Breeze bad reviews

[matt87]

let me start by saying i'm a happy cruiser. never had a bad one and i'm not super picky. with that being said my family and friends are taking the Breeze this coming summer. i like to read the reviews on CC and it seems the she takes a beating from folks. i take alot of it with a grain of salt but it makes me wonder. all the past cruise ships i've been on had better ratings. should i be concerned?? thanks!

[CarolRoy]

We were on the Breeze. The 6-day cruise in October 2014. We did not care for the Breeze. Ship was way too crowded with over 4300 pax. Buffet area was always crowded and could hardly find a seat. The Serenity area was a joke. Just a bar and a hot tub - no pool. And the Serenity was near the waterworks. There are two pools on this ship. They were very small and always filled to capacity. Like standing room only!On the plus side, food in the MDR was pretty good although service was very slow. Sometimes close to 3 hours for dinner. Casino was always crowded. Will not do the Breeze again but definitely will sail on another Carnival ship.

[michiganirish]

Matt - we sailed the Breeze in 2013 and again in 2014. Would have been back on her in 2015 but work issues caused us to change our plans, therefore no warm breeze for us this time. Carl brings up some good points, it is crowded, therefore, service in MDR was probably slow. As far as the pools being crowded, we've found most of them are, and we've been on 10 different ships in 14 years. This being said, we like the Breeze because of the upgrades - waterworks is so much fun. The décor is calm as opposed to the 70's neon. The service both times have been beyond wonderful. If you can swing it, try to get a spa cabin... Finally, we have been using ATD since it's come out and have not had a problem with service or food. We keep telling ourselves this time we're not going to spend so much time in MDR, and guess what happens.... You'll hear from both sides of this discussion. As for us, we're looking to book our 2016 cruise and the Breeze is the go to ship. Have fun

[CarolRoy]

We also had ATD. It was very slow. See my post earlier. The last night we just ate dinner in the buffet so as not to waste 2-1/2 to 3 hours in the MDR.

[SportsMomof4]

We spent the last 2 New Years on the Breeze which happens to be one of the busiest time of the year, if not the busiest. We never encountered any lines anywhere. Never even had a problem at the buffet. We never smelled any sewer issues either that some have complained about & I have a nose of a dog lol.

 

We love the Breeze & had the time of our lives on both trips. This year we are going on the Sunshine for New Years only because we wanted an itinerary change. I'm actually concerned that the Sunshine won't even compare to the Breeze.

 

My outlook on it is you have to go & form your own opinion. Have fun :)

[KPfromCT]

We were on the Breeze in April of 2013 and July of this year.

She is our FAVORITE ship.

We didn't encounter the crowds.

Maybe it's all about the timing.

Beautiful ship with every amenity ( minus Alchemy Bar ):mad:

As the above poster said, go and form your own opinion.

Have an AWESOME cruise!!!!:D:D

[SkyMaster]

I liked "Breeze", with a couple of exceptions that probably won't make a "hill of beans" difference to most folks. I love karaoke, and they've gone to an ALL MP3, solid state karaoke machine, with very limited choice of songs, and artists, and they can no longer play the discs that the passengers bring along with their own music. :confused:

Ship was a bit crowded, IMO, but that too is to be expected with over 4000 passengers aboard.

I've noted that "Breeze", along with every other Carnival ship I've sailed in the last year has had "less than spectacular" service in the dining room. I have to believe that Carnival has cut back one too many times in the server area, or the kitchen area, on all of their ships. I hope this is taken care of in the future, and we can get back to the excellent service in the dining rooms. :D

 

"SKY"

[gtonda]

I liked "Breeze", with a couple of exceptions that probably won't make a "hill of beans" difference to most folks. I love karaoke, and they've gone to an ALL MP3, solid state karaoke machine, with very limited choice of songs, and artists, and they can no longer play the discs that the passengers bring along with their own music. :confused:

Ship was a bit crowded, IMO, but that too is to be expected with over 4000 passengers aboard.

I've noted that "Breeze", along with every other Carnival ship I've sailed in the last year has had "less than spectacular" service in the dining room. I have to believe that Carnival has cut back one too many times in the server area, or the kitchen area, on all of their ships. I hope this is taken care of in the future, and we can get back to the excellent service in the dining rooms. :D

 

"SKY"

 

For sure. Haven't been on the Breeze, but just got off the Ecstasy and did ATD for the first time. Service has always been on the slow side in my opinion, but this trip it was exceptionally slow. I'm talking 45 minutes before we even had out starters. It just shouldn't be this bad, plain and simple. I didn't know it was due to the ATD, or the particular ship, or if it's just gotten this bad.

[Sauer-kraut]

On my return from a Breeze October sailing I noticed there weren't a lot of reviews here in this section. I didn't write one because nothing was seriously lacking nor seriously spectacular.

 

It was a full ship, we had early seating with the best bunch of solo ladies and had a blast every dinner, the weather didn't cooperate and we had several medical issues which caused our itinerary to implode. I sincerely hated the line up fiasco for the comedy club, getting kicked out of the lounge after sitting and listening to karaoke to get at the back of the line for the comedy performance, which was down past the piano bar in one hallway and past the elevators at the back of the foyer.

 

She's a nice ship, seemingly on par with Norwegian's EPIC and Getaway/Breakaway (the latter 2 I haven't sailed on).

[TruckerDave]

You answered your own question....take all reviews with a grain of salt. There will always be somebody with an ax to grind or some agenda to go with the "fan boys" who never see anything wrong. Do like the figure staking does..toss out the highest and lowest ratings and go with those......or do like me and ignore on line reviews all together. :D

[jacmo24]

I think the big thing is if you don't mind big ships. We did the Breeze and it convinced me we just prefer smaller ships. We felt like it was much more crowded than other cruises we've been on. The Lido on sea days was impossible to get around on or find a place to be. ATD was also quite slow, but not so much it ruined the experience.

 

Some good points are the extra outside spaces like the outside deck on 5. ALWAYS room there. We just had to go and find different places and things to go than we were used to on the smaller ships. The Breeze offers lots of extra things like the ropes course and movie theater.

 

She's a beautiful ship too. The crew is top notch. Again, it is just a matter of preference really. Even with some small complaints, no one has a bad vacation on her by any means.

 

Relax and have fun!

[tbbtravels]

On my return from a Breeze October sailing I noticed there weren't a lot of reviews here in this section. I didn't write one because nothing was seriously lacking nor seriously spectacular.

 

It was a full ship, we had early seating with the best bunch of solo ladies and had a blast every dinner, the weather didn't cooperate and we had several medical issues which caused our itinerary to implode. I sincerely hated the line up fiasco for the comedy club, getting kicked out of the lounge after sitting and listening to karaoke to get at the back of the line for the comedy performance, which was down past the piano bar in one hallway and past the elevators at the back of the foyer.

 

She's a nice ship, seemingly on par with Norwegian's EPIC and Getaway/Breakaway (the latter 2 I haven't sailed on).

 

Hiya! I was on there as well. Loved it!!!

 

I traveled 3 different carnival ships on a 5 week back to back during October. I really liked the Breeze ship. Was pretty and new looking compared to the others. I was going to do a review as well but never did. I was on the Conqeust, Breeze and Glory.

Didn't like the medical problems and missing a port on the Breeze, but that also happened on the Conquest from my previous weeks cruises. We missed St Thomas/San Juan/Grand Turk because of the hurricane and went to Belize, Cozumel and Mahagony Bay. So 4 of my 5 weeks I went to Cozumel, Belize and MBay.:rolleyes:

On the Breeze my table mates were other solos too, nice folks, but not as fun as my other table mates on the cruise before and after it - also solos. I loved the food and our MDR experience was fast at 6 pm dinning on the Breeze. Brunch was slow but the same experience as on the other ships during my trip. I would say the best food during my 5 weeks was on the Glory and Breeze was a close 2nd.

Breeze was by far the prettiest and has nice workers. Yeah, my closet, couch and drawers were beat to death,,,,,really hanging by a thread - but on the Conquest and Glory I was missing a drawer and a shelf as well.

The best stewards and other workers I talked with was on the Conquest. It's like talking was their job. Would stop and chat anytime I met them. Most in a hurry and came across not the friendliest in the world:(. - Glory.

 

My biggest regret was that I just wished I had booked aft instead of a porthole. Everything I like to do is on the back of the ship. Would have made it easier on me having mobility issues. If I had to say a 2nd - it would be I should have changed table mates. The MDR tablemates make a cruise for me.

Edited November 30, 2014 by tbbtravels

[Sauer-kraut]

Hiya! I was on there as well. Loved it!!!

 

 

Hey there! I wish I'd known where you were sitting! Our table had 2 seats open you could have joined us. :D

[put me on a ship]

Breeze, to date, is our least favorite Carnival ship. There are definite problems with crowd control, and MDR service is slow. Buffet food was never hot, a lot of the food wasn't even warm. Entertainment is....well, it is just sad.

 

On the positive side, we loved the decor, loved Red Frog Pub, and the food it offered.

 

The negatives won't keep us from sailing Breeze again, since there are good options to all our negatives. And the funny thing is, our favorite ship is the Dream, which is about the same size, and has less to offer than Breeze.

[tbbtravels]

Hey there! I wish I'd known where you were sitting! Our table had 2 seats open you could have joined us. :D

 

Me too! That would have been awesome! I really didn't see you anymore after the meet n mingle. :(

Had a really good time though.

[KFinTx]

I was on the Breeze this past October. I had late seating & our service was fast & efficient. Supposedly the cruise was sold out, but the only time I ever had problems with the elevators was the first night when the midships elevators were still being used to transport luggage.

 

I avoided the Lido & didn't eat in the buffet except for the first day. I found plenty of other places to eat breakfast & lunch. Spent a lot of time at the Trivia contests too.

 

I though the ship decor was beautiful, the service was great, my cabin quiet & comfortable.

 

I would go on the Breeze again in a heartbeat.

[SkyMaster]

For sure. Haven't been on the Breeze, but just got off the Ecstasy and did ATD for the first time. Service has always been on the slow side in my opinion, but this trip it was exceptionally slow. I'm talking 45 minutes before we even had out starters. It just shouldn't be this bad, plain and simple. I didn't know it was due to the ATD, or the particular ship, or if it's just gotten this bad.

 

I sailed "Ecstasy" last month, and the service there, (1st seating) was slow as well. Fortunately, we had a GREAT bunch of folks at the table, so the fact that it took 2 to 2 1/2 hours for dinner wasn't as big a deal, with the good conversation going on at the table. I do wish Carnival would fix the service situation in the dining rooms. :confused:

 

"SKY"

[matt87]

the long dining times is not just a carnival thing. i've sailed rci an equal amount of time and all early seating. always a 2-2 1/2 hour dinner. i like it though, with friends and family talking and eating. whats better than that? i'm on vacation after all! thanks for the input folks!

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

I've been on the Breeze twice & would go again if I could.

I wrote 2 good reviews about it & I know Gambee, who was on the May sailing when I was, really enjoyed it enough that he would do it again.

He's been on some different ships & writes amazing reviews so look him up if you want encouragement.

 

I don't use the pool so its crowds don't affect me & I don't mind waiting in line for the comedy shows.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[vwrestler171]

I was on Breeze in May and loved her. We did have a little slow dining in the MDR at times, but nothing to bad. We hope to take our kids on her late 2016.

[Cruising4]

We are booked on the Breeze and our most recent cruise was on the Epic.

 

Ignore any complaints about the crowded pools. What ship doesn't have crowded pools?

 

Ignore any complaints about not being able to find enough to eat. Seriously?

 

Ignore any complaints about how far the aft cabin was from the front of the ship. Again, seriously?

 

Ignore any complaints about being "nickel and dimed" and those who think a welcome aboard drink is free. Again, seriously!

 

Ignore those who complain about a sick passenger or bad weather. WOW!

 

No pool in Serenity? Well, there wasn't a Serenity pool when you booked the Breeze.

 

Someone recently posted in a negative review that their liquor was confiscated until the end of the cruise. YES. And YES, they may shake your water bottle to see if you're smuggling.

 

I find those who post negative official reviews have a low post count.

 

We'll go with a positive attitude. If our ATD takes excessively long, I'll ask our waitstaff to move us along more quickly. If that doesn't happen we'll eat elsewhere. A family dinner outside with a pizza sounds great!

 

If some poor service is received, ask about it onboard. See the hotel manager, beverage manager. CCL can't fix it if you don't ask about a problem AND give them an option to fix it. (I'm not talking about demanding a free cruise as compensation, I can't even begin to imagine nasty cruisers that show up at guest services.)

[matt87]

well we never use the pools anyways. something about that many people of unknown hygiene using an unchlorinated salt water pool just skeeves me out, even if they change it daily, still gross. also we never do atd, i like knowing when. and where i'm eating every night. crowds at the buffet? ya every ship at peak times is an adventure. i've also read on numerous reviews about the strong latin theme to al the music on board. is this true?

[Ladderlieu29]

Had a cruise on the Breeze a few weeks ago and enjoyed it. We had late dining and our wait staff was very prompt. The food was always the right temp and for the most part, quite tasty. Both sea days we found lounge chairs available at the main pool, but that is probably due to overcast skies. I don't think the lines in the buffet were that long. I love omelets, and got one most mornings. I bet the longest I stood in line to get mine cooked was 6-8 minutes. Lines for pizza and Guys Burgers were hit or miss. Sometimes there was a rather long line, many times there were not. Comedy shows were always crowded, but when aren't they?

With 4000 people on board, I honestly never felt crowded. Elevators were quite busy at busy times, but my wife and I are stair people and didn't have a problem on them!

I can't wait to sail the Breeze again. There is so much to do on there that we didn't get to do it all the first time!

[Jillbu]

We were just off Breeze in November. We had ATD, 1 night we waited almost 45 mins for a table when we entered finally there were apprx 15 empty tables in the section we could see. Strange, actually every night there wer large amounts of empty tables. We had the same wait staff every night and they were fun and personable but service was slow and food while much more then I would cook, not really up to the food quality we expect on a cruise.

 

We always found long lines at the Lido Buffet but never ever had an issue finding a place to sit. The decor in this section is awesome such a nice change from the pinks.

 

Serenity was fine, windy but that is location more then anything. Hot tubs were barely full and always room in them, hard to find a spot on sea days but that is very typical. Entertainment was lacking and they need to do something about how they seat at the Comedy club. So popular on any ship but waiting n line for 30 mins is not quite right. Not sure what the answer is.....

 

We never met our steward the whole trip and never really felt the love in our cabin the way all of our other Carnival room attendants gave. On the other hand my family members about 10 doors down on the same deck had a great attendant.

 

Love the Photo taking setup on ! this ship, they are set up off the main walkway so you are not crossing lines etc to walk through.

 

Loved all the places to sit and read, eat, play games etc. I will say the place I spent the most time waiting was the coffee shop, the majority of the time I waited while groups of 2 and 3 Carnival employees got elaborate drinks. There was no grabbing a quick cup of coffee while heading somewhere else. It required a large chunk of time. I think Carnival should invest in a crew only coffee stand or a dedicated line.

 

All in all, Breeze was ok, not quite a ship I will NEVER step foot on in the future but not one I will seek out either. Oh and the Port of Miami was the worst crowd handling ever!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited December 1, 2014 by Jillbu

[Tampa8]

We are booked on the Breeze and our most recent cruise was on the Epic.

 

Ignore any complaints about the crowded pools. What ship doesn't have crowded pools?

 

Ignore any complaints about not being able to find enough to eat. Seriously?

 

Ignore any complaints about how far the aft cabin was from the front of the ship. Again, seriously?

 

Ignore any complaints about being "nickel and dimed" and those who think a welcome aboard drink is free. Again, seriously!

 

Ignore those who complain about a sick passenger or bad weather. WOW!

 

No pool in Serenity? Well, there wasn't a Serenity pool when you booked the Breeze.

 

Someone recently posted in a negative review that their liquor was confiscated until the end of the cruise. YES. And YES, they may shake your water bottle to see if you're smuggling.

 

I find those who post negative official reviews have a low post count.

 

We'll go with a positive attitude. If our ATD takes excessively long, I'll ask our waitstaff to move us along more quickly. If that doesn't happen we'll eat elsewhere. A family dinner outside with a pizza sounds great!

 

If some poor service is received, ask about it onboard. See the hotel manager, beverage manager. CCL can't fix it if you don't ask about a problem AND give them an option to fix it. (I'm not talking about demanding a free cruise as compensation, I can't even begin to imagine nasty cruisers that show up at guest services.)

 

WELL SAID!!

 

I can't decide if some make things up, just have to complain about something, or do incur some of what they post but not to the extent posted. No doubt some cruises go better than others on the same Ship, I have experienced that. The Breeze cruise I just took was one of the better cruises I have been on in regards to service and overall food. Waits were generally no longer at the buffet lunchtime than other cruises of larger ships. I did not find them to be outlandish except the Mongolian Stir Fry, where I can agree the lines were very long. But that does not translate into all lines being long.

 

 

I do understand and can sympathise when someone takes their first cruise on a large ship after only being on smaller ones, there is a difference. ATD is not something I would do again as I did last year on the DREAM, you live and learn.

However there is also generally a difference in the amenities available from smaller ships.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Tampa8