Valentine's cruise on the Breeze

[tahitidreamz]

The photo of the Cuban coast was really nice!! Thank you for sharing!!

[MNKEITH]

My wife and I were on this cruise as well. What a great time. I can't wait to relive it through your review! We were inside deck 10.

[MrSchwump]

With 4 sea days on an 8 day cruise we made a lot of use of the exterior spaces. Another thing we liked about the Breeze over the Valor is the Promenade deck (deck 5) goes all the way around the ship. A sign tell you that 2.5 laps equal a mile. I don’t like that little walking track thing that circles the funnel on deck 12. Too crowded and people moving at all different speeds. The worst thing about the Promenade deck is you occasionally have to dodge a sleeping passenger whose lounger is in the middle of your path. Otherwise it’s wide open and very easy walking, with no stairs. Also on sea days, you want to avoid the hours that Jimmy’s C-Side BBQ are open since it’s very crowded then.

I think the pool in the amidships pool is called the Beach Pool. It is party central with music, either live or via a DJ is played there a lot of the time. The water slide is adjacent. There are also movies, the rum and tequila bars are there. It is a busy, boisterous place. We are dull people who enjoy quiet activities, so we stayed away from there. Most of our time was either at the Serenity area or at the deck 11 stern just about the Tides pool.

The much decried “chair hogging” game was in full force. On our first sea day I went to Serenity about 9a and everything was claimed. We walked all around and at the port side stern of deck 11 there was some space. I found 2 unclaimed loungers and carried them back and squeezed them in. The only downside was this is the smoking lounge of the ship. But as windy as it was we weren’t bothered by smoke at all. I stepped over to the area of deck 11 protected by the superstructure of the ship and enjoyed a fine cigar on several occasions. This is a good area (and the same deck, starboard side is smoke free) as it’s in the sun all day.

By our 3rd sea day I got smart and woke up early enough (6:30a) to claim a spot in the adults only Serenity area. They have cushioned loungers, giant hammocks, mini-cabanas as well as padded couches and chairs here. Best of all, no kids! They were very good at keeping kids out. On our last sea day I saw a couple of 12 year olds mosey through but that was it.

They were also move vigilant about marking your chair if you left it. They’d put a sticker on your towel with the time. You had 45 minutes go come back and remove it or they’d take your stuff to the deck attendant area and you’d lose you spot. We saw this happen a couple of times and people were NOT happy about it. I was told that, even though this is the policy on the entire ship, they only enforce it on the Serenity deck during peak times. I don’t like the chair hogs, especially people who claim chairs in multiple locations for their convenience. But is someone gets up at 5am to claim a spot and doesn’t show up until after breakfast, no big deal. If they wait until after lunch then that’s a problem.

In addition to the kid free benefit, the Serenity area has a bar and 2 hot tubs. It’s a little odd that it’s adjacent to the water slide area but you don’t really hear any noise from it and you can just barely hear the music from the Beach Pool. At times they had low-key music playing up there. There is glass all around the Serenity area which is good and bad. It keeps your hat and towel from blowing away but is so effective that it can get hot up there in certain very well protected spots. We really enjoyed being up here. It was like a tiny oasis in a sea of hoopla! As I said, we’re dull people.

[MrSchwump]

Ports

We chose this cruise mostly because of the abundance of sea days. We’ve been to Aruba a couple of times and to Curacao once, never to Grand Turk. I don’t mean to sound blasé but we’ve had all the island tours we care to take. Jostling around in a van with strangers for 4 hours isn’t our idea of fun. We elected just to take a cab to the beach and in the case of Grand Turk; we scheduled a snorkeling trip with a local operator.

Aruba

On our first trip to Aruba we went to Eagle Beach. On our second trip we went to Palm Beach. Both were nice but Palm Beach has a lot more action; bars, jet ski rentals and crowds (did I mention we’re dull?) so we opted for Eagle Beach.

Looking on Cruise Critic someone had suggested a couple of hotels or restaurants near Eagle Beach that had chairs and umbrellas to rent so we had a couple of ideas where we wanted to go. Leaving the ship we started to look for a taxi. One driver came up to us offering an island tour and we told him that we only wanted to go to the beach. He said he could take us to Eagle Beach for $15 total. I asked if he could recommend a place with chairs, umbrellas and a bar and he said he knew just the place.

His name was Carl and he was a very nice guy. He took us to the Divi all-inclusive resort. I was a little reluctant because I’d read of people paying $75 or $100 a person to spend the day at an AI. He said not to worry; we’d only pay for drinks or food. He used to work there so he was familiar with the staff and the property. He told us to keep an eye out for a female security guard and since all the beaches are public they can’t make you move but can tell you not to use their chairs. He said if she told us that just put our towels next to the chair and there was nothing they could do. As I have issues with authority I was fine with this plan. We saw the guard who seemed very content in the shady spot she’d staked out. We found a spot under a thatched palapa with 2 chairs that was some distance from where the guard was keeping vigil. We spent the whole day in them with no problems.

Since the Divi was all inclusive, the bar couldn’t accept payment. You had to go to the reception desk and buy vouchers for drinks or food. I bought 4 drink vouchers, good for either beer or pop, for $20. That got us through the day just fine. The local beer is Balashi and is not bad. Amstel Bright, a Corona-like light tropical beer is also good. They said lunch was $30 each but we passed.

Eagle Beach is very nice with a wide, flat stretch of sand and a gently sloping waterline. There was some moderate wave action when we were there but perfectly enjoyable. You can walk a quarter mile to the left, toward town, from here and probably a mile or 2 to the right, toward the lighthouse at the far end of Aruba. There are several low-rise hotels, 2 stories or so, in this section. The high rises, like the Riu and others are further north.

Having arrived at 10a, we asked Carl to pick us up at 3p. He was right on time and transit back to town was also $15. American money seems to be widely accepted.

We got back onboard and ate a late lunch. While my wife sat in the sun some more, I went back into Orangestaad to buy some contraband. The Casa de Habanos is located on the ground level of the giant pink structure in the middle of town. Since this is the State owned chain of cigar stores that Cuba operates it’s the only place I feel comfortable buying Cuban cigars. So many cigars sold in touristy areas are really cheap, inferior Mexican or Dominican cigars with a fake label. I picked up some premium smokes and some of my favorite cheap, machine made Cubans, Jose Piedra. A box of 5 for $15 is the best cigar buy you can make!

Carl the cab driver had recommended a Chinese grocery store, Kong Hing as the best place to buy liquor. I found a bottle of Havana Club rum but at $25 I passed. I like rum okay but I can’t tell the difference between HC and Bacardi or Ron Rico so it wasn’t worth the hassle.

I found a nice little air-conditioned bar serving ice cold Amstel Bright that had good WiFi service and sent a couple of emails and got back on the ship.

 

Curacao

We had the same plan in Curacao. I’d looked online and found that the closest beach to Willemstad was the Sea Aquarium Beach. Some of the other beaches on the island sounded nice but cab fares were $40-$60 and up, one-way.

The Breeze docked at the Mega Pier, which is across the inlet from the main area of town, the Punda. There’s a fairly new cruise terminal there and a nice walking area with shops and restaurants that leads to the Queen Emma swinging pontoon bridge. We crossed the bridge and looked around the Punda a little. I love the floating market where people come across from Venezuela with fresh seafood, fruits and vegetables every day, selling stuff right out of their boats. The waterfront buildings are very colorful and have a European look about there. There are a lot of touristy shops here as well as stores that are frequented by locals. Curacao’s government buildings are in this area too.

We caught a cab that we shared with another family, and paid $5 per adult, $20 total, down to Sea Aquarium, aka Mambo beach. It was about a 15-minute ride. This beach has all kinds of shops, bars, restaurants, ice cream parlor, etc. It seems like Curacao’s Coney Island, minus the rides. The drawback is it’s pretty crowded. We got there early enough so we were able to get 2 chairs under a palapa for $3.00 each. Within 30 minutes there were none left and people were spreading their towels out on the sand. Prices weren’t bad for refreshments. A beer was $4.00 and a soft drink $3.00. I got a hot dog for $3.50. A sit down restaurant with outside tables had sandwiches in the $10.00 range.

The beach was about 300-500 yards long and there was a breakwater a couple hundred feet offshore so the water was very calm compared to other beaches. It was a very different experience than Eagle Beach in Aruba but had a lot of conveniences.

After a few hours there we teamed up with some other Breeze passengers and split a cab back to the ship with them. Again, the fare was just $5.00 each.

 

Grand Turk

Grand Turk was the one island on the itinerary that we’d never visited. I read online there there’s not much to see here. No historical buildings and other than the statue that marks where John Glenn was brought to after he splashed down in Friendship 7, not much in the way of attractions. The Turks and Caicos are renowned as a great diving destination so this seemed like the best spot to arrange a snorkel trip.

Looking online I found that Papa J’s Tours had good reviews and we booked a snorkeling excursion that would go to 2 different sites for $55.00 each. This was cheaper than what Carnival offered and the boat held a max of 12 people rather than the 50 or more on the snorkel trips offered by the cruise line.

As it turned out, bad weather on previous days had caused the conditions to be subpar so our trip wasn’t very good. We did see some stingrays, which was kind of cool. I was disappointed because I was really looking forward to some super clear water and abundant marine life.

We went back to the ship and ate lunch. My wife again repaired to the Sanctuary for some sun and I went back ashore. Grand Turk is essentially the equivalent to a cruise line’s private island like Princess Cay, Half Moon Bay, Labadee, and so on. It’s a beach with a nice shopping area and a giant Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville. The Margaritaville complex is huge. It’s like a resort without the hotel rooms. The pool is giant, the bar and restaurant was packed. There was a surfing pool. There was a DJ playing loud music for the mostly drunken revelers. It looked like an 8-hour spring break for adults.

The beer was expensive and the WiFi connection didn’t work so I walked about a hundred yards down the beach to the Barefoot Cabana where beer was cheaper and the WiFi signal strong. I had a Turks Head Lager, which was not bad. Like I always say, Think Globally….Drink Locally.

 

Summary

We had a great time on board the Breeze. Our timing for vacation was perfect. It was subzeo weather at home with a ton of snow. The ideal time to visit the tropics!

Here’s what I’d give pluses to:

Décor

Cabin and cabin steward

Layout of the ship, ease of finding your way around

Serenity deck

Guy’s Hamburgers

Fun Hub and app

Embarkation process

Matt the Cruise Director

 

Here’s what I’d rate as disappointments:

American Table in Main Dining Room

Cruise Director’s staff

Lack of drink service at evening buffet

 

Even with the disappointments, we had a great time and were happy to have dodges some gawd-awful weather back home!