Very enjoyable trip; nice new ship

Carnival Breeze Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 7

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Verified Review
Carnival Breeze

12 Night Mediterranean (Barcelona Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 21, 2012

Ship: Carnival Breeze

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 12 years ago

Review summary

Very enjoyable trip; nice new shipThe Carnival Breeze! Good balance of activities and shows, slightly crowded, a few design flaws, good food options, excellent staff. We did the 12 day round trip out of Barcelona on July 21, 12. It was a very intense port schedule. We wanted to get everything out of each port day because it was our first (or first time in 20 years) to Europe. One of the design flaws was having rooms under the galley without enough sound proofing. So if you want to sleep, avoid aft cove balconies, especially where the steam pipes go in.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
solid options and many choices. A few stand out options were the chefs table\, Tandori Indian\, Guys burgers (possibly the best burgers and BBQ sauce ever). The Chefs table is far the best food and beverage experience on the shipits a behind the scene tour of the kitchen\, cooking techniques\, a 5 or 6 course meal\, and all the wine you could drink. At $75 each it was well worth it and very interesting. The main restaurants were solid\, nice dinners\, daily special were creative and enjoyable. Our waiters pointed us in the right direction on food selections. Lido\, just OK\, crowded during peak times (9-10am in Monaco\, over 20 minute wait for breakfast). Sit down breakfast restaurants were nice\, but closed too early (at 8:30) on port days. The other pool sid restaurants have short hours. 24 hour pizza was nice.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
We have cruised on the Carnival Dream. We appreciated the added Ropes course and Sports court. We participated in the Food tasting\, Wine tasting\, Volleyball\, Ping-Pong\, putt-put\, Ropes Course\, slides\, Spa\, exercise room and Bridge. Pool chairs very hard to find on ocean days\, until they thankfully started a timing policy. The Adult volleyball was very popular and fun on sea days\, but only one hour for 20-30 people to play. They need to double volleyball time to two hours\, and also need a few more Ping-Pong tables. Full of life - everywhere you walk there is music\, usually live. The singer at the pool was fantastic (Jimmy Buffet style!). The stage shows were dynamic full of energy. The Comedians at the Punch line club were hilarious!!!! (We Americans did not relate to the British ones as much.) The Game show was not as good as expected. Rakesh\, the magician\, was terrific. He came around to tables in the dining room and performed for each chefs table. We were always in awe!

Children's Programs

3 out of 5
Our teens mostly liked the clubs\,. They used them to meet friends and then dropped in for activities. Its too bad that the Sports court is over the Italian specialty restaurant. It would have been nice to be able to evening games there. Carnival should to arrange a few meet and greet events for the 18-21 year olds. Its tough to be at that in-between age on the ship.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
The service in the dining room helped make the trip outstanding. Fortunately with my time dining we are able to find a dinner team we loved and stick with them\, which we did. A huge thanks for having a specific staff person to help us manage some food allergies/sensitivities.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Bright\, clean and ready for the Caribbean. Sometimes too crowded\, every cabin was full on our cruise.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Great amenities\, comfortable bed\, very good shower\, Cove balconies are more private and very close to water rather cool. Avoid any room under the galley\, in particular room #2404 unless you are a very solid sleeper or bring earplugs. The galley was busy (noisy) through the night\, and #2404 is where the steam pipes come in. The steam pipes are like an old fashioned radiator\, clanging and banging\, which is terrible in the night! Carnival would have moved us but the ship was full. They did give us ship's credits.

Pros: Servive\, Entertainment\, Comedy\, Activities and the Ports

Cons: Not enough sound proofing between our room and the galley!

Recommends Carnival Breeze? Yes!

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