Back from the Breeze - Mar 25 - Apr 1

Myself, DH, DD (11) and DS (9) just returned from our sailing on the Breeze. I take the approach that any cruise is a good cruise, and any day at sea is better than being at the office. So any issues experienced are viewed a true first-world problems. Some thoughts, observations and comments:

We had 2 interior spa cabins. The last few cruises we have found it cheaper to book 2 cabins, than to put 4 of us in 1 cabin. The cabins were fine. We wanted morning and evening service, and that was no problem. For those who think that spa cabins reduce the likelihood of being around kids, not on this cruise. Lots of kids on our floor. But no issues with excess noise. The spa itself left something to be desired. The pool was great, but it always seemed that something wasn't working in the steam rooms. Maintenance seemed to be lacking. On the up side, I don't think there was ever more than 5 people in the spa any time we were there. The folks across the hall from us didn't even know they had spa access until halway through the cruise - there was certainly nothing to indicate it once on board (on previous cruises we recalled it being "hyped" more"...now, if you weren't on top of these things, you may not even realize). Room steward was perfectly adequate.

Dining room: the absence of a table cloth was not an issue for us. But this was the first time (in about 15 cruises) that we ever discussed removing gratuities. We didn't. But service was no where near what we had grown accustomed to. We are regular iced tea/lemonade drinkers. Not once was it brought to us without asking...after day 1 on previous cruises, it was just there waiting for us. It often took 2 or 3 requests, and then might arrive 3/4 of the way through dinner. And the atmosphere has certainly changed. People would arrive for the 6pm seating any time within a 45 minute time frame. Attire always ranged between bathing suits (on men...dry, it seemed) to suits (notmany at all) on all nights. Yes, bathing suit seen on formal night. Again, this doesn't impact us, but it was noticeable. DH has tree-nut allergies and our waiter was great about bringing menus the day before so he could select both breakfast and dinner items. But we would run into execution issues at breakfast. So that was a bit aggravating.

Lines on sea days in the Lido Buffet were nothing short of awful. I know...what do we expect with 4000 people on board? I now better appreciate why people just stay on board on port days!

Port stops: Did "Extreme Zipline Adventure" in Jamaica. Kids had fun, but there was nothing extreme about it. DH and DD booked thru Captain Marvin (well, just walked into their office) and did Stingray City and 2-stop snorkeling. They were happy with that. We went to Paradise Beach in Cozumel. A fun day, but not as expected. The water seemed very dirty, with a ton of seaweed, and some of the inflatables were green and slimey. It took a few hours before DS would even enter the water. The pool was great, and the service was attentive. Not hidden, but a mandatory 20 percent service charge added on to all orders.

Spa: DH had acupuncture onboard to help with some pain he was experiencing. He was quite happy with the treatment but, again, mandatory 20 percent auto-tip added on, with another line added for the additional tip. He probably would have tipped 20 percent anyway, but we're not fond of auto-grats.

Thrill Theatre: Kids loved it. Best 9.95 spent in a while. They went every day. Even DH thought it was cool.

Overall, a great holiday. Holidays always are! Happy to answer any questions.

Thanks for your review. I agree that beverages used to be waiting for you at dinner and gone are the days of "dressing" for dinner.

Thanks for your review! we are going on Breeze in December. Just a couple questions.

Which dining room for the early dining selection?

were the slides open most of the time?

What was your favorite part of the cruise?

anything a Not Miss on the Breeze?

My observation only, but on our last cruise on the Breeze the staff in the MDR seemed spread really thin. They were friendly and eager to please, but had too many tables to offer service as personalized as in the past.

Your comments on the spa were particularly interesting to me. We have 2 spa interiors for 4 people booked on our next Breeze cruise and it will be our first time in that area. My youngest guest is 18 so I hoped it would give her a new experience in lieu of Club O2.

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts.

enjoyed the review.thanks

What were your room numbers? We have a spa interior booked on the Breeze and I am interested in the noise level. We have the ladies locker room above us.

Thanks for the report.:)

Thanks for the review I have been debating on booking the breeze or horizon inside Havana for next year. How were the other eating venues during lunch??

Thanks for your review! we are going on Breeze in December. Just a couple questions.

 

Which dining room for the early dining selection?

 

were the slides open most of the time?

 

What was your favorite part of the cruise?

 

anything a Not Miss on the Breeze?

 

We were seated in the Bliss Dining Room. I think Sapphire was anytime dining.

The slides were hit and miss. I was never clear if it was wind issues or poor scheduling but many times it seemed when DS wanted to slide, it wasn't open. The ropes course was closed on the first 2 sea days due to winds. I get safety issues, but it made for pouty children.

Fave part of the cruise? Not really cruise related but it was being able to shut off the work phone and spend time together. Admittedly we can do that at all-inclusives too.

Not miss? We are at the point where all the cruise ships seem the same. Maybe the hint I picked up here: if you like shrimp, ask for shrimp tacos at the Blue Iguana. The sign says chicken, pork or fish, but they will pull it from the burrito line.

My observation only, but on our last cruise on the Breeze the staff in the MDR seemed spread really thin. They were friendly and eager to please, but had too many tables to offer service as personalized as in the past.

 

Your comments on the spa were particularly interesting to me. We have 2 spa interiors for 4 people booked on our next Breeze cruise and it will be our first time in that area. My youngest guest is 18 so I hoped it would give her a new experience in lieu of Club O2.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts.

Same experience - no issue with the personality of the wait team. It was a team of 3 and it seemed we could never figure out who was doing what each day, because they seemed to switch up roles. Great guys...but too many tables to manage.

Here's hoping the spa is what your youngest wants it to be. Great place for solitude. If they like to read, a great spot. Hopefully the rooms will all be in working order.

What were your room numbers? We have a spa interior booked on the Breeze and I am interested in the noise level. We have the ladies locker room above us.

We had 11238 and 11242. I don't even know what was above us! Ours was a quiet space, but we have never had noise issues regardless of what cabin we had.

Thanks for the review I have been debating on booking the breeze or horizon inside Havana for next year. How were the other eating venues during lunch??

With the exception of the Italian, lunch venues on sea days seemed packed. But I am one who doesn't like to spend my holiday time standing in line. If you can wait until 230 to eat lunch, it was more civilized. Or bypass breakfast and eat at 1130.

One other observation: lots of kids on this cruise. No biggie, we bring ours too. It struck me that not many kids engaged in the club -- ours were Camp Ocean age. 11 year old loved it, 9 year old isn't into those things. But it was not well utilized. It seemed that there were far more groups of kids that age and younger walking around with seemingly no supervision -- I don't remember that on past cruises. Everyone seemed to have devices hanging around their necks, adults and kids alike. No judgement, just an observation. I wondered if the HUB chat feature was used to monitor kids rather than having them join the kids clubs. (As a side note, it worked fabulously for us. Because we do a lot of "divide and conquer" it made it easy to meet up on a moment's notice)

Thanks for the review.

We had 11238 and 11242. I don't even know what was above us! Ours was a quiet space, but we have never had noise issues regardless of what cabin we had.

Just wondering why you booked spa cabins instead of regular insides? Were your kids able to use those amenity?

Thank you for your review.

Keith

Just wondering why you booked spa cabins instead of regular insides? Were your kids able to use those amenity?

Kids are not allowed in spa ..

Just wondering why you booked spa cabins instead of regular insides? Were your kids able to use those amenity?

They were not. But at the time of booking the rooms were $20 more than a deck 2 interior. So for $40 DH and I got access. And we use it so it seemed like a good idea.