Strmwatch

But we will have the VISTA!!

I still personally think the should have just slid the Breeze up the coast into Port Canaveral.

I wanted to SCREAM when they sent the Dream out to New Orleans and didn't replace her.

Yes...they're sending the Magic up to P.C., BUT her itineraries really SUCK IMO.

Awesome information, thank you!

 

From what I have been able to see, it seems Miami is the cheapest airport to fly out of in Florida, am I on the right track? Hate driving 3 hours to get there but the price differential has been worth it in the past. Would prefer to fly out of Fort Myers or Tampa but the cost is usually significantly higher.

Not sure if you've already made your flight reservations or not

I did a mock booking flying to Barcelona and then back from Athens from both Miami and Tampa...and the cost was actually cheaper leaving Tampa on several different booking engines.

Okay, that would explain it. Thanks. I couldn't find the new terminal on Google Earth.

Google Earth Imagery Date : 02/13/2014

A ton can happen in a year.

I know we need our heads checked. :D

Love the Fantasy class & even if we didn't would learn to like them since that is all we are going to have right up the road. :)

Wish I could drive across the state but it is to much for me & Lar can't ride that far with his leg problem SO we Love the Paradise.

Also Jan & Bill don't get off the ship any more so it really don't matter where it is going. ( we can't either ) get off ship that is.

Char

90 mins across the state to Port Canaveral is too much? Ugh that stinks!!!

No way in the world would I ever do 100 cruises on the same ship (much less a tiny Fantasy class), seeing the same ports that many times.

Ok not sure why my post was deleted?

All I said was...why not do both?

Cucina is free during lunch...so you can go there for lunch then the Steak House for dinner.

I hear the S shine is headed there.

You're a year late.

The Sunshine has been cruising from PC for awhile already.

Word on the street is the Magic is being brought to PC since the Breeze is being sent to Galveston.

Pretty sure the other reason being the RCCI Oasis of the Seas is being ported out of PC soon as well.

Just curious, where was this publicly stated? Links?

 

I do not think the refurbishment was a flop. I'd love to see them do this to all their fantasy class ships. Those ships are so tired and have no extras!

I remember reading about it on John Healds FB page.

He said the "Beards" were the ones that admitted it was a mistake.

I still dont understand why some diamond and platinum cruisers get upset by FTTF. They still get to board before FTTF. And it is not like there are an unlimited number of FTTF,s available. Oh well, I am still grateful for the option.

The reason being, some (not all) of these people think they should be "special snow flakes".

I always have to laugh when reading John Healds FB page when a person complaining about something ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS starts off with the infamous "I'm a Platinum...blah blah blah".

Honestly...I see this kind of behavior coming from the so called "Platinum" people, not so much the "Diamond" level.

On a Dream class ship I think they release a maximum of somewhere in the vicinity of 100 FTTF slots maybe a little more...so 4,000 people...and roughly 100...or lets just increase that to 200 FTTF impacts exactly no one.

Personally...I like to have it so I can drop my bags off in the room. Most of the itineraries I choose are docked ports, no need for tenders.

 

Numbers 1,2 and 3 are the main reason we loved her so much. The Vista is haping up to be my second favorite ship...possibly? I will probably still like Sunshine better because I prefer aft-balconies and the Vista's are leaving a bad taste in my mouth with the pool area below.

 

If you're that concerned about the aft balcony cabins on the Dream class ships...why don't you give one a try instead of waiting until the end of 2016 when the Vista will be in the U.S?

As you said in a previous post..."Don't knock it until you try it".

:-)

I have sailed on the Sunshine and loved it! Like another poster mentioned, as a habit I do not try to show up to things at peak times....on any ship. So I never observed crowds.

 

The choke points complaint is something I see on many ships. Triumph, Victory, etc. It's the ships original design. Not much can be done at this point. But again, this is not specifically a Sunshine problem.

 

Too bad many people refuse to sail her. It just makes it all that more pleasurable for me when carnival drops the prices due to lack of bookings.

I agree with you about "rushing to judgment", however when the majority of reviews are negative about something...that tends to raise the red flag.

Carnival has already stated they will never do this type of "refurb" again. In their eyes it was an experiment and it failed.

I think they should have a Dream class ship stationed in all of the "major" ports and add additional Spirit class ships to the fleet.

What's the primary focus of your trip?

Partying or the actual itinerary?

You're going to get better itineraries/more choices (imo) on the Breeze when compared to the Magic/Dream.

 

Wow. Could you elaborate a little on why you "hated" the Paradise so much? This was my 11th cruise and I had a great time on the Paradise. Yes, I saw a bit of "wear and tear" evidence but overall I thought the ship was in great condition for her age. And we were never bored. Stateroom attendant was great. Food was better than I expected it to be. Shows were wonderful. Sun was warm and the sky was blue. What more could a person ask for?

 

Certainly:

It was old and run down. Flaking paint all over the place. The main deck areas (Pools, etc) looked horrible.

Wayyyyyy too small for the amount of people crammed onto the ship.

Lines were way too long for the buffet and outside food stations.

Smokers smoking wherever they pleased and Carnival did nothing to stop it.

The 1970's were calling for their staterooms/cabins/whatever back.

The staff was great, they did the best they could with what they had to work with.

It's really a shame that Tampa is now stuck with just that ship as it's only option for most of the year. Sure they popped the Pride down for the winter season since the Legend got sent down under...but that only covers about four months of the year.

What they need to do is bring the Magic to Port Canaveral to replace the Dream. PC is only about a 90 min drive from Tampa...so bringing a Dream class ship back would help with the options.

I was hoping they were going to move the Breeze to PC instead of sending her to Texas.

Not seeing anything from Carnival either for 2016

Personally...I think the Paradise should be put out to pasture and retired.

I hated that ship so much that I will never sail on it again, even if I was offered a free cruise on her.

Sailed both Magic and The Breeze , The Breeze is nicer of the 2 ,along with more to do on it , Better food (Guy's Burger)

I hope they send the Magic (With 2.0 upgrades) to PC to replace the Dream which we lost to NO.

It was bad enough losing the Legend to Australia and being left with only the crappy Paradise, but to take the Dream away from PC just added salt to the wound.

No don't book an Alcove "Cove" balcony...they're "terrible"!!!!

(Psssst don't let the secret get out about how great these cabins are).

So...like I said previously...DON'T book a Cove balcony!!!!

Just off the Breeze this morning.

I personally wanted to give a shout out to the goth group on the cruise. They had a ton show up for the Karaoke night in the Limelight theater (Where they have the comedians)...it was a very welcomed addition.

They helped get the place rocking with their cheering and clapping for everyone who got up to sing.

One of their members (I didn't get his name) sang a great rendition of "Hey Jude" which had the entire room singing along and cheering.

I think they tend to get a "bad rap"...but I can tell you there were never any issues whatsoever with the group. They happily posed for pictures with other guests and conversed with anyone who sauntered up to them for a chat.

Some of their attire was exceptionally intricate. The Victorian dresses that some of the women wore for elegant night were amazing.

Overall a really nice group of people for sure!

Well lets not forget the ships would also need to physically fit in the port area.

Spinning them around and having them back up the channel wouldn't be a huge issue, just slower...BUT can they even fit down where the port is?

The tunnel idea on the manatee side does make the most sense, they could do all of the tunneling first so as to not affect vehicle traffic, and then just route traffic to the opposite span while they re-connect the bridge to the tunnel.

I honestly think the biggest issue though is the port itself.

Well I'll let you know what we prefer. We never even look at balconies for the reason they are more expensive and we are never in the room. But figured its cheaper lets try. Turns out they refunded it back to credit card. I guess we werent even supposed to get a refund bc we didnt book under early saver. But oh well, we will spend way more than the $88 we are getting refunded.

You may say that you're never in your room...a balcony changes that, believe me.

It's great having your own little get away from all the hustle and bustle of the decks. It's so nice getting up and watching the sunrise from your balcony, or even the sunset.

There have even been times I've slept out on the balcony because it was so peaceful (Cove balcony).

We are having to change what our plan was for cruising next year as the Liberty is moving out of Cape Canaveral. We prefer to drive to port (from Atlanta) and are now looking at the Glory (Half Moon Cay; St Thomas; San Juan & Grand Turk) or the Breeze (St Maarten; St Kitts; San Juan & Grand Turk). The Glory is a 7 day and the Breeze is an 8 day. A couple of hundred dollars difference between the two. Or, if the Valor is to have 2.0 Upgrades we could possibly go on her with the same ports as the Liberty would have been (Nassau; San Juan; St Thomas & Grand Turk).

 

I had already done all my research on the Liberty and we were looking forward to it. But, if the Valor does not have the 2.0 before next October, then we don't want to go on her. Oh yes - no kids just DH & I (early 50's) and my parents (70's) and we all loved the Conquest. Any thoughts?

IMO...out of all those ports St. Maarten is the absolute best. It's been my favorite port so far out of my cruises.

I personally don't care for Nassau or Gran Turk, St. Thomas wasn't too bad.

Haven't been to HMC or San Juan although after my cruise in 14 days I'll be able to mark San Juan off the list.

The Breeze really is a nice ship, I haven't been on the Glory so I can't properly compare the two.

I would decide if you want 7 days or 8 days first...if that's not a factor look at the ports and decide that way.

Keypad

I wish ALL of the safes on the ships would be upgraded to this style.

There is a $400 price difference after factoring in tolls, gas, additional gratuities, etc.

 

Is the Breeze worth it? We have two boys (11 & 12) and this cruise is a birthday gift to my husband (40!). I am looking at the Paradise's 9/20 sailing or the Breeze's 9/21 sailing.

 

We would not be going to the speciality restaurants for dinner. So, are Guys Burgers, Blue Iguana, waterworks, rope course, etc worth the extra day and money?

 

The additional day is a port day at Key West. I have no desire to get off the ship in Key West. So the value must be from the extra amenities on the Breeze.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Go for the Breeze, trust me...so much more to do and a much nicer ship.

Put it this way, I've been on both, am heading out for an 8 day on the breeze in 26 days...I did a 4 day on the Paradise (I live in Clearwater so it was quick and easy to get o the port)...if Carnival offered me a FREE cruise on the Paradise, I'd decline. Honestly...there wasn't a single thing I liked about the ship. I went because it was for a friends wedding.

Paradise is too old, too small, too cramped. It's age has been showing for quite a long time.

I don't see anything for the Breeze after April 2015...

Edit: NVM, switched to the Carnival site and can see the dates now.

It's alive!!!!!