Review -- 20 family members on the Breeze -- January 2016-- Eastern Caribbean

[brookeq]

If you had to choose one fort over the other, which one did you enjoy the most? Don't think we will have time to go to both, very short port time in San Juan, wondered which one had the most to see and better overall views? Also your children are adorable, and I am really enjoying your review!

 

They were very similar so i would just do the closest one San Cristobal. You will "see" El Morro when you sail in. And you get great views of El Morro from San Cristobal.

Edited February 14, 2016 by brookeq

[bar10der421]

Loving your review. Your pictures are great. We are trying to talk our niece into a cruise this year (her children would be four and six) so your "mother perspective" is very helpful. As someone who doesn't know your children, it is adorable to see their smiles grow bigger and how much more relaxed they look as the days go by and they seem to be so thoroughly enjoying their cruise. Quite an ad for cruising with children!!

[brookeq]

After we visited the fort we walked thru town and stopped at some shops.

We had to get some cold medicine for the kids and my father in law who wasn’t feeling well. I forgot to mention that the shops had closed the night before on the ship. Apparently this was announced but i missed that. (It is hard to hear the announcements most times)

 

A lot of people on our roll call were not happy. After we got home it turns out 100+ people on our roll call and their family members got sick this cruise. The shops weren’t open so they couldn’t buy over the counter medicine. Some got medicine in Puerto Rico like we did. But others didn’t get sick until later. A lot of people got so sick they eventually went to the medical center on board just to get basic medicine. So this cost them a lot of money. And a lot of them ended up being misdiagnosed by the dr. Some ended up with strep throat when they got home, some serious sinus infections, and one had pneumonia, and the dr just blew them off. So our roll call has a lot of complaints right now.

 

Ok that got a little long...back to Puerto Rico.

 

So we walked thru Old San Juan. Everyone enjoyed the narrow streets and colorful buildings.

 

We passed an old Church and stopped in.

 

It was hard to get a good picture of it.

 

 

Eventually we made it to the chocolate restaurant...casa cortes.

My husband and I got a chocolate drink with coconut in it. It was a cold drink and was delicious and hit the spot.

 

 

We also got some churros and chocolate sauce.

 

 

 

My sister in law got churros and then tried the chocolate grilled cheese. It is literally a grilled cheese with some chocolate in it. They loved it.

 

Then we headed back to the ship.

 

We stopped at a stand near the ship and got the kids some gifts. I got my son a wooden sword that said puerto rico on it. It was confiscated when we got on board and would have to pick it up at the end of the cruise. That kind of back fired. So I quickly took a picture of it so my son could see we got him something. For my daughter we bought her her necklace.

 

Edited February 14, 2016 by brookeq
misspell

[brookeq]

We got back on board and headed to pick up the kids. Both ages were mixed so they were in the same room. Hayden came right away when his name was called. Amelia didn’t. They couldn’t find her. I asked Hayden if he saw her but he was clueless (such a great big brother sometimes!). It turns out my mother in law came and asked the kids if they wanted to leave and Amelia left and hayden stayed. They forgot to mark it on their sheet. Ugh!

 

I was still on the quest for a good family photo so we tried before dinner. I picked the wrong set up because they took this cheesy photo.

It makes me laugh.

 

The one of just the kids was pretty good.

 

 

We went to dinner that night. I don’t remember what I had this night. I think it was the beef wellington and the cherry soup. Both good. This may have been the night I had the bitter and blanc also. I am having a hard time remembering because my son was not well behaved that night. His cousins are older and could come and go as they please. He can’t and gets upset. He just isn’t as old as them . So he had to stay and he didn’t like his dinner. He got steak but it had sauce put on it this time. I told him he could get a new one but he just didn’t want to.

 

My daughter was happy with her napkin creature from the waiter.

 

So it was an early night for us and I put the kids to bed since we had a busy day at St. Kitts the next day. I am pretty sure my husband went back out and hung out with family. Not sure what he did though.

 

Edited February 14, 2016 by brookeq
pic didn't work

[swalton85]

great review so far and pics! :)

[sunset785]

Thank you for the review! No plans for the Breeze right now but I am enjoying the read.

 

Do you think bringing a stroller into the fort would be okay? Is it only stairs to the top? We will have a 2 yr old with us in July.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[brookeq]

Thank you for the review! No plans for the Breeze right now but I am enjoying the read.

 

Do you think bringing a stroller into the fort would be okay? Is it only stairs to the top? We will have a 2 yr old with us in July.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

 

I don't remember many stairs. Most of the forts were very wide ramps. I would think a stroller would be fine. I don't remember seeing any so maybe check that they are allowed.

[MaiTaiMary]

 

I was still on the quest for a good family photo so we tried before dinner. I picked the wrong set up because they took this cheesy photo.

It makes me laugh.

 

]

 

Is this a new app to use to view pictures onboard? Can you tell me more about this?? Thanks! :)

[brookeq]

Day 5 – St. Kitts

We had breakfast at the Blue Iguana again. I just love green salsa!

 

 

When we arrived I noticed that we got to pull into the main terminal. According to my research before the cruise there was supposed to be three ships in port that day and we would be the last to arrive so we were going to have to dock at the deep water harbor. So this was a pleasant surprise and saved us a shuttle ride to the main pier.

 

Our plan for this day was to go to Cockleshell beach. I did a lot of research before we left on this island. I knew a cab would take us there or $7 per person. I also knew to be careful of tour guides trying to act like cab drivers and they get you in their van and its an island tour with a stop at the beach.

We get off the ship with 18 of us (my brother in law and his wife never did anything with us this cruise but that is a whole story I won’t get into).

 

For some reason there was Potato Head Characters to see you off the ship?

 

We found the taxi drivers and told them where wanted to go. There is no taxi stand here with rates posted like you would find in Cozumel for example. I hated it. It was chaotic. Lots of tour people yelling. We were given a driver and he walked us out to the vans. Well a tour guide came and I was in the back and I am not sure what happened but there was a lot of yelling and fighting. I do know he was trying to get us to come with him. I hate the craziness.

 

Finally we were put into a large van/bus and we were off. Our driver told us a lot about the island. St. Kitts is very mountainous. So you get great views. Eventually our driver dropped us off at Mundos. It is just down a little ways from Reggae beach. The taxi ride was $7 per person I think.

 

We got 2 loungers and an umbrella for $12. The umbrellas had large nails to hang your stuff on.

 

You can kind of see the chairs and umbrellas in this picture. You can also see the dark sand. It was still pretty soft though.

[brookeq]

There were food and drinks behind us if you wanted anything. We didn’t get anything but it was about $10 bucks for a hamburger. Drinks were reasonable.

They have a page (on the forbidden to mention site)if you want to check them out. They also rent water sports equipment. Mundo Water Sports

 

Everyone had a blast here. The water was warm.

 

 

I loved the scenery around us. It seemed like a lagoon kind of feel. Very natural. Not overdeveloped. I liked that.

 

 

The sand was dark. Not really black though.

 

Amelia never got out of the water. I was surprised. When we went to the beach in North Carolina this past summer she never went in the ocean. This was like pool water though.

 

 

The water was clear and you could see lots of little fish in the swimming area.

 

[brookeq]

Is this a new app to use to view pictures onboard? Can you tell me more about this?? Thanks! :)

 

yes.

 

we downloaded the app before we left for the cruise.

 

Then you can log in when you finally get on board.

 

There is a photo tab on the app. If you go to any of the portrait places on board to get a picture they will scan your room key. Then later it appears in your account. You can even purchase the picture on your phone if you want.

 

You can also take a selfie and it says it has facial recognition software to possibly try to find gangway pictures where they don't scan your room key. It never worked for us.

[brookeq]

great review so far and pics! :)

 

thanks

[brookeq]

If you go down to the end of Reggae beach there is rock wall and you can snorkle along that area. (Reggae beach is at the far end to the left if you are facing the ocean) Reggae beach was a lot more crowded. I was happy with our spot at mundo’s. It only took a couple of minutes to walk there.

 

You can kind of see where it is in this picture. Just start walking to the mountain.

 

 

Snorkeling was pretty good. We saw lots of fish and some lobsters. There are a lot of sea urchins over here. But are usually pretty deep.

 

We have a generic go pro type camera and i had it to take pictures underwater. Well it decided not to work this trip. I took 2 pictures and then it stopped. My sister in law had an underwater camera but she hasn't sent me the pictures yet. If she sends them i will add them to my review later.

 

My son went snorkeling which surprised me. (We brought his own snorkle and goggles and life vest)

 

 

He went with his uncle and had fun. So Mike and I went later with his snorkle equipment. (We used to have snorkle equipment and I searched that attic but couldn't find it) I wasn’t sure if I would like snorkeling (didn't 15 years ago) so I didn’t want to rent equipment. I felt a little silly with his little kid mask on. But it worked and I ended up enjoying myself.

 

Here is picture where you can see me using Hayden's little mask that we brought if Amelia wanted to snorkle. Its not the best since it was taken with the crappy camera, but I thought I would add it here since its kind of funny.

 

And here is a picture where most people were snorkeling (my son is one of them)

 

[pops43]

Thank you for your review. What is the difference among cockleshell , Mundos, and reggae beach?

[brookeq]

Cockleshell is the stretch of beach that all of the beach clubs/bars are on. Reggae beach bar is at the far left when facing the ocean. Mundo's is next. Further down to the right is spice mill, lions, etc.

[pops43]

thank you, brookeq

[brookeq]

My sister in law just sent me some of our snorkeling pictures. I will upload them and try to get them in this review

Edited February 16, 2016 by brookeq
misspelling

[brookeq]

 

So I got some pictures from my sister in law. I don't have pictures of everything we saw but will post a few from her camera.

 

 

 

 

 

[brookeq]

 

 

 

 

[brookeq]

Some of our cousins held a monkey for $5. That is not my thing and the guy with the monkey was not very friendly. I don't have a picture of it. But it was a tiny monkey with a diaper on.

 

We found a bunch of small shells on the beach and the kids used them in their sand castle.

 

We got to see this man doing the jet pack thing...

 

One of my nieces was still sick and my father in law lost his voice here.

But overall it was an awesome day.

 

We arranged for our driver to pick us up at a certain time and he was there waiting for us.

 

On the way back he took us to Timothy Hill.

 

 

It is the view point where you can see the Atlantic Ocean on one side of the mountains and the Caribbean sea on the other side. It was a great view.

 

 

they have small stand up here to buy things, and a donkey or mule you can get a picture with. No one bothered us to do any of this.

 

 

Back at port we stopped in a few shops. I always get my mom a Thimble with the name of the place we visited. My son bought a slingshot which was not confiscated. Amelia got a bracelet.

[brookeq]

 

There was a short line to get back on board.

 

We didn’t really each lunch so we were hungry. ( I do pack things like cheese sticks, go gurts, and other snacks for my kids. I don’t let them starve. We don’t buy food at the beach becaue they never eat it. So if you have kids plack plenty of snacks. It is worth it)

 

So we dropped our stuff off and had a hamburger and some pizza. Amelia had a grilled cheese from the deli. She had one almost every day.

 

 

Hayden got some ice cream

 

[brookeq]

We stopped and played some shuffleboard

 

 

 

and fusball with the kids. No one was here at this time.

 

 

Eventually we got ready for dinner.

 

 

This night I had the chicken milanese. I also tried the chicken tenders as an appetizer. I don't think I like those. The main course chicken was very good.

 

I tried the buttered popcorn pot de creme. It was pretty good. I still like the chocolate melting cake better!

 

The family hung out in the red frog pub again and played games.

I let Amelia order a fruity drink. She was very happy.

 

 

We saw the sunset.

 

 

At some point the kids went to the kids club and I went to the spa.

 

Eventually we headed in to go to bed. Kids saw their towel animal. Amelia kept looking for the chocolates even though I told her they don't do that anymore.

 

[brookeq]

Some of our cousins held a monkey for $5. That is not my thing and the guy with the monkey was not very friendly. I don't have a picture of it. But it was a tiny monkey with a diaper on.

 

We found a bunch of small shells on the beach and the kids used them in their sand castle.

 

We got to see this man doing the jet pack thing...

 

One of my nieces was still sick and my father in law lost his voice here.

But overall it was an awesome day.

 

We arranged for our driver to pick us up at a certain time and he was there waiting for us.

 

On the way back he took us to Timothy Hill.

 

 

It is the view point where you can see the Atlantic Ocean on one side of the mountains and the Caribbean sea on the other side. It was a great view.

 

 

they have small stand up here to buy things, and a donkey or mule you can get a picture with. No one bothered us to do any of this.

 

 

Back at port we stopped in a few shops. I always get my mom a Thimble with the name of the place we visited. My son bought a slingshot which was not confiscated. Amelia got a bracelet.

 

 

My husband wanted me to add...please ignore his sandals and socks. he cut his toe pretty bad and it was infected. and all the sandals or shoes he brought on the cruise rubbed it. :D

[Secondtime cruiser]

love your review! thanks

[brookeq]

Day 6 – St. Maarten

 

I was up early again and used the jogging track and then had some huevos rancheros for breakfast. Delicious as always.

 

The pool deck was filled with towel animals on all of the loungers and around the pool.

 

 

 

The kids liked finding their favorites.

 

 

Today was our day in St. Maarten. We visited here over 15 years ago on Honeymoon so we were excited to come back.

 

Originally we wanted to go to Dawn’s beach because that is where went last time and we loved it. But I recently read about a bad seaweed problem that Caribbean was having and Dawns Beach constantly came up as having this issue. And it says the water can get pretty rough and with little kids that may not be the best choice.

 

I did a lot of research before we went on the cruise and found out about Little Divi Bay. But it was hard to find a lot of reviews on it. So I had that on my list and possibly mullet. There were going to be 5 or 6 ships here today and one of them was the massive Royal Caribbean ship so we knew it was going to be crowded.

 

We decided to try Little Divi Bay and if we didn’t like it we would take the cab further down to Mullet.