Carnival Breeze Review - Mar 30-Apr 6

[johart34]

I have decided to write my first review ever so I apologize in advance if it is too much or too little information. It is going to be done in categories so that I can write about each thing I remembered. I do have some photos so I will add some in throughout, most being food! Let me know of any questions and I will do my best to answer. It will take me a few days to write out the whole reviewl

 

 

Pre Cruise

 

To start we are 26 (me) and 25 (husband) and we currently live in Vancouver, WA. We decided to do a cruise about a year prior because my husband is about to graduate from school and we wanted to do something fun before he starts working. Since he had off two weeks between semesters we had a limited time to choose from. This wasn’t our ideal week to go with Spring Break and March Madness but we wanted to go on a cruise so we prepared ourselves for lots of people. I have been on 3 other cruises (Princess,RC,NCL) and this was my first Carnival cruise. It was also my first cruise without my parents or family so I was excited to plan everything I wanted to do. While researching cruises I was thinking between the Carnival and Norwegian (since this was my last cruise). We ended up liking the Breeze for the multiple lunch food options and the ports. From there it was a year of planning and watching a lot of youtube videos.

 

Travel

 

We ended up leaving Thursday on a long plane ride from Portland to Orlando. We flew Southwest because of points we had earned and after a few weeks of nervousness due to the Max 8 issue we decided to fly in a day earlier by leaving Thursday instead of Friday because I did not want to miss this cruise. Our flight went very well and we left Portland at 1:45 pm and got into Orlando around Midnight. We requested an Uber and was on our way to the Wingate by Wyndham. They have a free shuttle to/from the airport but it was already late that we didn’t want to wait any longer to get to our hotel. The hotel was pretty nice but found that the wifi would not connect to our ipads which was an issue since we were using those to download a few tv shows to watch each night before bed, so we had to hotspot from my husband’s phone. They also were refurbishing the lobby so it was a little messy around but the workers were very nice. The day before the cruise was spent relaxing and getting last minute things done. We walked to Ross which was nearby to get a swimsuit cover up (found it difficult to find one in Vancouver this time of year) and ended up going to Chili’s for lunch (one of my favorite restaurants we don’t have in the PNW.) We spent the afternoon tired from the 3 hour time change and relaxed in our room for awhile. At night we went to a sushi restaurant nearby that was good and then to Walgreens to get my 12 pack of Dr. Pepper! We then went back to the hotel to watch the Sweet 16 and get ready for the next morning.

 

[smurfm69]

Looking forward to more of your review.

[JerseyGirlJen]

Great start so far, I’m going on the Breeze in December 2020

[Anyislandwilldo]

Yeah!!!  A Breeze review!!  I've been watching for some more Breeze reviews to show up.  We're on the Breeze in Oct.  Great start, can't wait for more!

[paper1122]

Can't wait to read more, we are going on the Breeze in a few weeks.

[1st4our25th]

Can't wait to read more. We are considering the Breeze for our family cruise. We are taking our first this year for our Anniversary and want to make sure we like cruising before booking our second.

[willdra]

Boom Shaka Laka! I am so here this Breeze Review! I can’t wait to read the rest as we will be back on The Breeze in a few weeks . 

[JaniceB]

Love the Breeze, looking forward to the rest of your review!

[johart34]

 

Room

 

We booked an interior on the 6th floor forward. It happened to be right above the Ovation Theater. There were times during the day where we could hear rehearsal but it didn’t bother us. There was no noise during the night which is the only time we needed quiet. We also brought a portable fan which helped us sleep because it was loud enough to cover noise in the morning. I actually never met the room steward but he did talk to my husband the first sea day. We chose evening service and the room was always nice and clean. Each night he would leave a new towel animal.

 

 

[johart34]

 

Ship

 

The ship was nice and I did not notice any parts that needed a big upgrade. However, there were way too many people on the boat I felt. I heard there were 4500 passengers on our sailing and you could definitely tell. On sea days there were no empty seats on any deck where you wanted to sit out in the sun. We walked around the whole top part of the ship and about half the chairs were covered with towels, shoes. Books, etc. I did see a lot of people complaining in our facebook group about this issue because they would go out at 7am and not find anywhere to sit. There were also people who would double up on sitting areas in the Serenity occupying a clam shell and the two loungers next to it so they could rotate all day. I think that would be my biggest complaint of the whole cruise because it left a bad taste for quite a few people. Never saw any stickers for time limits so they didn’t really enforce the rule.

 

The layout of the ship was pretty well done I thought. We did walk through the casino quite a few times and it would be smokey but it wasn’t overbearing. I did notice that on port days they would have air fresheners in there to get some of the smell out. It was one of the only places that we found multiple sports channels and we are huge basketball fans so each night we would stand and wait for the scores to show from the NBA and March Madness games. They did show NCAA games in the red frog as well but it would get super crowded for the few tvs.  

 

[johart34]

 

Activities

 

We did quite a few activities on the boat as we are not lay out in the sun people but rather activity people. My favorite was trivia and name that tune. I would make my husband come to multiple a day but we had a good time. We actually won a ship on a stick for The Office! We both have watched the series 4 times through so we felt confident that this was our trivia. For the other trivias we did okay but with just the two of us in a group we never won another. I did notice that bigger groups won multiple trivia but I just went to have fun.

 

 

Our big purchase on the ship was an unlimited pass to the Thrill Theater. This was one of funnest things we did on the ship. There are 3 levels ranging from “fun for all” “thrills and chills” and “dared to be scared 17+”. It is a 5D theater so prepared to get tossed around in the seat and sprayed with water and poked in the back. It really reminded me of a ride you could do at a themepark. We went to each level and my favorite was level 2 and my husband liked level 1 the best. The cost was 14.95 for unlimited or 5.50 for one showing.

 

We did also do the ropes course and it was empty when we went (in port at Grand Turk). It was fun and we went through twice. Some of the sections are very easy while some you had to put some effort into. We did the mini golf which probably needs to be refurbished. The area around the holes are fading so that made it hard to get the ball into the hole sometimes. We also spent some time at red frog pub playing shuffleboard and cornhole. You wouldn't be able to play for long until people would be waiting. We also tried to play pool but sometimes the wind would make all the balls move around on the table so it was a little harder to play.

 

We did try out each of the slides once and they were very fun. We could have spent more time there but with the lines and it being spring break we didn’t want to keep waiting. They also had the two pools and they both were small. My husband likes to swim but sometimes you couldn’t really move much when there were big crowds in the pool. We also tried the hot tubs and some were nice and hot and others were luke warm and they were pretty packed most of the time during the day.

[johart34]

 

Entertainment

 

We did not go to every show they had because some did not sound interesting for us. We did go see the Motown show and the music was pretty good. The singers and dancers on the ship were pretty talented I thought. We also went and saw Flick. Now I really liked the special effects and the way they used lights. However, I was confused about what movies some of the songs came from and why the “flick guy” was doing somethings at the beginning but I soon figured out his role in the show.

The other shows we went to were the participation ones. Hasbro Game was fine. They quickly went through the yahtzee bowling and connect four basketball. It did seem the same people were always going up for each show. Our favorite show was the Love and Marriage game. It was 18 and older but the couples they picked were entertaining so I would recommend that show. Also the lip sync battle the last night was great! Each contestant did two one minute songs but they really got into character. It also included a mash-up of 80’s and 90’s songs done by the CD and fun squad.

 

The other entertainment we went to was the 4 comedians. We only saw their PG shows but they had some hidden humor for adults in them. I don’t remember all the names but found that each had a different style so it wasn’t repetitive which was nice. None of the comedians were super funny but they did a good job keeping the room entertained.

 

There were also quite a few singers throughout the ship every night. We never really stopped and listened to any but walking by they were all pretty talented. I do remember hearing a string trio and they sounded amazing with what songs they could play.

[Shaded Lady]

I loved the Breeze! And having experienced it once, I agree I'd never sail during spring break, given a choice! 

[Bostwick girl]

Going on Breeze May 4 and then again in September. Enjoying your review so far.

 

[johart34]

 

Ok so this is the biggest part of my review. THE FOOD! I decided the main dining food is going to have it's own post later on.

 

Guys Burgers- We both enjoyed the burgers. I liked that they were thin burgers and the many toppings. I really enjoyed the donkey sauce which was a garlic mayo (two of my favorite things) and the sauteed mushrooms and onions. My husband really liked the ringer with the onion ring and bbq sauce. However, we did not find the fries to be anything special. Not enough flavor for me. We ended up eating here 3 times during the week. Each time with a line of 10-15 people but it went quickly.

 

 

Guys Pig n Anchor- The buns were amazing and buttery! I used it to make a pork sandwich and that was very good. I enjoyed the Kansas City and Sweet BBQ sauce the most. We went here right when we got on and there was no line. My husband loved the baked beans while I found they weren’t what I expected. It was like a three bean mix with peppers instead of the sticky sweet beans. I found the mac n cheese to be okay. The cheese did taste a little like powdered cheese but it was still okay. My husband liked the coleslaw, sausage, and chicken. We did not get any other sides. The weird thing is it was open on two port days as well for the ones where we got there after 11 am. We went here twice.

 

 

Pizza Pirate- Loved coming here late night but so did a lot of other people as it was one of the only things opened. Most times there was a bit of a wait but they got those pizzas made and cooked very quickly. I only had the pepperoni and Quattro pizza and really enjoyed both. My husband had a prosciutto pizza and found that it was good as well. I think we came here 4 times and found that there was a line but it only took 5-10 minutes to get your pizza. No complaints with any pizza!

 

Mongolian Wok- I really enjoyed this place on Lido. Each day they would have different meat options so we had to check each day to see if we wanted those. My favorite was the squid and salmon but they also had beef, chicken, pork, muscles, and shrimp. There was also quite a few vegetables and a few different noodles for the stir fry. There were also about 3 sauces being mild, medium and hot and I always just had soy sauce because I don’t do spice that well!

 

Blue Iguana- We went here a few times. The tacos were very good and the salsa bar had a lot of options for toppings. My husband really enjoyed the fish tacos and I liked the chicken tacos. We also had a regular burrito, me a beef and him a shrimp. The beef was a little weird tasting to me, like a microwave taste but the shrimp was great. All of the options were amazing for fillings as well. Especially the guacamole! My favorite was the breakfast burritos. I enjoyed getting an egg, sausage, potato, cheese and sour cream burrito while dipping it in salsa. The lines were always small here during the morning and afternoon.

 

 

Captains Pasta Bar- Let me just say the bread here is AMAZING. It has a hint of rosemary and it is super soft. They give you a list and you choose the pasta, sauce and toppings. I had a shrimp alfredo that was good. Just wish it had a little more flavor. My husband liked the clam sauce but he found the pomodoro to be a little bland. All the toppings were very good. This was a good place to eat considering it was upstairs and hidden a bit so no lines.

 

Sea Day Brunch- One of our favorites! We loved the Steak and Eggs both sea days. The filet mignon was amazing and one of the best steaks I’ve had. We also ordered the chocolate chip pancakes (which had no chocolate chips but chocolate sauce) but it was still really good. My husband really enjoyed the smoked salmon bagel. We also tried all three desserts and my husband loved the banana cream pie while I enjoyed the brownie (has nuts in it which I didn't enjoy) and the caramel cheesecake.

 

 

Breakfast open seating- We only ate in the dining room twice because I am not a morning person and some mornings it closed at 8am. I had the french toast one morning and found that to be pretty good. It does come with banana so be prepared for an overload of banana taste. I also had the eggs benedict and did not particularly like the ham so I just ate the eggs and english muffin which I found to be delicious. My husband got the broken egg sandwich and he said it was very good.

[TNcruising02]

Nice review!  Thanks for posting.

[JaniceB]

Great review, love all the pictures of the food.  Looking forward to more.

[Florings]

Enjoying your review.  We'll be on the Breeze next year!

[johart34]

 

Main Dining- Ok so here is where I took most of my photos and most were taken after I had a few bites… We loved the bread at the table each night and I ordered a shrimp cocktail every dinner!

 

Night 1: Calamari- AMAZING. We are seafood people and this did not disappoint. I really enjoyed the lemon sauce. Strawberry bisque: I would highly recommend if you like milkshakes because that is what it tasted like. It could have been on the dessert menu. Sweet and Sour Shrimp: I have to say I wasn’t sure if this is what I wanted because fried shrimp can be soggy but I am so glad I ordered it. As someone who loves flavor this really had such a great taste. The rice tasted stir fried and the sauce for the shrimp was amazing. Highly recommend! My husband ordered the special from Port Canaveral which was a maui-maui dish. He said it was okay but did not have enough flavor for him. For dessert, I went for the chocolate melting cake which I found to be delicious and my husband did the caramel phyllo which he said said was great as well!

Night 2: Formal Night aka Lobster Night! We both got the fried oysters. I found them a little mushy but my husband really liked them. For main course we both got the lobster and my husband also got the prime rib. My only complaint about the dish was the butter. It was probably fake so that’s why it tasted strange. My husband liked the prime rib and it was pretty big! We both got the creme brulee for dessert and it was alright.

Night 3: Cannelloni- probably one of my least favorite apps. Not expecting it to be filled with spinach and peas. Made it a bit watery and flavorless. Peach Soup- Wow I really enjoyed this! Love the way they present this dish by pouring it at the table. My husband ordered the ox tongue. He found it to be tender and delicious but I will say it is a texture problem for me. That is one that will always be personal preference. For entree we both got the beef tenderloin and salmon cakes. If there was a favorite it would be the beef tenderloin. It was so tender and flavorful! The salmon cakes were good but after awhile they tasted too fishy. For dessert I got the s'mores parfait- Good but a little sweet after awhile. He got the bitter n blanc… he couldn’t even eat more than a few bites. He said it was so bland.

 

Day 4-7 coming soon..