Review of my side by side Splendor and Breeze cruises

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

For a long time my husband and I dreamed of doing 2 cruises in a row. We are always so sad when our cruise is over and always thought how nice it would be instead of flying home, to just get on another ship. So we booked the Splendor for 7 nights followed by 6 nights on the Breeze. We planned the trip for 10 months. When we first booked our dollar was much higher so the trip got more expensive as we went along, but we decided just to relax about it and have a great time.

Our DD and her BF were on reading week break from University so they were able to accompany us on the first cruise aboard the Splendor.

We flew out of Toronto on February 13th the coldest day of winter so far -25 degrees Celsius!! and flew into Miami.

The flights were smooth, we got a cab and headed to Fortune House luxury hotel.

Our apartment was not ready when we got there. Once we did get in, it was very nice with a lovely view. The pool area was nice as well. Customer service is apparently not a thing at this hotel and all of the staff seemed really irritated to be working. We went to Bayside Market, had a great meal and lots of fun.

We came back to the hotel and went to bed early to get ready to start our adventure from Port of Miami in the morning!!!

[cmptrwiz]

Keep it coming! I'm real interested in the process of how you changed ships because we are doing the same in October.

[Florings]

Looking forward to more....

[*Cassie*]

Looking forward to your review!

[sg4crzn]

Following

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

When we arrived it was the usual hectic scene at the port which doesn't bother me at all, it just means all the fun is about to begin. The porters took our bags, we tipped them and went inside the terminal. We had faster to the fun so everything went very quickly. We were checked in and waiting to board by 11:30. The terminal waiting area began to get busier and busier and eventually there was nowhere to sit. They didn't start to board us until 12:45 and by then it was almost impossible to get through the crowds. I'm hoping this new staggered check in will help with some of that but I also think Carnival needs to do a better job getting things started. Weddings had been boarded at least 45 minutes before they started Platinum and Diamond. I know they have to wait to board until the ship clears but obviously it was cleared if they were boarding weddings so long before the other groups.

By the time we waded through the crowds to board people were pushing and refusing to move and ended up boarding with the FTTF people. This is the first cruise that I felt FTTF was a waste of our money. By the time we got through the lines, had our photo taken and got to our rooms it was 1:30 so we didn't access our room any earlier than anyone else and our bags didn't arrive until that evening, even though other rooms around us who had no FTTF tags on their bags all seemed to get theirs.

We went up to the Lido deck for lunch and as always it was yummy.

Next we headed to the Muster drill. It was well run and didn't seem to drag on the way they sometimes do.

Back to the room and we unpacked out carry-ons.

We had anytime dining and we knew we wanted to arrive early on the first night so that hopefully we'd get a great table. We did in fact get a great table, a booth which we prefer, it was a bit out of the way of the others - table #201. Our waitstaff Janelle, Daringo and Vlad were outstanding. Every meal arrived hot and was correct as we ordered it and they really just seemed interested in providing us with excellent service.We arrived around 6 pm every night and we never had a wait. Every meal was delicious. This cruise had the "old style" menus - lots of variety.

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

I didn't keep a journal or notes on this trip so I can't break down exactly which nights we saw comedy shows and the singing and dancing but almost all of the entertainment we saw was VERY good.

We went to a piano bar and although the performer had a good voice, he was very boring and was not really into it, or at least he didn't seem to be. We left after about half an hour and didn't go back. Now the piano bar on the Breeze was unbelievable - more on that later:D

The first cruise was sea day, Amber Cove, St. Thomas, San Juan and Turks and Caicos. We had been to all of the ports except Amber cove and were really excited about that port.

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

We had a very nice day at sea. I love to order room service in the morning and have our tea and coffee on our balcony. Each day we ordered it arrived within 15 minutes.

 

I knew the kids (although they are 22 I still refer to them that way, weird I know) wouldn't be up for a few hours . We are early risers and they aren't, so we planned to go to the sea day brunch around 10.

Brunch was delicious as always. I love the Hey porkchop. Everybody else had breakfast items and the Huevos Rancheros were a big hit.

 

My daughter went back to her room and found a birthday gift which said it was from her steward. It was a $50 gift card for the spa and a coupon for a free photo. It was her birthday and we thought that was such a nice touch. We've celebrated many different occasions on cruises and never received a gift before so that was nice. She ended up getting a manicure and chose the embarkation photo as her free pic. It wasn't the best manicure unfortunately the nail polish was chipped and peeling within a day or two which is surprising because I've been for pedis and my MIL for manis on cruises in the past and they usually last much longer. Also when we booked it they said it would be a 60 minute manicure and she was done in 25 minutes so the girl must have rushed through. Not sure if that is because it was free? Anyway, it was still nice that she was given a gift.

 

It was extremely windy outside so we sat inside and played some dice. The kids bought the cheers program and tried lots of different cocktails.

Before we knew it, it was dinner time. Each night we got the same great table and wait staff and dinner was excellent again

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

Wow, what a beautiful port!!!

DH and I were off the ship at 8 am. We had the TerraCross adventure booked for 10:15 so we just decided to meet up with the kids when they were ready to get off the ship.

DH and I walked all around the port which was great because it wasn't busy yet. There is a huge pool, great waterslides, lots of shopping and zip lining. The zip line is $12 and you can ride it unlimited all day.

The shopping was good because there are actual vendors right there, not just the typical Diamonds international, Del Sol etc although there might have been those stores as well.

There was a coffee shop with free wifi so I wanted to go in to check my email and get a coffee for DH. It was authentic DR coffee and my husband said it was very good.

We met up with the kids around 9, took some pics, checked out the view and then met up with our group for our excursion.

[sg4crzn]

I am trying to choose between these to ships for a cruise with my son and his family. It will be his 30th birthday and they have 3 girls 10, 5, and 4. Which ship would you prefer?

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

The Breeze is a beautiful new ship but we found the service much better on the Splendor. I don't know how the kids clubs are on each ship but the Breeze has a Thrill theatre which is a 4D theatre - unlimited access for $12. There is a really great waterpark on the Breeze with 2 slides. The splendor has a splash pad and a slide but it looks better on the Breeze. The Splendor has a nice mini golf course for free.

Personally I would probably pick the Splendor but the décor is a bit dated.

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

The

 

 

The terracross adventure was by far the best excursion we have ever taken. It was $95 per person so we were a little reluctant to sign up but in the end we were SO glad we did. We met up with the manager Roger at the designated time and place and he took us over to the truck, gave everyone cold bottles of water and we were on our way. It was a great group of people on the excursion and everyone was ready to have fun!!

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

It took about 35 minutes to get to there. We got a safety briefing chose our dune buggies (not sure if that's what they are actually called) and took off. DD and BF were first in line, we went right behind them and they kept at the guides heels the whole time - which was FAST!!!! and muddy!!! We laughed so much and had such fun doing this.

 

 

 

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

We got to see so much of the countryside and stopped part way and learned a bit about their schools, etc.

 

 

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

At the end we were all muddy and were able to rinse off in their showers. Then we all sat down in a nice area with tables and chairs and got home made fried chicken, plantain and lots of drinks. We got our choice of soda, beer and/or rum. It was pretty much unlimited.

 

 

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

A few more shots

 

 

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

We sure got muddy!!!

 

 

[mjkulp00]

This looks so fun. We are on the Splendor the end of May. Glad to hear it's a great ship, I was nervous since its older.

My husband and son really wanted to do this excursion but when I went to book it this week it's already sold out. So bummed!

 

 

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[Cruisin 4 Ever]

:)

This looks so fun. We are on the Splendor the end of May. Glad to hear it's a great ship, I was nervous since its older.

My husband and son really wanted to do this excursion but when I went to book it this week it's already sold out. So bummed!

 

 

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Wow that's fast to sell out. Sorry to hear you missed out. We booked 4 tickets only 5 weeks ahead. If it's any consolation the area right at Amber cove is really great. Large beautiful pool, great water slides, ziplining - although it is only one line it's $12 to ride unlimited all day so your son might like that. The views are beautiful. There are rental cabins on the ocean, hillside or poolside. They looked really nice too.

 

You can email shore excursions and ask if any more spots are likely to open up or if there is a waitlist. We did that one time a few years ago and got in but not sure if they still do a waitlist.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[Florings]

This looks so fun. We are on the Splendor the end of May. Glad to hear it's a great ship, I was nervous since its older.

 

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2008 - it's newer than most of the fleet, with only 4 ships (including the new Vista) being newer. Nothing to be nervous about!

[Luvnlyfagain]

Following

[cschwall]

Love the review so far. On the Splendor in April but going to Half Moon Cay instead of Amber Cay! Can't wait to see what did at the other ports!

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

We docked in St. Thomas around 10 and were off the ship by 11. I love watching us pull into port from my balcony.

This is a very busy and hectic port when you first get off the ship. As soon as you leave the immediate area though it is MUCH better.

DD and her BF had researched self-guided bicycle tours and were excited to do that. However, when we got to St. Thomas we asked several people where this business was located and they told us there was no such thing on the island so they were disappointed. DH and I had planned to go to Emerald Beach so they joined us. It's a really nice beach about a 15-20 minute taxi ride from the port and it's at a Best Western Hotel. You pay 7 bucks for a chaise lounge or $10 for one with an umbrella. You get the use of the washrooms, and there is a bar/restaurant right there on the beach. we stayed for 3 or 4 hours, then headed back to port and did a little shopping. It's $7 per person each way in the taxi.

St. Thomas has really cheap liquor but with the exchange right now there isn't as much savings for us plus we didn't want the hassle of picking it up on the last day of our cruise so we didn't end up getting anything