day

The Breeze is a beautiful ship, and even though it hold many more passengers than the other ships I’ve sailed, we never felt overcrowded or had long lines. The only time I really noticed more people than usual was on the first elegant night on the main deck 5 - the photographers were set up with their back drops everywhere and there were lines of people waiting to have their photo taken. And then there were those taking their own photos with their cell phones too. It was quite a traffic jam.

None of the 4 of us experienced any sea sickness. We had smooth sailing.

If you want a souvenir Carnival tshirt from their gift shop, wait until the last day at sea to buy it for 2 for $20.

We were happy with the social media internet package for $5 a day. This is per device. We had no issues accessing facebook, twitter, instagram, etc.

We really enjoyed the Bonsai Sushi. We found the portions to be larger than we expected and the pricing was very reasonable. I enjoyed hot sake.

We did self-assist debarkation and were off the ship by 8am. We had an 11:30am flight. We were downstairs on deck 3 ready to go at 7:30am.

I hope this review helps someone! I wanted to pay it forward by writing my own since I found so much helpful info here prior to our own cruise! :)

I agree about the limelight lounge when we were on the breeze. SO ANNOYING!!! I was just on the Victory and the lines formed, but everyone was able to find a spot. STR happened, but for the late arrivers. Limelight is TOOOOOOO small!!!

Thank you for your review! I am sailing Breeze next month for the 1st time and am very excited!

Thanks for the review.

DH and I are sailing on an 8-day southern Caribbean cruise on the Breeze the week of Thanksgiving. Our 37th cruise, 26th on Carnival, and our first time on the Breeze. I appreciated your likes and dislikes - thanks!

Yes, great review, thank you!

Thank you for your review!!

You said you were off the ship by 8am and had an early flight of 11:30. Did you fly out of FLL or MIA? What time did you arrive at the airport?

We are also living on the edge and have an 11:30 flight. Ours is out of FLL. I know it's risky, but last year we had a 12:15 with tons of time to spare.

Thanks for the review. My family and I are going September 6-12 and we're super excited!!!

Thanks for the review!

Glad to hear you enjoyed the Breeze. We were on her 6/20 for 8 days, and I will say that this is the most crowded I have ever seen a ship. We typically do not cruise this time of year, but agreed to with family. Ship had 4700 pax, about 1000 too many. Pools were unfit for human use, and kids were out of control into the wee hours with non-existent security! This was our 3rd time on the Breeze, and our least enjoyable. The comedy shows are easy to get a seat for if you send one member of you party to the lounge 30 min in advance...they can have a drink or twelve whilst they wait:o... We love the ship, but have discovered Summer cruising is not for us. Glad you enjoyed her, hope to go again in the off season!!:D:D

Thank you for your review!!

You said you were off the ship by 8am and had an early flight of 11:30. Did you fly out of FLL or MIA? What time did you arrive at the airport?

We are also living on the edge and have an 11:30 flight. Ours is out of FLL. I know it's risky, but last year we had a 12:15 with tons of time to spare.

We flew out of Miami and were at the airport by 8:40am. I'd estimate it took us 10 minutes to get off of ship and go through customs. There was no wait at the taxi stand and no traffic to the airport.

We were on the same cruise and had a great time as well. There were a lot of people but there were so many quite areas both inside and out.

I was afraid of long lines everywhere but it just wasn't like that for us.

Most surprising was the platinum/diamond party had vey few people. There were all kinds of waiters with food and drink.

This was our first balcony cabin...it was very nice, but we discovered that we aren't balcony sitters.

Also we had a spa cabin and again while the spa was very nice we didn't go there very often. So the extra expense is questionable.

They did have a really nice gym and I was surprised that they also had a lot of fitness equipment outside on the sports deck.

We were on this cruise as well. We had the best time! Really enjoyed every aspect except the long lines to get into the over crowded comedy club. We managed to get in every time but had to strategize and have one go out and get in line right before the show ended. Needs to be at a bigger venue. However, the shows were great.

We were in Suite 7333 which was a great cabin. Generally quiet and really enjoyed being able to sit out on the balcony. Every now and then there was a sewage-like odor in the hallway which wasn't very pleasing but never in the cabin. The food was good and there was enough variety for everyone.

Purchased the Cheers package which was also a plus. Was able to enough a number of drinks for the first time. Never really made it to the 15 max each day but found it worth while. For the six days it came to $689 I believe.

Also, we were the first in the Red Frog Pub! That was fun having my fiancé run thru the ship to make sure we got there first. We had a Suite and F2F so were able to get on with the first group. When we got there a couple was sitting in the Pub but didn't qualify because they were on a B2B and were just walked off and then back on the ship! Lucky for us since I forced him to walk briskly (run) to make it. started the cruise off on a great note!

DH and I are sailing on an 8-day southern Caribbean cruise on the Breeze the week of Thanksgiving. Our 37th cruise, 26th on Carnival, and our first time on the Breeze. I appreciated your likes and dislikes - thanks!

Djptcp, we will be on the Thanksgiving Breeze sailing also. So excited and ready to set sail

 

Also, we were the first in the Red Frog Pub! That was fun having my fiancé run thru the ship to make sure we got there first. We had a Suite and F2F so were able to get on with the first group. When we got there a couple was sitting in the Pub but didn't qualify because they were on a B2B and were just walked off and then back on the ship! Lucky for us since I forced him to walk briskly (run) to make it. started the cruise off on a great note!

How fun, DChoney! I will be cruising on the Breeze for the first time next month and am really excited for the trip!

DH and I are sailing on an 8-day southern Caribbean cruise on the Breeze the week of Thanksgiving. Our 37th cruise, 26th on Carnival, and our first time on the Breeze. I appreciated your likes and dislikes - thanks!

Djptcp, we will be on the Thanksgiving Breeze sailing also. So excited and ready to set sail

DH and I will be on that cruise, too. Four months from today!! :) I appreciate your review. Seemed very reasonable and fair. Thanks

Thanks for the review. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

The situation with the comedy shows seems to be universal across the fleet. The feelings among passengers (at least on CC) agree with yours. I don't understand why Carnival won't put some shows in the main theater to reduce the mayhem and inconvenience to guests.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the Breeze. We were on her 6/20 for 8 days, and I will say that this is the most crowded I have ever seen a ship. We typically do not cruise this time of year, but agreed to with family. Ship had 4700 pax, about 1000 too many. Pools were unfit for human use, and kids were out of control into the wee hours with non-existent security! This was our 3rd time on the Breeze, and our least enjoyable. The comedy shows are easy to get a seat for if you send one member of you party to the lounge 30 min in advance...they can have a drink or twelve whilst they wait:o... We love the ship, but have discovered Summer cruising is not for us. Glad you enjoyed her, hope to go again in the off season!!:D:D

Wow, I hope most of the kids will be back in school when we go in September. LOL!!! And I agree with you on the comedy shows. You must go early if you want a seat.

Thanks for your review. I am looking forward to my cruise on the Breeze! :D

Dee

Thanks for taking the time to post your review! My family and I will be on the Breeze on 8/1 and are really looking forward to it.

Thanks for the heads up on getting to the Limelight extra early. We encountered the same phenomenon on the Sunshine--the venue was way too small for the demand. I guess it depends on the ship, because we did not have a problem on the Miracle--the lounge where they have the comedy club on the Miracle is more spacious, I guess.

We were also on this same cruise. Everything went smoothly for us, and we had a good time EXCEPT the fiasco at guest services regarding luggage express. They messed up our boarding passes (which luckily I checked when they were delivered), having printed all 4 airline boarding passes for me and none for DH. I called down to guest services, and they said they'd reprint them and send them right up. We waited about half an hour, and they hadn't come, so we called again, and they said they meant they would leave them with our cabin steward. Okay...we go out to enjoy (it's the last night, of course) and then DH went back up to our lido deck cabin to find them printed incorrectly again...

By this time, we are just plain annoyed, so we go stand in line at guest services. You know what the lines are like on the last night, (even in the platinum/diamond/FTTF line). Anyway, when it was finally our turn, we couldn't make them understand exactly what our problem was. The guy kept asking, "What would you like me to do?" Uh, we'd like you to print our boarding passes correctly and hand them to us, please. They printed them again, this time bringing us 2 for DH (Yay!) and 2 for me, but both of mine were for the connecting flight in Charlotte, and I had none for the original flight from Miami. Wait--I had one for that flight already, where is it? Stuttering and stammering....I guess they threw away the wrong one. Good gracious...if I wasn't so annoyed and frustrated, I would have laughed. The guy's attitude was beyond belief--like we had done something wrong. When we asked for a supervisor, we were told none was available. Why? Because it was 11 p.m. Yeah, we know, we've been trying to get this worked out since we found the forms after an early dinner.

Wow, that was a long rant...

Anyway, about the comedy. There do seem to be long lines for this on most Carnival ships (all that I've been on anyway), but comedy is one thing Carnival does well. The shows need to be in a smallish venue to keep it intimate so the comedians can feed off the crowd, IMO. I've heard they sell more alcohol in the smaller setting, too. We were often the first or second in line, and we didn't really mind. The shows aren't that long, and they do a good job of clearing everyone out so the next group can get it.

We loved the social media package and used it to communicate with each other on board and with people back home.

We thought Dr. E did a good job as cruise director. He was certainly high energy, and I hear he's now on the Magic. We were sad to have missed Matt, but it turned out okay.

Although we don't eat sushi, we thought the food on the Breeze was some of the best we've had on a cruise. Our waiters in the Sapphire dining room (Anytime Dining) were great, and we had a waiter we'd had previously on the Miracle (Suki), so it was fun catching up. We requested his table every night.

We tried to find a crowd in the Red Frog Pub, but every time we checked it was almost empty. I kept thinking what a shame that was since it seemed like a nice venue. We never stayed. We also never found many people at the piano bar. I guess our timing was just off.

We thought the playlist productions shows were pretty good, especially Motor City. I wasn't expecting much since I'd heard some pretty bad reviews, but we were pleasantly surprised.

The platinum/diamond party couldn't have had more than 50 people. I started not to attend myself, since DH is only gold and was disinvited with the last change-up in the guidelines. Not that big a deal--it was nice that they brought me a Miami Vice when I asked.

Glad you had an easy time with debarkation, OP. We were off reasonably early too (before 9 a.m.) with luggage express, but we met some people at our gate who missed their early flight. They apparently didn't know you could get an early debarkation zone if you had an early flight and got stuck in the madness that happens as the morning wears on with debarkation and slow customs lines.

We liked the Breeze well enough to plan another cruise on her before she moves to Texas, this time with some of our extended family going along.

Enjoyed reading how others on the same cruise perceived things.