Carnival Breeze Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was the first cruise for my family. I had heard a lot of good things about cruises and thought that it would be a good experience to see a few different places in one trip. Overall it was a good experience. The cabin was small but we got used to it and it was really nice to have a balcony. There was a sewage smell at some points which may have been because we were on the second floor and close to the bottom of the boat. The service overall was good. Our cabin steward was excellent and very attentive. The food was good- I would have liked more healthy options. There was always a lot of activities to choose from and most were good. The islands were great but getting on and off the boat was not so fun and I would have loved more time at each stop. 

I love cruising! This being our fourth (third with Carnival) I've come to expect certain things from Carnival that the Breeze just did not deliver.  At first i thought am i expecting too much?  Am i being a cruise snob lol... but then while chatting with another frequent cruiser in the laundry room I found that we shared the same issues.  I'll break down my review into the following categories: Staff/Service, Food and Entertainment/Activities,

STAFF & SERVICE:    One of the most memorable things about the cruise for me is the staff.  On past cruises, not a day went by where we didn't have a staff member ask us how we were doing or enjoying the day/ excursions etc. On this cruise it was more of a rare occurrence.  Aside from our steward and dining room waiter who took the time to chat with us, everyone else seemed to busy with their daily routine to even look up and say good morning.  I really missed that personal touch.  If you order a drink by the pool be prepared to wait at least half an hour or more.  There are times when we thought they had just forgotten to come back because it took so long.  They have also changed a policy that really didn't make much sense in my mind.  They no longer deliver the liquor purchased onboard or at port to your room the last night.  Now you have to wake up super early the day of disembarkation and go pick it up in one of the restaurants if purchased at port or at the liquor store if purchased onboard. I don't know who in corporate thought this was a great idea.  Where are you supposed to put this alcohol? Everyone is already packed as you are getting ready to get off the boat.  If you chose to have your luggage taken off the ship by Carnival all of your check in bags are waiting outside for you.  It just makes more sense to give people their liquor the night of as they used to so that they can properly pack it.  If you have a flight right after disembarkation as many do... you should not have to open up luggage outside in the street to accommodate your purchases.

FOOD:  This was my biggest disappointment.  I completely understand that they need to cater to masses and so i never judge based on seasoning/flavors of the food.  My complaint was with the actual availability of the different places. There is an illusion of a lot of variety and dining options but when you factor in the operating times of the places you were pretty much limited to Guy's burger Joint, Pizza and the Deli.  Why? Because the other places (The hot dog cart, Blue Iguana Cantina, Cucina del Capitano (the free pasta not paid dinner) and Fat Jimmy's BBQ had such restricting operating hours that you had to plan them into your schedule or you would miss them.  For example the BBQ place was only open from 12:30 - 3pm.  On port days this means you would completely miss this place unless you chose not to get off the boat.  On a sea days if you have a late breakfast this place would not be an option either.  I literally had to watch the clock and make a plan to experience this place.  Most of the included restaurants had this same time restriction.  You want free pasta? Ok but only between 12:00p and 2p... You want a taco sure... 12:30p to 4:00p. It was really annoying.  Guy's burger joint was open the longest from about 11-6 and was our default place to eat.  We had so many burgers and fries that i don't want to see another for at least a month!  There also seems to be more and more additional fee places than free.

Entertainment/Activities:  This is also an illusion.  When you look at the daily itinerary it seems like there was just so much to do!  However upon close inspection Its filled with a bunch of fluff and not real activities.  I love shopping but I don't consider a watch sale or t-shirt sale an activity.  Gone was also the fun competitions where carnival divides the cruisers into teams and all the competitions onboard give your team points.  This may seem cheesy to some but I'm competitive and so this was an incentive to participate in more of the onboard activities just so that my team would win.  On the positive side some of stuff was really nice.  The movies were a nice touch on this ship.  They had blockbusters like Avengers Age of Ultron showing which was nice to see on a big screen.  The waterworks is a definite hit with the kids.  We traveled with four ranging from 2-12 and they couldn't get enough of the slides, water hoses, big water bucket and overall splashing in this area.  It was also great that activities such as mini-golf were available 24 hrs.

Overall, my thought is perhaps the boat was just too big and they had to sacrifice some of the quality and personal touch.  I may consider cruising with Carnival again but definitely not on the Breeze.

From day 1 to 8 the crew was unbelievable. The food was great the weather was great and there was so much to do on the ship we couldn't do it all. never had a dull moment

mostly good- stops, however, were lackluster- not a good itinerary. Food was excellent most meals but a few misses. Suggestion: do not get a cabinon deck 6- the noise fromthe clubs on deck 5 is bad- voices are clear as day. 

Having sailed as a family just last year on RCCL and for the last several years, and as such...we were a bit skeptical. However, we would sail Carnival Breeze again without hesitation. Hats off to the cruise director, Rev E. He was personable, engaging, fun and funny--not stiff necked. He made the fun in numerous venues. This was the best cruise we've been on in a long time. 

This was our 13th cruise on Carnival, and our first on the Carnival Breeze.  This is the newest ship and it was very nice.  You can really see the redesign and it looks fantastic.  They have toned down the glitter and neon to a much more professional and clean color scheme.  Its very impressive!

The hallways on deck 5 are great with lots of dining options.   The casino feels bigger and the Cruise Director is the best we have ever seen.  The main DJ is also the best Carnival has.  The room staff and cocktail waiters on the Lido and deck 5 are excellent.

Here are the negatives with this ship.

1. We purchased the Cloud 9 Spa suite because of the additional benefits, it is not work the extra price.  In fact we think the actual suite was smaller than the suites on deck 7.

2. The additional bathroom amenities are just like any other hotel and they do not replenish them.

3.While the 3 thermal spas sound great they don't work very well, and there is no place to hang your robe, we tried it one day and was bored (and we like big spas).  Because they have created these large thermal spa areas they have reduced the main spa changing areas and dressing rooms.  There is only a dry sauna in the men's area and no wet sauna.  the locker room is very small and the workout room is also very small.  

4.it appears that carnival has cut back on staff, they need more cleaning help, for example the casino was dirty and ashtrays full everywhere, need more staff.

Overall great ship but don't do the Cloud 9 spa rooms....save your money.

Being a usual cruiser on Royal caribbean, I was skeptical about doing a carnival ship since I had done one in the past & was not happy at all. I will say, the breeze was a very nice ship & I was happy with it. Rooms were nice, clean & spacious. The food selections were good & our head waiter Sam, was amazing. staff was friendly & helpful. The layout of the breeze takes quite a bit of getting used to if you are used to any Royal ship however & kind of confusing. The main pool deck was VERY small & the pool smaller considering the ship has 3000 passengers, it should be MUCH bigger.But overall this was a good cruise, fun time & good food & people.

I found the state rooms very good and the service also excellent; my main problem was: did not care to much for the meals served in the Blush restaurant, at times the food would arrive cold and the selection was not of my liking, saving grace was Guy's Fierro Burger Joint; The Ovation Theater was designed by a midget or someone that didn't take into consideration the hand rails that are in the line of sight of whom is sitting trying to enjoy the show and the seats on first floor are leveled and not on an incline from back to front, watching the shows is tough; Being without water for almost a day was not very pleasant, kept thinking of the other Carnival ships that were stuck at sea with NO power; was not very impressed with entertainment on board; My 10 year old son was primarily in doors playing video games at Camp Ocean, no programs for 10 year olds to enjoy the outdoors playing dodge ball or basketball; Big irritant was all those people fighting for a small space in a tiny pool midship or trying to fing somewhere to sit. 

SHIP VERY ORGANIZED/CLEAN.  STAFF GETS 4 OUT OF 5.  FOOD WAS ABOVE EXPECTATIONS. 

MAIN COMPLAINT:  MAIN DINING ROOM.  NOT ENOUGH STAFF.   ALWAYS TOOK 2 HOURS FOR DINNER,  WAITING WAY TOO LONG FOR MAIN COURSE TO BE SERVED.  FELT LIKE WE WERE LEAVING TABLE 5 MINUTES BEFORE THE NEXT SEATING WAS TO ARRIVE.  DEFINITELY LACK OF STAFFING IN THIS AREA.

We really enjoyed our cruise last week. There was something to do for everybody. My husband and I spent a lot of our time in the spa area, relaxing and enjoying the wonderful services they provide. Very professional and relaxing atmosphere. Our teens had a great experience in the 15-17 age teen group. They made lots of friends and had a ton of activities to keep them busy.

We unfortunately left behind my husband's watch in the cabin when we left, we called to put in a claim for its return. So we will be curious how that turns out. Hopefully, it will be a success for us. Fingers crossed.

All in all, it was a great experience for all of us. We would go back and do it again, or definitely recommend to a friend.

My partner and I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. The staff was awesome and memorable. The ship's director made sure he knew SOMETHING about all the passengers, so it felt good to be remembered among so many great people. Food was perfect (could be hotter), but overall awesomely prepared.

All the staff of the Breeze were friendly and served us well.

The dining room staff were excellent and our steward and his staff were always doing their best to serve us.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip on the Carnival Breeze and would go again in a heartbeat!  We have been raving about our experience since our return, and can't wait to book the next one.  Overall we had great experiences with the overall ship, food, and service levels.  The Piano Bar on board was fantastic - definitely recommend checking that out while you are on board!

Excellent food and incredible staff! I would definitely go again. I was so impressed with everyone that worked on the ship! The entertainment was never ending I can totally see why they call it the fun ship !

My boyfriend and I went on this cruise with another couple who were on their honeymoon. We had an amazing time. Service was great, Ruth was our favorite bartender by far. Shows were very entertaining, and we met a few amazing couples as well. We have already started looking into Carnival for our next cruise. There was one time I ordered a drink at the pool but never got it, but it wasn't enough to ruin my trip, I just went and got it myself at the nearby bar.

 Water pouring from ceiling in our cabin below the galley was ignored until day before cruise was over. Carpet saturated, running down wall. Constant galley noise all night long. Compensation unsatisfactory. Do not book your customers in cabins below the galley.

Let me preface this review with the positive. The Breeze is a beautiful ship and all the employees we came into contact with were top notch!! That being said this is a ship I would not step foot on again until some changes are made. I went into this expecting my experience to be like all my other Carnival experiences, which is I would have the most wonderful time making great memories, not true this time. This ship is uncontrolled chaos, every aspect I experienced left a bad taste in my mouth, I purchased faster to the fun to start this trip with the expectation of getting on the ship would be trouble free, first mistake, without making this ridiculously long, instead of the priority boarding you are promised, We ended up boarding with everyone else, same thing with debarkation. Waste of money!!!! Purchased their social network and internet plan for $60, hardly ever worked, seen people drag chairs into hallways trying to get signals....another waste of money!!!! After my "Priority" boarding dropped luggage in room and headed to Lido for lunch, after standing in a line for over an hour to get a sandwich, ended up going to our room to eat because there was no available seating in the dining area, how that is possible I didn't understand, you would assume there would be enough available seating for all on-board, but not so on here. We had a cove balcony for the first time ( and last ) I will say the room was nice, the position in the ship not so much. The word steerage comes to mind as well as the word sewage because that is exactly what it smelled like in our hallway the entire time, by day 2 I started taking a napkin to hold over my nose every time we headed to our room. When I mentioned it to housekeeping and Guest services I just received a blank stare in return. The standard lido food was the same everyday, with a few different side items thrown in for some change, if you wanted something from the 2.0 restaurants expect to stand in line for an hour or more to get it, the main dining room was nice, the steakhouse which I had high expectations for was a HUGE disappointment, steak very fatty and tough, ceasar salad dressing was simply mayo with no seasoning, the dessert we had to wait a half hour to get...not worth the extra money! This ship had some of the rudest passengers I have ever encountered on it, manners were left at the dock in Miami, lots of drunken people and out of control children, not to mention the ones who thought the rules did not apply to them and brought their children into the casino and were offended when asked to leave causing all kinds of ruckus, so that security had to be called, the lady who literally pulled a chair out from under me as I tried to leave a machine, basically dumping me in the floor, to the one who poured her drink all over a machine and put a cigarette out on the floor then just walked away! I could go on and on and on, let me sum it it up and say until they fix the multitude of issues they have with this ship I will not step foot on her again!! The ports were nice except La Romana, which safety is definitely an issue there, I was just glad to get home.

The carnival breeze is an amazing ship. All the workers were extremely friendly and helpful. Great experience all around. My only complaint is that carnival should do something about the La Romana Port of call in Dominican Republic. We took a 5 dollar bus ride into town and we were dropped off at this shopping plaza. As soon as we got off the bus the local people started ambushing us to buy their goods. They acted like vulchers. They were very rude and pushy. I would not recommend anyone going to this plaza. They will make you feel uncomfortable. My opinion carnival should do something. I certainly will not take another cruise with that port of call in the itinerary. Aside from that the rest of the cruise and it's other ports were fantastic especially Aruba the people were amazing there.

Plenty of sun - great weather and excellent ports of call. Sea days on ship were excellent.  They had excellent music on the ship and the shows were awesome.

I had a great time. The crew and everyone was very pleasant and funny.  I did find that the food was the same for breakfast and it was mostly pork products.  They added bacon to some of the potatoes, side dish and vegetable which limited the choices when you don't eat pork or meat.  That would be something to keep in mind.  Otherwise I had an amazing time and I was pleasantly surprised that my room was bigger than the one I had at the Royal Caribbean.