Carnival Breeze - Dissapointed

[Killagain]

We're a couple 29 & 28. We went on the breeze on July 31st. What a disappointment. I had sailed it before in 2017 and had a BLAST: great food, music, entertainment, drinks, and everything else you would expect.

This time around, everything closed early. The music at the nightclub was 100% hip-hop. They didn't mix in a single pop/house/top 40 song leaving it empty and closed at 1 AM more often than not. The serenity bar closed at 6PM. The pizza place is no longer 24/7, the same as the ice cream. No late food options. No more OJ included in room service. All bars closed early with the latest closing at 3AM alongside the casino itself which is crazy to me. The food at the main dining was abysmal compared to our previous cruises even though it was the same meals. Almost every staff member we ran into looked angry to be there. No one bothered even to ask our names. We have about a half dozen past workers as friends on Facebook, so this was a massive disappointment for us.

The comedian at the limelight did a boring 30 minute bit with a guitar. The show we went to (We All Work Here, or something similar) was boring.

This experience is a far cry from all of our past cruises with Carnival.

Edited August 7, 2023 by Killagain

[Illbcruzn4life]

2 minutes ago, Killagain said:

We're a couple 29 & 28. We went on the breeze on July 31st. What a disappointment. I had sailed it before in 2017 and had a BLAST: great food, music, entertainment, drinks, and everything else you would expect.

This time around, everything closed early. The music at the nightclub was 100% hip-hop. They didn't mix in a single pop/house/top 40 song leaving it empty and closed at 1 AM more often than not. The serenity bar closed at 6PM. The pizza place is no longer 24/7, the same as the ice cream. No late food options. No more OJ included in room service. All bars closed early with the latest closing at 3AM alongside the casino itself which is crazy to me. The food at the main dining was abysmal compared to our previous cruises even though it was the same meals. Almost every staff member we ran into looked angry to be there. No one bothered even to ask our names. We have about a half dozen past workers as friends on Facebook, so this was a massive disappointment for us.

This experience is a far cry from all of our past cruises with Carnival.

Thanks for the quick review.

[AllgoodOnTheRoad]

I would love some more much later in the night activities. Much more likely to see us up at 3am than 9am. 

 

 

[firefly333]

7 hours ago, Killagain said:

We're a couple 29 & 28. We went on the breeze on July 31st. What a disappointment. I had sailed it before in 2017 and had a BLAST: great food, music, entertainment, drinks, and everything else you would expect.

This time around, everything closed early. The music at the nightclub was 100% hip-hop. They didn't mix in a single pop/house/top 40 song leaving it empty and closed at 1 AM more often than not. The serenity bar closed at 6PM. The pizza place is no longer 24/7, the same as the ice cream. No late food options. No more OJ included in room service. All bars closed early with the latest closing at 3AM alongside the casino itself which is crazy to me. The food at the main dining was abysmal compared to our previous cruises even though it was the same meals. Almost every staff member we ran into looked angry to be there. No one bothered even to ask our names. We have about a half dozen past workers as friends on Facebook, so this was a massive disappointment for us.

The comedian at the limelight did a boring 30 minute bit with a guitar. The show we went to (We All Work Here, or something similar) was boring.

This experience is a far cry from all of our past cruises with Carnival.

Carnival is supposed to be rolling out a late night snack. They seem to have heard people are hungry late and want something besides room service.

 

Breeze b2b was my last carnival cruise and it's why I went to rcl. Everyone argues with me the Mdr dinners werent that bad. Mine were inedible. I dont think anyone will be surprised when you say things have changed since you last cruised carnival in 2017. Every line has cut, it's just deciding which line you can live with the cuts. 

[Illbcruzn4life]

1 hour ago, AllgoodOnTheRoad said:

I would love some more much later in the night activities. Much more likely to see us up at 3am than 9am. 

 

 

You and about 5 others.

[txcruiser1234]

1 hour ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

You and about 5 others.

Very true. But, due to normal life work in healthcare, we are 2 of the others. We are just night creatures by nature at this stage of our lives. It's not something we can totally turn off on vacation - it's kind of like overblown jet lag. We really appreciate the nights where we can catch a late night comedy showcase, followed by a midnight dive-in movie and then a few hours in an almost empty casino! We would absolutely use the whirlpools if they were open later into the night. Looking forward to having more food options later into the evening too. We caught a midnight showing of John Wick 4 on our last cruise and were surprised to see how many people made it through till the 3am ending (probably 100 or so).

 

I think the more Carnival can "stretch" out the evenings for those so inclined, the less crowded the public spaces are during the days...

[ZoeyVictoria]

11 hours ago, Killagain said:

We're a couple 29 & 28. We went on the breeze on July 31st. What a disappointment. I had sailed it before in 2017 and had a BLAST: great food, music, entertainment, drinks, and everything else you would expect.

This time around, everything closed early. The music at the nightclub was 100% hip-hop. They didn't mix in a single pop/house/top 40 song leaving it empty and closed at 1 AM more often than not. The serenity bar closed at 6PM. The pizza place is no longer 24/7, the same as the ice cream. No late food options. No more OJ included in room service. All bars closed early with the latest closing at 3AM alongside the casino itself which is crazy to me. The food at the main dining was abysmal compared to our previous cruises even though it was the same meals. Almost every staff member we ran into looked angry to be there. No one bothered even to ask our names. We have about a half dozen past workers as friends on Facebook, so this was a massive disappointment for us.

The comedian at the limelight did a boring 30 minute bit with a guitar. The show we went to (We All Work Here, or something similar) was boring.

This experience is a far cry from all of our past cruises with Carnival.

From what I have read about Virgin Voyages, it would be an excellent match for you. 

[Killagain]

1 hour ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

From what I have read about Virgin Voyages, it would be an excellent match for you. 

Thanks! We may give it a try. The average age group is even higher than that of Carnivals though, which for us isn't ideal. We love the mix of people we meet on Carnival cruises and our past experiences have been amazing. These changes just aren't it for us.

[William142]

I tend to agree with the poster here. Just off the Miracle for 11 days and all the bars closed by 11:30pm at the latest. Yes, you could get drinks from casino or the empty nightclub, but most of the time the other bars on the ship were crowded and yet staff still closed them down.

 

Also, you didn't miss nothing with no late night snacks. They had them from 11:30pm to 1:00am on the Miracle and they were gross. 

Edited August 7, 2023 by William142

[ZoeyVictoria]

32 minutes ago, Killagain said:

Thanks! We may give it a try. The average age group is even higher than that of Carnivals though, which for us isn't ideal. We love the mix of people we meet on Carnival cruises and our past experiences have been amazing. These changes just aren't it for us.

 

How could you possibly resist this 😂.  My favorite commercial of all time!

[allinwonderland]

16 hours ago, Killagain said:

The comedian at the limelight did a boring 30 minute bit with a guitar.

They really need to end this guy's contract with Carnival, he's not that funny and the guitar is annoying. I came to see a comedian not an amateur singer-songwriter. But of all the Carnival comedians I've ever seen, he's the only one I ever had an issue with.

[momof3cruisers]

19 hours ago, allinwonderland said:

They really need to end this guy's contract with Carnival, he's not that funny and the guitar is annoying. I came to see a comedian not an amateur singer-songwriter. But of all the Carnival comedians I've ever seen, he's the only one I ever had an issue with.

We got this guy AND Bob Biggerstaff on the same cruise soon after the restart. Boy, was that a dull cruise. If you Google or YouTube Bob, you have seen his set. The clips are 20 years old but he was still telling the same jokes.

[cxr133]

But did you like the ship?

 

Breeze is one of our favorite ships.

 

alot of those other quips are not breeze specific but changes carnival has made since 2017.

 

 

[jimbo5544]

On 8/7/2023 at 12:38 AM, Killagain said:

We're a couple 29 & 28. We went on the breeze on July 31st. What a disappointment. I had sailed it before in 2017 and had a BLAST: great food, music, entertainment, drinks, and everything else you would expect.

This time around, everything closed early. The music at the nightclub was 100% hip-hop. They didn't mix in a single pop/house/top 40 song leaving it empty and closed at 1 AM more often than not. The serenity bar closed at 6PM. The pizza place is no longer 24/7, the same as the ice cream. No late food options. No more OJ included in room service. All bars closed early with the latest closing at 3AM alongside the casino itself which is crazy to me. The food at the main dining was abysmal compared to our previous cruises even though it was the same meals. Almost every staff member we ran into looked angry to be there. No one bothered even to ask our names. We have about a half dozen past workers as friends on Facebook, so this was a massive disappointment for us.

The comedian at the limelight did a boring 30 minute bit with a guitar. The show we went to (We All Work Here, or something similar) was boring.

This experience is a far cry from all of our past cruises with Carnival.

wow, other than all of these, how was your cruise?

[pinklucky61]

On 8/7/2023 at 12:16 PM, Killagain said:

Thanks! We may give it a try. The average age group is even higher than that of Carnivals though, which for us isn't ideal. We love the mix of people we meet on Carnival cruises and our past experiences have been amazing. These changes just aren't it for us.

Strange how Virgin was marketing towards younger adults, but recently saw a video of older people returning from port.

[ProgRockCruiser]

47 minutes ago, pinklucky61 said:

Strange how Virgin was marketing towards younger adults, but recently saw a video of older people returning from port.

Target market vs actual market can do funny things.

 

From what I recall, when Honda came out with the Element (boxy CRV size thing, similar to a Kia Soul and Nissan Cube) they marketed it to the younger crowd: rubberized interior, easy to hose out; roof rack for kayaks & bikes; fun camping adventure activities, etc.

 

Turns out their biggest market was older/retired folks, because it was easy to get in and out of, could carry lots of stuff back from garden centers and Home Depot, and was reasonably affordable.  And it wasn't a "fast SUV" and that was OK for that portion of the older market.

 

Maybe all the younger people who would otherwise cruise Virgin can't get babysitters...or can barely afford their rent so cruising and kids are out of the question.

Edited August 8, 2023 by ProgRockCruiser

[momof3cruisers]

3 hours ago, pinklucky61 said:

Strange how Virgin was marketing towards younger adults, but recently saw a video of older people returning from port.

I think the younger adults can’t afford Virgin. I know I can’t! 😂

[JCrewz]

On 8/7/2023 at 7:57 AM, Illbcruzn4life said:

You and about 5 others.

Unnecessarily snippy.

[tigers04champs]

If you want more of the party scene and higher class food/service, you need to do Virgin. It will be right up your ally. You will enjoy it a lot more. We enjoyed Royal on the Oasis class ships without kids, especially with the extra dining options, which are way better than MDR but your going to pay extra.

 

We were on the Breeze back in March and we had a good time, but we also had two little ones. I stayed in the casino two nights, but left about 2 or so. I think the food in the MDR was average. Not bad, but not great. We had great service everywhere. We saw two comedians. One was pretty good, but we didn't care for the other. Just depends on your style of comedy. The shows were on par for the size of ship. Clearly they won't be as good or elaborate as the excel class of ships.

 

After Covid a lot changed with the entire industry. Food quality/portions, room cleanings, room service, hours, ice cream/pizza, venues, etc. They got hit hard with the shutdown and are slowly getting back into it profit wise. The only thing I really dislike is they are working the poor room stewards/stewardess to the bone. They cut back to one cleaning a day for each room, but they doubled the amount of rooms they have to clean. Hopefully after another year or so, we can get back to a few more of the "normal" items. 

[firefly333]

23 hours ago, Carnival Cheerleader said:

I have also switched to RCCL but mainly for the much, much better loyalty program. IMO, Carnival still wins with the snacky type food (Guys, Blue Iguana, Pizza Pirate) but Royal seems to win everywhere else.

Agree. I use a RCL TA for group rates, plus D+ and solo discount. Wish carnival perks included money off booking. Lol ..never happen. Though those ultra low rcl rates gone now too. Last of my under $100 a day solo. 

 

Agree carnival pizza better. Blue iguana about the same as fresh. Not crazy about either. I'll give carnival the nod for guys burgers. Fast food. No one is going to starve on a cruise one way or another. I want everything but not virgin prices lol. 

[Joebucks]

Did you really try to get pizza when it was closed, or did you just list every possible difference as a reason you decided you hated it?

[KarmaCruisers]

On 8/8/2023 at 1:17 PM, ProgRockCruiser said:

Maybe all the younger people who would otherwise cruise Virgin can't get babysitters...or can barely afford their rent so cruising and kids are out of the question.

Bingo! Virgin is too expensive for millienials! They can only (barely) afford Carnival.

[cruiser0216]

Hi there! We were on the same itinerary as you - July 31st out of Galveston. I'm sorry you were disappointed in your cruise! 😞

 

To offer a different perspective, we LOVED our cruise! No, we didn't stay up late and do any bars, casinos or the late night comedy show, so it sounds like we did different parts of the ship. But, we LOVED the sports square (we have young children), the pools, the CD was AWESOME, the Atrium events with the CD, the MDR (we loved almost everything we ordered) and thought the shows and comedy we did see were just average. We loved Alchemy, the Ocean Plaza bands, the Lanai seating with hot tubs, the Pub and the coffee shop. 

 

We also agree that the staff wasn't very friendly as compared to past ships. We had a different server each night due to My Time Dining, but service seemed more prompt than our last summer Carnival cruise. Our cabin steward was very friendly and attentive. 

 

Lines were LONG - it was a full capacity ship. But there was always room at the shows and we never waited long for any MDR meal (breakfast or dinner). I think most people were at the buffet, which does serve some of the MDR dinner food. 

 

Pizza was open starting at 9am (and of course we were up then :)) I saw on the schedule the late night buffet was happening, but we were of course asleep by then. 🙂

 

I bought the CHEERS package. I think I about broke even with alcoholic drinks, but ordered many non-alcoholic drinks as well. It allowed me to try lots of different things and not drink what I didn't like. 

 

Some members of our party did notice aging on the ship, but that didn't affect our enjoyment. 

 

Excursions - in Cozumel we did the Zipline, snorkel and beach excursion through Carnival to Island Beach Club. We loved it (mostly) and would recommend that beach club again!! Other family members did the Secret River cenote swim excursion and LOVED it. They had older kiddos than ours. 

 

Again, I'm sorry you were disappointed in your cruise but I hope the additional review added on here helps others reading to know you can be on the same ship and have 2 very different experiences and desire very different things. 

 

Happy cruising! 

[Stallion]

The original poster has a point. Carnival and RCCL have gone full throttle family cruise experience and this changes the nature of the cruise experience. Its no coincidence that these cruise ships are built with a full amusement park on the LIDO deck but don't have room for a dedicated nightclub. A lot less late night action every time I go on a cruise these days. Things pretty much a shutting down at mid-night. It didn't used to be like this