Just The Facts
Ship: Carnival Breeze
Ship Captain: Vincenzo Alcaras
Hotel Director: Pierre Camilleri
Cruise Director: Butch Begovich
Blogger Cruise Director: John Heald
Ports: Miami, St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, Nassau
Weather: Very Good
This is my 33rd Carnival cruise, 4th John Heald Bloggers cruise, and 78th cruise overall. I am cruising as a solo, but I have lots of cruising friends and JH Blogger friends on board.
Day One--Saturday--Travel & Embarkation
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| Carnival Breeze Atrium |
I left the ranch at 4:20 am for the hour drive to the small Waco Texas regional airport and a 5:30 am check in time. It was a nice short flight to DFW and as I walked up to the gate for the Miami flight they just called priority boarding and I walked straight onto the plane. I had two seats that made the 2.2 hour flight to Miami fairly nice. I do like a window seat and had a great view of the Mississippi River SE channel where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico and just before we landed I had a great view of the seven cruise ships in the Port of Miami. Amazing views. We arrived on time at 11:00 am and I decided to use the new Carnival Cruise Line check-in facility at the airport. They are located in the baggage claim area in a couple of the terminals. It was an easy process, they issue your sail & sign card and take your security photo, this will save a lot of time at the port. I also purchased the Carnival shuttle ($16) and we were at the port just after noon. The airport pre check-in means you go through a designated (shorter) security line, then bypass the check in at the cruise terminal. Since there were so many Priority passengers due to the JH bloggers at VIP check in this was the fastest way to get on board by far. I was in my cabin on deck nine by 12:45 and in line at the Mongolian Grill by 1:00 pm. First impression of the new Carnival Breeze is good. To me it seems as though it has a very Caribbean feel, perfect for sailings from Miami. Actually the first thing I noticed were the new Carnival uniforms for housekeeping and the Lido Marketplace staff. The new faux wood cabin doors are a nice touch and very different. The Funship 2.0 stations such as Guy’s Burgers, Blue Iguana, and Red Frog Rum Bar on Lido deck look great and are very popular. I’ll visit them and explore more of the ship in the following days. After a very good lunch from the Mongolian Grill I began running into friends and soon we were in the Red Frog Pub for some afternoon Welcome Aboard cocktails, visiting, and people watching until time for boat drill at 3:30 pm. Safety drill seemed to go well, my muster station is D4 in the Club Oz on deck four. The Hotel Manager sent champagne and a nice fruit basket to the cabin, I assume he did it for the bloggers and with 600 of them them would be a lot of cabins. It is appreciated, always nice to have a welcome gift. There was a
Welcome Party for the Bloggers 5:00 - 6:00 pm in the Ovation Theater with cocktails and introduction of Bloggers staff and some crew. I missed sail away due to the party, but soon all the shops and bars were doing a brisk business...a very busy ship. I had been debating with myself about purchasing the new “Cheers” drink program and decided to do it so I could experience how the program works for myself. Everyone in your cabin must purchase it and since I’m solo on this cruise and with some extra OBC’s this was a good time to try the program. I’m no longer a ‘big’ drinker and I’ll evaluate if it is worthwhile for me, but it looks like more daily cocktails this cruise. After my initial cocktails it was time for dinner in the Blush dining room. Some friends and Ken Byrne, the Maitre’D, arranged a very nice table in the center of the dining room, just as I prefer...sweet. I ordered both the Creme of Sun Ripened Tomato Soup and the Gazpacho Andalouse, the Tilapia entree, and the Creme Brulee for dessert. It was good. After dinner, a final nightcap, and a very long day I retired to the cabin.
Day Two--Sunday--at Sea
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| Sapphire Dining Room - Carnival Breeze |
Very smooth seas overnight, I woke very early 5:00am-ish so still on ranch time I guess. We made a surprise docking in Nassau early this morning to debark a medical emergency. Just a fast in and out. For breakfast I went to the omelette station in the Lido Market Place and had a nice omelette with a side of bacon. A change from my usual Carnival cruise 1st day breakfast, but with the new Comedy Brunch format that plan doesn’t work. They do open earlier (8:30am) for the brunch so the gap I mentioned on the Carnival Magic review is not as critical here on the Breeze. A bloggers only Q&A was held in the Limelight Lounge, John H has a brilliant way of making the guests a part of what actually becomes a comedy routine. Luckily I had a seat at the bar so was able to enjoy some Bloody Mary’s during the Q&A. I then had some organizational and set up time as I had volunteered to help with a private cocktail party, our now ‘Friends of John H’ meeting from 1:00-2:00 pm in the Liquid NIghtclub. It went very well and John Heald even came by to say hello to the sixty FUN people who had been active on the Breezers Facebook page prior to the cruise. The two NFL football championship games were on every screen on the ship this day and passengers seemed to enjoy them along with all the usual sea day ship activities. I was able to get a short nap before heading to the Red Frog for a pre dinner cocktail. This was the first elegant night and dinner was very good, I ordered the White Stuffed Mushrooms, Pumpkin Soup, the Spaghetti Carbonara, the Red Fish seafood entree, and Cherries Jubilee for dessert. After dinner I went to the Production show:
The Brits in the Ovation Theater. This was unlike any production show I have ever seen incorporating LCD lights and panels to create the scenery and animated cast members. It was fantastic!, the best Carnival show to date-IMHO. I wish they would do it again as this show is not to be missed. After the show I went to the Piano Bar for just a bit until time for the midnight adult comedy show in the Punchliner Comedy Lounge. A very good show, Al Ernst just gets better and better. When I finely got back to the cabin to retire the towel animal on the bed was holding a bloggers gift: a nice commemorative pin.
Day Three--Monday—at Sea
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| For me? - Diamond Reception - Carnival Breeze |
Another good nights sleep and we turned our clocks forward to Atlantic time so it was 8:15ish when I got around and 9:00ish when I to the Punchliner Comedy Brunch in the Sapphire dining room for a proper breakfast. It was a good time to go as there was no line and I was seated straight away. I had a very good Bloody Mary then ordered the Carne & Huevos (steak & eggs) and they were excellent. They were served with a grilled tomato, ranch potatoes & curly fires, a great vinegar dressing, and a bernaise sauce. I added a side of bacon for a wonderful breakfast. I was just finishing when my friend Al Ernst, did his little comedy routine. I am coming around on the brunch concept although I enjoy being seated with other random guests at breakfast as is the norm on cruises, but this room and concept is not really set up for it. Since this is the Your Time dining room there are a lot of smaller tables so very nice for couples, but not so for solo cruisers. I finally got to explore more of the ship this morning and I’m really starting like the more subdued public spaces, they are not as dramatic as many past Carnival ships, but very nice with clean decorative lines and concept. This is by far the best of the three ships in this class. I had lunch with friends at Fat Jimmy’s C-side BBQ outside in the Ocean Plaza. I had BBQ Chicken and pulled pork, they also offered sausage, ribs, baked beans, potato salad and slaw as well. After lunch several regulars ended up at the Atrium bar until time for the Bloggers Slot Tournament ($20 entry) no luck for me, but at least we knew the winner. The
Diamond Guest function was held in the Liquids Nightclub. There were complimentary cocktails and nice horderves. The Captain and senior crew were all there along with 35 Diamond Guests, an unusually large number of Diamonds on a sailing. It was great seeing Ana and Marusya from guest services, love them both. The party continued over to the Red Frog Pub until time to dress for dinner. Dinner was good, I ordered: French Onion Soup, Penne Mariscos Pasta (with seafood), Braized Short Rib of Beef, and the Fig & Date dessert. The feature show tonight was
Hasbro-The Game Show with Butch but there were a lot of activities that friends and bloggers were doing including Punchliner Comedy, Piano Bar 88, and the Deck Party.
Day Four--Tuesday--St.Thomas, USVI
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| Megan's Bay - St. Thomas |
Calm seas overnight and I slept fair. We arrived on time and are berthed next to Carnival Liberty just as we were a few days ago in Miami. Fortunately we are the only two ships here. I had a private tour arranged by good cruise friends using Sonny Liston Tours. Our driver was Elvis and we had a great group and tour starting at the popular Mountain Top lookout where we enjoyed the wonderful view and their famous Banana Daiquiris. Next short stop was Sir Francis Drake’s seat that has a great view of Megan’s Bay. Following that we went down to Megan’s Bay beach for 1.5 hour stop to enjoy the beautiful beach. The water was fantastic. Although I’ve been to St. Thomas many times this is the first time to hit the water at Megan’s Beach. Next stop is Coki Beach for an hour followed by Sapphire beach for an hour, both were nice, but Coki’s smooth sand was much nicer than Sapphire. We then made a quick stop at Duffy’s Love Shack for a final Bushwacker cocktail before returning to the ship. A very FUN tour. I watched sail away from St. Thomas from deck eleven, it was a very nice sunset sail-away Charlotte Amille. I had an apéritif in the Piano Bar, a Standing Ovation, one of their branded drinks for the Piano Bar 88. Dinner was good, I ordered the Yukon Gold Potato Soup, Tom Ka Gai, Beef Stroganoff and Bitter & Blanc and Tiramisu for dessert. After dinner tonight’s feature show was: The Evolution of
Edge a one man comedy / juggling act. It was an entertaining show, but doesn’t need to be seen more than once.
Day Five--Wednesday--Antigua
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| English Harbor - Antiqua |
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Calm seas and good sleeping overnight. I had an early continental breakfast from the Ocean Plaza and ate outside overlooking the port of St. John, Antigua. I met my private tour mates at 8:00 am for a fantastic tour organized by one of my cruising buds with Tours by Gordon. We had a couple of 8 pax vans and were soon off for Devils Bridge on the Atlantic side of the island. This was a natural bridge created by high surf on the rougher coast. From there we where on our way to the Nelson’s Dockyards area stopping first at Dow Hill Fort to enjoy the beautiful view of English Harbor and see a multimedia presentation about the history of that particular area. We stopped at the Ridge for another great view to the Atlantic side and some snacks and beer furnished by Gordon. Next was Shirley Heights for an even better view of English Harbor and the location of the old British lookout station. Then we then went down to English Harbor and Nelson’s Dockyards National Park the location of the main British Navy base in the Caribbean during the ‘age of sail’ and the 18th century. There were a lot of period buildings that now house trendy restaurants, hotels, and yacht related businesses as this is now a very popular sailing destination. After a guided tour and a bit of free time we were off to the final destination: Valley Church Bay Beach. Since we were somewhat self contained as Gordon had hot pasties (meat, chicken, & vegetarian), beers and sodas we selected our own more secluded section of the beach away from the bar and facilities. It was a wonderful 1.5 hours to chill. I had to hit the beautiful water again and it was wonderful. We returned to the Carnival Breeze and I had my first Guy’s Hamburgers of the cruise. They are 100% better than what they served before and pretty close to an ideal Texas style hamburger. The
Bloggers Super Star Live was this afternoon, I was late, but got to see most of it, a lot of talent in the group. Clean up and rest before a pre dinner cocktail in the Red Frog Pub. Dinner was good, we actually had an order of Chicken-Wings for the table that went well with my entrees: The Tilapa and NY Strip Steak. After dinner I attended the production show:
Latin Nights and it was very good. Tonight was designated as Pirate night by Bloggers so it was interesting seeing those dressed as pirates for the evening. I didn’t, but was a pirate supporter with my jolly roger t-shirt and hat I purchased in St. Thomas. I went to
Cigars Under the Stars at 11:00 and they actually had some nice snacks prepared. It was fun and made for a long and late evening.
Day Six--Thursday--Tortola
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| White Bay - Jost Van Dyke - Soggy Dollar |
I was up early this morning as I have an early tour so I saw the sun rise over Tortola while having breakfast grits out on the Ocean Plaza. Very pleasant. Our tour left early as this is a short port day so the group met and walked the short few blocks to the marina and we were off to the island of Jost Van Dyke by 8:00 am. After a 40 minute boat ride we arrived off the beach at
Jost Van Dyke and there was already a mega-yacht and several sail boats anchored off the beach. The options here are to swim in or wait for a dingy to take you ashore. I chose to swim in as this was the original tradition. The beach and water are wonderful, I can see why this is a prime destination spot. There are several beach bars along the beach, but I went to the most famous of them:
The Soggy Dollar. I ordered a wonderful Bloody Mary paying for it with soggy money from the swim in to the beach (thus the name of the bar) and enjoyed the banter while setting at the bar. In the next hour and half it became much busier as tours arrived and most wanted to try the Soggy Dollar signature drink: the Painkiller. The Painkiller is a generous amount of dark rum with pineapple, orange, coconut mixer and nutmeg. It was good, but I actually prefer the bushwacker a very similar drink. We left the island about 1:00 and headed back to Tortola and the Carnival Breeze before the 3:30 final boarding time. In fact the Past Guest party began at 3:30 pm in the Theater. They had complementary FunShip Specials and horderves, they also recognized the Gold, Platinum, and Diamond guests. Next there was a birthday party organized by some in the Facebook group for John Heald held in the Limelight Lounge. The folks that volunteered did a great job, it was another fun thing on the fun ship. I had to get a short nap in as it has been a busy day, but made it to the Piano Bar for an aperitif. Dinner was good tonight, I ordered the Chicken Noodle Soup, Mushroom Soup, and the Filet Mignon & Short Rib combination. The beef dish is one of their better meat dishes IMHO. I had the Apple pie for dessert, but it wasn’t top notch, so just an additional sambuca to finish the meal. Again a lot of choices on the ship this evening including the
Hasbro Game Show and the Mexican Fiesta on Lido deck. We actually mad a quick stop in San Juan to debark an ill passenger before midnight. Interesting day and evening.
Day Seven--Friday--at Sea
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| Pub Crawl - Red Frog Rum Bar - Carnival Breeze |
Smooth seas and it was so nice to be able to sleep in this morning, we also gained our one hour of time back so we are now on Miami time. I went to the lobby around 8:15ish to get a morning Bloody Mary and work on this blog, then to the Punchliners Brunch for breakfast. Tough choice since I have not had Eggs Benedict yet, but went with the Carne & Huevos again, they are just so good. There were some intermittent light sprinkles this morning and it is cooler, perfect weather for me, I get enough hot at home. I popped into Cherry On Top to get some sweets then later a small burger from Guy’s to carb-up before the
Pub Crawl / Poker Run at 1:00 pm. This was planned as a fun bloggers event and about 35-40 participated. We drew a poker card at each of six bars and I also ordered a cocktail at each. If I’m going to hit my 15 Cheers limit, today will be the day. We started at the Lobby Bar, then the Winners Luck Casino Bar, then the Red Frog Pub, then the Red Frog Rum bar on Lido, then the Blue Iguana, and finished at the Tides Bar on aft Lido deck. This was a lot of fun...thanks to those that organized it, the traffic guard with drunks crossing signs were a funny touch. Afterwards we had a tube of Thirsty Frog in the Red Frog Pub with friends. I’m not positive what I did the rest of the afternoon, but I’m pretty sure a nap was involved. I did have an aperitif in the Piano Bar before dinner. This is the second cruise elegant evening and to mix it up a little I ate at the table next to my usual table. I knew all the guests and they have a fun waiter too. Tonight I ordered the Escargots, Braised Basa Fillet of Fish, and baked Alaska for dessert. After dinner I did go to
Piano Bar 88 to hear
Ron Pass, the best piano bar player on the high seas. I guess I did end up closing it down, but that has to be done at least one night if Ron is on board. Also sometime just before 2:00 am I was informed that I had reached my 15 limit of drinks on the Cheers card. I also wanted to do that at least once so two things accomplished.
Day Eight--Saturday--Nassau
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| Ropes Course - Hot Dog Stand - Carnival Breeze |
I slept until almost 10:00 am this morning, then caught the end of the bloggers meet to get my group t-shirt, then up to Lido to get an omelette from the omelette station before it closed. We docked in Nassau about noon. I believe there are six ships docked including the Disney Wonder across from us, she will be in Galveston next year. This is going to be my day to get a last look around the ship while many are off to see Nassau and work on the blog. I had a nice late lunch in Cucina del Capitano, my first visit there on this cruise. I really slowed down today after the big day yesterday so cabin time and a little exploring. Did you know that there is even a hot dog stand on the miniature golf course...very clever. I tried to make a booking for the Bloggers-7 cruise, we’ll see if the future cruise person gets it done. I did go to the Piano Bar for my last sidecar cocktail aperitif. Dinner was very good, I ordered two of the Panko Crusted Jumbo Shrimp, the Prime Rib, and Gran Mariner Souffle for dessert. The feature singer was in the Ovation Theater tonight, but I retired early after getting a Carnival airport transfer and saying farewell to Marusya at Guest Services.
Debarkation
We arrived back in the Port of Miami about 6:00 am. My final Sail & Sign bill and BC7 booking was in my mail box. I packed this morning and went to breakfast in the MDR, first Eggs Benedict of the cruise, unusual for me. They were calling for all Self Assist by this time (8:00ish) so I went down but perhaps could have waited another 20 minutes as it was still very busy. I try for that time just at the end of self and before deck assigned numbers. Getting to the transfers was easy and as soon as the bus filled we were off to MIA and was checked in by 9:30 through security and at the gate by 10:00 for a 1:05 boarding. Transfer at DFW went well and I was in Waco by 6:30 pm. Just an hour drive to the ranch and home.
John Heald Bloggers
For those that don’t know, John Heald is the Senior Cruise Director and Brand Ambassador for Carnival Cruise Lines. He writes a very popular blog and the Bloggers as mentioned in this review are basically John Heald fans that read his blog and now his Facebook page. This is the 6th ‘Bloggers Cruise he has hosted. There are about 200-300 that have become regulars so it’s nice to see many people again. The Bloggers cruises have all been FUN and really become an event unto itself. The BC7 will be held on the Carnival Sunshine out of New Orleans in February 2014.
Cheers Bar Program
This is a new alcohol program recently introduced by Carnival and still not yet fleet wide. You are allowed up to 15 drinks (under $10) for the per day cost of $42.95 per person + 15% gratuity. You must purchase for all adults in your cabin and pay for each day of the cruise. This was a good test opportunity for me since I’m sailing solo this cruise. It became routine for me to order 1 or 2 Bloody Mary’s at breakfast an apéritif before dinner, a glass of wine at dinner, then an after dinner drink in the dining room. As the situation, day, and time allows various cocktails during the day. You can also get sodas and I did that several times as well. Personally I got my moneys worth, but honestly would not have had as much to drink without the program.
Crew
I found the crew to be very good. I was able to meet many ships officers through the Diamond reception and VIFP party. The ship seems to be in very capable hands. I enjoyed visiting with Pierre the Hotel Director, Ana the Guest Services manager, Marusya from Guest Services, Gertrude from Group Services, Butch the Cruise Director was outstanding, Senior Head Waiter Damir was excellent, and of course Ken Byrne is an excellent Maitre’D and he sang in the dining room most nights and the waiters did their dances as well. All the Bartenders and Bar Servers were very friendly. It was good seeing Sebastian again.
Cabin
I had cabin 9359 a category 1A interior on Vista deck. It had a single bed (and a drop down option), standard Carnival 3-section closet unit, mini fridge bar, push button safe, and lots of floor space. It didn’t have a table, but they brought one for me. Overall a nice cabin for a solo cruiser. Ringga the cabin steward was great. I love the new cabin doors.
Food
The Guy’s Burger Bar is a fantastic addition for more reasons than just the good food. The good location and the fact they have an express line means they can feed a lot of people in a short time. This really takes the pressure off of room service and other food locations on the ship especially on port days when hungry passengers all return about the same time. Excellent concept. The new Bonsai Sushi seemed to be very popular. Cucina del Capitano was great. I never used room service this cruise. Ice creme and yogurt machines were available. I didn’t try the pizza nor the burrito bar, but they both looked very good.
Needs Improving
I really think the aft pool should be adult only as I have stated several times about the Carnival Magic. It was even worse here with kids playing chase around the pool and using the hot tubs as play tubs...no adults among them. If the Disney ships with many more children sailing can have an adult pool then surely Carnival can have one. Please review that Carnival with your new 2016 concept ship. Other than that one issue the Carnival Breeze really seems to run like a well oiled machine, no major problems anywhere that I could tell from the viewpoint of an experienced passenger.
Highlights
The Diamond VIFP reception by the Captain was very good. Guy’s Burgers were excellent. The ship really looks very good although not flashy at all, I like it much better overall than the Magic. But the highlight was seeing all the blogger friends of John Heald again. Always great to see familiar faces having a FUN time!
Another fantastic FUN Bloggers cruise!!
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