Brief Review--Carnival Breeze

[lorim103]

Here is a quick review of our vacation on the Carnival Breeze. We were on the New Year’s Eve cruise that went to Jamaica, Grand Cayman & Cozumel. Overall, it was a great trip!

 

Getting to Miami: We flew Southwest to Fort Lauderdale at 6 am. We used SAS Transportation to get from FLL to POM & back again. They were wonderful. Great price, great service. We arrived at POM around 11 am. Check in was super fast & then we waited to board. We were on board around 12:30 & I went straight to Mongolian Wok. It was a good as I remembered. I would get it a few more times during the cruise:)

 

The Ship: Beautiful ship. We loved the decor & the layout. Our room steward was Jan, and he was great. Quick & efficient--a hard worker. The only complaint I have about the room was the carpet was dirty near the door to the balcony. Later I realized this was because of dew or mist on the balcony that got tracked in. No big deal.

 

Food: We ate breakfast at the buffet each morning & loved the options. I got omelets a few mornings & it didn’t take long at all. We ate lunch at various places--and it was all good. For dinner, we were in the Blush dining room. On the first night, we were not at the same table as our children. I was pretty mad but it was fixed by the next night. Our servers were slow the first night, but after that they were quick. Iwayan & Hari were so nice & hard workers for sure. The food was just OK. There was certainly enough options but the quality was just OK. I know people are concerned about not having tablecloths, but that didn’t bother me at all.

 

Excursions:

Jamaica:

We hired Errol Bowen from Travel Jamaica Tours,(http://www.traveljamaicatours.com) to take us to Blue Hole. It was soooo fun. We had lunch at a jerk chicken place, and it was very good. We stopped at a beautiful public beach for a while, then back to the ship in Falmouth. I highly recommend Errol. We felt safe & he shared lots of information about Jamaica. The Blue Hole was amazing. I only wish we were there longer.

Grand Cayman:

We booked an excursion with Native Way Watersports (http://www.nativewaywatersports.com) for Rays, Reef and lunch at Rum Point. Swimming with the stingrays was fun & Rum Point was beautiful. And the food was good too. The snorkeling was just OK because it was choppy & we didn’t see too many fish. Tony (I think) was the captain of our boat & he was great. He made sure everyone was having fun. I would recommend Native Way Watersports--they were great & very nice.

Getting back on the ship took over an hour because of the tender process. What a pain, but I loved the island & would love to go back again.

 

Cozumel:

We took a taxi to Paradise Beach. ($21 each way for our family of 5) We loved it! $3 to get a chair & you had to order $10 in food/drink. No problem! The food was very good. The beach & pool area were beautiful. Lots of water activities to do for a fee. We would go back for sure.

 

The Smell:

Yes, we smelled the smell & it’s gross. We smelled it in the dining room & in our hallway. (6th Aft) I think it might be a combination of food garbage & wet carpets. Luckily it was not in our cabin.

 

Entertainment:

There was a ton of stuff to do. We enjoyed the comedians a few times. Somehow we didn’t get to any of the big shows, so I can’t comment on that. Wee Jimmy was the CD & he was good. New Year’s Eve was a huge party with a great band & DJ on Lido. It really rocked. No free

champagne like last year but truthfully, I was glad because the teenages drank it.

 

Issues: On New Year’s Eve, there had a crew party in the Limelight Lounge, which was directly under our room. The Limelight Lounge is typically used for the comedians & some karaoke, both of which are not late night or early morning. Anyway, the music was soooo loud, items in our cabin were vibrating. I waited until 2:15 am to call Guest Services to inquire how much longer it would go on. It finally ended about 2:30. I understand it was a party so I tried to be a good sport but I got fed up. Also, both groups on the balconies next to us smoked. I didn’t complain but I wish Carnival put up better signage about smoking not allowed on balconies.

 

We arrived back in Miami earlier than planned due to a medical emergency. I hope the person is OK. We were able to walk off (self assist) about 30 minutes ahead of time, SAS Transportation was waiting for us (and others) and off to the airport we went. We arrived in plenty of time for our 11:40 flight. (which was delayed about an hour)

 

Overall, it was a great trip. We had great vendors--thanks to information I found on CruiseCritics--so thanks everyone! Back to reality with no one cooking or cleaning for me. Can’t wait to plan our next cruise. Let me know if you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.

[KPfromCT]

Thanks for the recap! She is our favorite ship!!!

Sounds like you guys had a great time!!!:D:D

 

Since you were in Falmouth, by any chance did you try a Jamaican Beef patty from Tastees? Apparently it's a kiosk right off the ship (still within the gates)?

 

I've heard great things, and sadly, it's one reason I want to go.:o

[lorim103]

Thanks for the recap! She is our favorite ship!!!

Sounds like you guys had a great time!!!:D:D

 

Since you were in Falmouth, by any chance did you try a Jamaican Beef patty from Tastees? Apparently it's a kiosk right off the ship (still within the gates)?

 

I've heard great things, and sadly, it's one reason I want to go.:o

 

No--missed that. Although our guide mentioned them--so it must be good. The port was newly built & nice, but kinda small.

[Rock_ON!!]

I was on the same cruise with you! It was a great time, sad it's over . If I can't figure out how to post pictures, I'll put a photo review up too.

[Pesh]

I was on the same cruise with you! It was a great time, sad it's over . If I can't figure out how to post pictures, I'll put a photo review up too.

 

 

Did you check out the Serenity deck? If so, have they brought back the hammocks?

[Jenhem31]

Did you check out the Serenity deck? If so, have they brought back the hammocks?

 

 

There were hammocks in Serenity in September

[lorim103]

Did you check out the Serenity deck? If so, have they brought back the hammocks?

 

We did check out Serenity & used one of the hot tubs. I didn't see any hammocks. It was really windy up there so we didn't stay too long.

[Taters]

Thanks so much for the review!

[sunlite]

Great review! Thank you. We are doing the same cruise in April. Can you tell me how much the Jamaica tour was? Also, what did you do at the blue hole? Do you have to jump from the rocks or can you just walk into the water?

 

Thanks Again!

[youknownothingjonsnow]

Thank you for the review. I'm headed on the Breeze in 3 weeks...getting excited!!

We're also planning on Paradise beach, so I'm glad to hear someone went there recently and would recommend it:)

Do you recall which movies played at the Dive in theater?

[Rock_ON!!]

There were 2 hammocks, one on each side of the serenity deck.

[lorim103]

Great review! Thank you. We are doing the same cruise in April. Can you tell me how much the Jamaica tour was? Also, what did you do at the blue hole? Do you have to jump from the rocks or can you just walk into the water?

 

Thanks Again!

 

The Jamaica tour was $200 not including admission to Blue Hole ($15 each), lunch which was $40 total, or tipping. There is a guide at Blue Hole we tipped and of course, Errol.

At Blue Hole--we did alot of jumping. I guess you could walk into the water, but we didn't. I don't think it would be as fun:)

I do wish we asked to stay longer & explore more. Here is a picture of my daughter walking down a rock that we jumped from. (sorry, can't figure out how to post picture directly)

 

https://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a6df22b3127cceeb539d176e8800000030O00AZuGjNizcMmQPbz4M/cC/f%3D0/ls%3D00202831348320160103193141782.JPG/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

[lorim103]

Thank you for the review. I'm headed on the Breeze in 3 weeks...getting excited!!

We're also planning on Paradise beach, so I'm glad to hear someone went there recently and would recommend it:)

Do you recall which movies played at the Dive in theater?

 

Sorry--didn't notice what movies there were playing. We loved Paradise Beach. We would def go back.

[lorim103]

There were hammocks in Serenity in September [ATTACH]372548[/ATTACH]

 

Thanks--I totally missed them.

[Pesh]

There were 2 hammocks, one on each side of the serenity deck.

 

 

Thanks! Last time I was on the Breeze they didn't have them up. Sailing her again in March so was hoping they'd be back!

[Jenhem31]

Thanks! Last time I was on the Breeze they didn't have them up. Sailing her again in March so was hoping they'd be back!

 

 

I think there's only 2, but they were there in both February and September