Overview Review of Breeze Christmas Cruise

[sparkey24]

Just got back from a Sunny & Relaxing time on the Breeze.

 

Here is a Overview of our trip with Pros, Cons, and Miscellaneous Information...

 

This was our first cruise on Carnival, but our 3rd Christmas Cruise (did Independence of the Seas in 2012 & Crown Princess 2013) We decided to try Carnival to see what cruise line "fit" our family the best. (We are in our late 30's /Early 40's with a 16 year old son).

 

Ports of Call: Grand Turk, La Romana Dem. Rep., Curacao, and Aruba. 1st time in Grand Turk and La Romana.

 

Grand Turk: Rented a Cabana at Margaritaville and relaxed for the day. Walked down to see Topher at Jack's Shack, but he wasn't there. Thought food/drink prices were reasonable

 

La Romana: No Excursion booked, and not 100% sure what we wanted to do. Got off ship and walked into port to the 1 store that was there, bought some alcohol & vanilla and spent the rest of the day on the ship. Seemed a lot of people stayed on the ship.

 

Curacao: Arrived at 1pm, we got off around 3pm and walked around town. Enjoyed walking around through the stores, but would book an excursion if we come back here again.

 

Aruba: Christmas Day, got taxi to De Palm beach and rented some chairs and an umbrella on the beach. Most shops around De Palm were closed due to the holiday.

 

Ship Details:

 

Cabin: Cove Balcony with Sofa Bed. Room 2272...it did not have a life boat over the balcony

 

Pools/Slides/Water Park: We enjoyed the aft pool on our day at La Romana, but the pool got extremely dirty by 2pm. Didn't do the slides or water park, but would say that it looked like the kids really enjoyed them.

 

Serenity Area: Our favorite part of the ship. Had to arrive early to get a clam shell, but I am an early riser, so never had a problem.

 

Entertainment:

 

Comedians: Only did the Adult only shows. Enjoyed all of them, but didn't enjoy the 30 minutes early you had to arrive and wait in line. I say make it first come first serve.....it was annoying that people would have 1 person wait in line and take/reserve 10 seats.

 

Theater Shows: Thought shows were decent. One of our favorite was the Latin show (we actually think this is the best show of all the ships we have been on)

 

Piano Bar: I thought this was going to be our favorite place to hang out with a drink, but thought that Ben Gentry wasn't that great.....voice was a bit off, and cheesy lines/comedy were the same every night (we had to listen when in line for the comedy show)

 

Casino: Tried our luck each night with our $20, and never hit anything...didn't really see anyone hitting anything, probably the "tightest" casino we have ever been to.

 

Live Music, Trivia, Dancing: While walking around we stopped an enjoyed some of the misc. events and I didn't think they were bad/good just traditional stuff on a cruise ship...some things we liked better than others, but I wouldn't say anything was bad.

 

 

Food:

 

Anytime Dining....never had to wait more than 15 minutes to get a table, but we ate around 615/630 each evening. Food was ok, we enjoyed the other cruiseline dining room food more, and didn't really think the singing was that great :) I will say depending on your wait staff your service can be either great or bad. I recommend the Head Waiter: Septa and his staff.

 

Steakhouse: Had reservations 1st night (got free bottle of wine). Food was delicious, but way too much to eat. Would recommend to anyone who wants to splurge.

 

Italian: Made reservations for Christmas. Food was decent, but not really that great. Probably would do lunch for free, but not recommend the up-charge for a meal.

 

Guy's Burgers: Our son's favorite :) I thought they were good, but greasy.

 

Tacos: I enjoyed the chicken, my husband tried the fish & pork, but unfortunately something with his tacos made him sick.

 

Pizza: Okay, not my favorite, but hit the spot when you want a quick snack.

 

Salad Bar/Taste Bar: Good, would recommend

 

Didn't do Sushi, Hot Dog, Red Frog, or BBQ. BBQ wasn't open on our 2nd sea day, so we were a little disappointed.

 

More details to come after lunch.......

[sparkey24]

Misc.... Details:

 

Teen Activity/Area: Son said that he didn't care for the Teen area/program. He said Princess & Royal Caribbean are much better, he also said that he felt the teenagers were not treated well on the ship and that the staff were not friendly like other ships.

 

His example of how he thought the service was not up to his standards: While sitting at dinner in the MDR with us his sail/sign card fell out of his pocket. When the waiter picked it up he said "hey buddy here's your card", my son said if he was on another ship the staff would have said "excuse me sir, but you dropped your card" I thought this was funny coming from a teenager who doesn't usually notice the little things, but he said when he comes on vacation he likes the special treatment, and to feel like he is being spoiled. (which I have to agree with).

 

Crowds: This was a full ship due to it being over Christmas

 

Kids: There were 1400 kids on board. We actually didn't feel like there were a lot of kids on board, I think it was nice to have the adult only area as well as how the layout is that you can get away from kids if you want.

 

Lines for food: weren't terrible. If you were trying to eat right at prime time you had to wait about 5-10 minutes, so can't complain at all. I would say it was more of people not understanding how to order that caused delays. The omelet station had a line at all times, but again understandable. None of us were a fan of how the buffet area was set up, we didn't eat there often.

 

Chair Hogs:I don't think I have ever not seen people reserving prime location loungers, so again this was an issue, but if you are on a cruise it is to be expected, and I either got up early, or sat in a less desirable area.....I didn't let it ruin my time :)

 

Shows: The comedy club was always crowded, and it is worth getting in line 30 minutes early if you want a good seat. The theater never felt full, but we only needed 2 seats, so it wasn't hard to find.

 

Disembarking (is that when you leave the cruise....I always get it wrong): It was kind of a cluster. We were in zone 21, so we knew we had time to waste so we got coffee, got our carry on bags, and found a place to soak up the last bit of sun....unfortunately, not everyone followed the rules, and were trying to exit before their turn was called, and it caused a cluster. I would say having a late number makes life much less stressful :)

 

Overall experience: We are in agreement we probably wouldn't go out of our way to book a Carnival cruise again, but we wouldn't say it wasn't a good vacation, it just didn't fit our family. I liked all the ports other than Dom. Republic, but it sounds like Carnival is moving from La Romana to Punta Cana, so I would give that port a try. I would say if you want to cruise and have a more limited budget Carnival would meet your needs, but if you like to cruise and enjoy a little more "spoiled" feeling as well as a bit dressier evening I would go with Princess or Royal Caribbean. Whatever ship you are on is always better than work, so with that being said....Calm Seas and Sunshine to All!!!

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions I will do my best to respond :)

[nybumpkin]

We're sailing the 8-day Southern on Breeze in July, so I thank you for sharing your thoughts! Did you or your son do any of the deck sports?

[sparkey24]

We're sailing the 8-day Southern on Breeze in July, so I thank you for sharing your thoughts! Did you or your son do any of the deck sports?

 

My husband and I played Mini Golf one day, and it was a fun way to waste some time, and my son played Basketball....he said it was super windy and that the court was slippery (even with basketball shoes on)

[hockeyluver]

Thanks for the review... 40 days till we board!!:D

[Michigan Cruisers]

We were also on your cruise and had Septa and his team for your time dining. I agree they were excellent. I'm writing a review later this week. This was our 4th Christmas cruise, 3rd on cArnival. We really enjoyed it. Stayed on board for Dominican Republic too. For being a full ship we thought the lines were not an issue at all. My daughter lived the 15-17 club but my 14 old son and nephew felt the 12-14 club was geared more towards younger kids. They had a ton to do without going to the club. My wife loved Ben. He was the best piano bar singer of the carnival ships we have been on. We also thought Matt is by far one of the best cruise directories we have had in over 10 cruises on 5 different lines.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Buster27]

We were also on this sailing of the Breeze. We had a wonderful time. We all loved the ship.....very different from previous ship's décor. It was spotless and we all thought the service and the food was excellent EVERYWHERE on the ship.

 

We enjoyed all the stops.....but also mostly stayed on board and enjoyed the ship when in the Dominican Republic.

 

There were a LOT of kids on board and we were prepared for it....being a Christmas sailing. So, we tried our best to ignore it when a group of teens would push by us on the stairs.....or knock us over getting out of the elevator....or butt in front of us in the buffet line.....or screech and run around all the chaises on the lido deck. I feel really sorry sometimes for the staff on these ships .....it's unbelievable what they have to put up with from these spoiled, unruly kids. I'm so tired of the attitude....."it's my vacation and I paid for it so I'll do whatever I want"

 

OK.....off my kid rant. We won't be sailing over Christmas again....till they come up with an adults only ship !

 

I can't imagine anyone not enjoying themselves on this beautiful ship.

[sparkey24]

We were also on your cruise and had Septa and his team for your time dining. I agree they were excellent. I'm writing a review later this week. This was our 4th Christmas cruise, 3rd on cArnival. We really enjoyed it. Stayed on board for Dominican Republic too. For being a full ship we thought the lines were not an issue at all. My daughter lived the 15-17 club but my 14 old son and nephew felt the 12-14 club was geared more towards younger kids. They had a ton to do without going to the club. My wife loved Ben. He was the best piano bar singer of the carnival ships we have been on. We also thought Matt is by far one of the best cruise directories we have had in over 10 cruises on 5 different lines.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I totally forgot to mention Matt the CD....we agree with you ...we really enjoyed how personable Matt was and that even though he was "laid back" he also really managed all situations very well.

[sparkey24]

We were also on this sailing of the Breeze. We had a wonderful time. We all loved the ship.....very different from previous ship's décor. It was spotless and we all thought the service and the food was excellent EVERYWHERE on the ship.

 

We enjoyed all the stops.....but also mostly stayed on board and enjoyed the ship when in the Dominican Republic.

 

There were a LOT of kids on board and we were prepared for it....being a Christmas sailing. So, we tried our best to ignore it when a group of teens would push by us on the stairs.....or knock us over getting out of the elevator....or butt in front of us in the buffet line.....or screech and run around all the chaises on the lido deck. I feel really sorry sometimes for the staff on these ships .....it's unbelievable what they have to put up with from these spoiled, unruly kids. I'm so tired of the attitude....."it's my vacation and I paid for it so I'll do whatever I want"

 

OK.....off my kid rant. We won't be sailing over Christmas again....till they come up with an adults only ship !

 

I can't imagine anyone not enjoying themselves on this beautiful ship.

 

Wow....I never noticed any teenagers being rude....There always seems to be a bad egg in a group, but I really was impressed on how well the kids seemed behaved. Also, we hung out in Serenity as much as possible during the day to have adult time, and it was lovely :)

[momonthego17]

Hey Sparkey24, what part of Oregon do you hail from? I grew up in Salem!

 

Sounds like you had a great cruise. My family of four, me, DH, DDs (12 & 14) had a cove balcony on the Breeze as well over Thanksgiving week. Loved it! Our wait staff was fabulous, food great and we had Wee Jimmy as a CD. Very funny!

 

Lots of kids but only one irritating experience in the elevators (they pressed almost all the buttons) and we didn't spend any time in the Serenity area, since we were hanging with the DDs.

 

Too bad about not getting to try Bonsai Sushi. We did and the food was great! Our waitstaff got the DDs and myself up to do a dance with flags to the song "I'm turning Japanese, I really think so" which was a hoot.

 

We have decided to make it a family tradition to cruise over Tday week, so I booked a cruise on the Conquest for Tday week 2015. Looking forward to it!

 

Thanks for the review!

Edited December 31, 2014 by momonthego17

[sparkey24]

Hey Sparkey24, what part of Oregon do you hail from? I grew up in Salem!

 

Sounds like you had a great cruise. My family of four, me, DH, DDs (12 & 14) had a cove balcony on the Breeze as well over Thanksgiving week. Loved it! Our wait staff was fabulous, food great and we had Wee Jimmy as a CD. Very funny!

 

Lots of kids but only one irritating experience in the elevators (they pressed almost all the buttons) and we didn't spend any time in the Serenity area, since we were hanging with the DDs.

 

Too bad about not getting to try Bonsai Sushi. We did and the food was great! Our waitstaff got the DDs and myself up to do a dance with flags to the song "I'm turning Japanese, I really think so" which was a hoot.

 

We have decided to make it a family tradition to cruise over Tday week, so I booked a cruise on the Conquest for Tday week 2015. Looking forward to it!

 

Thanks for the review!

 

Thanks.....we are from Gresham area......We were going to try the Sushi restaurant, but we never thought about it when we were hungry, and when we did walk by it we weren't hungry :)

 

We like our tradition of being gone over Christmas!! Got to love getting out of the rain of Oregon for awhile and soaking up some sun :) Have a great cruise in 2015!!