Review - kids' first cruise - Carnival Breeze

[sjb.illinois]

Hi Everyone,

We took our kids on their first cruise 12-2 on the Carnival Breeze, and it was fabulous. I have posted a full review, but wanted to link to it here as well

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=112184

 

I wanted to point out a couple things about Carnival with kids. We knew this needed to be a family friendly vacation that everyone would enjoy, and frankly we were prepared for the kids to have a better time than us [grownups that is]. But my DH and I had a really great time!! We found there was plenty to keep us entertained, and great kid-free spaces for when we wanted that.

The kid's program was great in our experience. I had read some reviews here which left me a little nervous, besides which my DS (7) can be frightened of new places and situations. Not only did he have a fabulous time, but my oh-so-independent tween DD(10) had a great time too.

There obviously aren't any characters on Carnival, which you would have with the other lines, but our kids never missed them. Would they love going on Disney or Royal Caribbean, or any other line? I'm sure they would! But for the price on Carnival, we can cruise more often.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my experience here on the family board. If anyone has any specific questions let me know!

[Keith1010]

Thanks for taking the time to write your review and to share it with everyone. I am going to read it right now.

 

Keith

[SportsMomof4]

Thank you! We are heading out on the Breeze on 12/30. My youngest boy will be 7 in March & he is nervous & shy with new situations & surroundings as well. He has never been to daycare nor has he ever been left with a babysitter so I am not sure what to expect. What was your sons favorite thing about the program?

 

This was a 6 day right? What nights were the formal nights?

 

I agree about the characters & the cost of Carnival. Because of the lower costs, we also can now start to cruise more often. We did go on a Disney cruise in 2006 when my son was 8 months old & while it was totally enjoyable for my 3 older kids, it was VERY expensive. My Mom had won lotto so it was her treat :D! So the price wasn't a concern to me. Looking at prices of Disney when we booked this, I was shocked :eek:!

 

I am heading to the shower no so I will read your review later. If I have any questions, I will ask :). Thanks again!

[crusinmama06]

Nice review :) We saw the Breeze when we were on Epic. I love your last line - about your son being almost "inconsolable" and needing another cruise. He sounds like my girls - step off the ship and announce they have "PCD" (Post Cruise Depression)

 

Good luck - you have created a monster. :D

[sjb.illinois]

Nice review :) We saw the Breeze when we were on Epic. I love your last line - about your son being almost "inconsolable" and needing another cruise. He sounds like my girls - step off the ship and announce they have "PCD" (Post Cruise Depression)

 

Good luck - you have created a monster. :D

 

No joke - his birthday is tomorrow, and he wants another cruise. And when I ask what he wants for his birthday dinner, he wants 'something on a cruise!'. I've explained we have to work //off the ship!// to pay for another one, but it's not cutting it ( =. He is busy planning future cruises.

BTW, the kids were fascinated with the Epic - and carefully noting all the differences. When we came back to reboard in Nassau, my son wanted pics in front of the Epic. Too funny.

And CruisinMama, btw, we totally checked out your menus and funtimes before we went, and I read just about all your posts. You are a great resource!!

[sjb.illinois]

Thank you! We are heading out on the Breeze on 12/30. My youngest boy will be 7 in March & he is nervous & shy with new situations & surroundings as well. He has never been to daycare nor has he ever been left with a babysitter so I am not sure what to expect. What was your sons favorite thing about the program?

 

This was a 6 day right? What nights were the formal nights?

 

I agree about the characters & the cost of Carnival. Because of the lower costs, we also can now start to cruise more often. We did go on a Disney cruise in 2006 when my son was 8 months old & while it was totally enjoyable for my 3 older kids, it was VERY expensive. My Mom had won lotto so it was her treat :D! So the price wasn't a concern to me. Looking at prices of Disney when we booked this, I was shocked :eek:!

 

I am heading to the shower no so I will read your review later. If I have any questions, I will ask :). Thanks again!

 

 

SportsMom, my son seemed to really like the video games, I'm sorry to say -- I think because they had games we don't have at home. But he also liked the other activities like the crafts. I think it will help that on the first day parents can go in to the Camp Carnival to look around (this is the only time parents are allowed in) to help orient the kids. I hope your son likes it and doesn't feel too shy to enjoy himself there. Maybe say it's sort of like the best parts of school - the free-choice parts! with new friends to play whatever he wants with.

yes, it was a 6 day, and the formal nights were the first at-sea day and I think the next to last day - maybe Falmouth? I can check if it's a big deal to you - I'm not great at the day by day bloggy type thing but I did bring home the fun times which say which was which. Let me know if you want more info.

 

Have fun!!

[snorkelman]

...Would they love going on Disney or Royal Caribbean, or any other line? I'm sure they would! But for the price on Carnival, we can cruise more often.

 

I agree about Disney, but I encourage you to not be close-minded about RCI. Our children have cruised 5 times on royal and love it, and it is not much more expensive than Carnival. My wife and I have been on more than 30 cruises and have sailed many times on both RCI and Carnival, and the prices are not as big of a difference as you may think, especially if you are talking about 7 days cruises during the off season. If you go during the peak season, then I understand your comments more. We take the kids out of school for a week in the fall and cruise at least once a year with the kids. We also would not be able to sail as often if we paid higher prices.

[sjb.illinois]

I agree about Disney, but I encourage you to not be close-minded about RCI. Our children have cruised 5 times on royal and love it, and it is not much more expensive than Carnival. My wife and I have been on more than 30 cruises and have sailed many times on both RCI and Carnival, and the prices are not as big of a difference as you may think, especially if you are talking about 7 days cruises during the off season. If you go during the peak season, then I understand your comments more. We take the kids out of school for a week in the fall and cruise at least once a year with the kids. We also would not be able to sail as often if we paid higher prices.

 

Snorkelman, I completely agree - and if given a choice between the two, at the same price, I would pick RC probably (depending on the ship and itinerary). My experience is limited, but I did really enjoy my RC cruise, and I'm sure the kids would too (the one I went on we left the kids home). But, at the time we booked the cruise on Carnival, the price difference was substantial. It was double the price to sail with RC. Given the fact that it was on the Breeze, which was virtually brand new, with all the amenities, and we like the itinerary, it was a no brainer.

 

I think the point to my comments above is that it was an amazing value, and as I said, we didn't expect to enjoy it as much as we did. In terms of food, service and amenities, I found the Breeze very comparable to Freedom of the Seas. There were some features I preferred on both.

Anyway, given the right price, I would sail on any line :)

[B&P!!!]

Thanks for the review! My family will be on the Breeze next month and my daughter, age 8, is beyond excited. She is also a HUGE fan of cruising and wants to start planning for another one the second we get off a ship.

 

It is so nice to hear about the kids club on the Breeze. I've always thought Royal's program was a little bit better than Carnivals which tended to be heavy on the video game playing, but if the counselors are good- that makes all the difference.

 

I have a question about the water slides. My DD will go on these over and over for hours, it seems. Is there a much of a line and is there a good place to relax and watch the action?

 

Also- my DD would love to be on the Hasbro game- any advice on how to get picked?

Thanks!

[sjb.illinois]

B&P, as far as the water slides, I guess I would just say if this is important to your daughter keep an eye on it. The lines varied a lot from time of day and day to day, and my daughter became sort of vigilant. At any given minute she would say 'mom, look -- there's hardly any line! Can I go?' And we would usually say yes. Since she usually had her suit on this worked well. If you feel like you're not getting enough slide time consider coming back from port a little early possibly. Also, in early evening there often was little or no line. Keep in mind they close the slides and other activities if winds are high, so don't wait (even have her wear her suit on embarkation day so she can ride right away). As far as seating close by, there is plenty; the only issue is there isn't much shade and it's not terribly comfy. Depending on your comfort level you might sit just a little further away to have a shady comfortable lounger (we did this one afternoon).

With the Hasbro game, I would recommend sitting close to the front or middle, and right on the aisle. Good luck!! And have a great time!!!

[B&P!!!]

Thanks for the quick respomse! It is much appreciated and we will take your advice on the hasbro game and slides hope for the best. I don't expect a ton of kids in mid January so that should help, I think.

 

One more question, you mentioned in your review that your DH dropped you off at the port around 10 and took the car back. I will be doing the same thing....dropping half the family at port and then returning car and shuttling back to port. About how long did it take for him to return and was 10am a good time for the first trip to port? I like to avoid lines when I can!

Thanks

[CaribbeanH2OLover]

Hi Everyone,

We took our kids on their first cruise 12-2 on the Carnival Breeze, and it was fabulous. I have posted a full review, but wanted to link to it here as well

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=112184

 

I wanted to point out a couple things about Carnival with kids. We knew this needed to be a family friendly vacation that everyone would enjoy, and frankly we were prepared for the kids to have a better time than us [grownups that is]. But my DH and I had a really great time!! We found there was plenty to keep us entertained, and great kid-free spaces for when we wanted that.

The kid's program was great in our experience. I had read some reviews here which left me a little nervous, besides which my DS (7) can be frightened of new places and situations. Not only did he have a fabulous time, but my oh-so-independent tween DD(10) had a great time too.

There obviously aren't any characters on Carnival, which you would have with the other lines, but our kids never missed them. Would they love going on Disney or Royal Caribbean, or any other line? I'm sure they would! But for the price on Carnival, we can cruise more often.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my experience here on the family board. If anyone has any specific questions let me know!

 

Did the water slides on the Breeze have certain height restrictions?

[#1TravelMom]

We just returned from the Breeze. Please don't get your hopes up for great water slides - especially if you've been on the EPIC. We were really disappointed. The slides on the EPIC are as fast an fun as any slides we've done. The Breeze waterslides are awful. If you don't get a good start or hesitate - you will actually stop and have to push yourself down. I really hurt my shoulder on the "bowl". The first time down - I was a little hesitant and started out slow - when I got to the bottom where you are supposed to "shoot" out - I slowly flopped down out over the large hump. - Hard to explain - definately not good.

 

My little girl is 8 and she only did the slides a few times on the Breeze compared to hours at a time on the EPIC. She said they just were too slow and not fun. I'm pretty sure the height requirement is 44"(not 100% sure).

 

We were also disappointed in the rope course. We hadn't been on a ship with this feature. It was closed quite often due to "high" winds. We were so frustrated - one day I went to customer service and asked them to check the wind speed again - there were not high winds. I was told the person who would supervise the rope course was reassigned and already doing something else in a different area on the ship - really disappointing. If you want to do the rope course - do it the first time you see it open.

[sjb.illinois]

Wow- my kids,8 and 10, loved the slides and the rope course!! I didn't do either but there seemed to be plenty of grownups enjoying them. It makes me think the ones on Epic must be really awesome! Sorry you were disappointed ) :

[sjb.illinois]

As far as what time to arrive-- I would almost say that arriving as early as we did made things more complicated. There were still tons of people coming off and it was really confusing. Having said that, I thing my husband was 30-45 minutes driving to the airport, returning the car, and catching the free shuttle back.

[secbrb]

Thanks for your review. It was very helpful. I was just curious if you did the 3D/4D movie? Was it worth it? Thanks.

[sjb.illinois]

We talked alot about the thrill theater, but after getting onboard we ended up not doing it. There just seemed to be plenty of (free/included) stuff to do that we enjoyed. I think if you had multiple rainy days it would def. make sense; in our case we just ended up doing lots of outside stuff like the pool, water slides, ropes course, etc.

[joomlarocks]

What kind of stateroom did you have? We are going on the Breeze 3/10!

[loveysbydesign]

Thanks for your review! Thinking of trying the Breeze next year!

[Time2CruiseAgain]

We will be on the Breeze in May and our son and his daughter (8 years old) are coming - it is our daughter's wedding cruise and our granddaughter is the flower girl!!

 

Looking at the post above naming a few of the activities for each age group - I wish she could be in the 9 year old group!!! She's so much more into all those activities already!! But I'm sure she's going to have fun!

 

Does anyone have a recent Camp Carnival schedule or "fun times?"

 

Do they give all parents a means of communication with the child? phone, walkie talkie??

 

Do they take the kids to the pool or waterslide at all?

[Time2CruiseAgain]

We will be on the Breeze in May and our son and his daughter (8 years old) are coming - it is our daughter's wedding cruise and our granddaughter is the flower girl!!

 

Looking at the post above naming a few of the activities for each age group - I wish she could be in the 9 year old group!!! She's so much more into all those activities already!! But I'm sure she's going to have fun!

 

Does anyone have a recent Camp Carnival schedule or "fun times?"

 

Do they give all parents a means of communication with the child? phone, walkie talkie??

 

Do they take the kids to the pool or waterslide at all?