Thoughts on the Breeze (and tons of post-drydock photos)

[schittenden]

My wife, 5-year-old son, and I just came off the May 21 cruise on the Carnival Breeze. This was our fifth Carnival cruise (fourth for our son) following 3 on the Pride and one on the Liberty. We were excited to be on a newer ship and see Carnival’s new features. We booked a spa balcony cabin (11246). I thought I would share some of our thoughts and also share some of the pictures I took, so that you can see the ship post-dry dock. I'll be posting those in follow-up messages.

 

 

Ship Overall

 

We really liked the Breeze. We thought it was beautiful, and we really liked the more understated and muted look compared to Carnival’s older ships. In general, the ship was in pretty good shape following its dry dock from a few weeks ago. However, there were some things that surprised us, including stained carpeting on Deck 11 near the entrance to the outside deck, Thrill Theatre chairs that did not work, etc. I’ll try to mention things as I go along. I would say that the ship generally felt crowded. There were regular lines, but they moved fairly efficiently. It was difficult to get to our cabin during embarkation because of the crowds and lack of available elevators.

 

 

Dining

 

We had anytime dining, so we didn’t have the opportunity toget to know our dining staff. When wehad anytime dining on the Pride, we still managed to have the same wait team every night. I don’t know if that was intentional or not. On the Breeze, I don’t think we were seated in the same section on any two nights. That said, the wait staff was generally friendly and helpful. There were a few service hiccups—on a couple of occasions, no one asked if we wanted anything from the bar; on other occasions, glasses would go empty and no one ever asked if we wanted another; etc. Nothing major, and certainly nothing that detracted from our cruise in any meaningful way. Service in the steakhouse was good,although they did confuse my wife’s order with the order the waitress took at the same time from the woman at the table next to us. It was quickly figured out during the first course, and the rest of the meal was delivered correctly. We ordered are dessert to go a few minutes before that same table ordered their dessert to go, yet their dessert was delivered nearly 15 minutes before our dessert. As a result, we missed taking my son to something we had promised him. The staff during the sea day brunch in the dining room was fine. No real complaints.

 

 

I know there have been a lot of complaints about theAmerican Table menus, but I thought they were fine. Was it gourmet? No. Was the food consistently hot? No. Was the food good? For the most part,yes. The dining rooms are not finedining and don’t really pretend to be in my opinion. Sure, some dishes miss, but others werepretty good. One pleasant surprise wasthe buttered popcorn pot de crème with blueberry marmalade. I ordered it on a whim expecting to bedisappointed, but found it to be one of my favorite items on the ship. Otheritems we enjoyed: strawberry bisque (strawberry smoothie in a bowl according tomy wife); flat iron steak with wild mushroom sauce; salmon filet (cookedthrough but moist); pork chop (moist and well seasoned); stuffed mushrooms; duoof filet mignon and short rib; nutella tiramisu; and key lime mousse (the Jellobits aside). Items we found lacking:teriyaki salmon (almost no flavor and a very odd sesame rice cake); lobster(chewy); chocolate hazelnut cake; and pies (chewy crust, gelatinous fillings).

 

We did the pasta bowl lunch at Cucina del Capitano one day. The pasta was well cooked and the pomodoro sauce was flavorful. The chicken was overcooked, dry, and difficult to chew (even for someone like me with good teeth). The service was friendly, and we saw a number of the entertainment staff, including Schwartz dining there. There was a slight hiccup in that the host wrote the incorrect table number on one of the order forms (for my son), and his meal was not delivered with our food. When the waitress brought our food, she asked whether he had something,and we said yes. She brought it a couple of minutes later asking if it was his. She then pointed out the error as if it was our fault that the host had written the incorrect number on the form.

 

The Lido Marketplace was generally less than stellar. Lines were often long. We didn’t eat there much, and the food options generally didn’t look great to us. Some quick notes: the scrambled eggs are perfectly awful; the deli is fine; the desserts disappoint (including the final sea day chocolate extravaganza, with the exception of the chocolate wontons); and we often had to wait for plates or bowls.

 

Guy’s Burger Joint was good. Not much to say that hasn’t already been said. Blue Iguana was also good. The Huevos Rancheros there were decent, if not the most authentic thing I have tasted. The breakfast burrito made the scrambled eggs edible with salsa. The pork and chicken tacos were also good. The fish tacos were hit or miss depending upon the freshness of the fish, which could get soggy. I do wish both of these places were open later. It seems to me that Guy’s should be open at least until 8 or 9 pm, so it is a reasonable dinner option. The Cantina could be open into the evening as well, as it can make an excellent late night snack.

 

I know everyone has their pizza preference. We enjoyed the Pizza Pirate. We like the slightly charred, crispy crust. The sauce seemed bright and fresh. The wait at times was a bit long,and it seems like more staff is needed there during prime times.

 

Cabin

 

We were booked in a Spa Balcony cabin (11246). We loved the location. It was a short walk from the open-air deck area on 11 and located just forward of the forward elevators. We could walk to Camp Ocean easily, which is located midship on Deck 11. We could also dart down the stairs once outside and easily access the Lido deck pools,Guy’s Burger Joint, Blue Iguana Cantina, and the Lido Marketplace. Alternatively, we could walk aft and take the stairs down to the Pizza Pirate or Tandoor.

 

 

We had some issues with our cabin housekeeping staff. He was friendly enough, but his grasp of English seemed a little less than usual. For the first two days, we had an ice bucket that he refilled, but that had butter smeared on the side of the bucket from before we boarded. On the third day, the butter smear disappeared. With the three of us in the cabin, the Elermis shampoo and body wash was gone by day five. It was not replaced until we asked at the end of the fifth day when we ran into the steward in the hall. When we boarded, we had only two sets of towels and an extra set was not received until we mentioned it during the second day. We also only had two beach towels until we requested a third later. Dirty glasses stayed in the room for two days until I set them outside because I got tired of looking at them.

 

Casino

 

Hands-down, my favorite staff on the ship, was in the casino. The dealers and pit bosses were friendly and outgoing. They made my time spent there a lot of fun even if they did keep taking my chips. Jessie, Mark, Michael, Milos, Tatiana,Winnie, and others made our time fun. I’m sure there are others I am forgetting. The waiters in the casino were also great. For the most part, my free drinks came regularly and often. Guillermo, in particular, was always on the ball and quick with a new drink before mine was empty. I rewarded the waitstaff with generous tips,which I’m sure helped with the quick service.

 

Dream Studio

 

We signed up for a photo shoot after doing a Thing One/Thing Two photo with a photographer (not the woman who did our photo session) clearly saw us as an easy mark. We were told that packages started from $150 and went to about $500. That was not true. A single photo printed on metal was $150 (the same thing online can be had for about $15 through Groupon). Packages went up from there and ran into several thousands of dollars. For those of you who are interested, I have pictures of the pricing for photos from the session below.

 

 

Our other favorite person was probably the photographer, Vanya, who did our private photo session around the ship. She managed to get several great shots despite my son being tired by that point of the cruise. We didn’t expect any of the shots to be very good given how we struggled with getting him to cooperate during the session,but we ended up spending a completely unreasonable amount of money for photos. In the end, we purchased 15 matted prints and 15 digital files (the same images) out of the 60 or so photos she took during our 45 minutes together. They were beautifully matted and presented in a box with a protective bag with handles.

 

The move to a digital photo solution is long past due. You can order regular photos from the Hub app or on tablets throughout the Deck 4 atrium. You can also view and mark favorite photos on large LCD columns in the same area. I’m somewhat surprised that given that there is no need to display thousands of photos that the photo gallery seems to take up just as much space as before.

 

Camp Ocean

 

My son spent a lot of time at Camp Ocean nee Carnival. He was among the oldest in the Penguins group(ages 3-5). Just the same, he asked every day when he could go to camp and wanted to do the camp dinner pretty much every night. The only reason he really wanted to spend time with us was to go to the pool and the waterpark. He brought home a lot of pictures that he colored or drew during camp. They also made a foam crab hat, a paper crown, and other items. They watched movies, had a glow party (from which he brought back probably 12 glow bracelets/necklaces/sticks: think Toddler Rave), and other themed events. He would see other kids around the ship and they would wave, so he clearly was meeting people there. The staff was very friendly and professional. I neglected to take pictures of the Camp Ocean area, but did take sneak some pictures of the Circle C and Club O2 areas.

 

Entertainment

 

Live music seemed to be everywhere on the ship. Kettle drums, electric string trio, horns,and the piano bar all supplemented DJs. In general, the musical entertainment seemed to be very good. The string trio and horns were very good and we enjoyed listening to them for a bit whenever we wondered through the atrium in the late afternoon and evening. The kettle drums were also enjoyable on the pool deck. The DJ music sometimes seemed overly loud, and made it difficult to be anywhere near the midship pool.

 

We were unable to make it to any of the comedy shows in theLimelight Lounge. Although there arefour shows per night, it seems that they were all different shows. As a result, it was almost impossible to geta seat if you didn’t show up before the prior show ended. We would have enjoyed seeing a comedy show,but just didn’t feel like waiting around that long to get a seat. Perhaps if the same shows were on more thanonce, it would be easier to get a seat. Alternatively, if they could hold them at different times in the main showtheater, it might help.

 

 

My son and I did catch one Zee Zeus show, also at the Limelight Lounge. We got there 15 minutes before the show was scheduled to start and were still unable to get a seat. I stood in the back and he sat on a side table. It was hard to see all of the tricks, but the show was entertaining. I’ve seen some of the tricks done more skillfully on other ships, but he was good. My wife and I also went to a chat with him, where he discussed his career and performing. He also did a few tricks up close. He definitely has talent.

 

We enjoyed the Motor City show. I think we had seen it before, but perhaps not. There were a few missed notes, but it was more good than not. Some very cool effects with lighting and projection. We did not make it to see Flick or Country Road.

 

 

Thrill Theatre

 

Thanks to some fellow CC members, we purchased the unlimited weekly pass for the Thrill Theatre. A few of the seats were not working during various performances. The Dare to be Scared slate was not particularly frightening. Two of the features are animated, which detracts from their ability to scare. The Friday the 13th feature is more frightening, but still not terribly so. The family-friendly features are entertaining. There are just a handful of shows grouped into three packages: Destination Adventure (Rio, Journey 2: Mysterious Island,and Amazon 4D); Cartoon Classics (Angry Birds, Spongebob, and Looney Tunes:Road Runner and Coyote); and Just the Rides (Journey 2, Looney Tunes, and Amazon 4D). Amazon 4D is a roller coaster simulation through the rain forest. I did feel like there were several places where we should have been misted with water, but were not. I assume it wasn’t working, as the seats do appear to have misters built into them. There is also a Coastal Predators show, but we never made it. We had planned to go the last sea day, but our steakhouse dinner ran long and we missed it.

 

For young kids, I think this is great and enjoyable fun. My son really enjoyed it, and we got more than our money’s worth out of the unlimited passes.

 

Carnival Waterworks and Pools

 

The pools have a nice layout, but are very small. They seem to be about the same size, if not a little smaller, than on the Pride, which carries far fewer passengers. They were often so crowded that you had little room to move around. Even on port days, they could get crowded. As a result, we made more use of the Waterworks.

 

My son loved the water park area. Oddly, parts of it did not seem to be working consistently. We were surprised by that coming right out of dry dock. A number of the water features were not on at various points during the cruise. That said, most of it was working and he loved running around and getting soaked. I couldn’t convince him to try the big water slides, but I tried both of them and thought they were fun. I’m a big guy, but had no issue with either water slide. He enjoyed the mini racers. Some larger kids that were clearly over the height limit were using the mini racers as well. In addition, some parents were paying no attention to their littler kids who would cut the line. At one point, I saw a smaller child go down the slide 3 times before my son got his turn. My son was annoyed because he knows better, but apparently, some people don’t do manners anymore. There was limited enforcement of other rules by the Carnival staff, and I saw multiple kids doing headfirst slides, despite the prohibition. Fortunately, I saw no one get hurt.

 

Sports Deck

 

The mini golf and ropes course look like fun. There were plenty of clubs and balls for minigolf. I was unable to try the ropes course because of the weight limit, but saw many people using it. On our first day on board, I did see a young boy come down from the ropes course with a bloodied mouth. As a result, blood was on the stairs to the sports deck from Camp Ocean. I assume he is fine, but was clearly upset. His father and a Carnival staff member were with him. I did not see what happened, so I can’t say. Obviously, that type of activity always carries some risk of injury. Hopefully, it didn’t ruin their cruise.

 

I'm sure I'm forgetting a number of things. I'm happy to answer any questions and will work on posting pictures.

Edited May 30, 2017 by schittenden

[canadaman111]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts

[happy cruzer]

Great review. Loved your detail about the food and entertainment. Makes me want to try new things.

[Drrandall]

Thanks for taking the time to write all that. I'm taking my 2 daughters 7 and 12 on the Breeze July 9th. We are doing second seating. I like it just to get to know the waiters and fellow cruisers.

40 more days!

[Cruise, J.D.]

Thanks for the review - considering a cruise on the Breeze this summer.

[bury me at sea]

Thanks for your thorough review. It sounds as though you had a good time overall.

 

Did your cabin steward offer once or twice a day cleaning? I'm really not understanding the issue of not automatically supplying clean towels. The same thing happened on our last cruise. The steward removed the dirty ones but more than once didn't replace them until I mentioned it.

[schittenden]

Thanks for your thorough review. It sounds as though you had a good time overall.

 

Did your cabin steward offer once or twice a day cleaning? I'm really not understanding the issue of not automatically supplying clean towels. The same thing happened on our last cruise. The steward removed the dirty ones but more than once didn't replace them until I mentioned it.

 

They did. We told him evening was fine. He was pretty insistent though. I didn't get the sense that he didn't want us to have twice a day service. In contrast, he really wanted us to do it twice a day.

[easyboy]

Thank you for your extensive review.

 

 

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[schittenden]

Lido Pool (Deck 10)

 

Waterworks (Deck 11)

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2017 by schittenden

[schittenden]

Serenity (Deck 12)

 

 

 

 

 

[schittenden]

Sports Deck (Deck 12)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[schittenden]

Lido Dining (Deck 10)

 

 

 

 

 

[schittenden]

Lido Marketplace (Deck 10)

 

 

 

 

 

Cucina del Capitano (Deck 12)

 

 

[schittenden]

Cucina del Capitano (Deck 12)

 

 

 

[schittenden]

Limelight Lounge (Deck 5 Aft)

 

 

Piano Bar (Deck 5 Aft)

 

 

 

Liquid Nightclub (Deck 5 Aft)

 

 

 

[schittenden]

Thanks for taking the time to write all that. I'm taking my 2 daughters 7 and 12 on the Breeze July 9th. We are doing second seating. I like it just to get to know the waiters and fellow cruisers.

40 more days!

 

We were assigned to the second seating, and moved to any time dining off of the waitlist. We generally have taken our son to dinner with us, and have tried for the early seating as the second seating is a little late for him. It was fine, but I agree with you. We always enjoy getting to know our waitstaff.

[schittenden]

More pictures to come, but I need to get some work done now. :-) I've been trying to drag out our vacation as long as I could.

[schittenden]

Red Frog Pub (Deck 5 Midship)

 

 

 

 

Bonsai Sushi (Deck 5 Midship)

 

 

Alchemy Bar (Deck 5 Midship)

 

[schittenden]

Ocean Plaza (Deck 5 Midship)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Promenade (Deck 5)

 

[schittenden]

Promenade (Continued, Deck 5)

 

 

Guy's Pig and Anchor BBQ (Deck 5 Midship)

 

I forgot to mention the BBQ in my review above. It was generally awful. The meat was cold. The beef was really fatty, limp, and not well rendered. The sausage was fine, but also cold. The mac and cheese may have been okay, but was barely room temperature. On top of that, the food was served on a metal plate. Combined with the metal fork, it left an unpleasant metallic taste in every bite. My son and I tried it and then went to get pizza.

 

 

 

 

[gmce11]

How was muster? Was it inside or out? Did it move fairly smoothly?

[schittenden]

How was muster? Was it inside or out? Did it move fairly smoothly?

 

The muster was fine. We were at Muster Station A4, which was in the Ovation Theater, Deck 4 Fwd. The entire theater was filled. Others had muster stations in the Blush Restaurant. I don't know if there were other stations. As far as I know, everyone was inside. It was very efficient. One card from each cabin was scanned at the entrance, and those with you were marked as present. They called out names of those missing from the muster station and asked them to report to a crew member.

[schittenden]

Some of you may want to see the schedules of onboard activities. Here is what I have. I seem to have misplaced the May 22 Fun Times.

 

May 21 Fun Times

May 23 Fun Times

May 24-May 27 Fun Times

 

Thrill Theater Schedule

 

Entertainment Schedule

[schittenden]

Winner's Club Casino (Deck 5 Midship)

 

 

 

 

 

[schittenden]

Fun Shops (Deck 5 Forward)