3rd time not a Charm on Carnival Breeze

For a company that depends on pinpoint accuracy in navigating the sea, it sure seems to have lost it's way in where they are heading. If you're used to even a glimmer of perks as Gold member or just a loyal customer get ready for a course correction. My 3rd time on the Breeze was a eben flow of disappointment. There are so many areas both big and small that Carnival failed to impress that I'm not sure where to start.

I'll start with the little things because those are the things that just get under your skin enough to make things stink but not enough by themselves to motivate a full blown complaint. So they may seem trivial but all together they just leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Not that I wanted to get drunk in the casino (never a good idea) but I did have a card for "FREE" drinks while playing games or slots. $800 and an hour later, still no waiter to get me a drink, which could be a good thing because I finally left the casino to get a one on the Lido deck. I tried 3 other times to get drinks while on the cruise and was able to finally get 1 (ONE), UNO, drink for "FREE"

Day 1, Miami, 1pm, Deck 10 Aft. You've finally arrived on the ship and you and your kids have bathing suits and ready to enjoy a little Pizza, a cool drink and the rear pool. FORGET IT!! SMELL, ohhh that SMELL, Pool/Jacuzzi area smelled like sewage the entire trip, and it made the Pizza Pirate and Tandor's an unattractive option. Pool was closed and they were sanding and refinishing the wooden seats around the pool. Saw dust, yellow caution ribbon the smell of stain mixed with sewage; yep you get the picture.

What's up with the Carnival's ability to keep the Jacuzzi's open. It was like a cruel game of Russian Jacuzzi roulette trying to figure out which one be open and which would be down for maintenance, again.

Lido Market Place Buffet makes any Golden Corral look like a 5 Star restaurant. Anyone remember the surf n turf or midnight buffet's?? Well at least you have the memories. This buffet barely makes a mark as a viable food option and is a repetitive unimaginable collection of tasteless food products. Breakfast? And if you imagine some biscuits and gravy with that watered down tasteless yellow stuff they call eggs then stay in bed, you'll be disappointed. I've never seen any poorer choice for breakfast options than on the Breeze. A single testimony to the overall shape, direction and state of this ship. SAD.

Sapphire or Blush dining? well the wait staff are probably the high point of the experience. I had the Flat Iron Steak; bland no taste. The Filet Mignon tastes more like a pot roast and the Prime Rib was overdone and flat. So that covered 3 nights. The Lobster tail was decent and we loved the creme brulee!

Staff: I thought we were on the Zombie ship, I'm not sure how you keep moral fresh and new on the Breeze and I don't want to know. I'm on vacation. However, I wish the senior leadership would figure it out. From the staff in the casino to the Lido Marketplace they seemed depressed, out of phase somehow.

Housekeeping: we did get towel animals 2 of the 6 nights, but at 9pm my kids are ready for bed and they hadn't even gotten to our room on several nights; was nice enough but I don't think she ever knew our name and I think I saw her twice. No ice bucket in the room, no perks like shampoo's razors etc in the shell dish like all my other cruises (I heard they phased this out) and the balcony was not cleaned. We hand wiped it down a bit.

Room Service used to be free, now I'm seeing more and more options under the "for additional charge" and less on the "free" side..

Perks: well I'd say if you like a PIN for all your loyalty then your in luck, if you want to use your "free" drink coupon then you better be savvy as it can only be used under strict conditions and don't think of using it in the dining room or before the last day or before 5pm etc. Want the welcome back drink with a few snacks, forget it. Any other benefits pretty much evaporated and if there availble be prepared to fight for them and wait and wait to use the; otherwise watch the blue cards get the same benefits as your gold.

Camp Carnival/Camp Ocean this has devolved into a poorly run corral of kids with angry attendants that seem better suited to be jail keepers than camp carnival leaders.. My kids have grown up in Camp Carnival and this by far was the worst. Want one of may examples? OK, here goes. We stopped by to find out what games were on the PS4's and we got an angry "We have a Pay Build a Bear Session right now" and " come back during PS4 Time" and "They will find out when we begin" uggggg!!

WaterWorks, well it needed work alright, compared to our trip in January 2015, so many items had quit working it was unreal.. Even the Big Bucket worked only some of the time and we had 5 days of calm seas..

Pictures: well they sure work hard to get you to take your photo's but have no system for retrieving them. Thursday night my wife spend an hour going through boxes of thousands of photo's to no avail.

As it is, I have a spot on the Ultra Cruise in December that just happens to be on the Breeze so it's one more trip on this Ship and if things don't improve it will be my last.

Last on Breeze and Last on Carnival..