Strmwatch

What's the cost difference between the two? If there is a difference you have to ask the question...will I use the spa amenities?

I had a spa balcony on my Breeze cruise and honestly only used the spa area for the private shower. It allowed the GF and I to get ready at the same time.

Other than that I didn't use anything else, with that being said I won't book another spa related cabin again to be honest.

I'm booking on the Breeze again for September and am choosing a cove balcony since we LOVED the one we had on our Dream cruise in Feb.

I'm blaming the ship because I'm a nurse by trade and I haven't even had a common cold for at least ten years, I don't take medications at all, i don't get head aches etc I have not even taken a aspirin in over twenty one years? I only drink water, I exercise daily, I eat healthy, I take all precautions possible so I don't get sick in my daily life.

 

No one at home was sick or at work

But yes I saw other passengers That were sick on the ship and people I was talking to on cruise critic before and during my cruise.

Said that they also got sick on the cruise.

I'm not one to blame but after seeing what that staff member did and how I felt while being on this cruise I do feel they are to blame.

I don't care if you don't feel the same that is your believe and I respect that.

I pray you never get sick on a carnival Cruise ship they were heartless. It wasn't fun at all and I'm still sick eight days later.

Just be cautious that's all

No one cAres if your sick on a cruise and there's no one to take responsibility for any wrong doing just remember that

A "nurse" that has never gotten sick in 20, or was it 10 years? (You changed your tune from post to post)

I call PURE BS on this one.

Sorry but hospitals are more of a "petri-dish" than a cruise ship.

It's no different than flying.

Of course I don't think the entire population lives in the cities. But the people that would be using this cruise ship do, and that's who we're talking about aren't we?

 

Justify it all you like, but you made a derogatory and sweeping statement about an entire race of people based on a small sampling of your own personal experience. That's bordering on racist in my book, but you go ahead and keep thinking I'm the one with the issue if it makes you feel good about yourself.

As usual, someone tossing out the word "racist" when they don't even really know what it means.

I said the Chinese like to smoke, a lot. Nothing in that comment is racist nor is it derogatory, it's pointing out a fact that I saw with my own eyes. (Apparently others who posted in this thread also have seen the same thing)

Like I said, people like you (overly PC and overly touchy) are the ones with the problem.

Wow, what a completely ignorant, bordering on racist remark! I don't know any Chinese people in my circle who smoke, and of my interactions with other Chinese people, I haven't noticed any higher percentage of smokers than any other cultural background.

 

As to other comments about having to change restaurants etc to suit "Chinese appetites", get real people. Do you really think the only thing Asian people eat is fried rice and lemon chicken? China is a very cosmopolitan country nowadays, with plenty of the population traveling worldwide and experiencing the culture other countries have to offer. They would want to cruise for the experience of cruising, just like everyone else. Sure a couple of things might be tweaked to suit the overall target audience, just like Australian based ships are tweaked to have things like Vegemite at breakfast, but I really don't see all that much changing, Asian people still eat and enjoy "western" food :rolleyes:

Only a racist sees something racist in my remark. I travel the world for work and this is what I have personally experienced. It's not derogatory in any way. Funny how you make the jump from smoking to eating. Project much?

There are only certain areas of China that are "Cosmopolitan". I guess you think the entire billion plus Chinese live in these cities? Sorry to break this to you, but most of the population still lives in almost 3rd world conditions.

:rolls eyes:

3G has nothing to do with your wifi connection.

Was just about to post this as well...3G and WiFi are two entirely different things.

Here’s what I have to say about The Brits – there was a lot of disappointment packed into a 30 minute show.

 

I know it seems like I’m constantly ragging on Carnival and the shows. I’m not going to stomp around indignantly saying that as a paying customer, I deserve blah blah blah blah etc. I will say, though, that when you are conditioned to a certain level of entertainment for so many years, cheapening it so heavily while continuing to market it as top notch entertainment is quasi insulting. If you’ve never seen a Carnival production show from before they got rid of the live band and started thinning the dance troupe, you don’t know what you’ve missed. YouTube might have some clips. If not, I have a little bit of Rock Down Broadway on my hard drive somewhere.

 

The Brits was hands down the WORST show I've seen yet to date on my cruises. When we saw it I wished I could have gotten those 30 mins of my life back to be quite honest.

I liked absolutely nothing about it.

I think the video screens have their place, but I wish Carnival would go back to the actual set pieces.

Unlike most here, I personally will never sail the Paradise again...ever.

Even if Carnival gave me a free cruise on the Paradise I'd turn it down even though the port of Tampa is only 30 mins away from me.

I went on her back in November for a friends Wedding in Cozumel...the lines for everything were terrible, smokers smoked where ever they wanted. You couldn't even walk through the casino without smelling like a cigarette.

I'm not sure when you were planning on your cruise, but did you look to see if the Legend was sailing from Tampa? They'll be pulling her at the end of the summer and sending her to Australia.

The Legend is leaps and bounds above the Paradise.

Are you dead set using Tampa as your departure port? You might want to look at New Orleans now that they have the Dream.

Yes some people say don't go with the larger/nicer ships for your first time so you don't get spoiled...I say phooey on that. The Dream is an outstanding ship. I'm very sad they decided to move it from port Canaveral to NO though.

I did a 4 day on the Paradise in November of last year for a friends wedding.

Put it this way, I disliked the ship so much that if Carnival were to offer me a free cruise on it again...I'd turn it down.

Too small, too old, hate to say it attracts a "bad" crowd due to the low cost of the cruises. Rude people, smokers smoking anywhere they wanted, that smoke being smelled just about everywhere on the ship. Long lines for just about everything.

Great photo's; Enjoyed them. 1 question; The safe in the cabin. Do you need to use a magnetic card to swipe to open or is it the type where you put in a 4 digit code? Will be sailing the Dream this fall.:):)

4 digit code on the Dream.

The GF and I were on this cruise with you. Absolutely fantastic time and perfect weather the entire trip!

Not sure if you noticed or not but the Dream played Leapfrog with Oasis the entire time!

I do it the day of. This way we aren't locked into anything, and can it on a whim.

You're never "locked in". You can cancel your reservation at any point.

You only get charged if you use the steakhouse.

Book ahead of time just in case. It's easily done via e-mail.

Made the mistake of waiting until we got on the Breeze last year to make a reservation and they were totally booked.

Didn't make the same mistake twice when we went on the Dream this year.

PS: Cucina Del Capitano is free during lunch. BEST time to try it is the first day...no one will be up there since it's kind of hidden. They'll mostly be at the buffet/deli/pizza/Guys Burgers/getting blitzed.

I will not cruise on the Sunshine until the rating on Cruise Critic gets above 75%, have to give the ship some time (may be a long time) to recover from its extremely bad roll out as a new ship. The ship is still getting some very bad recent reviews. Not happy with the Sunshine replacing the Dream. I don't think the Sunshine was booking well in New Orleans, but should do better in Port Canaveral...

Swapping the Sunshine and the Dream really bothers me as well. I love the cove balconies, so now I have to head down to Miami on the Breeze if I want that type of cabin again. Did the 6 day itinerary and honestly disliked it so much I won't do it again. I loved the ship, just hated the ports.

The 7 day Eastern on the Dream was fantastic, my favorite to date.

Seems weird that a smaller ship was not booking well so their "answer" was to send a larger ship?

My DD just booked into the large OV spa cabin on the Splendor for next year. She would like to know when the paperwork for the Cloud 9 package shows up. Is it placed in the room when you arrive or do you have something online in the cruise documents that states you will get it? She is quite excited to try the spa cabins and the large ocean view windows.

I didn't do a Spa cabin on my Dream cruise but did do a spa balcony on the Breeze.

They don't actually send any kind of "paperwork". All we did was head up to the Spa area main desk...hand them our room cards. They put spa stickers on them and also gave us white rubber bracelets to wear signifying a spa cabin.

We didn't really use the spa at all, I did however use the mens private showers. it made it much easier to get ready each morning/day.

Other than that, I personally won't spend the extra $$ again for a spa room, I mush prefer the Cove balconies.

PS: Forgot about the special access card they will give you to access the "Spa" only areas. They hold your S&S card while you have the special access card.

I don’t know why they call it Orlando. May be because of all the theme parks there. It’s Port Canaveral.

I think both ships are about the same except that the Breeze is a little bigger.

The Sunshine has more water slides the Breeze has the thrill theater.

They both have Guys burgers and all of the bars.

 

I would take the eight day over the six day.

Port Canaveral over Miami.

Sail on the Sunshine.

The Breeze is a "Dream" class ship. The Sunshine is a "Destiny" class ship.

The Breeze is almost 110' longer and about 6' wider. It also has 3 more decks, it's also a newer ship (Not counting the refurb the Sunshine went through).

As for my "15 min" comment about the a taxi to the Port of Miami from downtown...I was referring to the time, not the cost.

Regardless it's still MUCh cheaper to go from downtown/SOBE to the port, than it is from Orlando to PC.

IMO if you're sailing JUST due to the loyalty program, you're cruising for the wrong reason.

When I sailed on the Breeze last September (We had a Spa Cabin), the LCD screens were on a movable bracket.

There is a bunch of open space behind the LCD so we used it for storage of items we used all the time instead of trying to find room on the "desk" area.

Something to keep in mind as well.

Downtown Orlando is still an hour away from the port.

All of the hotels in downtown Miami are an easy 15 min ride to the port.

As far as the difference between the two ports...I think Miami is the best for embarkation/debarkation. It's laid out much better than Port Canaveral.

I also think leaving Miami on the ship is a much nicer view than PC. While it's neat seeing the old shuttle launch pads (If it's clear), nothing beats the view of Miami as you're heading out.

I'm so mad they decided to swap the Dream for the Sunshine out of Port Canaveral.

The GF and I did the Eastern Caribbean this past February. Absolutely my favorite itinerary to date.

It was also our first "Cove" balcony and let me tell you, those are the best!!!

Just got back on Saturday after being on the Breeze for the 6 day.

I wandered all over the ship and never noticed the infamous sewage smell...perhaps it's only in certain cabins and not in the general public areas?

I didn't have any issues with the food on board at all. Sure there were some dishes I didn't care for, not because they were cold or horrible, they just weren't my cup of tea so to speak.

As for the scrambled eggs...I've never come across a buffet anywhere in the world that uses "real" eggs on the buffet for scrambled eggs.

The MDR's (Two on the Breeze) have made to order eggs. You could also have asked the omelette station to make you scrambled eggs.

I'm 5-10 and didn't have an issue with the toilets, you make it sound like you had a "child" toilet in your room.

Windows caked in salt and could barely see out of them? Really? Which dining room were you in? How many times did you actually eat in the dining rooms? The food there was much better than the mass produced buffets upstairs.

As far as the shows go...sure at times I found the video screen backgrounds to be annoying. The only show I did not like at all was "The Britts". Motor City I thought was good. Diva's was OK...and the final concert was good.

I personally thought the male performers did a much better job singing than the female performers did.

The comedy shows were decent, the piano bar was fun. We only popped in to the Red Frog pup for a little bit while they had a live singer in there.

I was upset to find out the door decorating contest was removed several months ago. I found this out after we were already on the ship with said door decoration hung. (We won last year on the Legend).

Did I enjoy the Breeze as a whole, yes. What I overall wasn't too impressed with was the actual itinerary of the 6 day. The three islands didn't do much for me at all.

Our 7 day on the Legend last year had a much better itinerary IMO.

I'll be looking at the 8 day Southern Route on the Breeze for next year.

It would be in September 2014.

 

 

And where does that leave Tampa???

Sadly it looks like we're SOL.

We're going to be stuck with the Paradise and that's it from the looks of things.

I managed to talk DH into our upcoming cruise because of the great deal I got. It's another 5 day and it's not on the Dream, but we'll get to try a different itinerary. Maybe if he has a great time on this one as well, I'll be able to talk him into getting a FCC while we're on the ship. I really want to do a 7 day Western Caribbean, so it would be Legend out of Tampa or Dream out of PC... can't talk DH into driving any further than that. :p

I know the last update is from a couple of weeks ago...but bear in mind that it looks like the Legend will only be sailing from Tampa during the "Winter" season now.

They took it across the pond to sail in the Med for the summers...so as of right now there are only 4-5 day sailings on the Paradise out of Tampa in the summer months.

We've never had another full-time ship, but I think the Legend or one of the other Spirit class did a couple of sailings as a test. I wish they would switch it out for a different Spirit class since nothing larger is an option and nothing smaller can get anywhere fast enough.

Tampa also can't have anything larger than a Spirit class due to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

We did lose the Legend to the Med during the summer so now we only have the Paradise for the summer season.

Paul,

First off GREAT review and GREAT pictures.

My GF and I are scheduled for the 6 day Breeze cruise in September, I ended up splurging on one of the Spa balcony cabins on deck 11 since this will be our first time on the Breeze.

I have a question about the aft wrap...other than the ash from the smokers above you, did you ever get soot from the smoke stacks on your balcony?

How about the privacy? I admit there were several nights on my Legend cruise I slept out on out balcony (starboard side extended one) at night since it was so peaceful. I'm guessing at the "aft" section people could look down and see most of the balcony, but what about the side section?

Thanks again for the great review!!

Phil