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So day 2 comes along, our first sea day. It's time to do everything we can in one day because we won't get this chance again until the next full sea day. I love going to all the different ports, but in reality, I would rather not have such a port extensive itinerary. It's just nothing but go-go-go all the time. Having a chance to enjoy the ship a little more would be nice.

 

We started the day with our sloppy eggs and fighting for more bacon then decided to play a little putt-putt. This time around Sakari did better and she was actually playing the entire game with a few holes she made it in 3 putts. Good for her.

 

 

I of course won the game as always...not tooting my own horn or anything.

 

 

This was Sakari's favorite, it went in to the ship and disappeared. She was so disappointed and later cheered up that it came out the other side. It's magic she said!

 

 

Had to have one with the Whale Tail in it:

 

 

 

Sakari had been begging to go to the kids club to meet her new "friends" so we thought we would check it out. They had told us that they were open from 9am-10pm. We went up and once again, they were not open and it was after 9am. Hmm, me and this kids club is just not getting off to a good start on this cruise. We were then told it would open at 10am.

 

So, we had to cure her depression by telling her it was time to go to the water park and slides. She perked up really quick with that.

 

Slides, here we come!

You know I would send an email or even post a note on John Heald's page about the Kids Club and the problem with the time. Too me, I think its a problem, but maybe there was a reason for them opening up late. I would just find out if this is something ongoing, or just a random thing that happened. I just find it kinda weird.

...read Cruise Critic several times a day

...know who Sgt. Schultz , Gapearl, and Gambee are

...check for price drops each and every day

Has any one heard anything about New Orleans cruises for next year? Every time I try to check online the Carnival website keeps "thinking". We are looking to cruise next year and would like to leave out of New Orleans. Thanks for your help. :D

DH and I are already booked on the Carnival Sunshine out of New Orleans on March 30th, 2014.

Our final flight was on a puddle jumper;

 

Carnival Breeze post cruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

Safely back in WV;

 

Carnival Breeze post cruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

Carnival Breeze post cruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

Baggage claim;

 

Carnival Breeze post cruise by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

We've been home now for nearly one month and the relaxation bestowed upon me by Carnival Breeze still lingers. I can't wait to sail her again!

 

We also still don't have our next cruise booked yet. We're planning for the ship to be Carnival Breeze, but the time frame is up in the air; B2B on Breeze in Summer 2015 is being planned, but surely we'll find something before then!

 

 

Thank you all for the kind comments and I hope I didn't leave too much out....:p

 

For those of you who are tired of reading my rambling and suffering thru all the pictures, please be advised that this is

THE END

No, say it ain't so, I don't want the review to end. You did an AWESOME job with detailing everything along with the pictures, that I wanted your cruise to go on and on.

Thanks for allowing us to share your vacation. DH and I go cruise on the Carnival Sunshine next year, so I'm getting tips on how to do the review. Thanks again.

Didn't know a oil rig could be towed. Something new I learned.

This was our area of Junkaroo Beach. The octagonal building on the left hand side of the beach is public restrooms;

 

Carnival Breeze Day 2 by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

Atlantis;

 

Carnival Breeze Day 2 by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

Bryson and Karen. Suffices to say that Bryson passed Karen up in height;

 

Carnival Breeze Day 2 by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

HDR;

 

Carnival Breeze Day 2 by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

HDR #2 Check out how the HDR skews Atlantis;

 

Carnival Breeze Day 2 by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

Distant shot of Hilton;

 

Carnival Breeze Day 2 by paulmedik, on Flickr

I hope that DW isn't in too much pain after seeing DS stepping on her foot in the photo (funny). Maybe she didn't even notice.

The view of Miami from a cruise ship is second to none IMO;

 

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

View to the North;

 

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

View to the East;

 

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

Strolling around the ship, the view changes with the lighting and atmosphere of each area;

 

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

 

2013 Carnival Breeze Day 1 by paulmedik, on Flickr

Hi Paul - I was breezing by and saw your review. You are doing a wonderful job on the review, thanks for sharing. BTW, can you please tell me where the red seats and umbrellas are, what area is that? It looks like the perfect place to sit and watch "Sail Away". We are going on the Sunshine in March, so I'm hoping that they have this area as well.

Great job on the review. My very first cruise was a 5-day on Royal Caribbean and I said I would never do that again. It's just too short and I need all the time on the ship to enjoy myself. Thank you for sharing your review with us. I'm actually thinking of doing a BFF cruise, but will think twice about it because I have no patience! lol

What would be the point of getting a passport card. It is a total waste of money.:confused:

 

Bill

The passport card is for those individuals who know they will use it only for cruises, since it cannot be used for international travel.

For a family of four the passport card is $220. For a family of four purchasing the passport book it's over $500, so there is a bit of savings there. If you know that you are not going to travel overseas, the passport card would benefit the individual/families better. It just depends on if the passport card fits their needs.

No that was probably a one time promotional sale. They have all kinds of crazy fares like Better Homes & Gardens, Ebony Magazine, promotions for certain businesses, etc. They come and go. The ones I listed are their structured fares that they will use consistently until further notice. Every several years they will recategorize their fare structures.

So if I booked an early saver for my cruise in March 2014, I will need to check every day, or every other day to see if the price has dropped, correct? I tried using the Carnival "Fare Checker", but I could not for the life of me get past a certain point. So I just do a mock booking on the website. I figure it just as good.

I got my passport when the cost wasn't as high as it is now, but my thinking about this whole passport thing is this. I was involved in 9/11 (I worked 3 blocks from the WTC) and after that horrible day, I truly believe that if you are traveling outside of the country for business or pleasure you should have a passport. Now I do understand that the cost of applying for a passport is very high. However, I went on the website for Passport Application and this is what I found. To apply for a passport it is $110, plus they add on $25 for execution fee, which brings the total to $135. There is also The U.S. Passport Card, which can be used to enter the US from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry. This is more convenient and less expensive than a passport book. The cost for the passport card is $30, plus an execution fee of $25, total cost $55. So to me, no excuse for people not to have some form of passport book or card. The U.S. has been to soft about letting people in and out of our country without proper identification, and we have paid the price dearly for this. Sorry, but what me, and thousands of others went through on 9/11, I'm just a touchy when it comes to identification.

I'm slammed at work so won't be able to post until this evening but I've got some things to say about HMC so I want to get that done.

 

A few other things though, we could feel a lot of vibration in the back. I never really noticed much sway from being up on 8 (never stayed that high) but there is a ton of vibration back there. It never really bothered me but thought I'd mention it. We could also hear them moving chairs when cleaning in the morning. Not a big deal but worth noting.

 

As far as her hand goes, I think there are much more subtle ways for someone to ask to not carry anything for a week :p

Hahaha...to funny. The review is great and can't wait for you to post more!!!

We headed back to the room, made some Room Drinks, and decided to brave the Piano Bar and check out Peter Brenner. We went in with some trepidation, because unfortunately we hadn’t heard anything good about Mr. Brenner… however we had promised our friend Laura that we would give him a fair shot and report back with an honest opinion.

He was just starting when we got there and explained that he would start with a few of his own songs, then take a few requests, then do a few more of his own.

 

 

He was OK at best… he’s a decent piano player, but his tempo on everything just seems fast. We tried our best to be engaging and talk to him in between songs, but during songs he would absolutely zone out and not engage the crowd (all 5 of us in there at the time) at all. There were some times where he would either try to improvise and it just came off awkward, or he’d switch into this really low grumbly voice, and that was sorta brutal.

 

 

Julie, Ram, Alan, and Gayle came in, and we had fun with them (Poor Julie needed 2 Long Islands just to stand it).

 

We asked if he did any sort of “late night” material after 11 or 12, and he flat out said NO, he didn’t do it, and refused. Alrighty Then… no real reason for us to stay in there and have fun in the late hours of the evening, that’s for sure.

 

Yes, this shot was taken in the height of what should be optimum Piano Bar time... pretty empty...

 

With the slow transformation to re-brand the Carnival Piano Bar scene, we are both hoping Carnival starts to take guest opinion into consideration when this guy’s contract comes up for renewal. Just Sayin…

 

We left, each lost a quick $100 at the Let it Ride table, and decided to call it a night… I headed up to get some pizza to take back to the room for us to share out on the Balcony. We had the fun "seal" for the first night's animal... this one cracks me up every time...

 

While I was getting ready for bed, Chris fell asleep outside on a lounger, and I came out and cuddled up next to him. We both fell asleep out there… and then the night got interesting… (get your minds out of the gutter, lol!)

 

We both woke up and in my half-asleep state, I went to push myself up off the lounger with my right hand on the side, and my hand slipped, and all my weight went into my thumb and it got bent backwards… now I’m an admittedly very clumsy person in general, so usually I’ll run into something, trip over something, etc, and not think anything of it… this was different.. I knew something was wrong and actually thought I dislocated my thumb. It was late, I could barely wiggle it, and it was blowing up like a balloon... Well damn.... We went down to the Medical Bay, but they told us that since it was so late, we’d have to go to Guest Services first so they could call the night nurse first. We went up to 3, then back down to 0… she took a look, said that because I could move it at least slightly, it wasn’t dislocated or broken… she gave me lots of plastic bags with Ice, and I got a shot in the butt for pain and swelling… Fun times!!!

She said to come back the next morning around 8 when the doctor would be in, and we were sent on our way… I swear it’s always something with me! We made our way back up the room and set our alarm earlier than we wanted, due to the new 8am apt with the Doctor…

 

This is what it ended up looking like after a day or two...

 

 

OMG, I hope you are okay!!! Poor thing, thank goodness its not broken, but boy did you bruise it good!!

Congratulations on your wedding! Look forward to your review!

I see that you are going on the Sunshine next year. DH and I will be on her as well in March. I was wondering if you are staying in New Orleans before and after your cruise. I found a hotel for the night we get into New Orleans, but having problems with the one night after our cruise. Have a wonderful time and looking forward to your review once you get back!

Our room was ready as soon as we boarded so we dropped off our luggage and unpacked a little. Chris was also quite pleased to find his first Platinum pin ready and waiting for him.

 

In Chris’s words… “OMG I love our balcony!!!! This thing is friggin huge!!!” In my words… “This thing is bigger than the Blue Banana!” (Bonus points for anyone that gets that reference!)

 

 

 

 

There was one lounger but more than enough room for a 2nd. We didn’t see our room steward but left a note asking for constant ice and for a 2nd lounger. Note about the ice – they stopped automatically having Ice in the room on embarkation day because more often than not it would go to waste, but all you have to do is let your room steward know you want it, and should have it for the rest of the cruise.

 

 

 

Just read your other review and loved that. Was excited to find this review and I know I'll enjoy reading it as well. Thanks for sharing.

Soon enough you start seeing all these little rafts with fishermen. Something that impacted me is how far they go away from shore, not only that but in a cloudy day like this one you could barely see land and at times you could not even see it. Vey scary.

 

My neighbor was of course blabbering aloud of how stupid these people were and what would make them go all the way out there for nothing. Apparently she has zero knowledge that some very unfortunate people go to extreme measures just to survive, instead she accused them of being stupid, while in the meantime she yelled across the balconies to see where her friend were going to go for breakfast…. The irony….

 

anyway,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It goes to show you how ignorant people can be. As you stated, these people go to the extreme to feed their family, and yet, she's going to breakfast. How dare she call someone stupid without even knowing their situation. As Americans we are so spoiled.

 

 

 

 

I was in the water for about 5 minutes and then something rubbed on my leg, I could not tell what it was as the water was very murky. I could of been a fish or even algae, but being the scary cat that I am with the ocean…. well I will let this picture interpret how I got out of the water :D

 

 

Yeah.. that was me getting out!

 

 

 

After I had calmed down from my near death experience I found a nice place to sit and expose my skin to some cancerous sun rays :D

 

 

 

HAHAHAHA...that was great. I love the picture you posted, it's a picture worth a thousand words. I'm guessing it was only a fish that brushed your leg, so you can relax.:D

 

 

Passing so close….

 

 

 

Getting closer.

 

 

Now further, nah just messing with you'all =)

 

 

 

It's amazing how close they do get to the sand bars. The pilots and Captains are so good at what they do. Just think of a ship running aground, I mean they are really that close, wow!

 

 

After Karaoke we decided to head to the room and call it a night, it had been a very long day and we were beat. We had a great time in Grand Cayman, I got to hold a turtle how cool is that?!?!?! But the funny thing is that the Best port of this trip had yet to come, how much better could it get? Well my friends, it can get much better :)

 

 

 

I took this picture just before heading to bed

 

 

 

 

 

We had hope for better weather for Jamaica. Gambee had big plans for Jamaica!

 

 

Day 4, Finished!

 

 

I am exhausted... :D

I am so glad that you went and checked on your mom. Thank God she was okay, but I do hope they get that fixed. That's not good.

How much was the Behind the Fun Tour, and when do they usually have it?

Thanks

Just passing through and saw your review, which I love. Please hurry and post more so that I can read and view the photos. Great job so far!

So glad to find your review.

Wow, you really didn't get off to a good start did you? Looking forward to the rest of your review.

If anyone knows anything about Chankanaab, it is probably the dolphins.

 

Chankanaab and the rest of Cozumel was heavily damaged by Hurricane Wilma a few years ago and it took a while for them to rebuild, but the dolphin's were on of the attractions they brought back first, then the sea lions, and they now even have some manatees.

 

The dolphin pen is huge and at any given moment there could be several dolphin swims and other events going on. These are popular but not particularly cheap.

 

What many may not know is they have free sea lion shows and even a free dolphin/manatee show or two, although none of those allow you to participate. You can have a camera for the sea lion shows, but they don't allow them for the dolphins or manatees.

First of all your review is outstanding. Thank you so much. DH and I are going to Cozumel and I wanted to know if the beach at chankanaab is something that we would like. DH is a lot older than me and likes to lay out on the beach, while I like to get in the water. I actually want to try snorkeling and would like to know if this is a good place for it.

Thank you...BTW I'm addicted to your reviews.:D

I've read your reviews before and loved them. I'm sure I'll like this one as well. Thanks for sharing your review.