Carnival Breeze Exotic Eastern Cruise

Parking: We drove to the port and parked in the garage. We had 2 cars, one handicapped and one in a regular space. We were able to park near each other and just walk across the street to the port building. Cost for a 7 night cruise was $139. We purchased Faster to the Fun so we arrived at the port about 10:45 am, checked in and in our cabin shortly before 11.

I haven't cruised in 8 years and have only cruised Carnival, so the food quality on this cruise was a huge disappointment. MDR: We had early dining in the Blush dining room and the beef selections were unevenly cooked from night to night. The flat iron steak was small and tough, no matter how rare my son ordered it. The side portions were very small (2 broccoli florets for an adult side portion) and generally bland. I was very very surprised at the poor quality of the meat offered and that everything tasted microwaved. I ordered the upcharge strip steak in the MDR one night and was very disappointed at the amount of gristle I had to cut away from my steak. Lido Marketplace buffets: The buffets were fine, there didn't seem to be much of a rotation of the lunch items but the items available during dinner hours did vary and were usually fairly good. I could eat a vat of the potato salad, so I was usually pretty happy with just a salad. Specialty restaurants: We had the free lunch pasta bar at Cucina del Capitano on our last sea day and were very disappointed. You are given a slip of paper to mark your choice of pasta, sauce, protein and vegetables. You could also select meat lasagne rather than a custom pasta order. I ordered farfalle with pomodoro sauce, grilled chicken, broccoli and spinach. My husband ordered linguine with bolognese sauce. We both ordered garlic bread (which looked amazing on everyone's table), I had a Caesar salad and requested a glass of Prosecco ($10.75). The salad was a standard side salad, the pasta was served in a bowl and was fine. It was about Olive Garden level Italian food. Our huge disappointment was with the garlic bread. The rolls looked so good when we saw it on other tables, large rolls with roasted garlic on the top. When we were served ours, it was cold and the only garlic were the roasted cloves on top. We asked other family members that were at a different table and they said that their bread was also cold and had very little flavor. My prosecco hadn't arrived by the time we were finished with our meal, so my husband and I were just sitting and talking while waiting for my drink. A crew member cleared our table while we were sitting there-we felt rushed and a little awkward. We ended up leaving without the drink since there was quite a line waiting for a table and our lunch was finished. Overall, the experience was disappointing. Guy's Burger Bar: now THIS is where Carnival really stands out. There was always a line, but it moved very quickly and the hamburgers/fries were really pretty good. My husband and son ate here every day. Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ: We ate here every day it was open (embarkation day and both sea days). The brisket was great, the chicken and pork were great, the sides were great and it was overall probably the best food we had on board.

Thermal Suite/Spa: We purchased a Couples Thermal Suite week long pass and found that we didn't use it as much as we anticipated. The Thalassotherapy pool was large and the temperature was perfect. The heated ceramic loungers were comfortable and WARM. We were usually too hot to use the steam room or sauna. The thermal suite was very clean and quiet. It was very relaxing and if I had a spa cabin I would probably use it daily. We just found it interfered with everything else we were doing. Trivia/Games: Trivia questions were HARD. Harder than typical trivia team questions, but they were so fun! We never won a ship on a stick, but had a great time trying. Pools/Waterslides: The main pool was nice, fairly large but crowded. It wasn't a surprise since we were traveling over Spring Break. The waterslides were fun and the lines moved quickly. Ropes course: Challenging, fun, safe and my son did them every day. Gym: My husband went to the gym every morning. He said that the equipment was clean and new looking, it was never crowded and he preferred the showers there since they were much larger than in our cabin. He ended up showering in the gym most of the time to free up the bathroom in our cabin.

We saw the show 88 Keys and it was cute. The cast is amazing but the show was a lot like a talent show. We skipped the other shows. Dive In Movies: These are great! We tried to see at least one every night. Some nights the Lido deck never filled up, but the night they showed Bohemian Rhapsody the lounge chairs filled up about a half hour before. The blanket check out was fast and the entire experience of watching a movie on the Lido deck was unique and a lot of fun. Piano Bar: We didn't like Andy but I think we were the only people who didn't. Every night the place was full with people standing outside. Comedians: My son loved them and went every night. We went one night for the adult show and it was funny-we just always ended up doing something else at night. Musicians: Every single act in the Breeze lobby was shockingly perfect. There was a wide variety of types of music and each one of them were great. I would find myself stopping on a different deck just to listen for a while to the different acts.

My son went to Club O2 a few times, but at that age once they meet some friends, they pretty much just did their own thing. He did like the activities they offered like gaming and karaoke.

Entertainment: I was skeptical of a CD named "Donkey" but he was fantastic! I've got no idea how he keeps going all the hours he puts in and is always going, never without a smile or trying to engage people as he walked by them. He was a very funny host for some of the shows and activities and I was very impressed with him. Wait Staff: We had seating issues in the MDR that I had emailed and called Carnival before we sailed and verified our request, visited the maitre'd embarkation afternoon and verified our party was seated together and that night found out that 2 people were added to our table that had requested YTD and 2 people who were linked to everyone's reservations had been given a table for 2. I was frustrated and spoke to the assistant headwaiter who shrugged and said that seating was settled and that there was nothing he could do. We figured it out ourselves and our waiter was able to make the changes that we needed. Our waitstaff team were GREAT and we really appreciated their hard work. The maitre'd team couldn't have cared less. Room Steward: We never met him, I have no idea what he looks like and only know his name is Gusty from the card he left. We had night turndown service only and had to call several times for ice and towels. We were the only cabin that had this steward and everyone else's steward was the typical friendly and helpful steward we were used to. Guest Services: I've never had to use Guest Services before, but due to traveling with several different groups and some of them having health issues, I did have to visit a few times. Each time the staff was helpful, went above and beyond to answer my questions or help me with an issue. I am very impressed with the entire Guest Services staff.

Design: easy to get around and remember the layout, which surprised me for such a large ship. We were on deck 9, right below Guy's Burger Bar and it was super fast to go up one flight of stairs to the Lido deck. Cleanliness: This ship was very clean and well maintained.

Size:This was a standard balcony cabin with a pull out sofa bed. We had 3 adult sized people (our 16 year old son is taller than both of us) but never really felt cramped at all. 3 closets held all of our hanging and folded clothes and our suitcases fit easily under the bed. Location: I would choose this cabin again and again. It was very close to the stairs and elevators but still very quiet. I was worried that we would hear noise from Lido deck activities but we never heard anything.

We had some frustration with elevator availability during disembarkation. We were on deck 9 and had 2 people who just absolutely could not take the stairs. We were supposed to be in the Ovation theatre at 7:30 am and began to make our way there at 7 am. Due to the full elevators, we had to split our group in two (some with the walker passenger and others with the scooter passenger) and finally made it to the Ovation theatre at 7:45. They had already escorted FTTF passengers off, but we were able to join the line that was leaving. We were off the ship and had our luggage loaded in our cars by 8:20 am.