Yet another review - Breeze - December 1, 2013

[Retiringworkingstiff]

Just came back from a 7 night Caribbean on the Breeze. December 1, 2013 out of Miami.

 

A quick recap.

 

Cabin

 

Cove balcony. Location excellent, close to the bank of elevators near the front of the ship. Only ½ of the balcony has a life boat above us. Didn’t get wet or anything, maybe we lucked out since the weather for the entire cruise was perfect.

Cabin steward and her assistant provided top-notch service during the entire trip. I think they actually checked our room more than twice a day.

Food

 

Dinner: ATD at the MDR, quality excellent every night, so much so we skipped the Steakhouse. We asked for a table of 2 each night, yes, some of the 2 tops were very close to each other. One evening, I requested them to leave an empty 2 top between us and another couple, no problem.

Lunch: Did Cucina del Capitano twice (free), excellent, pasta prepared fresh. Had Tandor (sp) twice, East Indian food, very tasty and not too hot. Buffet, OK with a decent variety to choose from.

Breakfast: Enjoyed brunch each of the 2 sea days. Steak (filet) and eggs each time for me, filet very tender, I asked for medium rare, that’s how they came. Mrs. had salmon and said they were good.

Didn’t do Wok, Pizza, Guy Burger, Mexican, too many choices already.

Tried Bonsai Sushi, not too bad but next time we will skip that.

Red Frog Pub, tried the chicken wings and the grouper fingers and their own brew. A must if we do the Breeze again.

Night before returning to Miami, I skipped dinner (too much food already). Tried to get a smoke meat sandwich from the Deli around 10:45 pm. There were people lining up and Fun Times indicated closing time as 11 pm. Got turned away by some female staff member telling me the place is closed. Her attitude was actually quite rude! There are different ways to turn people away, especially paying customers, IMHO.

 

Guest Service

 

We purchased FTTF, only used GS twice for some minor matters. On the second occasion, some Platinum guy said I wasn’t supposed to be using the special line. I pointed to the FTTP sign hanging there. I hope he didn’t have a heart attack afterwards and I pity the GS staff who had to deal with him after me. GS staff was very courteous and resourceful.

Shows

 

Motown, Diva, Latin Night – reasonable. I actually rather enjoyed the Playlist productions in particular the high tech stuff. Juggler, a bit too loud.

Ports of Call

 

Grand Turk, nice and very clean; Ocho Rios, did the Coyola Gardens and Dunn’s River Falls tour, a tad on the expensive side but overall enjoyable, other than the shopping bit at the end, 30 minutes kinda boring; Nassau, been there a few times already. I really wanted to go to the Fish Fry this time but Mrs. didn’t want to. So much for that. Did the water taxi instead, not too bad.

 

Casino

 

Not really a gambler myself but Mrs. like to try her luck at the slots. Second day (Sea Day), I went down to the Casino to look for my wife, just to make sure she didn’t feel deserted. On the particular slot machine she was “working on”, I noticed she had accumulated 1,580 points! Thanks to CCs posters, I learned that over 1,500 points, you are entitled to free drinks. Alerted one of the “pit boss” in the blackjack area, no problem, no hassle, she got someone to provide my wife with a free drinks card, good while she is playing at the casino, for the rest of the cruise. For the entire cruise, she was down a couple of hundred. That arrangement was more than alright!

 

Mrs. also got some hand signed letter the last evening at the Casino, the letter indicated she can get a free cruise (3 to 8 nights of her choice?). Have to book it within 14 days and cruise before the end of May 2014 (I think). After we came back home, she called Carnival, apparently the offer is for 2, not just for her alone. Mind you, it’s only for an inside room. We might investigate further and take up their offer.

Internet/wi-fi

 

Took out a package, VERY SLOW… at least where our cabin was located, deck 2. Quite a difference compared to when we cruised on the Valor May 2013 (slow there too but still workable). I did notice a slight improvement in reception when I was on the Lido deck 10.

Spa

 

Had planned to take out a pass for us. Ended up not doing it. I would have enjoyed the steam rooms but the cove balcony was very nice so I opted to use the free sauna instead.

 

Fellow Passengers

 

 

Overall a rather civilized crowd.

 

 

On the Lido buffet, saw an officer telling some young fellow to put something on, bare chest a NO NO. I liked that what the officer did.

 

 

 

 

 

Overall

 

 

 

A rather enjoyable and relaxed experience.

[silvercrikhix]

DH & I were sailing along with you!

We loved the Breeze very much.....never even saw it all.

We also got the drinks are on us card. :D

Did not get the free cruise offer....yet, anyway?

We thought the weather was a tad wavy for like a day & a half.......we were glad we did not get a cove thinking it would be on lock up.......glad you got full use of yours!

 

Love, love, love the Seaday Brunch :).

We liked Guy's Burger...twice.....

The Lido is lacking in choices these days, at dinner anyway ..... Bummer.

DH got a bad steak in the Steakhouse...but did not complain as we did not want to wait for another. Everything else was a-okay!

 

A shout out to a couple of crew we really liked:

Crew at the Red Frog Rum Bar on Lido....awesome, fun guys.

Jenniel at the Red Frog Pub on deck 5.....sweet, fun gal.

Lovely Lucia at the Ocean Plaza Bar on deck 5.......she is top notch, best Banana Daquiri...Ever!

Our room steward Amnart & his crew did a fabulous job all week in our cabin.

We always had ice, clean room....very nice & polite young man...great towel animals every night but the last one.

 

We will sail the Breeze again....makes us want to sail Magic & Dream now!

[kcwingwalker]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and Happy Holidays:)

[Retiringworkingstiff]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and Happy Holidays:)

All the best to you also.

[Retiringworkingstiff]

DH & I were sailing along with you!

We loved the Breeze very much.....never even saw it all.

We also got the drinks are on us card. :D

Did not get the free cruise offer....yet, anyway?

We thought the weather was a tad wavy for like a day & a half.......we were glad we did not get a cove thinking it would be on lock up.......glad you got full use of yours!

 

Love, love, love the Seaday Brunch :).

We liked Guy's Burger...twice.....

The Lido is lacking in choices these days, at dinner anyway ..... Bummer.

DH got a bad steak in the Steakhouse...but did not complain as we did not want to wait for another. Everything else was a-okay!

 

A shout out to a couple of crew we really liked:

Crew at the Red Frog Rum Bar on Lido....awesome, fun guys.

Jenniel at the Red Frog Pub on deck 5.....sweet, fun gal.

Lovely Lucia at the Ocean Plaza Bar on deck 5.......she is top notch, best Banana Daquiri...Ever!

Our room steward Amnart & his crew did a fabulous job all week in our cabin.

We always had ice, clean room....very nice & polite young man...great towel animals every night but the last one.

 

We will sail the Breeze again....makes us want to sail Magic & Dream now!

I am glad you enjoyed the Breeze as much as we did, all the best for the new year.

[saphir]

Just came back from a 7 night Caribbean on the Breeze. December 1, 2013 out of Miami.

 

A quick recap.

 

Cabin

 

Cove balcony. Location excellent, close to the bank of elevators near the front of the ship. Only ½ of the balcony has a life boat above us. Didn’t get wet or anything, maybe we lucked out since the weather for the entire cruise was perfect.

Cabin steward and her assistant provided top-notch service during the entire trip. I think they actually checked our room more than twice a day.

Food

 

Dinner: ATD at the MDR, quality excellent every night, so much so we skipped the Steakhouse. We asked for a table of 2 each night, yes, some of the 2 tops were very close to each other. One evening, I requested them to leave an empty 2 top between us and another couple, no problem.

Lunch: Did Cucina del Capitano twice (free), excellent, pasta prepared fresh. Had Tandor (sp) twice, East Indian food, very tasty and not too hot. Buffet, OK with a decent variety to choose from.

Breakfast: Enjoyed brunch each of the 2 sea days. Steak (filet) and eggs each time for me, filet very tender, I asked for medium rare, that’s how they came. Mrs. had salmon and said they were good.

Didn’t do Wok, Pizza, Guy Burger, Mexican, too many choices already.

Tried Bonsai Sushi, not too bad but next time we will skip that.

Red Frog Pub, tried the chicken wings and the grouper fingers and their own brew. A must if we do the Breeze again.

Night before returning to Miami, I skipped dinner (too much food already). Tried to get a smoke meat sandwich from the Deli around 10:45 pm. There were people lining up and Fun Times indicated closing time as 11 pm. Got turned away by some female staff member telling me the place is closed. Her attitude was actually quite rude! There are different ways to turn people away, especially paying customers, IMHO.

 

Guest Service

 

We purchased FTTF, only used GS twice for some minor matters. On the second occasion, some Platinum guy said I wasn’t supposed to be using the special line. I pointed to the FTTP sign hanging there. I hope he didn’t have a heart attack afterwards and I pity the GS staff who had to deal with him after me. GS staff was very courteous and resourceful.

Shows

 

Motown, Diva, Latin Night – reasonable. I actually rather enjoyed the Playlist productions in particular the high tech stuff. Juggler, a bit too loud.

Ports of Call

 

Grand Turk, nice and very clean; Ocho Rios, did the Coyola Gardens and Dunn’s River Falls tour, a tad on the expensive side but overall enjoyable, other than the shopping bit at the end, 30 minutes kinda boring; Nassau, been there a few times already. I really wanted to go to the Fish Fry this time but Mrs. didn’t want to. So much for that. Did the water taxi instead, not too bad.

 

Casino

 

Not really a gambler myself but Mrs. like to try her luck at the slots. Second day (Sea Day), I went down to the Casino to look for my wife, just to make sure she didn’t feel deserted. On the particular slot machine she was “working on”, I noticed she had accumulated 1,580 points! Thanks to CCs posters, I learned that over 1,500 points, you are entitled to free drinks. Alerted one of the “pit boss” in the blackjack area, no problem, no hassle, she got someone to provide my wife with a free drinks card, good while she is playing at the casino, for the rest of the cruise. For the entire cruise, she was down a couple of hundred. That arrangement was more than alright!

 

Mrs. also got some hand signed letter the last evening at the Casino, the letter indicated she can get a free cruise (3 to 8 nights of her choice?). Have to book it within 14 days and cruise before the end of May 2014 (I think). After we came back home, she called Carnival, apparently the offer is for 2, not just for her alone. Mind you, it’s only for an inside room. We might investigate further and take up their offer.

Internet/wi-fi

 

Took out a package, VERY SLOW… at least where our cabin was located, deck 2. Quite a difference compared to when we cruised on the Valor May 2013 (slow there too but still workable). I did notice a slight improvement in reception when I was on the Lido deck 10.

Spa

 

Had planned to take out a pass for us. Ended up not doing it. I would have enjoyed the steam rooms but the cove balcony was very nice so I opted to use the free sauna instead.

 

Fellow Passengers

 

 

Overall a rather civilized crowd.

 

 

On the Lido buffet, saw an officer telling some young fellow to put something on, bare chest a NO NO. I liked that what the officer did.

 

 

 

 

 

Overall

 

 

 

A rather enjoyable and relaxed experience.

 

 

is there any tablecloths? It was the old menu or the new? I will be on Breeze next April.

[Relayer]

Had a great cruise on teh Breeze last year and REALLY looking forward to sailing her again in 2 weeks or so.

 

Glad you had a massively great time!

[Retiringworkingstiff]

is there any tablecloths? It was the old menu or the new? I will be on Breeze next April.

Yes, there were tablecloths.

 

No new menu yet.

[saphir]

Yes, there were tablecloths.

 

No new menu yet.

 

Thank you.

[silvercrikhix]

OP: I totally forgot to add that we saw a guy getting totally yelled at by the security guards at MIA to button his shirt....THIS IS AN AIRPORT not the beach, sir! They had to shout at him 3 times before he started buttoning his shirt and muttering something about the big "American Breakfast" he just ate.

Wondering if it was the same guy?

Big guy with a dark red "tan", lightish, curly, shorter hair. A British accent I think. The guards were just going to walk over to him, by their voices, we thought it was a good thing for him that he finally started to button up!

[ams1130]

It was our first.

 

The cruise exceeded our expectations in almost every way; dining and service were terrific. Our only complaints were the coffee (sorry, Carnival, we're not fans) and the smoking around us on the balconies. Got so I almost cried when we heard our neighbour's balcony door open. Can't really understand when I read other reviews about wait times in the dining room or servers pushing drinks. We did not experience any of that.

 

Weren't home long before we were looking for our next Carnival cruise.

Edited December 18, 2013 by ams1130

[Half Pint Mini]

Thanks for posting a great review!! We will be on the Breeze Feb 1st and can't wait!!

 

Just curious, what type machine (nickel, 25 cent, dollar,) was your DW on and does she always play maximum bet? Hope you don't mind me asking :o

 

Thanks!!

[AtSeaWithChris]

Just came back from a 7 night Caribbean on the Breeze. December 1, 2013 out of Miami.

 

We purchased FTTF, only used GS twice for some minor matters. On the second occasion, some Platinum guy said I wasn’t supposed to be using the special line. I pointed to the FTTP sign hanging there. I hope he didn’t have a heart attack afterwards and I pity the GS staff who had to deal with him after me. GS staff was very courteous and resourceful.

 

Can you tell me about getting to the port of Miami with the FTTF? Specifically if you were escorted to the VIP waiting room or a separate waiting room for FTTF. Were you escorted to Check-in and then security? Did you have the chance to get the embarkation picture?

 

Thanks

Edited January 10, 2014 by MamallamaAndDaddy
typo