Just got off the Breeze today. A quick review and some comparisons with NCL!

[ohioNCLcruiser]

Hey Everyone,

 

A few people have asked me to do a review of the Carnival Breeze so I thought I would share a few points. This was my 16th cruise overall and my third Carnival cruise. My two previous Carnival cruises were on the Inspiration and Imagination. While there were positives and negatives, overall I had a great time. I’m going to skip the ports of call on this review as I honestly was so busy leading up to this cruise that I did zero planning ahead of time.

Let me get the only real big negative thing out of the way in my opinion and that is the Carnival Entertainment.

 

Carnival has consistently delivered extremely subpar entertainment as compared to other cruise lines’ standards. They did not have a live band during the shows and instead relied on backtracks. I believe part of the problem is not the fault of the singers and dancers, but instead the poor quality of the sound system. One of their non-musical shows featured a juggler who’s main act was juggling balls then would do a little leg twirl hop to add “style.” I actually felt bad for the guy because he kept dropping balls and the crowd just wasn’t giving him the reaction he had hoped for. I assume Carnival just has a much smaller budget for entertainment and they pay less since, like I said before, the quality doesn’t even come close. I did however highly enjoy the female adult only comedian in the George Lopez Punchliner Lounge.

We watched two new release movies ‘Under the Stars’ on the pool deck, which I found to be quite enjoyable. Carnival provided free popcorn and blankets, which I thought was a nice touch. I’m glad cruise lines have added this feature. Note to Carnival: The Fault in Our Stars is such a depressing movie to show on a cruise!! :D

 

 

 

Cabin and housekeeping:

My friend and I were booked in what I believe is called a deluxe ocean view cabin, cabin number 2246. This was by far the most spacious ocean view cabin I have ever had. Carnival took a page out from Disney Cruise Line and featured two separate bathroom areas. One room had a shower stall, toilet and sink while the second had a bathtub/shower combo and a sink. This saved us plenty of time in the morning since we could both get ready at the same time. For the first time ever I never met our housekeeper over the eight days. I must say that he or she did a wonderful job, was thorough, and of course provided their signature towel animal every day. I was disappointed to see that Carnival didn’t put chocolates on the pillows at night. That was always a nice little treat to come back to. Our room location was fine with me until the last night. You could certainly hear a lot of mechanical noises coming from the theater stage above us and the service door outside or room with the luggage. Overall I thought the cabin was excellent! It’s going to be very hard going back to a cabin with just one shower in the future.

 

 

Restaurants/food including the Steakhouse VS NCL’s Steakhouse.

 

 

I’m a fan of Carnival’s food and I think their melting cake is the best thing on the seven seas. The first night we went to the steakhouse since they had a promotion where you get a complimentary bottle of wine with dinner. I had the French Onion Soup and the Nine ounce Filet while my friend had the surf and turf. Overall our meals were excellent however I think the quality was lower than NCL’s Cagney’s Steakhouse as NCL offers a better menu item variety. We had a Romanian woman as our waitress who was fine but not as polished as some of the other specialty dining restaurant servers I’m accustomed to. Again the meal was tasty I just prefer NCL’s option. We decided we didn’t think it was worth a second visit.

 

 

For the rest of the week we had the Anytime Dining and were assigned to the Blush Restaurant. Throughout the cruise we normally didn’t have trouble getting a window seat, which was pleasant. Even if you eat with just your own group they sure like to push those tables near each other. One night we had about four inches between tables so had an enjoyable conversation with them.

 

NCL has recently improved their main dining menus however I still think Carnival has better food. I enjoyed the variety and the steak that’s always on the menu was better than the NCL option.

 

I LOVE the variety of lunch locations that the Carnival Breeze offered. Guy’s Burgers were always tasty and they have that service down to an art form. We never experienced a long line there and the burgers and fries were always hot and fresh. One of my favorite Carnival offerings is their Wok Station which had the normal selection of veggies with steak, chicken or shellfish. There was normally a line however it was worth the wait. Sometimes you just needed that lunch that didn’t feel heavy and this location delivered. I didn’t make it to the Mexican restaurant for lunch however they offered tasty breakfast burritos and other options in the morning. The station was garnished with a nice selection of salsas and toppings.

 

 

Room service was ordered over the TV which was fun to do but, it’s much quicker just to give them a call. The food quality was subpar compared to the other outlets on board, so I didn’t use it that often, mainly for hot tea at night. NCL has a pizza delivery system where for $5.00 you can order a full size hot and fresh pizza. That service was definitely missed on the Breeze. Carnival did have a 24 hour pizza station on deck 10 which worked for a quick pizza fix.

 

 

The Carnival Breeze is a beautiful ship and if you didn’t know you were on a Carnival ship you would have never guessed you were on one. The glowing neon is gone and replaced with natural tone colors. The Breeze’s atrium is absolutely gorgeous with the glowing lanterns at night. We enjoyed the atrium bar for pre-dinner cocktails and of course people watching. Speaking of cocktails, Carnival, you add way too much mixers to your martinis. If you want a stronger drink and less of a HI-C or fruit juice drink go onto NCL. My lemon drops were yellower than a school bus. I am a big fan of the Fun Ship drink though!

 

We played in the casino every day and had a good experience. We passed 1,500 points so were given a free drink card for the rest of the voyage. Drink service could be slow but I never had a problem finding someone to take my order. I saw two handpays on the first day ($1,400 on a quick hits and $2,000 on Wheel of Fortune $1 machine with a five credit bet) but didn’t see any after that. I ended up earning just shy of 4,000 points and already have free cruise offers from Carnival and I’m writing this from my flight home.

 

I’m trying to put this as politically correct as possible but there was certainly a large group onboard the ship, a family reunion I believe, that probably should have stayed at home. I knew they were going to be trouble from the moment we arrived at the pier since they were already yelling and fighting with each other. In the casino two were smoking in the non-smoking area and a woman politely asked them to not smoke there. The two woman made a comment along the line of “what do you think you’re gonna do to make me?” with a few insults added. It just made the ship at times feel trashy but it certainly didn’t ruin my cruise, just an observation.

 

 

Would I cruise Carnival again? Absolutely! They offer a great value but, I might be a bit pickier with the sailing. Sometimes the cheapest can get you those crowds of people you don’t really want to be hanging out with.

 

Ok to sum it up: Food…great! Ship…great! Service…great! Entertainment..terrible!

 

Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be happy to answer them. Happy sailing!

 

Warm Regards,

James

[SMSACE6]

Thanks for your balanced review. I used to love the old style shows on Carnival, and last year experienced the "new" playlist show on the Freedom. While, I did enjoy the show, it came nowhere close to my enjoyment of the old style shows.

 

Good news is; next month I go on an older ship which has not yet recieved those 2.0 "updates", and looking forward to experiencing the old style shows again.

 

Better news is; next year I am going on the Escape:D My problem then will be trying to fit in all the great entertainment options into 7 days.:)

[davy jones]

Having sailed both lines on multiple occasions, I pretty much agree with your comparision.

 

Carnival pretty much beats everyone with the number of lunch and casual food options. Being the newest ship, the Breeze has all of them. MDR food is better on Carnival. We don't do a lot of room service. If we do, it usually for morning coffee or a quick continental breakfast. Both lines do about the same with this. I can't speak for the steakhouse.

 

The larger standard cabins on Carnival are a plus. Service is good on both. The 2.0 production shows are subpar compared to other lines. The comedy is better on Carnival, but they need to use the often empty theater for the shows instead of playing musical chairs in an overstuffed lounge.

 

Our next cruise is on the Breeze and I expect to have a great time!

[ohioNCLcruiser]

Thanks for your balanced review. I used to love the old style shows on Carnival, and last year experienced the "new" playlist show on the Freedom. While, I did enjoy the show, it came nowhere close to my enjoyment of the old style shows.

 

Good news is; next month I go on an older ship which has not yet recieved those 2.0 "updates", and looking forward to experiencing the old style shows again.

 

Better news is; next year I am going on the Escape:D My problem then will be trying to fit in all the great entertainment options into 7 days.:)

 

They need to cancel that 2.0 upgrades! Enjoy the Escape!

 

I just booked the Pride for March and probably won't even check out the main stage shows.

[KPfromCT]

Hey Everyone,

 

A few people have asked me to do a review of the Carnival Breeze so I thought I would share a few points. This was my 16th cruise overall and my third Carnival cruise. My two previous Carnival cruises were on the Inspiration and Imagination. While there were positives and negatives, overall I had a great time. I’m going to skip the ports of call on this review as I honestly was so busy leading up to this cruise that I did zero planning ahead of time.

Let me get the only real big negative thing out of the way in my opinion and that is the Carnival Entertainment.

 

Carnival has consistently delivered extremely subpar entertainment as compared to other cruise lines’ standards. They did not have a live band during the shows and instead relied on backtracks. I believe part of the problem is not the fault of the singers and dancers, but instead the poor quality of the sound system. One of their non-musical shows featured a juggler who’s main act was juggling balls then would do a little leg twirl hop to add “style.” I actually felt bad for the guy because he kept dropping balls and the crowd just wasn’t giving him the reaction he had hoped for. I assume Carnival just has a much smaller budget for entertainment and they pay less since, like I said before, the quality doesn’t even come close. I did however highly enjoy the female adult only comedian in the George Lopez Punchliner Lounge.

We watched two new release movies ‘Under the Stars’ on the pool deck, which I found to be quite enjoyable. Carnival provided free popcorn and blankets, which I thought was a nice touch. I’m glad cruise lines have added this feature. Note to Carnival: The Fault in Our Stars is such a depressing movie to show on a cruise!! :D

 

 

 

Cabin and housekeeping:

My friend and I were booked in what I believe is called a deluxe ocean view cabin, cabin number 2246. This was by far the most spacious ocean view cabin I have ever had. Carnival took a page out from Disney Cruise Line and featured two separate bathroom areas. One room had a shower stall, toilet and sink while the second had a bathtub/shower combo and a sink. This saved us plenty of time in the morning since we could both get ready at the same time. For the first time ever I never met our housekeeper over the eight days. I must say that he or she did a wonderful job, was thorough, and of course provided their signature towel animal every day. I was disappointed to see that Carnival didn’t put chocolates on the pillows at night. That was always a nice little treat to come back to. Our room location was fine with me until the last night. You could certainly hear a lot of mechanical noises coming from the theater stage above us and the service door outside or room with the luggage. Overall I thought the cabin was excellent! It’s going to be very hard going back to a cabin with just one shower in the future.

 

 

Restaurants/food including the Steakhouse VS NCL’s Steakhouse.

 

 

I’m a fan of Carnival’s food and I think their melting cake is the best thing on the seven seas. The first night we went to the steakhouse since they had a promotion where you get a complimentary bottle of wine with dinner. I had the French Onion Soup and the Nine ounce Filet while my friend had the surf and turf. Overall our meals were excellent however I think the quality was lower than NCL’s Cagney’s Steakhouse as NCL offers a better menu item variety. We had a Romanian woman as our waitress who was fine but not as polished as some of the other specialty dining restaurant servers I’m accustomed to. Again the meal was tasty I just prefer NCL’s option. We decided we didn’t think it was worth a second visit.

 

 

For the rest of the week we had the Anytime Dining and were assigned to the Blush Restaurant. Throughout the cruise we normally didn’t have trouble getting a window seat, which was pleasant. Even if you eat with just your own group they sure like to push those tables near each other. One night we had about four inches between tables so had an enjoyable conversation with them.

 

NCL has recently improved their main dining menus however I still think Carnival has better food. I enjoyed the variety and the steak that’s always on the menu was better than the NCL option.

 

I LOVE the variety of lunch locations that the Carnival Breeze offered. Guy’s Burgers were always tasty and they have that service down to an art form. We never experienced a long line there and the burgers and fries were always hot and fresh. One of my favorite Carnival offerings is their Wok Station which had the normal selection of veggies with steak, chicken or shellfish. There was normally a line however it was worth the wait. Sometimes you just needed that lunch that didn’t feel heavy and this location delivered. I didn’t make it to the Mexican restaurant for lunch however they offered tasty breakfast burritos and other options in the morning. The station was garnished with a nice selection of salsas and toppings.

 

 

Room service was ordered over the TV which was fun to do but, it’s much quicker just to give them a call. The food quality was subpar compared to the other outlets on board, so I didn’t use it that often, mainly for hot tea at night. NCL has a pizza delivery system where for $5.00 you can order a full size hot and fresh pizza. That service was definitely missed on the Breeze. Carnival did have a 24 hour pizza station on deck 10 which worked for a quick pizza fix.

 

 

The Carnival Breeze is a beautiful ship and if you didn’t know you were on a Carnival ship you would have never guessed you were on one. The glowing neon is gone and replaced with natural tone colors. The Breeze’s atrium is absolutely gorgeous with the glowing lanterns at night. We enjoyed the atrium bar for pre-dinner cocktails and of course people watching. Speaking of cocktails, Carnival, you add way too much mixers to your martinis. If you want a stronger drink and less of a HI-C or fruit juice drink go onto NCL. My lemon drops were yellower than a school bus. I am a big fan of the Fun Ship drink though!

 

We played in the casino every day and had a good experience. We passed 1,500 points so were given a free drink card for the rest of the voyage. Drink service could be slow but I never had a problem finding someone to take my order. I saw two handpays on the first day ($1,400 on a quick hits and $2,000 on Wheel of Fortune $1 machine with a five credit bet) but didn’t see any after that. I ended up earning just shy of 4,000 points and already have free cruise offers from Carnival and I’m writing this from my flight home.

 

I’m trying to put this as politically correct as possible but there was certainly a large group onboard the ship, a family reunion I believe, that probably should have stayed at home. I knew they were going to be trouble from the moment we arrived at the pier since they were already yelling and fighting with each other. In the casino two were smoking in the non-smoking area and a woman politely asked them to not smoke there. The two woman made a comment along the line of “what do you think you’re gonna do to make me?” with a few insults added. It just made the ship at times feel trashy but it certainly didn’t ruin my cruise, just an observation.

 

 

Would I cruise Carnival again? Absolutely! They offer a great value but, I might be a bit pickier with the sailing. Sometimes the cheapest can get you those crowds of people you don’t really want to be hanging out with.

 

Ok to sum it up: Food…great! Ship…great! Service…great! Entertainment..terrible!

 

Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be happy to answer them. Happy sailing!

 

Warm Regards,

James

 

Thanks for you review!!!

The Breeze is our FAVORITE and she's leaving for Galveston.:mad::mad:

 

We don't do the shows, as it's not our thing, so I cannot comment on the entertainment. However, we do LOVE the comedy shows.

DH is NOT a fan of the piano bar, so we don't do that either.:rolleyes:

 

We love the layout and décor of the Breeze and are so sad to see her moving to Galveston.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise!!!:D:D

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[CruisingSoon88]

Thanks for the review. I love it when someone does a cruise line comparison and they actually use comparable ships. For instance, I always cringe when you see a review where the Fantasy is compared with Allure of the Seas. We prefer Carnival's newer, larger ships and I am always curious about trying other lines. I feel like NCL would probably be what we would try first.

 

We don't do shows so entertainment is just not important to us. One thing that I did find interesting when we looked at NCL is that we could not find a cabin with a king size bed unless we booked a suite. That may not be a big deal to some, but I have had a king size bed since I was 10 and have had to share it with DH for almost 11 years now. That was hard enough. I can't imagine spending a week in a queen size bed.

 

In the end, we have always had great cruises with Carnival so its hard to "chance" trying something new. I'm sure we'll venture out soon enough and I do enjoy seeing the comparisons.