Californiacruizers

The only elevators that were in operation upon boarding were marked with signs that said, "Lunch Express" these elevators would only go to floors 5 and 10.  The lunch option on Deck 5 was Guy's Pig and Anchor and on Deck 10 the Lido Buffet. All other elevators were inoperable for guest instead they were being used by staff to transport luggage.

Since we had FTTF our room would be ready as soon as we boarded. We walked down the stairs to Deck 1 and opened the heavy hallway doors.  There are signs on each side of the hallways that tells you what side the odd and even rooms are on.  As expected our room keys were in our mailbox.

Ellington excitedly declared she would be the 1st to open the room door using her key card.  

Ta Da.....

Bath 1 w/ tub and sink

Bath 2 w/Shower, Sink, and Toilet

For some reason, I did not feel the typical pre-cruise excitement. We boarded the shuttle and off we went. After pulling into the port and we were greeted by a port worker who told us to make sure our luggage tags were on our bags and said how much tips were appreciated. I hate when people remind you to tip. I always tip and was planning to tip the porters anyhow, in fact, I already had the money in hand. The porter guy's speech felt somewhat passive aggressive and it was obvious a few passengers in the crowd were embarrassed.

It was now around 9:30AM  we waited outside in line until the port terminal doors opened at 10:00AM. It was about 40 degrees and windy. It was unbearably cold.  Again my daughter was the only one with a jacket. However, I remembered I'd packed her beach towel in her backpack. I wrapped her up in her beach towel and tried to make the best of it. 30 minutes seemed like hours. We had FTTF(Faster to the Fun, which I will never sail without. It is the best $89.95 I've ever spent).

There were only 7 or so people ahead of us in the FTTF /Priority line.  Once the doors opened we were checked in and seated in less than 5 minutes. My bottle of wine and cases of soda were in my carry-on and I had no problems with security.  I chatted with people in our FTTF seating section.  Shortly after  people from our FB group began to arrive. They posted the location of their seating zones, and I walked around to meet a few of them.  

Luggage Trailers/Porters are in the orange and yellow vests:

Regular Line:

FTTF/Priority Line

Security Screening Area:

Pre-Boarding Guest Check-In Area. Notice how empty it is. We were indeed the first group of guest to arrive.

Walking down the gangway

Finally Stepping Foot on The Breeze

1st Photo in front of the Christmas Tree in the Atrium

The kids and I walked to the beach which was only a few yards from the rear of the hotel. It was cold and windy. We made it back to the room just as it started to pour down rain.  Not sure what it was but I didn’t feel like myself.  The food I’d purchased did not taste good to me at all however the kids said it was fine, with the exception of the sides. I took a hot shower tuned the heater on full blast and climbed into bed at 3PM. I watch TV for a short while and ended up sleeping until the next morning. At some point, my daughter climbed into bed with me and went to sleep early as well.

View of beach from my room:

I woke up somewhat rested and we got showered, dressed, and packed up. We were running behind, or so I thought. The kids grabbed breakfast and I checked in for the shuttle. As it turned out we were early… WHOO HOOO a true 1st for me I am always late.  I needed COOOOOOOFFEE quick fast and in a hurry. The breakfast was the standard hotel free breakfast fare. The breakfast area was very busy which was odd since the hotel felt like a ghost town when we checked in.  Once I got coffee running through my veins, I was morphed from a grumpy old goat back into a decent human being. The lobby was abuzz with cruisers waiting for the shuttle. 

Each time to lobby doors would open freezing wind would blow in. Burr I will never forget to pack warm clothing and coast again no matter the destination. My daughter was the only one of us that had a jacket, and it was a thin one at that.  

There is a strip mall across the street which is very convenient if you flew in and did not rent a car.  You will find a MC Donald’s, Winn Dixie grocery store, Beals' Outlet, Walgreen's and more. There is also an Ihop within walking distance and a Don Ron’s surf shop and Starbucks next door to the hotel.  It seemed that all of the Cocoa Beach hotels are along this one road(Atlantic Avenue). We walked across the street to the Winn Dixie.  I purchased 1 case of Dr. Pepper and 1 can of Minute Maid Fruit Juice(Minute Maid also comes in cans), a family chicken meal and a bottle of wine. 

More Photos of the Quality Inn and Suites Cocoa Beach:

More Photos of the Quality Inn and Suites Cocoa Beach:

The grounds were nice and clean. There was a pool, Jacuzzi, game room, laundry room, and vending machines. 

Thankfully, was an elevator to the second floor. As it turns out the room was a 1-bedroom suite. There was a small kitchenette complete with a sink, microwave, dishes, dish soap, utensils, a corkscrew, dishtowels, sofa with a pull-out couch in the Living room, as well as a desk, dresser, and TV. 

The bathroom was clean and well appointed. There were 2 small closets, one with an ironing board, iron, luggage rack, and safe. There was a queen-sized bed in the bedroom dresser and TV. The bedroom also had a door leading to a small patio that overlooked the ocean, with a small table and 2 chairs. I must admit it was much more than what I expected.

I booked the Quality Inn and Suites for $179.00. I can admit I did not expect for this hotel to be as nice as it was. When booking over the phone I asked for a room on the 2nd floor since it was one of those hotels where the doors open directly outside. By being on the 2nd floor you are not disturbed by car headlights pulling in at nite. The lobby of the hotel was decorated for Christmas with a really nice tree, there was coffee and lemon water and a business center with computers, printer, and fax also in the lobby. I was given our room key, map to our room, a printout of the time that we were to be picked up by the shuttle, and a ticket for breakfast. 

We landed in Orlando at 5:45AM, we had a 3 1/2-hour wait for our transportation to arrive. When booking our flights and transportation I failed to confirm the time that the transportation company starts running for the day. In this case it started running at 9:30AM  We used Contrans to drive us from the Orlando airport to our hotel in Cocoa Beach(which is adjacent to Port Canaveral), I'd spoken with someone from Contrans over the phone a week prior to our arrival  and  confirmed the price of $20.00 per person and was told to book online. I booked online via my phone.

When booking you are required to pay upfront which I did. My credit card was charged $75.00.  I was a little taken since the site said and the person I spoke to over the phone said $20.00 per person which would have been $60.00.Granted it was only $15.00 additional dollars it isn't a good look, in terms of honest/transparent business practice. 

The Orlando airport is divided into 2 sides A & B. Our luggage carousel was on side A and I was told by an airport worker that our ground transportation was on side B. We got down to side B and sat a bit. It was like a ghost town. No worries I thought since it was still early in the morning.  After about an hour or so I asked a worker and was told we need to be on Side A. We trekked back to side A only to be told we need to be on side B. 

I gave up. We found seats near the food court. I purchased breakfast (Chick-Fil-A). I then stretched out on one of the sofas, completely wrapped in a blanket. I slept for about 2 hours. The kids occupied themselves on their Ipads.  We eventually found the correct side (I honestly can’t remember if it was side A or B at this point. 

In my confirmation email from Contrans, I was only given a parking stall number  B 25 it would have been helpful if they would have also told me the correct side.  

Eventually, a woman with a walkie-talkie found us and said the van would be around shortly. The van pulled in and just as the driver was loading our luggage it began to pour down rain.  

Finally, we were on our way to our hotel in Cocoa Beach. The ride was a little under an hour. We dropped off a few passengers at hotels in the area before arriving at our hotel. 

Celebrating the Season Caribbean Style on the Carnival Breeze 12/22-12/29/18

Ports of Call: Costa Maya, Belize, Mahogany Bay, Cozumel

Hi everyone, it’s me HP back with another review. Having had such a blast sailing with my kids on the Carnival Vista I was so excited to book another Family Carnival cruise. 

Before I dive right in let me pause here and get all the necessary introductions and disclaimers out of the way:

As you can tell from my username I am from California, Los Angeles to be exact. Joining me on this sailing were my two children. My son Langston is 15 and my daughter Ellington is 6 going on 46. If you happened to have read my last review you may remember my kids are total opposites. My son Langston is a laid back, mellow-yellow, go with the flow type of kid. My daughter Ellington is a F.I.R.E.C.R.A.C.K.E.R., full of sugar and spice, sassy and sweet and oh so unpredictable. 

This review is my honest and candid take of “OUR” experience of the aboard the Carnival Breeze. You can expect to hear the good, bad and the ugly, sprinkled with the absolutely hilarious and the magic of the holiday season. It is my hope that this will provide an informative and entertaining peek into a 7 Day Christmas voyage on Carnival Breeze.  Please… please… please keep in mind that this is my opinion of which of course is subjective.  I will also mention a few prices so that 1st-time cruisers will have an idea of what to expect. 

Sit back and relax grab a cup of coffee, pour yourself a spot of tea, or grab a glass of wine, if you please.

The seatbelt sign will remain on because spoiler alert:  This is going to be a bumpy ride.

Booking/Flight/ Pre-Hotel Stay:

The moment I stepped off the Vista back in April 2017 I was itching to book another family cruise. In fact, I sat in the airport on our way home looking at sailings.  I remained in touch with several individuals from Vista’s FB group.  We tried our best to try and sail together once more before the end of 2017, but it just would not work out.  The Carnival Sunshine was looking mighty nice.  I had my eye on the 12/15 Sunshine sailing from Port Canaveral. 

Just as I was about to hit the pay now button, something told me to double check the winter school holiday schedule. Good thing I checked. As it turned out the kids were not out of school until 12/20. Had I booked the Sunshine my son who is in 10th grade would have missed finals.  Ugggh a Christmas cruise would be double the price.

So, the challenge was to find a sailing after 12/20 at a reasonable price. I stumbled across the Breeze, checked the rates and it was full steam ahead.  

I booked online via carnival.com. I opted for a Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom on Deck 1.  Yes, you got that right, Deck 1. The lowest of the low, the bottom of the barrel, El Cheapo Depot right? Wrong. Deck one has so much to offer, especially for families with small children.

On some ships Deck 1 is where you can find the Family Harbor Staterooms. Note the Breeze does not have the Family Harbor Staterooms.

Deck 1 also provides easy quick stair access to the Atrium on Deck 3. Deck 1 also affords your quick access to Deck 0, which is where you go to get off the ship while in port. Normally when in port access to the stairs on deck one is roped off and a staff member stands watch so that individuals cannot walk down the stairs to Deck 0 until the ship is cleared for debarkation.

If your cabin is on Deck 1, when you exit your room you a are on the other side of the rope (opposite of the waiting crowd) and the staff member will usually let you walk down to deck 0 before anyone else. This comes in handy when you have a non-Carnival excursion and want to catch the 1st tender or get to your excursion check-in point quickly.

I personally love Deck 1 since Deluxe Ocean View staterooms on this deck have 2 bathrooms, YES 2 BATHROOMS! One bath has the standard sink, shower, and toilet. The other bathroom has a BATHTUB/Shower, and sink. This comes in handy when trying to get a family ready all at the same time. It also offers a place for me to park Ellington in the bathtub with a few toys so that I can have a few drama-free minutes to myself.   

My original price for 3 passengers (past guest) in a Deluxe Ocean View on the Breeze 12/22-29/2018 was $2,855.31. I kept a close eye on my booking and was able to get a price adjustment bringing my total to $2,768.31 with $50.00 in onboard credit.

Flight
Once again we used good ‘ole Spirit Airlines. This time we had a non-stop red-eye landing in Orlando at 5:45 am. Say what you will about Spirit, yet I have had no problems thus far. I’ve read all the negative reviews about spirit and was proactive in making sure I didn’t get nickeled and dimed. I paid for our checked bags online ahead of time. I packed reusable water bottles and snacks in my carryon backpack since Spirit charges for everything including water. Once we passed TSA security, I purchased a large bottle of water and poured it into our water bottles and BOOM we were ready to roll. 

Test

77 Days till we celebrate the season Caribbean style on the Breeze!!

I’m also fine with this change. We visited the steakhouse for my son’s 15thbirthday on the Vista, we went early evening so that my 5 year old daughterwould not become cranky mid-way through dinner service. Because we were soearly the venue was almost empty. The ambiance, the décor, the attention todetail, and the 5-star white glove service that is offered makes it worth themoney. The quality of the food was amazing, each course was remarkable.

I reside in Los Angeles, and if you were towalk into any noteworthy steakhouse here, you would pay well over $100.00 perperson for dinner service. I would rank the Vista steakhouse in the samecategory as Morton’s, G. Barton’s, or Flemming’s.

An additional $3.00 is not worth crying over.

I purchased a beach bag from Wal-Mart it was$5.00. It is washable, has mesh sides and pockets on each side to hold a drinkor a bottle of sunscreen. It’s largeenough for me to carry 3 beach towels, sand toys, and changes of clothes forthree.

My son was 12 when we 1st sailed. Wewere on a 4 day on the Norwegian Sky. At the time I allowed him to check himself inand out of the Kids Club but he has to come straight to the room or straight toour agreed upon meeting place. Shortly after we arrived home the news featureda story of a 12 year old girl who was waiting alone for an elevator. The elevatoropened and a male crew member was I inside he pulled the girl into the elevatorand sexually assaulted her it was all caught on tape. The new story showedclips of the incident, blurring out the girls identity. This happened on aDisney cruise ship. The crewmember was arrested, yet the damage was already done.The man received a light sentence since the incident occurred in internationalwaters if I recall. After that story myperception of allowing kids to roam has changed. Even now at 15 years old and 6”1I allow his to go on his own but I am very uneasy about it. I know we cannotlive in fear but this really struck a nerve with me.

Recently sailed on the Carnival Vista with my 5year old daughter and she had the time of her life. I purchased FFTF withallowed us to board early. Once boarded we went straight to our room anddropped off our carryon’s we changed into our swim suits and headed to lunch. Afterlunch my daughter and I got into the main swimming pool and people watcheduntil time for the muster drill. During thesail away party we hung out on the lido deck and danced to the music, whichreally put us into vacation mode. The muster drill was held inside one of themain dining rooms. It was nice and cool and so much going on that it reallythat my daughter sat through it without incident. We toured the kids club shortlyafter the muster drill and got her registered. The club wasn’t open the 1stnite. We had YTD which we dressed up for (We dressed up each nite not requiredbut our personal choice). My daughter was so worn out that she fell asleepduring dinner. I let he sleep at the table as I enjoyed a nice quiet dinner. Theplan was to catch a show after dinner. We went back to the room to changeclothes and I was so wiped out that I decided to “rest my eyes for a bit”turned out I was actually out like a light and woke up the next daymid-morning. The rest of the week was filledwith trip to the kids club, water park, and pool. The 5 year old had the timeof her life. She has mentioned the cruise everyday for the past 5 months and iscounting down till out next sailing which is during Christmas.

Paradise beach is AMAZING. My kids and I took ataxi there for $15.00 each way. The cost for admission is only $3.00 per personand all they ask is that you spend at least $10.00 in food and drink duringyour time there. There are beach chairs with lots of shade and the largestpanorama pool I’ve ever seen with a swim up bar. There are water activities, afew bars, a small shop for odds and ends, and massages on the beach. You canalso rent a cabana near the pool if you like. Reservations are not required. Itwas truly paradise!!! Oh and it is next door to Nachi Coon, and Mr. Sancho’syet not at all as expensive.

Based on my most recent experience the Vista isamazing. There are many many many private areas for individuals who wantto relax in seclusion without having topay additional to stay in the Havana Suites. The Family Harbor area is like alarge living room area where guest with kids staying in adjacent rooms can playgames, watch T.V., hang out and grab snacks and breakfast. There are several venuesthat cost money, yet if that is an issue for you then rest assured there isstill plenty to enjoy at no additional cost. In terms of food, we tried both the free maindining rooms and the all of the specialty dining with the exception of theItalian restaurant. The food was delicious. We had a late breakfast in the buffetand never made it back to eat there any other time. Our spring break sailing on the Vista was soldout and yet the ship NEVER felt crowded. There was so much to do and see. Ipromise you if you go in with an open mind you will have the time of yourlife!!! Enjoy your cruise!!

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These are typical cruise outfits for our twins. They coordinate and are nicer than typical school clothes, but comfortable enough to wear to Camp Carnival! Ours never want to take the time to change! We don't do ultra-formal anymore...it just isn't our style.

 

 

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Beautiful Pics!!

Yes, there is typically a chair in the laundry room for you to sit if you like. Here a few pics of one of the laundry rooms on our recent Vista Cruise.

My children and I had two pounds of steamed snowcrab legs, one pound of garlic buttershrimp and one pound of Cajun shrimp. I paid a total of $64.oo for everything. Itwas very fresh and delicious. Not sure if I would pay that much again.

My son was 12 on our first cruise and I let me go off on his own. He is very mature for his age and mostly went to the arcade. He would always check back in with me. Once we returned home I caught a story on Dateline, where a 12 year old girl was pulled into an elevator and sexually assaulted on a Disney ship buy one of the employees. The ENTIRE incident was caught on surveillance cameras. Better safe than sorry.

My kids and I dress up often at home, so dressing up for dinner on the cruise didn't feel like a chore. I threw in items that we already had a home that were color coordinated. My daughter is 5 and my son turned 15 on the cruise. Dressing up added to the elegance of the ship and the ambiance of the restaurants. After dinner we were back in casual clothing. Here are a few of our dress up pics:

My kids and I dress up often at home, so dressing up for dinner on the cruise didn't feel like a chore. Here are a few of our dress up pics:

Visited Cozumel last April, my daughter was 4 at the time. We rode in a small SUV type taxt. We sat in the back seat with my daughter in the middle we all wore lap seat belts and everything was fine. The taxi was clean and the driver was very professional. The cost was $15.00 for a ride from the port to Paradise Beach. Paradise Beach was amazing, not crowded at all and it only cost $3.00 per person to get in. The was a huge panorama pool, beach with chairs and lots of shade, food, 2 bars, and water activities.