Back from the Breeze, never again.

[msstarr22]

Sorry to read your cruise was not what you expected. I find the 40+ cruises baffling as you only chose CCL twice. I am an avid CCL traveler and my reasons are financial as well as I have a wonderful time cruising. I do not expect 5 star dining, but what I get from CCL is as good as any local restaurant I pay for. If your budget calls for 2 CCL cruises vs 1 other then I would say the choice is yours. Me I would definitely go for 2. As for the sewer smell you had better luck than most being moved as CCL rarely has other cabins to move people to, they almost always sell out.

 

I noticed your bio doesn't list your other cruises so we have no idea who you normally cruise with, happy cruising in the future.

 

I have read other cruise line threads and CCL is not the only one to make cutbacks so we are in that kind of economy. We adjust if we love to cruise.

[Tapi]

I find the 40+ cruises baffling as you only chose CCL twice.

 

Why would that be baffling? Many avid cruisers have never set foot on a Carnival ship. Carnival isn't everybody's cup of tea and many wont even consider them for a vacation, no matter how inexpensive they are.

 

To the OP: Sorry that you didn't enjoy your cruise.

 

- The sewage smell isn't acceptable and I would've complained too. We experienced it on the Dream too, but it cleared up after the ship set sail.

 

- Unfortunately the sub-standard food and entertainment are becoming Carnival's normal, but in all fairness, they are a budget cruise line. I never sail on Carnival expecting great food (except at the Steakhouse).

 

- The complain about the sea salt on the windows made me chuckle a little bit. Having a cabin window caked with salt is one of my pet peeves, but at the same time I understand that its a small inconvenience associated with being on a cruise ship sailing in salt water. And I've learned that not always they get cleaned, no matter which cruise line.

 

- Now you know that the Vacation Guarantee exists, but its been around for many, many years. Carnival just tweaked it recently and started advertising it more to attract customers back (after a year of low prices, lost revenue, and bad press).

 

Sorry that you were misinformed about how the Guarantee works, but honestly, would you expect Carnival to refund anybody that came back saying that they didn't enjoy their cruise AFTER the cruise is over? It would be like someone ordering a steak at a restaurant and wanting a refund after eating the whole thing just leaving the bone. You'll get a refund or an exchange if you take one or two bites and you don't like it, but definitely not after eating the whole thing. On the same token, you would've been able to get a refund and fly home on Carnival's expense if you had expressed your dissatisfaction and desire to cut your vacation short as soon as you had problems. Not after the cruise is over and you're home.

[Thebosn1]

Sorry that your cruise was not so great. Maybe you really caught them at a bad time or something because I was on Breeze in April and I found it to be fantastic. The sewage smell worries me, especially if they thought they had it fixed and didn't.

 

I hope the ship didn't slip that far that fast, it would be a shame because eveything on our trip, from the cabin to the food and the servce was wonderful. Kind of a bummer.

 

Hope your next trip works out better for you.

[Retiringworkingstiff]

Folks, the eggs were just an example. The prime rib had no flavor, the filet mignon was tuff, the chicken totally dried out. etc. And no, this is not a review, just my thoughts on the cruise. We had a great time and loved the comedy shows.

Now I am really confused since you said " ... We had a great time ...". In that context, you actually tried to ask for your money back and only after you finished the entire cruise (as another poster indicated)? Seems a bit extreme to me!

 

Problem with the prime rib and filet, I think you only get those in the MDR? Could you not have complained i.e. send them back and get a replacement or even another entree?

 

Still wondering what the "kid size" toilet you complained about though.

[rucruisn2]

No, I did not expect a refund nor did I want one. I simply call Carnival customer service to let them know of my experience. We used to do professional shopping and the things I pointed out are things companies want to know about, if customer service is important to them. I mentioned the 110% guarantee because I thought that because they offer it, they must care about what their customers think, I thought wrong.

The toilets are very low to the ground, so if your tall or have a hard time getting up from a low couch or chair, be for-warned.

Our primary cruising has been of Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, but of course we have tried other lines. I did not go this past April, my husband went with our 4 daughters. He is telling me that the food quality has gone down hill and the entertainment isn't as good.

Edited September 15, 2013 by rucruisn2

[Retiringworkingstiff]

No, I did not expect a refund nor did I want one. I simply call Carnival customer service to let them know of my experience. We used to do professional shopping and the things I pointed out are things companies want to know about, if customer service is important to them. I mentioned the 110% guarantee because I thought that because they offer it, they must care about what their customers think, I thought wrong.

The toilets are very low to the ground, so if your tall or have a hard time getting up from a low couch or chair, be for-warned.

Our primary cruising has been of Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, but of course we have tried other lines. I did not go this past April, my husband went with our 4 daughters. He is telling me that the food quality has gone down hill and the entertainment isn't as good.

Thanks for clearing up the toilet issue, now I feel a lot better.

 

As a professional shopper, sure enough you know (or should have known) that the 110% guarantee is a marketing gimmick. That's how business is run these days, it's called Risk Assessment. You are betting that by offering the guarantee, you pick up more business (profit) that would more than enough to offset any loss sustained from people who insist on you honoring the guarantee. As another poster had pointed out, Carnival is not for everyone.

 

I too had sailed on Celebrity and last year on the Allure. Celebrity is better than Carnival, not so much Allure even though both of those cruises cost (a bit) more than Carnival. You have to understanding, again as a professional shopper, you should, we are talking different business models, different pricing structures.

 

For our upcoming Breeze sailing in December, I did my research knowing there may be foul smell near the aft section, so we booked a cove balcony near the forward section of deck 2, below the guest service area on the deck above so I understand there is no noise issue.

 

Really, to me, you don't sound like someone who wants something out of nothing. You are just pointing out what you experienced.

 

About the Allure, we didn't like it but that's just us, a tons of people like that ship. The point is we are not doing it again since our first experience was not up to our expectation, so why am I throwing money their way again for sure. Therefore, I can't help but wonder why you took this cruise even after your DD indicated things are not that good after his April sailing. (BTW, in your initial post, you did indicated your DD "loved it", so what did he loved about his April cruise?). What about your 4 daughters, did they not give you any hints as to what to expect?

[cruizinisthebest]

Food taste is subjective. The same cruiser may like a dish another hates. On my recent Sensation sailing, I thought the prime rib was a hot bland mess. Other than that, the food was fine. I don't mind the eggs and never stand in line for a custom made omelette or anything like that. Some people do it everyday like my DH. So food is what you make it. As for the toilets, I doubt Carnival will rip them all out. Don't see the point in complaining about those. The sewage smell is reasonable. Seen it reported here many times on the Dream and the Breeze. Who wants to whiff sewer smell at all - much less in a cruise cabin where the quarters are close anyway. Gross. They really need to find a way to fix that.

[Tapi]

No, I did not expect a refund nor did I want one. I simply call Carnival customer service to let them know of my experience.

 

Thanks for clarifying. The way that you wrote your first post seemed to indicate that you were disappointed after calling Carnival about the Guarantee and learning that you didn't qualify for the refund. The reply that you received from the Carnival agent seemed to indicate that you did ask for the Guarantee to be applied:

 

After returning this morning a friend told me about the new 110 percent money back guarantee, I called Carnival. Lady listened to me and said, " well, you would have had to get off the ship to qualify, and since you didn't, nothing we can do" How could I know about this when it just started????

Edited September 15, 2013 by Tapi

[Retiringworkingstiff]

Thanks for clearing up the toilet issue, now I feel a lot better.

 

As a professional shopper, sure enough you know (or should have known) that the 110% guarantee is a marketing gimmick. That's how business is run these days, it's called Risk Assessment. You are betting that by offering the guarantee, you pick up more business (profit) that would more than enough to offset any loss sustained from people who insist on you honoring the guarantee. As another poster had pointed out, Carnival is not for everyone.

 

I too had sailed on Celebrity and last year on the Allure. Celebrity is better than Carnival, not so much Allure even though both of those cruises cost (a bit) more than Carnival. You have to understanding, again as a professional shopper, you should, we are talking different business models, different pricing structures.

 

For our upcoming Breeze sailing in December, I did my research knowing there may be foul smell near the aft section, so we booked a cove balcony near the forward section of deck 2, below the guest service area on the deck above so I understand there is no noise issue.

 

Really, to me, you don't sound like someone who wants something out of nothing. You are just pointing out what you experienced.

 

About the Allure, we didn't like it but that's just us, a tons of people like that ship. The point is we are not doing it again since our first experience was not up to our expectation, so why am I throwing money their way again for sure. Therefore, I can't help but wonder why you took this cruise even after your DD indicated things are not that good after his April sailing. (BTW, in your initial post, you did indicated your DD "loved it", so what did he loved about his April cruise?). What about your 4 daughters, did they not give you any hints as to what to expect?

Just out of curiosity, based on the 2 posts you made previously, seems like you were already (very much) discontented after your first experience with Carnival in April 2013. So why the second cruise with Carnival? Were the shows, food and yes the toilet that much different compared to your first Carnival cruise?

 

Your April 7th, 2013, 06:51 PM post:

 

Girl's cruise

________________________________________

Thursday I leave for a 4 night girl's cruise on Carnival. We are 16 of us, all live in the same community. Lots on cards, mah jongg and gambling. My first time on Carnival, hope I live tell about it

 

Your April 20th, 2013, 06:34 PM post:

 

________________________________________

We'e rolling along. I survived my Carnival cruise last week and just finished packing David for his "Daddy/Daughter" cruise tomorrow. It sure will be strange cruising together in 2 weeks. If anyone sees us schlepping 3 large suitcases, it's HIS fault. Worse than any woman in overpacking.

 

Anyone yet want to whale watch in San Diego?

[DaisyL]

My DH went on the Breeze in April with DD's and loved it. So, the two of us went on the 9/8 sailing, just off today. What a change since April. First of all, before going I had read on this message board about a sewage smell in the aft part of the ship. Since our cabin was in the aft, I called Carnival to inquire about this and was assured the problem was fixed. Not so. I could smell it as soon as we got in the hall and worse in our cabin (7440)

Called guest services and they said they would send someone up to check. Well, no one came so we went out for lunch and to explore. After lifeboat drill, I told DH it smelled awful in here. (had already unpacked because we were told ship was sold out) so we went down to guest services to talk in person. They went up to the cabin and agreed with us and said they could move us to 9220, in front of ship. Great!

After the repacking and then unpacking again we set out to enjoy the ship.

Dinner was great on service, lacking in food. DH said it was much changed from April. Nothing was bad, just nothing was GOOD. This trend continued every day. Buffet was barely edible, scrambled eggs looked like scrambled eggs, but had 0 flavor. Bread and rolls looked good, but weren't. And so it went every where ever we ate.

 

The ship's windows were caked in salt and we could barely see out of them. Especially in the dining room. They have built in sprinklers to wash them but apparently never use them. I wonder why?

 

The shows have gone from a big production cast in April to 6 people now. Set designs now are all lighting with animated character's singing. Not enjoyable.

 

After returning this morning a friend told me about the new 110 percent money back guarantee, I called Carnival. Lady listened to me and said, " well, you would have had to get off the ship to qualify, and since you didn't, nothing we can do" How could I know about this when it just started???? Gee, I thought they would like to know, but I guess not.

 

I know many recent cruisers rave about Carnival, and I respect their opinions. I just didn't like it. For the record, I am not new to cruising, having over 40 cruises under my belt, but this was just my second on Carnival.

 

Thanks for letting me know how the cruise experience was and how it compared to DH experience in April. I expect my upcoming cruise with CCL (except on Glory) will not be as good as our last 5 years ago but then again we got this for 'dirt cheap'.

 

Unexpectedly have a week off and we decided to book a last minute cruise. Looked at Princess, RCI, NCL and CCL. We chose CCL because it was the cheapest and we liked the itinerary.

 

The topic of food is very subjective, what one person loves another person hates. But I think your review is informative especially comparing to DHs April cruise. BTW, I understood your comments about cabin odor, the shows, toilets, food, and even the dirty windows. And nothing wrong about calling Carnival afterwards; I would think they would like to know too. Obviously not. I didn't read where you demanded a refund.

 

Don't get discouraged with the criticism here and I look forward to your future posts about other cruises too.

 

I've never been on a cruise I didn't love!

[mz Miami]

We were on this same cruise n we had a Blass .we had a cove balcony love love love it .we ate in the dinning room once, stakehouse on the first nite it was great I didn't like the entertainment show neither we liked the female comedian she wad funny . ..when ur on vacay u have to don't let the little stuff get to you bcus it would ruin the whole thing take the negative n turn it into a positive for ur next cruise ..I'll sail the breeze again in a heartbeat ..people need to stop going on cruises and expecting everything to be perfect .would you ask RCL ,princess or Disney for a refund if u didn't enjoyed ur cruise ? Out of 40+ cruises u had is this ur first worst cruise ever ?

Edited September 15, 2013 by guyana

[Retiringworkingstiff]

Toilet

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1915035

 

Go figure!

[Strmwatch]

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.

[ldlewis45]

I was on the Breeze in March, and I do remember that there was a distinct odor of sewage around the aft pool area. Most of the time, it wasn't TOO bad, but it was definitely noticeable, and it was something I hadn't noticed on any of the other ships I've been on.

 

I like Carnival, but I did notice some significant down-turns in quality on that cruise, when compared to my previous cruises a couple years earlier. MDR food was hit-or-miss. I actually wound up getting the Indian vegetarian entree several times because it was a more reliable quality than the rest of the food, and was generally quite good. The meats were so-so to cold and gristly, the appetizers were of similar quality, and the beverage service was almost nonexistent. The majority of the entertainment was mediocre, and that's putting it kindly. The singing/performing duo they had in the atrium was very good, though.

 

I will say that the one upturn in quality was that the pizza from Pizza Pirate was beyond excellent and became a regular indulgence. It was far better than the previous pizza places.

 

While I did enjoy the majority of the cruise, there were noticeable issues, and that's why I've started branching out to other lines. Carnival is just not always the cheapest anymore, especially since I cruise alone. The room rates for Norwegian's studio rooms on the newest ships are generally lower than many of the Carnival cruises I'd be interested in. And even if they aren't, the entertainment is far superior and their buffets and specialty restaurants blow Carnival's out of the water.

 

I mean, I'm still willing to cruise with Carnival, but I know what to expect. It is a low-end cruise, and I'll go into future ones not expecting to be blown away by the quality.

[JerseyshoreBruce]

he only thing i find hard to believe is when we got off the ship on 9/8/13 the windows had no salt on them.....so how did they get so bad in one day?????????I also thought it was the best food in a few years. Some things better than others but unedible????? The butterfly shrimp on the buffet is some of the best i ever tasted! IMO

[cruisinpips]

We were on Breeze in July, and we had a great time! Was all perfect, no! Was it fun, heck yes! I will say we have been on Magic twice, both times in a spa balcony, but on Breeze we tried a balcony on Lido deck. Never again....we will always cruise in a spa room on dream class ships! Love the spa area, but most importantly we love the quiet atmosphere and serenity up there. No kids runnin the halls all night, ect....

I think the shows are mediocre at best, but I dont cruise for the shows. Food is not bad, but I have had better. Ship was always clean inside and out.

 

 

Cruisinpips

"Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional"

[halos]

Just out of curiosity, based on the 2 posts you made previously, seems like you were already (very much) discontented after your first experience with Carnival in April 2013. So why the second cruise with Carnival? Diego?

 

Funny...most posters will run to say, "Don't judge a cruise line by one single cruise"

She gave it a second shot...I think that's a good thing. :)

[rucruisn2]

Let me clarify once again. The sewage smell was on deck 7 in the aft portion of the ship. Guest services told us they had people onboard a couple weeks before our sailing to fix the problem, but it seems it's back. I am not the only person who smelled this.

 

My first cruise on Carnival was a girl's cruise this past April on the Victory. Yes, I was apprehensive about Carnival, but we had a blast! The food was excellent, and everything was great. That's why I agreed to go again with my husband.

 

I ate dinner every night the Saphire dining room, on deck 3, and the windows were crusted with salt the entire time. Also, our balcony windows were crusted with salt. This is an easy thing to maintain and should have been done. If another poster did not notice they salty windows, it doesn't mean they weren't there.

 

The eggs benedict in the dining room were "real eggs" but the English muffin was hard as a rock. Some mornings we had breakfast in the dining room, some time in buffet.

The food had gone downhill from when I cruised in April and my husband cruised on the

Breeze in April as well.

 

Although I am fairly new to Carnival, I am not new to cruising and know the difference in what we got on this cruise.

 

Finally, I am just giving OUR opinion, take it for what it's worth. One evening I was having the warm chocolate melting cake and a piece on broken dish cut my mouth. We pointed this out to the waiter, but didn't expect any compensation on this or any other part of our cruise.

[LHP]

My DH went on the Breeze in April with DD's and loved it. So, the two of us went on the 9/8 sailing, just off today. What a change since April. First of all, before going I had read on this message board about a sewage smell in the aft part of the ship. Since our cabin was in the aft, I called Carnival to inquire about this and was assured the problem was fixed. Not so. I could smell it as soon as we got in the hall and worse in our cabin (7440)

Called guest services and they said they would send someone up to check. Well, no one came so we went out for lunch and to explore. After lifeboat drill, I told DH it smelled awful in here. (had already unpacked because we were told ship was sold out) so we went down to guest services to talk in person. They went up to the cabin and agreed with us and said they could move us to 9220, in front of ship. Great!

After the repacking and then unpacking again we set out to enjoy the ship.

Dinner was great on service, lacking in food. DH said it was much changed from April. Nothing was bad, just nothing was GOOD. This trend continued every day. Buffet was barely edible, scrambled eggs looked like scrambled eggs, but had 0 flavor. Bread and rolls looked good, but weren't. And so it went every where ever we ate.

 

The ship's windows were caked in salt and we could barely see out of them. Especially in the dining room. They have built in sprinklers to wash them but apparently never use them. I wonder why?

 

The shows have gone from a big production cast in April to 6 people now. Set designs now are all lighting with animated character's singing. Not enjoyable.

 

After returning this morning a friend told me about the new 110 percent money back guarantee, I called Carnival. Lady listened to me and said, " well, you would have had to get off the ship to qualify, and since you didn't, nothing we can do" How could I know about this when it just started???? Gee, I thought they would like to know, but I guess not.

 

I know many recent cruisers rave about Carnival, and I respect their opinions. I just didn't like it. For the record, I am not new to cruising, having over 40 cruises under my belt, but this was just my second on Carnival.

 

 

 

Carnival has always had a Carnival Vacation Guarantee.

 

The old guarantee was that you had to let them know before the first port.

 

They would reimburse the expense to fly you back to the port of embarkation and refund the unused portion of your cruise.

 

They are the only cruise lines that I know of that offered it.

 

The NEW program is that you have to let them know within 24 hours and instead of just a refund, you get 110% of the cruise price.

 

So this "guarantee" is nothing "new".

 

 

Lots of folks do not like the 2.0 and I am hearing that Carnival may not take this fleetwide. The biggest reason is that it eliminates the Asian bands which everyone loves.

 

Btw, the 2.0 was there in April as well....there should have been 8 dancers instead of 6 (2 might have been sick or just signing on)....but it was basically the same set up....so why you would like it in April and not like it now ????

 

 

Personally I never go to the shows....so I could care less.

 

 

As for the sewage smell....they took care of it by moving you. There is a "do not book this cabin" section of Cruise Critic to warn cruisers of unpopular cabins...you need to add that cabin number to that thread.

 

 

As for the food....that is a personal thing. Out of my almost 60 Carnival cruises....(3 times on the Breeze ) the food was "off" only once. There was a new Chef from India and he used way to much curry in everything.

[wannago35]

Carnival has always had a Carnival Vacation Guarantee.

 

The old guarantee was that you had to let them know before the first port.

 

They would reimburse the expense to fly you back to the port of embarkation and refund the unused portion of your cruise.

 

They are the only cruise lines that I know of that offered it.

 

The NEW program is that you have to let them know within 24 hours and instead of just a refund, you get 110% of the cruise price.

 

So this "guarantee" is nothing "new"....

 

 

Thanks for clarifying. I don't remember hearing about this before (or just forgot about it is more likely) and when I saw Carnival's full page advertisement in Sunday's paper the first thing I wondered was how could they ever afford to reimburse 110% and if so how would they enforce it.

 

Sorry that OP didn't enjoy the Breeze. Personally the only place I'd ever eat scrambled eggs is at my own house or someone I trusted. At a resaturant, if I can't watch them crack the egg open & cook it in front of me then I won't mess with it :) Hope your next cruise is better!

Edited September 16, 2013 by wannago35

[lukeduke07]

Some people are just habitual complainers. I can absolutely see how a hard english muffin could ruin a 7 day vacation. (insert sarcasm here)

[jimbo5544]

As for the sewage smell....they took care of it by moving you. There is a "do not book this cabin" section of Cruise Critic to warn cruisers of unpopular cabins...you need to add that cabin number to that thread.

I did not know there was a section like this. Just found it, good post! Thanks

[slowpoke58]

We have been on Carnival several times, will be on the Breeze in January. The scrambled eggs are ok if you put them in grits, that is the way I like them anyway. If you go on a ship, you should know that the scrambled eggs are not "real" eggs anyway. You can get your eggs anyway you want them, so you did not have to eat the scrambled eggs. We have never had a problem with the food on Carnival, if we do not like what the menu looks like for the evening, we just go to the buffet. My DH, when he was in the Navy, eat powdered eggs all the time, even though he could get "real" eggs a lot of times.

[rucruisn2]

Some people are just habitual complainers. I can absolutely see how a hard english muffin could ruin a 7 day vacation. (insert sarcasm here)

 

What is your problem? I wrote to give my opinion. Last time I checked, this is still a free country. You don't like what I said? Don't read it.

I don't understand why some people feel a need to flame posters for giving an opinion.

[Georgiagolfer]

What is your problem? I wrote to give my opinion. Last time I checked, this is still a free country. You don't like what I said? Don't read it.

I don't understand why some people feel a need to flame posters for giving an opinion.

 

Seems that happens more on the CCL Board than others. Some just can't stand for CCL to receive anything other than "glowing" comments.:confused: I didn't read where you said the hard muffin ruined your 7 day cruise, I read it to say you thought they were hard and didn't like them. To me that is an opinion, not necessarily a complaint.