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

[brookeq]

My son just got the cold/fever that a lot of people had. Other than that no sickness thankfully. No one got motion sickness. And no one in my family got sick after the cruise. Some of extended family did when they got home.

 

This was our kids 3rd cruise. We have gotten good deals in the past so they are very lucky.

 

 

I will have to ask him if he saw your son.

 

He did not like the green eggs. Well he didn't really try them. Ha ha.

 

oops just saw that its your daughter in the picture not your son. Oh well

[brookeq]

I am back to finish posting the fun times. Its been a little hectic here. Hopefully I can get them all done pretty quickly. Photobucket is giving me some problems.

 

Here is day 3 -- Grand Turk

 

 

[brookeq]

Day 4 -- San Juan

 

 

[brookeq]

Day 5 -- st kitts

 

 

[brookeq]

ugh. I have fixed the images and saved them right side up. But they keep flipping upside down for some reason.

 

Taking a break. Will try to finish tomorrow.

[brookeq]

Looks like the images are right side up now. So I will keep going.

 

Day 6 -- St Maarten

 

 

[brookeq]

Looks like they are upside down again. I think it takes time for photobucket to update. So they should be upright later.

 

 

 

Day 7 Sea day

 

 

 

[brookeq]

Day -- Final Day at Sea

 

 

[brookeq]

That is all of the fun times. I never did find the kids club schedules. Sorry.

 

I will be around to answer any questions if you have them. And maybe try to some up my final thoughts.

[brookeq]

Here is a picture of Pillroy beach at Grand Turk (from my SIL) if anyone is thinking of going there instead of the main beach area by the ship. It looks nice.

 

[brookeq]

Some overall thoughts:

 

1. Travelling in a large group

 

We like travelling with other people. Especially on cruises. That said 20 people is way too many for me. People would want to do family activities (with everyone) but then others wouldn't show up. If everyone did show up for other things it got a little chaotic for me.

Dinner ended up being the main time we spent time together. So if you have a large group make sure dining reservations are linked.

 

I was sort of put in charge of finding what to do on the islands. I don't like deciding what everyone will be doing. it was kind of stressful. usually we travel with friends and everyone decides what they are doing and if its the same thing great, if not its ok too.

 

The big group made it hard on my son. He didn't have a kid his age to play with and was jealous of his older cousins and their freedom.

 

The rest of our family was on West Coast time. So we were always up early (my kids are early risers to begin with) and bed earlier then everyone.

 

Being in a big group usually meant always having someone to do something with. That is nice.

 

Definitely get the texting plan. We paid the $5 and just got it on one phone per family. That way we could all communicate. It was worth it. Next time I wouldn't be so cheap and have it on my husbands phone also.

 

If there are certain things you want to do as a group plan it ahead of time. You always think you will have time and put it off. Then it doesn't get done.

 

If you want to get a nice picture on formal night someone will probably not show up. We sat around waiting for brother in law and his wife and mother in law. They never came. Now we are home and everyone wished we had a group picture. No one got one on the islands either. I did bring it up a few times but didn't push it since its not my side of the family. So have someone be forceful.

 

Bring extras of things. We usually ending up sharing our snacks at the beach with the kids. Its also nice if you forget something. We forgot kids tylenol and borrowed it from SIL.

[shellsd]

excellent review, thanks!! We are going on this same itinerary soon so it was super helpful. We just have 8 though, my family of 4 and one of my best friend's family of 4 of the same ages so that will be great. I would have lost it about the kids too :o

[brookeq]

2. Cruising with kids

 

This our kids third cruise so obviously we enjoy them as a family.

(2 on carnival, 1 on disney)

 

Travelling with kids is like being home with kids. They get hungry at the same time, want to eat the same foods, need just as much sleep as home if not more, etc.

 

1. We try to keep the kids close to their normal bed time eating schedule if possible. I do try to have some flexibility. We let the kids stay up late one night and they were still up at 6:50 am. so that next day wasn't too fun.

 

Each day I let the kids pick at least one thing that they would like to do. As my son told me one trip...its my vacation too. Its not fun for them to be dragged around doing nothing they want. They will behave better if they think they have some say. At least mine do.

 

2. Pack plenty of snacks. We don't usually buy lunch for the kids on the islands. they never eat it. We pack sealed snacks. We also bring little packets of hummus and gogurts and keep them in the fridge. Then we just bring a small soft cooler type lunch box to keep them in when we get off the boat. It was also nice to have in the room. Sometimes my son would just get overwhelmed with all of the food choices.

 

3. Dinner was long for my kids. When we go out to eat home I don't really let them have phones/electronics. Vacation is different. I want to relax and not fight them on every little thing. When they are done eating they can have them. Especially when their cousins would get to leave.

 

4. I picked out our outfits for dinner ahead of time and packed them in an extra large ziploc bag. Same of the days at the islands. it was much easier to just pull out the bag and get ready.

 

5. We brought two blow up inner tubes for the beach. We also stopped at the dollar store for "sand toys". My daughter always get a tea set and some figures. Then we just pitch them when we are done. Or leave them with another kid at our last stop.

 

6. I brought a shoe shelf to help be organized. not the over the door kind. But the kind that hang on the rod in the closet. Like this one:

http://www.stagestores.com/store/product/the-macbeth-collection-pink-scout-10-shelf-shoe-organizer/100239/?utm_source=pla&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=pla%7c%7c%7c%7c%7c%7c%7c20160229%7c%7chome%7chome-storage%7c%7c%7c%7cg%7cwww.google.com%7cgoogle%7c633125690803%7cs&CAWELAID=120124680000953907&CAGPSPN=pla&catargetid=120124680002045835&cadevice=c&gclid=CjwKEAiAmNW2BRDL4KqS3vmqgUESJABiiwDTxOKH0ucoeAhcDAKiD-JIilFoSKNdzpjz9vDNkLjt_hoCBdDw_wcB

 

 

7. Bring medications for fever/cough. and bandaids.

 

8. Bring stain remover. I packed some and couldn't find it when we go on board. My daughter literally ruined every outfit she wore to dinner. Even when I put a napkin in her shirt and on her lap.

 

9. Don't have high expectations. Every time I had high expectations I got disappointed. Especially for pictures. Its the end of a long day and my kids were hungry. Not a good mix. I am not saying to tolerate bad behavior. Because I don't put it up with it all.

 

For example I went in saying to myself the kids wouldn't use the kids club. That way when they did I was happy. And when they didn't, i wouldn't get upset.

 

10. Don't let them ruin other peoples vacations. I didn't notice it much on our cruise. But don't let them run around like maniacs. If there are adults sitting and relaxing in the hot tub don't let them splash them. Common sense right? :)

[Clarea]

Thanks for the review.

[brookeq]

excellent review, thanks!! We are going on this same itinerary soon so it was super helpful. We just have 8 though, my family of 4 and one of my best friend's family of 4 of the same ages so that will be great. I would have lost it about the kids too :o

 

We did a beach house vacation with a few families last year and all of the kids were the same age. It was one of the best vacations ever. And I think it was because of the kids having others to play with.

 

We also enjoyed our cruise with a friend that had a son the same age as mine.

 

Have fun!!!

[brookeq]

Thoughts on the ship/Carnival

 

Our most recent cruises have been on the Carnival Dream and then the Disney Wonder (an older ship).

 

I enjoyed the Breeze. I liked it better than the Dream because of the upgrades: Guys Burgers, Blue Iguana, the ropes course, etc. I also liked the option of the Cloud 9 Spa.

 

I found the ship to be clean and and in good shape. I liked the decor. I liked the beach feel of the hallways.

 

I never felt that the ship was too crowded (except the first day). It was january so there were less kids.

 

The casino did get smokey at night but I didn't think it was horrible during the day and had no problems walking thru it to get where i needed to go.

 

I had no problem with the new dining menu and thought there were plenty of choices each night and never had a bad meal.

 

I wish there was an adult pool in the serenity area but not a deal breaker.

 

How Carnival compares to Disney:

I find they are very similar. I get good service on both lines. No complaints.

 

Dining room quality of food was similar. Disney has a better atmosphere.

 

Disney lunch buffet is much better than Carnivals. But Carnivals other options for lunch are so much better than Disney's.

 

My kids enjoy both kids club. But did prefer Disneys more. They always wanted to go there.

 

Carnival had better waterslide options and way shorter lines. On the huge disney ship you can wait 30-30 minutes to ride the slidess.

 

 

Disney has characters of course if you are into that. My kids are.

[brookeq]

Thoughts on the ship/Carnival

 

Our most recent cruises have been on the Carnival Dream and then the Disney Wonder (an older ship).

 

I enjoyed the Breeze. I liked it better than the Dream because of the upgrades: Guys Burgers, Blue Iguana, the ropes course, etc. I also liked the option of the Cloud 9 Spa.

 

I found the ship to be clean and and in good shape. I liked the decor. I liked the beach feel of the hallways.

 

I never felt that the ship was too crowded (except the first day). It was january so there were less kids.

 

The casino did get smokey at night but I didn't think it was horrible during the day and had no problems walking thru it to get where i needed to go.

 

I had no problem with the new dining menu and thought there were plenty of choices each night and never had a bad meal.

 

I wish there was an adult pool in the serenity area but not a deal breaker.

 

How Carnival compares to Disney:

I find they are very similar. I get good service on both lines. No complaints.

 

Dining room quality of food was similar. Disney has a better atmosphere.

 

Disney lunch buffet is much better than Carnivals. But Carnivals other options for lunch are so much better than Disney's.

 

My kids enjoy both kids club. But did prefer Disneys more. They always wanted to go there.

 

Carnival had better waterslide options and way shorter lines. On the huge disney ship you can wait 30-30 minutes to ride the slidess.

 

 

Disney has characters of course if you are into that. My kids are.

 

 

sorry hit enter too soon.

 

I enjoy the singers on Disney better. But of course they are going to be Disney shows.

 

I loved Castaway Cay as a cruise stop. It is one of my favorite stops ever. I haven't gotten to visit Carnivals private island but hope to.

 

I liked that our carnival ship was a mix of people of all ages. Not just mainly families. I think our kids sometimes get more special treatment on other cruise lines because they are not on of 1000 kids on board.

 

I would sail disney again but not at double the price. It would have to be a really good deal. Our family had a great time on both of our carnival ships and paid way less...and the itinerary was better. I am also open to sailing other lines.