"Good Things on the Horizon" a cruisin USA "Long and Lengthy" Cruise Novella

[cruisin USA]

Well, like the pilot said that time we were in Vegas.
 

"Folks, there's no way to candy coat this"

 

I thought I could finish the review by today, but that's not going to happen. Mary Ann and I are heading to the airport in 4 hrs to go on our vacation, Don't worry about it though, I'll be back to finish.....

 

We're going to be aboard the Breeze for 7 glorious nights!!

We'll also be part of John Heald's FFS 2 cruise.

 

I will be reporting live telling you all the details. Probably will hide it in here...hehe

 

Gary aka cruisin USA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jenjer]

aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh Hope you have a great cruise.....I am patiently waiting. Your review has been so great I look forward to your return

[SenatorsFan]

Hope you have a great time on the Breeze!

Heather

[heffy2]

Great review so far, thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

[wags111]

following 

[cruisin USA]

This

[cruisin USA]

This

[JaniceB]

Hi John!  Can't wait to hear about your next cruise too.

 

[tinkr2]

Fun review. Haven't sailed carnival in years and my friend booked this one for us. This ship looks really exciting. I sure wish I had your cabin but with a 10 year old with me, thats out. Thanks for the great photos.

[tstoic]

Great review.  Looking foreword to the Horizon later this year.

[Jenjer]

More??????????????????????  Please

 

[cruisin USA]

……so, where was I.. Oh yes, I WAS on the Carnival Breeze as part of the FFS 2 group! Since then, I’ve had to outline(and almost complete) the review. Sorry guys, Better for me to write while it’s still fresh in my mind. Never have I ever been writing a cruise review while publishing another! Stretches one out a bit. But now that the other review is almost complete, I’m going to finish this one. Soooooo, on with the review….

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gary, aka cruisin USA

 

 

[cruisin USA]

We have been here plenty of times. Plenty of shops and bars as you get off the ship. We walked through the duty free shop. Ladies from the makeup area were trying to hand out samples. There was a guy in the jewelry department motioning Mary Ann over. I kiddingly, put my hands over her ears, so that she wouldn’t hear him. We proceeded out of duty free. Right there was “The 3 Amigos” bar to the right,

[cruisin USA]

Fat Tuesdays, and another bar are back to back and share a thatched roof building are immediately to the left. All 3 are huge bars, and well capable of handling the incredible amount of passengers from the 6 piers. Must be thousands! Last time we were here, I remembered, that I really needed to use the free wifi to check on things at home. Not so this time.

[cruisin USA]

We walked around the shops. Looking back at the pier, we could see the 3 Carnival ships.

[cruisin USA]

Lots of people in port today!! The Village was full. They had decorated for Christmas! A tree with Santa flying around it, and a Nativity scene in the center of the square.

[cruisin USA]

We went from store to store. Mary Ann has a grandchild, Ollie(and one on the way). We were looking for something for Ollie. After you’ve been here a few times, you don’t really need any more t-shirts, lighters, shot glasses, etc. Just takes up extra room in the bag coming home. On Spirit, with only a 40 lb. weight limit on the bags, you almost have to use the complete 40 lbs. on cruisewear. Can’t even think about buying a t shirt when you’re at 39.75 lbs….hehe. Luckily, we were flying Delta this time(despite our past differences). 50 lbs. on Delta with free carry on makes crusing a LOT easier. Anyway, we were just ambling through the shop village. Decided to walk a bit farther.

[cruisin USA]

We had been to Chanakaab park before, and we’d also been downtown plenty of times.  We decided just to just hang out around the pier. Stopped to listen/watch the Mariachi band for a couple of songs. It still wasn't nice enough to go sunning, although the sun seemed to be winning the cloud/sun war as it got later in the afternoon. We made our way outside the village over to some other shops, and a bar. Stopped for an authentic Mexican Margarita. Mary Ann and I split one. It was strong, but was a real thirst quencher considering all the walking we’d done. Found a sombrero for Pugsly (our dog). Been a tradition our last few times in Cozumel. Stopped by the Oxygen bar on the way back. Still haven't seen anyone try it yet. The guy had gotten completely in the water with the "air helmet" on. He looked at me through the glass and motioned for me to come in. I motioned that he should come out. Mary Ann laughed at least.

[cruisin USA]

On the way back to the cabin, we found the arcade and the Thrill Ride/Imax theater area. Nice arcade. We never did make it back there for our traditional skee ball tourney.

[cruisin USA]

[cruisin USA]

  Headed back to the cabin to change into our swimsuits to hit the Havana Jacuzzis once again. Ahh, A couple cocktails and a Jacuzzi after a long day at port. Today, there were quite a few people enjoying the warm water and jets. Still, there wasn’t anyone else taking advantage of the exclusive Havana area. We got pretty “pruney” again. That water felt great!! Back the room to change, and to continue exploring the ship. Worked our way up through the Promenade, stopping for a quick cigarette, and up to the front of the ship to the shops. Went to one of the Carnival Logo shops. I showed the woman running the counter my $50 gift certificate, and asked her if there were any restrictions I should know about. She handed me back the card and said that it was for the spa only…..OMFG!! It didn’t even say the word spa on the card. Bubble Burst…sniff,

[cruisin USA]

  Back to the cabin to hang out as we were leaving port soon. We were pulling away from the dock as we stepped out onto the balcony. Soon we were underway at full speed. We could still see the outline of Cozumel as day faded into night. I went back inside after a little while. Wanted to check out what was happening aboard in our Fun Times. Well, we missed the Caroling. Fine with us. We were trying to avoid the Holiday best we could. We also missed the Build a bear workshop..hehe. Night 3’s entertainment was Hasbro the Game show at 7:30. Probably not. We’ve seen the Love and Marriage show many times. Although it’s fun and funny, it’s gotten a little “old” for us(although I should talk).  There was a MEGA deck party, which would move over to the Serenity area at 11. Definite Maybe. The only night of the cruise without comedy(we would come to find out). I decided to hop in the shower before dinner. When I got out, Mary Ann told me that she saw Kemmy, and that since we had 9pm reservations at the Teppanyaki, that he wouldn’t be able to service our room tonight, and that he’d just leave our Fun Times in our mailbox. OMFG!! Note to self(and anyone listening). DON’T book the 9pm reservations at the Teppanyaki restaurant if you wish for cabin service that night, since your steward will be off before then. Why even make that time available if that’s going to happen?? I was mad. We got dressed, and headed up to the Teppanyaki restaurant.

[cruisin USA]

We arrived just a few minutes early. There was a lady at a podium. We checked in, and she said that it wouldn’t be long. Sure wasn’t. A couple of minutes later we were walking into the restaurant, and taking our seats around the huge flat top grill the chef would be using to cook our food in front of us. We were led to the table by our hostess, who would end up getting behind the grill even before we saw the chef, and explained a little history, and what we’d be expecting at this dinner. Place settings were already in front of each seat. I could see the many sauces that the chef would be using during dinner behind a glass enclosure right next to the grill)

[cruisin USA]

Menus were passed out. The woman explains that the first 3 courses are the same no matter what you order. The only choice to be made is the entrée, There were quite a few choices as well as combos that were available. Lobster, Chicken, Filet Mignon, Shrimp. The lady also mentions that you can combo any 2 entrees on the menu! She also mentions that bar service here includes saki and other Japanese spirits that you can’t get anywhere else on the ship. No saki for us! She leaves for a few minutes while we decide. Mary Ann was all about the Lobster tonight. I chose the Filet Mignon. The lady came back, and took our orders. She then puts 3 different sauces in front of us to go with our meal for dipping.

[cruisin USA]

About now, the chef steps up to the grill. The lady introduces him. He smiles. He takes the orders from the woman, and off he goes. He comes back with all the proteins that people have ordered. Our hostess comes up to each table setting and delivers the tuna tartare, miso soup, salad, and beef potsticker to us. Not too keen on tuna tartare. The miso soup kinda tasted like a dishrag was involved. Liked the ginger dressing on the salad. I liked the potsticker best! The chef turns the flat top on. While we’re waiting, he starts using his utensils as percussive instruments. He starts singing. “There she goes, just a walkin down the street, singing doo wah diddie, diddie dum, diddie do” We all start singing with him. He goes through a couple more songs, and even the next table is joining us. How fun!! He spurts down some light oil on the grill. Every time he does this, he refers to it as Johnson’s baby oil.