Illa Zilla

Good morning!

I was recently off the Breeze for a New Years Eve cruise with the Mrs. and my two teen boys, and I have to say, I am going to have a hard time going back to the older Carnival ships! The Breeze is gorgeous, and now may favorite Carnival ship. The name suits the decor (or the other way around). It isn't the typical Carnival Las Vegas-threw-up-on-board decor. Lots of pastels and calming colors. Personally, I like the layout of the Breeze over the Valor. The Breeze allows you to go from the front of the ship all the way to the back on Decks 4 & 5 besides the Lido deck. With Valor, everything gets interrupted by that tiered decking around the main pool. I have been on the Valor (first cruise in 2005), but have not been on her since, so I can't speak to the upgrades she has gotten. But we spent plenty of time at Guys Burgers, the Blue Iguana Cantina, The Punchliner and the Red Frog Pub. Our boys really like Circle C and Club O2 and the on board activities (mini golf, dodge ball tourneys, scavenger hunts, etc.) and In Jamaica we did the Irie Blue Hole Tour with Liberty Tours and it was a blast! Ricardo was fantastic to deal with. He's a good guy, check him out if you decide on Jamaica. One thing that is nice about the Blue Hole is that the cruise lines haven't discovered it yet so it isn't crowded like Dunn's River Falls is. We did the Stingray City in Cayman, taking a Carnival sponsored catamaran sailing to the sand bar, but were able to price match and get a lower fee. Didn't want to take the chance on getting left behind. Cozumel was just a beach day at Mr. Sanchos, recovering from the New Years Eve festivities the night before.

I have also done the Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay, and Costa Maya itinerary on the Dream. Cozumel and Cost Maya were basically the same for me (lazy beach days). But Steve at Tropicante in Costa Maya is a really good guy and set us up nicely on the beach. Check him out. We were not able to port at Mahogany Bay due to it being too windy. We did a ship sponsored tour of Altun Ha ruins and a jungle river tour back to the port in Belize.

As far as getting there, I guess it depends on where you draw the line on airfare.

If it was me, I'd go with the Breeze.

Also, The Breeze has the Carnival FunHub internet service. We used that to keep in contact with our teens via our cell phones, so there was no having to stop an activity to meet with Mom and Dad.

We used the FunHub app on the December 28th sailing of the Breeze. It was really slick. It was really nice to keep tabs on our kids, or to have them let us know where they were. Well, at least one of them, the 16 y/o. For whatever reason, Carnival wouldn't allow a 12 year old to have the app on his phone. Which is silly since they allow the 12 y/o to come and go as they please from Circle C. So he would have to keep running back to the cabin and leave sticky notes on where he was going to be. I am assuming that when this get's totally rolled out you will be able to get restaurant menus, show times and everything on it. I'd probably pay to use it.

If they moved/stopped the football game it would have been the 'Heidi Game' all over again.

I honestly wonder how many people here got that reference...;)

I am surprised this waiter was so blatant! We were going to book Mr. Sanchos and just changed our minds! I hope the owners are aware of these tactics. YIKES!

We were just there on New Years Day, and our waiter did mention that the bartenders and the waiters work for different companies and he would appreciate it if we would order food, drinks, etc. through him. He wasn't pushy or anything, just kind of stated it as a fact. Our guy's name was Hector and I was seriously considering buying him some new shoes in addition to his tip the way he was running back and forth for us. Dude was hustling! We wouldn't even have a drink finished and Hector'd be there with another one. Great service from an excellent waiter. Tipped him $45...

What a great review of Liberty Tours and the Blue Hole! I have booked with Ricardo as well for my family (including my almost 77 year old mom!) and he answered my questions promptly. I'm looking forward to a wonderful day in Ocho Rios!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Ricardo was great to work with and our driver Demar was a wonderful young man. Just a word of caution, be careful around the Blue Hole with your mom. The stairs are very steep and there are no hand rails.

I see you're location is Frozen Tundra in MN. Are you a packers in MN??? :-) I am a packer backer here in Cowboys land....

 

I absolutely agree you don't need fancy to be good. :-) We had fantastic jamaican patty from a food truck!!! i just don't like overpaying for mediocre food. The festival bread was good...it reminded me of a bread i had growing up. :-)

Absolutely NOT a Packer fan ;). Former Viking fan :o. At least the Packers manage to get it right while the Vikings just keep saying "Wait 'til next year!" Come to think of it, I think that's what all Minnesota teams say...

I loved the Blue Hole and would go again in a heartbeat.

Great to hear! We are booked with Liberty Tours for the Blue Hole for November . How many people were in your excursion? Did you stop at Scotchies? Thanks!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

We did a private tour, so there was only myself, the Mrs. and our two sons. There was another group from the Breeze that used Liberty Tours out of the port and there were around a dozen people in it.

We did stop at Scotchies. It was fantastic! We ordered a whole chicken, festival bread and Red Stripes. The boys got Cokes. It was one of the best meals I've ever had. Sometimes you don't need fancy to be good.;)

I am looking to bring back some cheaper alcohol from our cruise in March. Is it cheaper to buy in Grand Cayman or Ocho Rios? We are primarily looking at some vodka and whiskey. Thanks in advance.

There is nothing cheap about Grand Cayman...

The Breeze will be the largest ship we have been on. With nearly 4000 guests, are lines long, does the ship seem crowded?? Is the ships layout easy to maneuver?

The trip I was on was sold out and I only felt crowded twice, on the initial boarding (because everyone gets on board and then stops in the atrium instead of keeping moving) and after reboarding on Grand Cayman (because apparently they didn't allow reboarding until almost 1500 and it backed everything up). I generally camped out on Deck 10 Aft and sunworshipped with the Mrs. and it wasn't too bad back there, except for the indigenous Chairicus hogimax. I can't speak for the main pool area since I generally like like a quiet and relaxing atmosphere when I cruise. I'm not into the loud music and hairy chest contest.;)

As far as lines for restaurants, you need to be flexible with your eating habits. I am generally an early riser, so breakfast was never an issue. But when I walked by around 0900, there would be lines. However, if you went to the Blue Iguana Cantina for a breakfast burrito, there didn't seem to be much of a wait. I did anytime dining in the Sapphire Dining Room and never waited more than 5 minutes to get in. But I generally ate at 1800 because my teens had activities planned with Circle C and Club O2 later that evening, and I didn't want to mess up their plans. In my opinion, if you are flexible with your eating habits and are open minded to try different things (the Tandoor on 10 aft is excellent) there will be little to no waiting. If you have to eat lunch at 1200 in the Lido buffet, the be prepared to wait.

The ship was incredibly easy to maneuver. Decks 4 and 5 pretty much go from stem to stern. Deck 4 has a promenade on the starboard side that allows you to go from the aft of the ship to the Atrium. I love this layout. I always hated the up-down-back-around layouts of the older ships I was on (Victory, Destiny, Glory). Also by each elevator bank is a large map of the ship showing you exactly where you are. It will show you what deck you are on and also where on that deck you are. In my opinion the Dream class ships are incredibly easy to navigate.:)

We used Liberty Tours Jamaica for a tour to the Irie Blue Hole, and it was the highlight of the cruise! Everything from the reservations with Ricardo to the actual tour with Demar was top notch. I would highly recommend Liberty Tours Jamaica.

After doing some research on TripAdvisor and a few other websites, I decided to go with Liberty Tours Jamaica for a family outing in Jamaica. From the start Liberty Tours was a top notch operation. Ricardo Riley responded promptly to my emails with clear answers and instructions. He even telephoned me several times to make sure all my questions were answered. About two weeks prior to going on the tour, he emailed me instructions on what to do when I got to the port and a list of approved drivers he works with. He also telephoned days before the tour and gave me instructions on using a password in case a driver showed up claiming to be from Liberty Tours. We had booked a private tour to the Irie Blue Hole with Liberty Tours and our tour guide Demar Lawrence was fantastic! I cannot say enough about this young man. He was friendly and had a very sunny attitude. On the way to the Blue Hole, he chatted about the history of Jamaica, the different languages spoken on the island (American English, British English and Patois) and other information. The drive to the Blue Hole was a little crazy with the driving on the left-hand side and the blind curves, but at no time did I feel unsafe with Demar. He was an excellent driver. Once you get off the main road, the road to the Blue Hole is little more than a logging trail, so be prepared for bouncing and jostling. Demar took it slow and easy and we were to the Blue Hole in no time. Once we arrived at the Blue Hole, Demar stayed in the vehicle to watch our items. We were then turned over to the tour guides at the Blue Hole. Our guides were named Ricardo and Riley. These young men were incredible! They made sure everyone got photo ops and the opportunity to jump into the various pools from different heights, crawl under the waterfall, and finally swing off the rope swing. I would go back to the Blue Hole in a heartbeat. It was not crowded and I never felt rushed. After the Blue Hole, Ricardo drove us to a spot overlooking the harbor just off Shaw Park Road. It was what he called a “Million Dollar View” and he was right. It was beautiful. We took some pictures, and then Demar took us to the shopping area of town for souvenirs and of course Jamaican rum! After the shopping, he took us to Scotchies for lunch. We ordered a whole jerk chicken for my family of four with the accompanying festival bread and Red Stripes (sodas for the kids) and we demolished it. This was hands down the best meal I had on my trip. The chicken was juicy and flavorful. And with the scotch bonnet sauce on the side, you could make your jerk as incendiary as you wanted it to be. My 12 year old who thinks ketchup is spicy ate about a third of the chicken himself. After lunch at Scotchies, Demar took us back to the port. The tour was about 5 hours and was well worth it. If I could give Liberty Tours and Demar Lawrence six stars I would. You need to check these guys out!

Thank you for the detailed review!

We are just off the Pride. I agree with your statements about passengers with deck chairs and debarkation. So I guess it does not really matter what ship you are on, people complain and don't follow the simple procedures on tendering or debarking, creating chaos.

We bought FTTF(specifically for the tendering port) and when we were being taken to the tendering boats the stairways were crowded with passengers trying to make their way down before their numbers were called. Then they were mad at us at to why we were given priority. Even other passengers who bought FTTF were complaining that they were not being taken off 'first'. I told them they were waiting with the rest of the priority passengers(platinum, diamond, FTTF, early excursions) and they snapped that they were FTTF and should be off FIRST. Ridiculous!!

We had FTTF for that same reason and were getting a little nervous for the debarkation. We had a 1230 flight out of Miami, and it seemed that we were never going to get off the ship because they had to keep telling people to get off Deck 3 and to stop coming down if their deck hadn't been called. But eventually they called our zone and we were off by 0930. So that was good. :)

I wish they would make those line jumpers go to the end of the line, like they used to do in grade school!;)

Just got off the Breeze today and I have to say this is my favorite Carnival ship.

Good: Decor matches the name, light and breezy, none of that garish Las Vegas style the rest of the Carnival ships have. The fake trees in the Marketplace are a really cute touch!

Guy's Burgers - Good flavor, nice soft squishy bun, plenty of condiments, and yes Virginia, you get more than six fries. I could have eaten these every day!

Blue Iguana Cantina - Burritos were pretty tasty, both the breakfast and the lunch burritos. They're not Chipotle, but that's a plus in and of itself. The staff making these were some of the nicest and friendliest I have ever met.

Limelight Lounge/Punchliner - What else can I say but "Good times, good times". Preferred the adult shows to the all ages shows, but the all ages shows weren't bad.

Sapphire Dining Room - Was very glad they didn't roll out the "American Table" menu to the Breeze. While the variety wasn't what it used to be, several favorite were still there, including the Strawberry Bisque and the Mango Cream soup. Did anytime dining and the staff were as attentive as they could be. Personally I think Carnival is stretching the staff a bit thin.

Tandoor - Yum.

Dive-in Movies - These were a lot of fun. I really liked these!

Bad : Chair hogs. However, for the first time ever, I did see Carnival staff placing time stickers on chairs that had been vacant for more than the allotted 40 minutes. The bad part of this is that Carnival seemed content to let the passengers enforce the 40 minute rule rather than have the staff come back and remove the items and free up the chairs.

Photographers. Enough with impromptu photos at dinner, or getting off the ship or whatever. If I want a photo I will seek you out.

Fahrenheit 555 - While it wasn't really bad, for the extra $35/pp I didn't feel anything I ate in here made me say "OMG, I HAVE to come back here!". Don't get me wrong, the staff was very attentive and the food was good. It just didn't blow me away.

Ugly : Passengers. Especially the chair hogs on the aft Lido deck that almost got into fisticuffs over who claimed a chair first. It was almost to the point of having to pee on your chair to mark you territory or someone would take it. It really stuck in my craw the way that some people would come down at 0600, place a book, 3-4 towels and a banana on a group of 8 chairs and then not return to these chairs until 0830 or 0900.

Passengers II - How hard is it for people to listen and follow instructions? Or wait their turn in line to debark? The CD had to make numerous announcement to get people off Deck 3 prior to debarkation, and then make several more announcements telling people they needed to wait for their deck to be called before they would be allowed off the ship.

I'm probably missing some stuff, so if I think of it, I'll add more!

We missed Roatan when we sailed in March 2010 due to high winds. Was disappointed but glad the captain didn't take a chance. Didn't give me a lot of confidence looking at all the shipwrecks around the port...

Just don't show up in a wifebeater and a banana hammock and you'll be fine...

I live about 20 or so miles from a major shipping port where 7 ships have docked in the last 30 days from W. Africa. I have 2 cruises booked in the next 7 months. Those crew members are allowed off the ships after being screened by the Coast Guard. I know my risk of exposure is low, but it only takes one person to get this thing rolling. Successive outbreaks in Africa have generally been worse than previous ones. We need a vaccine and we need effective treatments, not screening and isolation. At this point in time, screening, isolation, and experimental treatments are all we have.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

But there's no money for Big Pharma to develop a vaccine that will only be used every couple of years in a third world country.

Wrong. Us women LOVE them. We hate the side effects of them :eek:. Probably for the same reason ;)

You'll have to speak to the Mrs. then. She HATES them.;)

I do I do I do.......Jersey Girl. Tons of WC'S here. LOVE THEM

When I was pregnant with my first child....I remember eating TEN of them...:eek::eek::eek:

You are truly a unique female...in my experience males LOVE them and females HATE them...

No clue, my wife is the CFO and pays the bills.:D

^This. :D

I can't remember what our last one was. Maybe $400? I DO remember that the alcohol bill spiked on the sail away day and then reduced exponentially as the cruise went on...

Have a great time! We're leaving on the Breeze in 288 days! can't wait to see your review!

I did the "Check Every Day " game and it finally worked. The Mrs. had put two FTTF in her shopping cart (we have two cabins) paid for one and then when she went to pay for the second one it disappeared. She went back to buy it again and it was Sold Out! We called Carnival and the rep told us to call back on Monday to talk to their IT department. I did that and was basically told "Sorry, Charlie." So I just kept checking and about a month later I was checking again on my bus ride home from work and voila! FTTF was available for purchase. I clicked on it and was able to purchase the one we needed. However when I went back to see if there was more, it said Sold Out! again. I'd just keep checking. Good Luck!

Am considering a New Years Eve cruise on the Breeze. Last sailed on the Dream in 2010, and I loved the layout of that ship. However, the Mrs. is concerned with the "cut backs" she has been hearing about with Carnival (family style dining, severe trimming of the menu (cold soups gone, etc.), increasing the number of tables each waitstaff serves, etc.). We've always loved the dining rooms and are a bit concerned about the cuts. She is also looking at some RCCL cruises about the same time, but the additional costs per person on the RCCL ships are giving us reason for pause. Are the cutbacks on Carnival not that big a deal or are they enough where we may want to consider looking at the RCCL cruise? Thanks for any insight!