Carnival Breeze
Handout / Handout / Getty Images
The 3,690-passenger, 130,000-ton Carnival Breeze was launched in June 2012 by Carnival Cruise Lines. As one of the largest ships in Carnival's fleet, the Carnival Breeze is sure to offer something fun for everyone.
The ship offers many of the most popular venues and attractions from its sister ships, the Carnival Dream and Carnival Magic , and is a Caribbean cruise departing from Port Canaveral (Orlando), Florida, through most of 2020. Beginning November 2020 Carnival Breeze will depart from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Cruises range from six to nine days, and possible ports of call include Cozumel, Belize, Grand Turk, Aruba, Nassau, and various other Caribbean destinations, depending on the itinerary you choose.
Dining and Cuisine
TripSavvy / Linda Garrison
Every cruise traveler should be able to find the type of food they are craving when sailing on the Carnival Breeze.
Many of the onboard restaurants are included with cruise reservations, including burgers or barbeque at two restaurants by renowned chef Guy Fieri, Tex-Mex at the BlueIguana Cantina, pizzas at Pizza Pirate, Asian flavors at Mongolian Wok, daily brunch, and a sandwich deli.
The ship does have a few premium dining options if you're seeking a special night out. Bonsai Sushi, the first full-service sushi bar on a Carnival ship, serves freshly prepared sushi onboard, and you really can't beat fresh fish when you're already at sea. The Coffee Bar is a gourmet coffee shop with specialty coffees and pastries. While there is a free pasta bar onboard, Cucina del Capitano serves higher-end Italian meals—and the servings are huge. Finally, the Steakhouse restaurant on the Carnival Breeze is one of the more expensive options, but the food is delicious and expertly prepared.
Cabins and Suites
The 719 interior staterooms are the smallest (and least expensive) on the ship, measuring 185 square feet. For those looking for something larger and more luxurious, the Carnival Breeze has 54 suites, the largest being the Grand Penthouse Suites. Most travelers on the ship choose one of the 851 Carnival Breeze balcony cabins or one of the 221 oceanview cabins without a balcony.
Carnival has added some innovative cabin categories to this class of ship. Families enjoy the Deluxe Oceanview cabins, which sleep five and have two baths. Travelers who like to be closer to the water might request a Cove Balcony cabin. These cabins are identical to the standard balcony cabin on the inside, but are lower on deck two. The covered balcony is partially enclosed, making it cozier and private. Guests in the suites adjacent to the Cloud 9 spa enjoy unlimited access to the spa, priority spa appointments, and complimentary fitness classes.
Cloud 9 Spa and Fitness Center
The Carnival Breeze Cloud 9 Spa is a whopping 22,770 square feet and spans two decks forward.
In addition to the 21 massage and other private treatment rooms, the Cloud 9 Spa has a thermal suite that is much like a traditional Turkish bath. It features heated chaise lounges, a tropical shower, and an unbeatable view. The thalassotherapy pool with its bubbling waters is relaxing and therapeutic. Couples might want to request one of the two VIP couples rooms that come complete with their own private whirlpool.
Guests are able to enjoy a range of additional spa features, such as a full salon, men's barber, acupuncture, facials, and medi-spa treatments such as Botox.
The fitness center has the latest cardio- and weight-training equipment catering to all fitness levels. The fitness center serves as the location for a wide range of instructor-led exercise classes including free classes in stretching, toning, and conditioning. The spa also has for-fee classes in yoga, Pilates, spinning, and TRX Rip Trainer.
Entertainment
In addition to being the first ship to feature all of the entertainment offerings that are part of the line's "Fun Ship 2.0" enhancement initiative, the Carnival Breeze is the first to debut the new Thrill Theater , an interactive, multi-dimensional experience that makes guests feel as if they are part of the movie.
It's also the first ship to offer Playlist Productions, high-tech production shows only 30 minutes long that combine captivating live performances with LED staging and special effects.
Guests can also choose a competitive entertainment option. Hasbro, The Game Show puts guests right in the middle of their favorite Hasbro games, such as Yahtzee Bowling, Connect 4 Basketball, and Operation Sam Dunk. Lip Sync Battle, based on the popular television show, lets guests compete to be the lip-syncing champion of the ship.
The Carnival Breeze offers the Punchliner Comedy Club. Professional comics will leave you in stitches, but make sure you know whether the show you're attending is family-friendly or adults-only.
Onboard Activities for Adults
Adults sailing on the Carnival Breeze can cruise the dozen or so bars, or hit the casino. Or, they can stretch out on one of the comfortable loungers or hammocks at Serenity, the adults-only outdoor deck area, or catch an adults-only show at the Punchliner Comedy Club, which is held in the aft, 400-seat Limelight Lounge. Sports fans appreciate the Casino Bar, with its multiple screens showing worldwide sporting events.
On a mega-ship like the Carnival Breeze, adult couples looking for a romantic getaway sometimes forget that they can find quiet spots. Strolling the decks at night under the moon and feeling the sea breeze is also a good way to have some romantic time on the ship. Parents traveling with kids don't need to forgo time alone, either: They can leave the kids for a few hours with Camp Carnival's Night Owls program, which offers a host of late-night activities with movies, games, and snacks.
Just for Kids
The Carnival Breeze has more than 19,000 total square feet of space catering to children and teenagers. This space includes indoor and outdoor play areas, a suspended ropes course, an outdoor EA Sports gaming system, miniature golf, and a sprawling aqua park housing the cruise line's longest waterslide.
Carnival Breeze's kid-friendly amenities include supervised programs for three age groups: Camp Ocean (ages 2-11), Circle "C" (ages 12-14), and Club O2 (ages 15-17). Each youth facility offers a full schedule of activities throughout the cruise overseen and organized by a full staff.
On specific nights, special late-night parties are offered between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. for different age groups, with dancing, fun snacks, giveaways, movies, and more.
Outdoor Decks and Exterior Common Areas
With wide expanses of deck space, two outdoor swimming pools, and several hot tubs, the Carnival Breeze offers outdoor fun for all tastes.
Kids and adults love WaterWorks, the onboard water park with two waterslides and dozens of other ways to get wet. SportSquare, the outdoor recreation area, offers numerous games and even has a ropes course. Those who like to get their fitness routine outdoors can use the jogging track or the exercise equipment.
Carnival Dream - Cruise Ship Profile
Carnival Vista for Families
Norwegian Escape Cruise Ship Profile and Photo Tour
Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship: Oasis of the Seas
Carnival Liberty Cruise Ship
Carnival Liberty Outdoor Deck Areas and Exteriors
13 New Ocean Cruise Ships in 2018
Disney Dream Virtual Tour
Celebrity Reflection Cruise Ship Profile
Holland America Line Nieuw Amsterdam - Bars and Lounges
Carnival Fantasy Cruise Ship Interiors
Carnival Magic - Cruise Ship Photo Tour and Profile
The Best Alaska Cruises
11 Family Hotels with Amenities Just for Kids
Disney Magic - Tour and Profile
Disney's New Cruise Ship Is Setting Sail In June 2022—See Inside
- AI Generator
95 Carnival Breeze Stock Photos & High-Res Pictures
Browse 95 carnival breeze photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images..
- Holiday Rentals
- Restaurants
- Things to do
- Things to Do
- Travel Stories
- Add a Place
- Travel Forum
- Travellers' Choice
- Help Centre
Carnival Breeze Deck Plans & Reviews
Carnival Breeze
- Excellent 72
- Very Good 42
- Terrible 16
- All languages ( 166 )
- English ( 162 )
- Spanish ( 2 )
- French ( 1 )
- Russian ( 1 )
- Cruise News
- Cruise Tips
- Save on Shore Excursions
- Cruise Price Drops
- Ports of Call
- Cruise Videos
- Port Webcams
- Advertiser Disclosure
- Cruise Deals
Carnival Breeze Cruise Ship Review and Video Tour
As I mentioned in my article on my first impressions of the Carnival Breeze , the ship is one of Carnival’s most beautiful ships and really carries across the tropical getaway theme. Some of the best features of the ship include an incredible water park, fresh and spacious staterooms, Fun 2.0 upgrades like Guy Fieri burgers and Punchliner comedy club, and a fantastic spa with a thalassotherapy pool and a couple aromatic steam rooms.
Check out the video below to see our video tour of the Breeze or keep on reading our review of the ship.
Pool Deck and Hot Tubs:
I counted a total of 8 hot tubs around the ship and that is not counting the thalassotherapy pool. There are 4 on the promenade deck (deck5), 2 on each side. They hang over the side of the ship slightly and are a decent size as well. They do close at 8 or 9pm every night, however. There are 2 more hot tubs in the adult only Serenity area and 2 at the very back of the ship on either side of the tides pool. These stay open until 1am. On a couple occasions the temperature of the hot tubs in the Serenity area was not very hot at all and was rather lukewarm.
The main pool is in the central part of the pool deck right below the huge 270-square-foot LED flat screen that plays nightly movies. This part of the ship is nice and open with two Tiki huts on either side of the pool that offer shade while soaking your feet in the water. The open concept translates to the loungers that surround the pool as well and fan out to offer great seats for watching the LED screen while eating popcorn.
The Tides pool is aft of the ship and is one of my favorite parts of the ship. There is a hot tub on either side and the pool is also right near the 24/7 Pizza Pirate.
The main pool deck has a nice open concept and I like how the WaterWorks aqua park is separate from the main pool.
WaterWorks Park:
Carnival pulled out all the stops with this water park. You can’t miss the two waterslides that help make up one of the largest water parks at sea. The Twister is a 312-foot-long water slide and the DrainPipe goes even faster and then dumps you into a large basin. Both are a lot of fun to ride, but I liked the DrainPipe the best because you go so much faster and the funnel ending is always a thrill.
One of the highlights of the waterpark is the 300-gallon bucket that slowly fills up and then tips, dumping all that water at once onto the cruisers young and old alike. It’s a great way to cool off on a hot day on the ship and also gives the kids something fun to do for hours at a time. I rode the DrainPipe 4 times in a row on one day that was not very busy at the waterpark, so I guess I’m a big fan of WaterWorks.
We got a tour of the entire spa facility on the very first day and you can check out our video of the spa here. If you just want to relax on your cruise and get pampered a little, there is no better place than Cloud 9 Spa. Services offered include facial treatments, massages, body therapy, acupuncture, medi-spa treatments, teeth whitening (Go Smile), salon services. The staff at the spa was very friendly and not pushy at all.
I recommend at least trying out the Thermal Suite package. It costs $40 per day or $120 for the whole week and gives you complete access to the amazing thalassotherapy pool, 2 steam rooms with aromatherapy, the laconium (which is a scented dry sauna), and a very relaxing setting with heated lounge charis and relaxing music. It’s a great place to read a book, enjoy the view of the ocean out the window or just take a break. There is even a very cool rain shower that has all kinds of different scents to freshen up after your time in the thermal suite.
Aft of the ship in the spa there is a place you can just relax and cool off whether that is before or after a massage or time in the thermal suite. The soothing music, fresh lemon water, and gorgeous ocean views in this space made it a great spot to just relax. You can check out our video of the spa here .
Sports Deck:
The Carnival Breeze has one of the most innovative and fun sports decks I’ve seen. Not only is the basketball/volleyball/soccer court lager than most on the sea but the ship offers a first at sea ropes course, larger than life chess boards, an outdoors fitness center, and one of the nicest 9 hole mini golf courses I’ve seen on a cruise ship. In the Sports Square area there is a ping pong table, two pool tables, and a Foosball table. I liked that the mini golf course already had the golf balls and clubs right there next to the first hole so you don’t have to find an attendant to sign out the necessary equipment. Same with the pool table. We played pool at 10:30pm one night in the open air of the Sports Square.
The basketball court closes at 5:30pm every day, but I believe this is mainly because the court is right on top of Cucina Del Capitano, one of the specialty restaurants which starts serving dinner at 6pm. The entire court is locked up at this time, so thought I would let any of you know who like to play basketball late at night when the sun goes down. But if you want to get a work out in late at night you can always visit Sky Fitness which is right outside the basketball court area. This 24/7 fitness center uses all kinds of exercise machines that use your own weight as resistance, so you can work out in the open air up on deck 12.
Staterooms:
Besides spacious and inviting hallways that feature pictures of palm trees and beach scenes, the door to each stateroom has a wood slat look that leads you into a cabin that is fresh and airy feeling. Sky blue mixes with light yellow from the beautiful blue counter top in the bathroom to the muted yellow walls that line the comfy and simple design.
Some of the things I liked in our balcony stateroom on deck 8 include the following:
- Power outlet in the bathroom above the mirror (for using shavers) and the double outlet in main living space below the mirror.
- A flat screen TV that swings out on the mount so you can watch it easily from the bed or on the couch.
- A hybrid chair/lounger on the balcony that made it easier to recline and relax while watching the ocean view.
- Light switch above the bed to make it easy to turn off the lights after you get into bed.
- Plenty of cabinet space and wardrobe space to put away all your belongings and make your stay feel more homey.
- Card slot as soon as you walk in to help you both remember your sail and sign card and also helps make sure you don’t leave the lights on when you don’t need them. ( I was iffy about this feature when I first saw it on a cruise ship, but now I really like it and it always helps me remember my card as well).
One thing I was not too keen on in the room was the side door that led to the room next door. There are two doors here on either side of the rooms, but too much sound seemed to travel between them. Often even normal conversations could be heard through this even closed doorway. I like the idea of being able to open the doorway if you know the people next door, but a better sound barrier would be good.
Dining Options:
There are two main dining rooms on the Carnival Breeze: Blush and Sapphire. I chose the Your Time Dining option and ate at the Sapphire restaurant which is midship. Blush is aft of the ship and tends to be a bit more rocky during dining times when the ship is pulling out of port. Your Time Dining worked our great as we got to meet different people each night and we could still choose the same head waiter/waitress if we wanted. Rossana did an amazing job by the way and the service was spot on. I ate like a king.
Other dining options included the lido deck buffet which didn’t offer a ton of variety and was hit or miss during dinner time. The food quality of what was offered was good though.
During sea days there were two other places you could eat for lunch. Fat Jimmy’s C-Side BBQ was a very popular option which offered kielbasa, pulled pork, and barbecue sandwiches. And on the SkyCourt there is a little hot dog stand called Sea Dogs which has do-it-yourself hotdogs between 11am and 4pm.
Don’t forget about the 24/7 icecream and frozen yogurt from Swirls. Always a great way to cap off a meal and there are several locations on the lido deck.
On one day during the cruise was the ever popular Chocolate buffet which serves up all kinds of chocolate cakes, cookies, and pies to chocolate lovers on board. The chocolate extravaganza is always a welcome sight.
The 24/7 Pizza Pirate was really hit or miss as well. The pizza was thin but delicious but sometimes it took a lot more time to get the pizza I wanted. On one occasion I stood in line for almost 20 minutes while waiting for a pizza. It’s a great concept but it would be nice if Carnival took some steps to expedite or better organize the process of moving people through the line. Of course, other times I could just walk by and grab a slice of pizza that was sitting there.
You have to check out the Taste Bar on any Carnival ship that has it. Here you can get free samples of some of the food at the specialty dining options and it’s going to be different each day. On the Breeze it’s located on deck 5 midship in the middle of Ocean Plaza, and at the Taste Bar you can taste sample dishes from the steakhouse which are absolutely delicious.
Specialty Dining:
There are a couple specialty dining options on the Breeze as well that require an extra surcharge. Cucina del Capitano was my favorite and costs $15 per person for dinner, but for lunch it’s free. It’s located right above the sweet spot on the lido deck after of the ship. Great Italian food and I heard someone raving about the quality of the steak. Try this place for lunch to see if you will like it for dinner.
Speaking of steak, Fahrenheit 555 is the Breeze’s steakhouse and offers some of the most delicious dishes at sea. For the $35 surcharge you can get a 7 course meal and eat in a steakhouse that seems designed for the likes of Frank Sinatra. I had the chance to watch a cooking show in the restaurant and tried several of the dishes made in the steakhouse. Wow, great food!
Besides the cantinas and cafes the only other “extra charge” eating option is the Bonsai Sushi. You pay a different price for each dish, and this was a popular dining choice for some cruisers.
Entertainment:
There is no shortage of entertainment options aboard the Breeze. Most nights featured musical concerts in the Ovation Theater including musical genres like latina, pop, R&B and more.
Along with the piano bar and karaoke, there is always some singing going on aboard the ship, whether you want to sing along or just sit and listen.
Punchliner has been a huge success for Carnival. The Breeze was made for the 2.0 upgrades and included 2 comedians hand-picked by comedian George Lopez. Some ships switch out the comedians half way through the cruise, but this one had the same two the entire cruise: Tommy Drake and Jaylyn Bishop. The two comedians had family friendly shows and then adult shows later in the nights in which children were not allowed to attend. These shows take place in the Limelight Lounge and not the main theater to enhance the comedic experience and make it a cozy place to enjoy some laughs.
The Limelight lounge also was a great place to get involved in some karaoke or just listen to the amateur talent aboard. Ocean Plaza on deck 5 also had karaoke on some days along with lots of trivia, especially on sea days.
Ovation Theater held many concerts on the Breeze, including musical tributes to the Beatle’s genre, tributes to pop Divas like Gaga and Beyonce, latin music and much more. There was a physical comedy show as well that featured the juggling talents of Manny Zuniga and the Game of Love Show hosted by the always funny cruise director, Matt Mitcham.
The interactive Thrill Theater is a multi-dimensional movie watching experience. The 20 minute movies are in 3D and feature all kinds of special effects including seats that move around, water that sprays in your face and some other unexpected surprises. The small room seats 24 and costs $7.95 per person. If you want to watch an unlimited amount of movies you can pay $14.95. Some of the featured movies were Planet Earth, Ice Age, Happy Feet, Sponge Bob’s Wild Ride.
The 270-square-foot LED TV screen on the main pool deck was a fun place to watch a movie at night as well. Movies like Godzilla, Rio 2, Divergent, and others were played during our cruise. Just grab some free popcorn from the cantina and sit back one on of the many lounge chairs on the pool deck. You can watch the big screen from 3 different decks and deck 11 offers some shelter from the rain if it’s wet out. This is also a deck with a lot of smoking on it, however.
The arcade was surprisingly big aboard the Breeze and was a typical place for kids and teens to hang out, but I made sure I got at least one air hockey game in.
The casino was huge aboard the Breeze, being 9,000 square feet and offering 185 gaming machines. There is also a bar and restaurant in the space. Just remember that at most ports the casino machines will not be operational.
What can I say about the staff? The people aboard the Breeze were both friendly and professional and I really had not a single complaint. Our stateroom attendant was always at the top of his game. He memorized our names and always said hello whenever he saw us. The room was always clean when we came back no matter what time that was. Someone else on the ship called the room stewards like little ninjas because they seemed to know exactly when to clean the rooms and were always super fast and efficient.
If you already love Carnival ships and Carnival’s Fun 2.0 upgrades you will love the Carnival Breeze. It’s design is definitely a step in the right direction for the cruise line and has all kinds of extra touches that make the cruising experience more fun and more relaxing for everyone. Since everyone has a different idea of what makes a cruise ship great it’s impossible to please everyone, but the Breeze will surely get the attention of most cruise enthusiasts who already love the whale tail.
Learn the cruise secrets most people don't know and cruise like a boss. Check out Intelligent Cruiser here for a better cruise vacation. (Sponsored)
12 Reasons to Take a Cruise to Hawaii on Norwegian’s Pride of America
6 things i won’t buy on a cruise ship, cruise line moving all cruises to all-inclusive by the end of 2024, carnival’s cruise ship upgrade/dry dock schedule 2024-2026, related articles, carnival celebration review: 10 hits and a few misses from my cruise, 10 reasons to sail on carnival’s latest cruise ship, carnival venezia, carnival celebration review, carnival cruise line’s newest ship, 11 comments.
I just had my first cruise with my family, and that was on the CB, and enjoyed every bit of it.
We went on a 8 day cruise on the Breeze in 2013 and really enjoyed the ship. I think it was probably one of the best of many cruises. Thanks Carnival
I HAD A GREAT TIME
Great review, enjoyed going on the ship with your word pictures. Love these steam and saunna’s also. Keep cruisong.
I really enjoyed your review of the Breeze. When did you sail on this trip? I’m really surprised by what appears to be a small amount of passengers. We’ve cruised in many different months trying to find fewer guests, but nothing like you show in the video.
Thank you for sharing..I was undecided about which cruise I wanted to go on but after I saw this review I am more convinced now, more than ever!!!
One question I had was on the Your Time Dining…does this mean that we can go to supper at any of the main dining rooms, when we want?? Or do we have a set time? thank you
You will have a set dining room but can go anytime dinner is being served
Thank you for sharing this WOW makes me want to go on this as our next cruise.
I really enjoyed your review and video. We wll be going on a Breeze nex year, so Excited!!
Just an FYI: In the video, you mentioned that Breeze is the only ship to have the ropes course. However, both Carnival Magic, and Carnival Sunshine have ropes courses too.
Good catch, Kevin. I will try to make those changes in the video. Thanks.
Comments are closed.
First Impressions of Carnival Celebration
Recent popular posts.
Two brothers started Cruise Fever in 2011 when they decided they couldn't stop cruising so they might as well write about it. Do you have Cruise Fever too? Follow along on this incredible voyage!
© 2011-2024, Cruise Fever ®. All rights reserved
- Privacy Policy
- Cruise Newsletter
Carnival Breeze
Courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line |
Find a Cruise on Carnival Breeze
with a cruise advisor
Carnival Breeze Photos
Disclaimers about ship ratings: A ship’s Health Rating is based on vessel inspection scores published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If a ship did not receive a CDC score within 22 months prior to the calculation of its Overall Rating, its Health Rating appears as N/A; in such a case, the ship’s Overall Rating is calculated using the average Health Rating of all CDC-rated ships within the cruise line. All ship Traveler Ratings are based on ratings provided under license by Cruiseline.com.
You Might Also Like
Carnival Elation
Carnival Pride
Carnival Sunshine
If you make a purchase from our site, we may earn a commission. This does not affect the quality or independence of our editorial content.
- (123) 123-456
- [email protected]
Carnival Breeze - description, photos, position, cruise deals
- Carnival Cruise Ships
- Ship Information
- Photo Gallery
- Ship Position
Carnival Breeze
The cruise ship Carnival Breeze of Carnival Cruise Lines was built in 2012 , belongs to the Dream vessel series, and is 306 meters long with a displacement of 130,000 tons. The ship can accommodate up to 4428 passengers on board in 1845 cabins. The number of personnel on board is equal to 1386 people.
Carnival Breeze Photo Gallery
Carnival Breeze position
Carnival Breeze current position is as follows: 27.90577 N / -92.60077 W during the course of a journey to MXCOZ>USGLS
Her current 5 days cruise started on 25 Mar, 2024 and is to end on 30 Mar, 2024
Current Cruise Itinerary
Add a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment
Advertisment
How to Choose Cruises to Norwegian Fjords
06 April, 2023 2550 views
How to Get from Abu Dhabi Airport to Cruise Port Rashid (Dubai)
05 April, 2023 2464 views
Gratuities (or Service Charges) on a Cruise
10 February, 2023 4480 views
Being on a Cruise on a Completely New Ship. Travel Peculiarities
10 February, 2023 1781 views
Cruise Card
07 February, 2023 3995 views
How to Get from Piraeus Cruise Port to Athens and the Airport
04 February, 2023 11407 views
Cruise Purchase and Payment through E-hoi
16 January, 2023 2578 views
What to Take on a Cruise
02 January, 2023 1927 views
What to Do if You are Late Back for Your Cruise Ship and How to Avoid It
16 September, 2022 2330 views
20 Hacks Your Cruise Line Will Never Tell You About
16 September, 2022 1812 views
Royal Caribbean International Cruise Line. Detailed Review
15 September, 2022 2704 views
Norwegian Cruise Line Detailed Review
14 September, 2022 2745 views
AIDA Cruises Complete Guide
11 August, 2022 11534 views
Cruising with MSC Cruises. Complete Guide
15 June, 2022 8282 views
Costa Cruises Complete Guide
18 July, 2022 5664 views
TUI Cruises Complete Guide
14 August, 2022 4031 views
Cruise Lines Classification
27 April, 2022 3547 views
Alcohol on Board
08 May, 2022 2611 views
CruisePanda
The best value offers from various booking systems. Selected manually. Updated daily.
Follow & Connect
The best value cruise offers from various booking systems.
Selected manually. Updated daily.
Plan Your Cruise
- Cruise Deals
- Tips & Advice
- Ports Of Call
- Destinations
- Create an Account
Cruise Ships
- MSC cruises
- AIDA cruises
- Costa cruises
- TUI cruises
© Copyright CruisePanda 2022. Made with by CruiseTips
Stay in touch
Subscribe to our social networks ( Facebook , Telegram , or Twitter ) so as not to miss the cheapest cruise deals. They are published daily!
We are not a travel agency and do not sell our cruises. We search for cheap cruise deals worldwide for ourselves and share them with you.
Exploring the Mediterranean on a new cruise ship for EUR 199 per 7 nights, or Norwegian fjords during the peak season just for EUR 299 , are examples of cruise deals we have recently published. Subscribe now!
Hello! Welcome Create a New Account
Or Sign up Using
Hello! Welcome to your account
Forgot Password?
Or Login Using
- CruiseMapper
Carnival Breeze cabins and suites
Carnival breeze staterooms review, floor plans, photos.
Carnival Breeze cabins and suites review at CruiseMapper provides detailed information on cruise accommodations , including floor plans, photos, room types and categories, cabin sizes, furniture details and included by Carnival Cruise Line en-suite amenities and services.
The Carnival Breeze cruise ship cabins page is conveniently interlinked with its deck plans showing deck layouts combined with a legend and review of all onboard venues.
Grand Suite
Layout (floor plan), ocean suite, aft extended balcony cabin, premium vista balcony cabin, balcony cabin, cove balcony cabin, deluxe oceanview family cabin, oceanview cabin, porthole cabin, interior cabin, small interior single cabin, cloud 9 spa staterooms, carnival breeze cabins review.
The Carnival cruise ship Breeze has a total of 35 wheelchair-accessible cabins (for disabled passengers) and 79 Cloud 9 Spa cabins (of them 20 Inside, 4 Oceanview, 52 Balcony, and 4 Suite). The number of all cabin categories is 34.
Connecting rooms ("family cabins") are located on decks 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. The list of connecting cabins grades includes 2 beds (4E, 8P), 3 beds (PT, 6L), 3 beds (6A), 2-3 beds (8B, 8E, 8D), 2-4 beds (8A, 8F), and 2-3-4 beds (6M, 7C). Handicap staterooms (35 total) are in categories OS-Ocean Suie (1), Balcony (2), Oceanview (13), Interior (15) and Small Interior (4).
Follows the review of Carnival Breeze staterooms as amenities, furniture, and complimentary services:
Carnival Breeze Suites (Grand, Ocean, Cloud 9 Spa) have 2 twin beds (convertible to king), dressing area (walk-in closet, vanity table, chair), private bathroom (WC, shower, bathtub, bidet, double sinks). Some GS-OS suites have a single/double sofa bed for 3rd/4th person. All balcony accommodations feature a private balcony with sliding glass doors (table, patio chairs, rail with clear glass panel).
All Carnival Breeze Cloud 9 Spa cabins have exclusive access to the Spa facilities on Panorama Deck 11. Their grades are Spa Suite (SS), Spa Balcony (8S, 8P), Spa Oceanview (6S) and Spa Inside (4S). Carnival Cloud 9 Spa rooms have the following complimentary amenities, services and perks (applicable for two guests per stateroom only): Thermal Suite and Thalassotherapy Pool (complimentary, unlimited access), 2 fitness classes (complimentary, Yoga or Pilates), 2 metabolism tests (complimentary), 1 Scrub Kit (complimentary, for the Thermal Suite), bathrobes, slippers, deluxe in-room bath amenities (by Elemis – shampoo, conditioner, sharp shower gel, vitamin-rich body lotion, 1 hand and 1 body soap disks), priority Spa reservations (must be made by 6 pm on embarkation day). Passengers booked in Cloud 9 Spa cabins also enjoy Spa treatment discounts while the ship is docked in ports of call – 20% off (1st), 30% off (2nd) and 40% off (3rd treatment).
Premium Vista Balcony cabins are located around the ship’s aft corners and have same suite amenities (incl a wrap-around balcony). Extended Balcony cabins are in 2 grades – 8N and 8M (both with aft ship location). These staterooms have 50% larger balconies, 3 closets (in all grades balcony rooms), full bathroom (shower). Cove Balcony cabins feature floor-ceiling window doors leading to a private cove (partially enclosed) veranda.
Oceanview cabins have a picture window and twin beds don’t convert to king when both upper beds are in use. Some have a sofa and/or upper beds (Pullman) for 3rd/4th person. Spa Oceanview rooms are with obstructed views, and some are with upper bed (Pullman) for 4th person.
Inside cabins with windows have either Porthole Window (PT, on decks 1 and 2) or Picture Window (4J, on decks 6, 7, 9 and 10-Lido). Some Porthole cabins have a sofa bed for a 3rd person, some Picture Window rooms have a sofa and/or upper bed (Pullman) for 3rd/4th person. Small Inside cabins have bunk beds (upper/lower Pullman beds), living area (vanity, chair), bathroom (shower).
All Carnival Breeze staterooms offer as standard/complimentary amenities a living area (vanity, seating), smart HDTV (infotainment system, Internet, on-demand-movies, bookings-reservations, Room Service ordering), direct-dial phone, electronic safe box and lifejackets (in the closet), hairdryer, en-suite bathroom (WC-toilet, shower, single sink-vanity, bathrobes, bathroom amenity basket/replenished upon request), custom-made beds (Carnival Comfort Bed System), beach towels, mini-bar/fridge, individual air-conditioning, complimentary 24-hour room service. Bibles (Gideon version) are provided upon request.
The Carnival’s Sail & Sign card (cashless onboard credit account) doubles as stateroom key. The S&S credit program allows charges on purchases and tips/gratuities directly to a personal account throughout the Carnival cruise. The card has a designated owner and must be utilized for all money transactions on the ship as cash is accepted as a form of payment only at the casino. These cards are provided to all passengers (incl minors) immediately upon boarding the ship. Balance updates are provided at Guest Services desk (at any time). They can also be checked via the smart TV in each stateroom.
Depending on satellite reception (Carnival Breeze location at sea), the complimentary in-cabin TV programming includes the following channels: ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN (Domestic, International, Espanol), TCM (classic movies), cartoons (Boomerang, CN), TNT, TBS. There are 2 complimentary movie channels showing a film every 3 hours (both starting at 12 noon). One shows all-time favorites (PG -13 rated) and the other shows all-time family favorites (G / PG-rated). The following TV channels are Carnival-themed and also complimentary: Fun Finds TV, Cruise Director, Fun Aboard, Park West Art, Shore Tours, Ship Position, live cam views (webcams positioned forward and on lido deck), Audible Funtimes, Photo, Music. Sporting events (ESPN, ESPN 2) are shown only on big screens – at the ship’s Sports Bar and Seaside Theatre (not in cabins/suites). All the TV’s connection ports are intentionally disabled, which makes it impossible to connect it with personal devices (cameras, DVDs, USBs, iPods, gaming consoles, etc).
The ship’s interactive TV system allows passengers to purchase movies on demand, to order room service and to check the Sail & Sign account’s status. The on-demand movie list has approx 25 films available for ordering at USD 5 per movie. Adult-content films cost USD 10 per movie.
Bathroom amenities vary each time, so it’s advisable you bring your own. Samples may include toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss, body lotion, razor, antiacids. There is a wall-mounted dispenser in the shower stall (for liquid soap and shampoo). Electric power outlets are located in the desk/vanity area – one 110 V outlet (3-pronged, USA grounded) and one 220 V outlet (European standard). The bathroom’s 2-pin plug can be used only for electric razors.
The new Carnival beds are Europe-manufactured exclusively for the company. The ensemble includes custom pillows (trademarked “New Generation Pillows”, 100% cotton), duvet (100% hypoallergenic, ultra-fine, satin-striped), cover, deluxe sheets (high-quality cotton), pillowcases (ultra-fine, satin-striped), 8-inch / 20 cm spring mattresses (trademarked “Carnival Comfort”). Alternative (non-allergenic) bedding is also available. It includes 100% polyester blankets, sheets and pillowcases (60/40 cotton-polyester) and New Generation Pillows (100% cotton). Note: Trundle beds don’t have Carnival Comfort mattresses.
Carnival-logoed Beach Towels are provided in each cruise accommodation for passengers to take ashore. Beach towels are also available for purchasing (at $22). Bathrobes (2) are provided in all cruise suites and also in “Cloud 9 Spa” cabins/suites. Additional bathrobes are provided upon request. For all other cruise accommodations, bathrobes are provided (upon request) during the turndown service on the first evening. Bathrobes can be purchased at $49 (adult size) and $24 (children sizes /2-4 yo and 6-8 yo).
Life jackets are used in cases of emergency only (not at the ship pools). Lifejackets are located within passenger/crew cabins (in the closet). They are available in 3 sizes – adult, child, and infant. Each of the cabins has a safe (located in the closet) with approx dimensions (inches/centimeters) – width (10/25), height (9/23) and depth (8/20). Cabin safes can be accessed by any magnetic strip card. It is advisable not to use a valid credit card (or driver’s license), but an old expired card (or some rewards card) instead. Some safes are with a keypad (personal code). Safes can be opened also by the ship’s security.
All cabin and suite mini-bars are stocked with premium liquors ($6-9,25), beer ($6,25), energy drinks ($5), soft soda/beverages ($2), bottled water ($3,75). In-cabin babysitting is not available (read more at Camp Ocean below). Cribs in cruise cabins are provided complimentary (upon request). In Main Dining Rooms are provided complimentary high chairs and booster seats.
Laundry facilities are at extra-charge – $3,25 (per washer or dryer load) and $1,5 per box (detergent/water softener, dispensed from the vending machine in the room). Launderettes (open between 6:30 am – 12 midnight) are located on all cabin decks. Each laundry room is equipped with 2-3 washers, 2-3 dryers, 1 ironing board/iron. All laundry machines are coinless (can be operated using S&S cards only). While the ship is in port, washing machines are closed (only dryers and irons can be used). Valet laundry service is handled through the cabin steward. Prices are per item – wash-and-press ($2 – $7,50) and dry-cleaning ($3 – $10,50).
Smoking in cabins/suites and on their balconies is prohibited. On Carnival Breeze, smoking allowed areas (cigarettes /incl electronic cigarettes) are Liquid Nightclub (disco /not allowed on the dance floor), Casino (designated areas), Casino Bar. Smoking (incl of cigars and tobacco pipes) is allowed on designated outdoor areas on Deck 5 portside (forward/midship/aft) and on Deck 11 starboard (midship/aft).
Funville@Sea is free of charge Intranet service providing information on onboard activities and events schedule, bar and restaurant menus, deck maps, Fun Times (newspaper), FunAshore (tour guides), Carnival cruise news, itinerary-related weather reports, onboard social network (tracking/messaging other passengers). The complimentary service is available via the Infotainment system (in all cabins) and also at the FunHub stations around the ship.
Current Carnival Breeze gratuities (per day per person) are USD 12,95 (for standard cabin passengers) and USD 13,95 for suite passengers. The list of perks for all suites includes: priority embarkation/debarkation/tendering (all ports), priority main dining room reservations, complimentary bottled water in cabins, a complimentary bag of laundry (one per cruise), enhanced turndown service.
Since 2017, Carnival Cruise Line offers a new program allowing ship passengers to customize their steward service by choosing to have the cabin serviced in the morning, at night or both (twice a day). All guests can choose from a list of additional cabin amenities, among which are bathrobes, extra pillows, blankets, closet hangers. All guests can also specify how often the bed linens to be changed during the cruise. Your personal preferences can be selected from a services menu card left in each of the ship’s staterooms. By default, if you make no selections on the card, your room service steward will service the accommodation twice daily.
Cruise Ship Room Service
In 2016, Carnival Cruise Lines rolled out fleetwide for-fee (chargeable) room service menu, which items can be ordered 24/7. The new menu still has free of charge items – hot and cold sandwiches, salads, desserts, beverages, Continental Breakfast selections. At extra cost (ranging between USD 1,50 and 6) are items that include shrimp, also sushi, pizza, quesadillas, cheesesteaks, chicken wings/tenders, fries. Bar drinks orders through room service are at regular bar menu prices (no extra fee added).
Complimentary room service menu
- Continental Breakfast (upon request)
- Sandwiches are served with potato salad, coleslaw, potato chips/pretzels, bread (white, whole wheat, rye, gluten-free). The list of sandwiches includes Tuna Salad, Roast Turkey, Ham & Cheese, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Bacon-Lettuce-Tomato, Grilled Cheese, Grilled Reuben (corned beef, Swiss cheese).
- Salads – Garden, Caesar, Vegetable Platter (with dips)
- Desserts – cheesecake, cookies, chocolate cake
- Beverages – juices (tomato, orange, apple, grapefruit), tea (hot, iced), hot chocolate, milk, soft drinks (club soda, ginger ale, tonic water, coke, and sprite /also diet)
- Beers – domestic (Budweiser, Bud Light, Miller Lite, Coors Light, Samuel Adams), imported (Heineken, Corona, Stella Artois), also available are beer buckets and wines by the bottle.
For-fee room service menu
The following items are available for ordering 24 hours but are at an additional charge.
- Chicken Wings ($5) – choice of Honey BBQ, Teriyaki, Garlic Parmesan, Buffalo Sauce, Caribbean Jerk
- Chicken Tenders ($5) – choice of sauce (BBQ or Honey Mustard)
- Firecracker Shrimp ($6) – fried with chili ginger, served with fries
- Chicken Quesadilla ($5)
- Philly Cheesesteak ($5) – served with fries
- Pan Pizza ($5) – handmade and baked-to-order (Cheese, Pepperoni, Ham, and Pineapple)
- French Fries ($1,50), Sweet Potato Fries ($2), Banana Split ($4).
Continental Breakfast room service menu
The following items are available for ordering free of charge.
- Cereals and Fruits – Banana, Melon, Frosted Flakes, Special K, Raisin Bran, Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, Fruit Loops, Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch
- Bakery – toasts (white, wheat, gluten-free), danish pastries, muffins, croissants, bagels
- Yogurt – plain, strawberry, peach, raspberry
- Drinks – juices (orange, apple, tomato, grapefruit), hot tea, milk (also skim and chocolate), fresh coffee (regular and decaf)
- Half-and-half (milk-cream), butter, margarine, cream cheese, jelly (grape, diet, strawberry, guava), honey, orange marmalade.
Carnival Breeze cabin and suite plans are property of Carnival Cruise Line . All floor plans are for informational purposes only and CruiseMapper is not responsible for their accuracy.
- Food & Drink
- How to Plan
- Shore Excursions
- Onboard Activities
- What to Expect
Cruising on the Carnival Breeze
By Southern Hospitality
Travel is in my blood and I dearly love to see new places in this beautiful world of ours. The Carnival cruise on the Breeze was so much fun! Really, a once in a lifetime experience and I’m so glad I got to partake in such a lovely trip. I took one of my girlfriends with me, Beth, from Orlando. We have traveled together before and always have a good time.
Both of us flew to Miami the morning of the cruise to meet up and get on board. Flight delays because of weather caused Beth to arrive later in the day, but she finally made it and we caught the bus from the airport to the port to board the ship and be ready to sail at 4 pm that day.
In this post, I’m going to share packing tips and what it’s like to check into a cruise ship and board, as well as pictures of the ship and some of the amenities on board. An overall view of what to expect on a cruise ship. I’ve got lots to share and will break this cruise down in parts. It’s packed full of fun!
Note that I took these pictures with my smart phone , as I didn’t want the hassle of taking my big camera. It worked well for the most part.
When I buy a new big rolling suitcase, it will be one like this. I borrowed my roommate’s big red suitcase and it was a good one for a trip like this. I managed to pack everything into this suitcase, all of my clothes and shoes. This suitcase has 2 compartments, a smaller one on top and that’s where I packed my shoes, with the larger one holding all my clothes. I managed to squeak by with just under 50 lbs.
Packing Tips:
Here’s what I took:
5 dresses: (2 for formal nights) We wore dresses most nights to dinner and 2 nights a little more dressy for “formal” night. Formal night has lessened over the years and most folks are more casual, but some dressed up more.
3 pants: I took 3 pairs of jeans, white, blue, and black. These can be mixed around with different tops for more dressed up or casual.
3 shorts: With going on excursions for most stops, you’ll want to be casual and comfortable for walking and the sun. It was in the mid-80’s where we were and very good weather the entire trip. It was nice to enjoy the sunshine, since Atlanta had some nasty weather while I was gone.
Workout clothes : I took tennis shoes and clothes for working out. We did work out one day in the gym.
Tops to mix and match: I took several different tops and didn’t wear them all. I wanted a variety of tops, some casual and some more dressy to mix up. With the shorts, I took very casual summer tops and then some that could be worn for lunch on the ship. I’d say I took at total of 10 tops, some sleeveless and some longer or 3/4 length sleeves.
Jackets: It does get chilly on the ship, especially in the air conditioned dining rooms and theaters, so you’ll want to take jackets with you. It’s also chilly on the deck at night and we tended not to go out on the deck after we were dressed for dinner. I took a white jacket and 2 long sleeve lightweight sweaters to mix up with all my outfits, one black and one aqua.
Swimsuits: I took 2 swimsuits and 2 cover ups for pool sitting and lounging. I had the best time sitting in lounge chairs and reading books and napping.
Shoes: With the suitcase I took, I had a great opportunity to take plenty of shoes, so I did that. I took 3 pairs of heels, 3 flip-flops, flats for walking, one pair of sandals and my tennis shoes. I think I wore every single pair, but one.
Jewelry: I tried to pare down on the jewelry and only took turquoise jewelry, which goes with a lot of my clothing and also gold pieces, so those could be worn multiple times.
I didn’t overpack on this trip and felt that I took just the right amount and type of clothing. You’ll want to think things through on where you’ll be during the day and what all you might need to wear, but don’t over analyze. You’ll be in bathing suits pretty often too, along with coverups.
On check in to the ship, you’ll get a photo taken for Bon Voyage! It was chilly in Atlanta when I left, so I wore skinny jeans, a short sleeved white sweater and a cardigan for a little warmth. And it was actually milder in Miami when we left so it wasn’t too hot.
When you check in, you’ll get a card to use on the ship. This account holds money, so that all you need the entire time, is to show this card and they will put everything on your room account. It’s nice to only keep up with one card. You can also order excursion packages on your room TV and those tickets will be delivered to your room and taken out of your account as well. Makes it easy to keep up with everything and you can see the balance every day to see where your account stands.
Every day, the room stewards leave a brochure for the day, with all the activities and information from the ship on here. It’s got all the show times and any particulars you’ll need for that day and we went over this daily to see what we wanted to do and participate in. The shows were particularly fun and we did them every night!
It’s so exciting walking up to the ship for the first time and seeing the magnitude and size of these things. It’s been since 2003 since I took my last cruise and the thrill and excitement never ends. I’m definitely a cruise lover!
We got onboard about an hour from sailing time, and enjoyed the views of Miami and the docks. Lots of ships board from here and it’s a busy place, back and forth from the airport.
Once inside, we began checking out the ship and it is one beautiful ship, I have to say. It’s fun to see the changes in ships over the years and they have gotten more and more glamorous every decade. A ship is a big floating island of fun and beauty. This is the view looking up from the atrium area where elevators go up and down, it’s like a beautiful soaring sky inside the ship.
Outside on the Lido decks, there are 3 floors that go up and up to so many activities. The kids area has a huge water park with slides and it was a busy place for kids. We thought about going down one of the slides, but never did actually do it. Since we were in ports for 4 days straight, we just didn’t take the time the other days to actually try out the slide. I think the appeal of reading in the cabana lounges took over and won out over my childlike enthusiasm about actually trying the slide.
The kids area got lots of use and there are plenty of kids on board with activities to keep them occupied and happy. Those slides looked like a kid’s paradise.
Related articles
What to expect.
https://www.carnival.com/cruise-ships.aspx
Carnival Breeze Decks and Cabins
- 4 Mezzanine
- 5 Promenade
- 11 Panorama
- Click here for ALL
- Small Interior
- Interior with Picture Window
- Deluxe Oceanview
- Cove Balcony
- Premium Balcony
- Ocean Suite
- Grand Suite
- Ship info and tracking
- Cabins Check
Carnival Breeze cruise ship weighs 130k tons and has 1845 staterooms for up to 4428 passengers served by 1386 crew . There are 14 passenger decks, 9 with cabins. You can expect a space ratio of 29 tons per passenger on this ship. On this page are the current deck plans for Carnival Breeze showing deck plan layouts, public venues and all types of cabins including pictures and videos.
Carnival Breeze
Last Drydock: Apr 2022
LIVE SHIP TRACKING
STATEROOM CABINS COMPLETE LIST BELOW
GRAND SUITE
Floor Diagram Grand Suite
Sleeps up to: 4 10 Cabins Cabin: 345 sqft (32 m 2 ) Balcony: 85 sqft (8 m 2 )
Click for
More Info [+/-]
Deck locations, stateroom cabin features, stateroom cabin perks, ocean suite.
Floor Diagram Similar to cabin 11215
Sleeps up to: 4 44 Cabins Cabin: 275 sqft (26 m 2 ) Balcony: 65 sqft (6 m 2 ) * Size may vary, see details below.
Accessible Info [+/-]
Important size information, more diagrams of this cabin type.
PREMIUM BALCONY
Floor Diagram Similar to cabin 7458
Sleeps up to: 4 8 Cabins Cabin: 185 sqft (17 m 2 ) Balcony: 75 sqft (7 m 2 )
Floor Diagram Similar to cabin 6396
Sleeps up to: 4 733 Cabins Cabin: 185 sqft (17 m 2 ) Balcony: 35 sqft (3 m 2 ) * Size may vary, see details below.
COVE BALCONY
Floor Diagram Similar to cabin 2338
Sleeps up to: 4 110 Cabins Cabin: 185 sqft (17 m 2 ) Balcony: 45 sqft (4 m 2 )
DELUXE OCEANVIEW
Floor Diagram Similar to cabin 1371
Sleeps up to: 5 197 Cabins Cabin: 220 sqft (21 m 2 )
Floor Diagram Similar to cabin 1218
Sleeps up to: 4 24 Cabins Cabin: 220 sqft (21 m 2 )
INTERIOR WITH PICTURE WINDOW
Floor Diagram Similar to cabin 6203
Sleeps up to: 4 23 Cabins Cabin: 170 sqft (16 m 2 ) * Size may vary, see details below.
Floor Diagram Similar to cabin 1219
Sleeps up to: 4 6 Cabins Cabin: 170 sqft (16 m 2 )
Floor Diagram Standard Layout
Sleeps up to: 4 661 Cabins Cabin: 185 sqft (17 m 2 )
SMALL INTERIOR
Floor Diagram Similar to cabin 1210
Sleeps up to: 4 29 Cabins Cabin: 160 sqft (15 m 2 )
Carnival Breeze Deck Page Menu
Click deck pictures to go to individual cruise deck plan pages where you can see all the public areas, venues and stateroom cabins categories for each deck.
Carnival Breeze Quick Stats
Big picture carnival breeze decks.
Opens in new window (warning: large file)
Carnival Breeze Links
- PDF of all the decks
- PDF (choose your own decks)
- Carnival Breeze DECK DRAG
- Carnival Breeze Cabin Check
CRUISEDECKPLANS.COM Use the input buttons above to go to the main page for a Cruise Ship or Cruise Line.
Our 14-day cruise on the Carnival Breeze was actually two cruises: an 8-day cruise to St Maarten, St Kitts, San Juan, and Grand Turk... followed by a 6-day cruise to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. We were in the same cabin for all 14 days, so to us it just felt like one 14-day cruise with a brief stop in Miami to change out all the other passengers after the first 8 days!
Before I get in to the full story of our vacation on the Carnival Breeze, I should probably start with a little introduction...
I'm Jim Zimmerlin (everyone calls me Jim Zim) and I always cruise with my wife, Kellyn. (Pronunciation tip: it rhymes with Helen.) We're from Grover Beach, California... a little beach town on the California coast about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. We've been cruising since 1996... and have now taken 32 cruises on 20 different cruise ships. While we've done a few cruises with Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Norwegian cruise lines, most of our cruises have been with Carnival... because they seem to offer the biggest bang for the buck. All together, we've spent 212 days at sea on cruise ships... and 166 of those have been with Carnival.
An Introduction to the Carnival Breeze
Carnival Breeze is a Dream-class ship who made her debut in June of 2012. At the time of our September 2015 cruise, she was still the newest ship in the Carnival fleet... with the new Carnival Vista still under construction. We've sailed on Carnival Breeze once before, in April of 2013, and we enjoyed that cruise so much that we thought it was about time to make a return visit. The Carnival Breeze has several features that her sister ships, the Carnival Dream and the Carnival Magic, don't have... so she's truly the state-of-the-art when it comes to cruising with Carnival... although the Carnival Sunshine, completely refurbished in 2013, has a few tweaks on the Carnival design that I hope Breeze gets some day. More about that, later.
Carnival ships are somewhat infamous for a loud Vegas style of interior decoration that is very visible in the Fantasy, Spirit, and Conquest-class ships... courtesy of their former interior designer, Joe Farcus. The interior decorating scheme of those ships looks very 1980s to me now. Starting with the Dream-class, Carnival started to get away from it... and with the Carnival Breeze they really came up with a beautiful decoration scheme. When you first walk onboard, the interior design does jump out at you just a bit... with some bold colors in the atrium which towers over the lobby:
Inside the cabins, you can see that Carnival has gotten away from the orange theme they used in the cabins on most of their other ships. We stayed in a "spa cabin" on deck 12. Spa cabins use a soothing light-green color palette, with a lot of beige earth tones and just a bit of orange in the carpet...
I'll talk more about our cabin later, including telling you all about that cute stuffed animal on the bed... and why you shouldn't expect to find one if you ever cruise on the Carnival Breeze.
Interior spaces are great... but on a Caribbean cruise, it's really all about the outdoor spaces. So, let's take a look...
The heart and soul of the ship is the main pool area. On a sea day, it's a popular place to be... with lots of sunshine, plenty of loungers, and a Caribbean band playing island music to put you in to that vacation mood. Good luck getting a lounger, though! Unless you go there really early in the morning, or at the very end of the afternoon, you'll find all of those loungers will either have a body in them or a towel on them. Experienced cruisers know that the towels belong to the people known as "chair hogs"... people that lay a towel or a beach bag on a lounger so that no one else will sit there. They act like the lounger is their personal possession for the whole day... even if they may only use it for a few hours. It's rude and an inefficient use of what should be a shared resource... but unfortunately for the rest of us, that's what some people do.
Here's a photo of that same area, on a less busy day... and shot from under the big TV, looking in the other direction...
The main pool area is a popular place, but you generally won't find me there! Too noisy for me. There's always loud music playing there during the day, either from the Caribbean band or from some very trendy DJ that plays music that is mostly unknown to this middle aged white guy. Have they not ever heard of Jimmy Buffett? Sometimes the music takes a break for events like the hairy chest competition or the mixology challenge. In any case, it's not my thing. I like it far better at the aft pool, where it's a lot more quiet.
It occurs to me that I failed to get a picture of the Serenity Retreat on Carnival Breeze. Oops. Well, I just don't spend much time there... because in spite of the name, it's not serene. It's located too close to the mid ship pool, and those big speakers on either side of the big screen TV. While the outdoor furniture in the Serenity Retreat is some of the most comfortable you'll find on the ship, including quite a few big daybeds that are great for romantic couples, it's just too loud up there on the Serenity deck for me. And WAY too windy! Big mistake, in my opinion, to put the Serenity Retreat at the front of the ship... a very windy area. On some of the Royal Caribbean ships, they have a similar area on the top deck at the front of the ship... but they were smart enough to enclose it with glass that blocks the wind. Smart design by Royal Caribbean... which Carnival should copy for their future ships. Or, just put the Serenity retreat at the aft pool, like they do on Carnival's Spirit-class ships. Very smart design. The other problem with the Serenity Retreat on the Carnival Breeze is that -- in spite of the wind and the noise from the big speakers at the pool -- it's just too popular. Except at 8 AM or 6 PM, good luck finding an available lounger or daybed. I find that the aft pool works much better for me.
At night, the main pool in the middle of the ship becomes Carnival's "Seaside Theater" where they show movies on the outdoor big screen. Because you can literally watch the movies from the swimming pool, they call their evening movies "dive-in movies"...
Most people watch the movies from those loungers around the pool. A few kids watch from inside the pool. But the best seats in the house, in my opinion, are the ones one deck above, on deck 11. Up there on deck 11 they've got a bunch of couches and loungers with thick, comfortable cushions... a much nicer place to sit for a two-hour movie than on those stiff loungers on Lido deck.
One other thing about the movies they show on the outdoor big screen at night: there's free popcorn! You don't even have to stay and watch the movie to enjoy the popcorn. Sometimes I'll go up to Lido deck and grab a box of the free popcorn and bring it with me to an event elsewhere on the ship... such as to a comedy show, or a musical performance. Or sometimes I'll just bring it back to my cabin for a quiet evening there. It's great that Carnival gave up on nickel-and-diming the passengers on the popcorn. Years ago, they used to charge for it. Now, it's free and abundant. Good move, Carnival... and thank you.
One morning, about 4:30 AM, I was woken up by the sound of a very intense thunderstorm outside. It motivated me to get out of bed and see if I could get a good picture of a lightning bolt... something I've never done before. (We don't get a lot of thunder and lightning where I live!) I didn't do a very good job on my first attempt, but here's what I got...
Even if I didn't get a perfect picture of the lightning storm, I was glad that I had gotten out of bed and come out on deck to see it! It was really intense. Definitely something we don't see at home very often. The lightning storm caused a really weird thing to happen, too! We were close enough to land that there were hundreds of birds flying in our vicinity. The lightning must have scared them, and I think the lights of the ship looked like some kind of safe haven, so as I was out on deck there were hundreds of birds flying above and around the ship. It was weird! They weren't sea gulls, either... which was strange. They were much smaller birds that looked like they belonged on land... something similar to sparrows or robins in size. At one point, a bolt of lightning struck very very near the ship. The sound of the thunder was so intense, I had never felt or heard an explosion that loud before. It literally shook me, not to mention scaring the hell out of me! And it actually knocked one of those birds right out of the sky! I guess that was the weirdest thing I saw during the whole cruise. And because it all happened at 4:30 in the morning, there were only a very small number of other passengers who probably saw it... although I imagine almost everybody heard it from the comfort of their bed!
One other story about the weird things you see if you get up early enough... One morning Kellyn and I got up pretty early and walked to the aft pool to watch the sunrise. From the aft pool area, we could hear the sound of a very upset woman yelling at a man, who was trying to make excuses for himself, but it didn't sound like it was going well. At first we could just hear it, but as we walked out past the pool a little further we could see the man and the woman up on the public deck one floor above the aft pool. We didn't hear actual words, only the tone of the argument. Clearly, the wife was upset at something the husband had done. And when the wife finally stormed off, we saw what the wife was upset about... a very attractive woman who had been sitting next to the husband, out of our view, got up and walked away. It looked to me like he had been up all night talking with her, and finally around sunrise the wife went out looking for him and found him with another woman! The things you see if you get up early enough...
Now, on to happier things!
A nice feature of the Dream-class ships is the "Lanai Promenade"... an open deck which goes all the way around the ship on deck five. Here's a shot I took from my balcony, which shows the Lanai Promenade sticking out six floors below our balcony:
Because the ship tends to travel in a north/south direction and the sun tends to travel in an east/west direction, the Lanai Promenade on one side of the ship is usually sunny and hot while the one on the other side of the ship will be shady and just right. Of course, which side that will be depends on what way the ship is travelling and what time of the day it is. The point is, find the shady side of the ship and go to the Lanai Promenade on that side. It will be a great place to relax, and is usually not crowded.
There are two whirlpool tubs on each side of the ship on the Lanai Promenade... plus hundreds of those blue loungers, several comfortable daybeds, a lunchtime barbecue joint (on sea days, only), and a giant chessboard.
Here's another photo that I like... and I didn't even take this one! Kellyn did. Since I'm a big Carnival fan, I thought it would be a good idea to pose for a photo with the iconic whale tail smokestack in the background.
As I'm sure you know, Carnival ships are known as the fun ships... and one of the most fun places on Carnival Breeze is up on deck 12, where you'll find Carnival's "WaterWorks" play area, also known as the splash zone...
Even a nearly-sixty-year-old guy like me can't resist riding the waterslides and splashing around in the Waterworks play area! There are two full-sized waterslides onboard, plus a mini-slide for the youngest kids. The most popular of the two big slides is the yellow slide, known as the "twister". It provides the longest rides, with a whole bunch of twisty turns. The orange slide, known as the drainpipe, is a shorter ride but it has kind of a surprising ending! Here's a POV (point of view) video I shot when I tried out the drainpipe waterslide, which lulls you in to a false sense of confidence by starting out slow... and then surprises you at the end by speeding up for a big finish. In the video, you can hear my spontaneous surprise reaction to the way the ride ends...
There's one other video I shot in the Waterworks area which you might find interesting. It's all about the Power Drencher, which is the big bucket of water that tips over approximately every 90 seconds... soaking everything below it with hundreds of gallons of water. The 15 year-old boy inside of me gets a big kick out of watching the Power Drencher in action, especially if there are girls in bikinis standing below it...
Now, I have a confession to make! The only reason I stood around shooting video of bikini babes under the Power Drencher was to see if I could create another viral video on YouTube. Three years ago, I posted a video of the amazing Green Thunder waterslide on the Carnival Spirit... and it totally surprised me by going viral! It's been viewed over 50 million times, and the advertising revenue I get from that video is an important part of my cruise fund. Let's take a look at that video that I shot on Carnival Spirit three years ago...
I spent a LOT of time over the last three years trying to figure out why that video went viral on YouTube. What is it about that video that has caused it to catch on? All I can figure out is that first off, it's just plain fun. Also, I think a lot of YouTube viewers are teenagers... and teenagers really like waterslides. I think it probably also helps that the still picture which is displayed to represent the video (a.k.a. the "thumbnail") is a picture of a girl in a bikini. YouTube people seems to really like bikinis. In watching the video, the girl in the bikini is so amazingly hyped up about the experience! It's just hilarious to see her excitement level, the terror on her face in anticipation of the start of the ride, and her shocked reaction (and scream!) when the floor of the waterslide falls out from below her. I also think my laughing reaction behind the camera to her terrified reaction on camera adds to the whole thing... kind of like the laugh track on a TV comedy.
After the advertising money started rolling in from that viral video about the Green Thunder waterslide, I started posting a lot more videos to YouTube... in hopes that lightning would strike twice and I'd come up with a second viral video which would pour even more ad revenue in to my vacation fund. As luck would have it, I've managed to do just that... and believe it or not, my second viral video is remarkably similar to my first one. It's a video I shot of another vertical-drop waterslide on a cruise ship... this time the "Free Fall" waterslide on the Norwegian Getaway. Take a look at that video...
With over two and a half million views so far, my second viral video is not quite in the league of the 50-million-view video from the Carnival Spirit... but two and a half million views is certainly nothing to sneeze at! And now you know the back story to why I spent time shooting video at the water park on Carnival Breeze, and why I made sure my video featured girls in bikinis! It will be interesting to see if the Power Drencher video catches on with the YouTube crowd. Regardless of the reaction, I'll keep trying to come up with a third viral video, for sure!
Cabin 12007, the James Bond Suite
I've learned over the course of 32 cruises that carefully choosing just the right cabin is one of the keys to a happy cruise. If you end up in the cabin above the disco, for example, you're going to hear a thumping bass sound all night long and you'll have a heck of a time getting to sleep. So, I take a lot of time to find just the right cabin before booking. We've tried a wide variety of cabins over the years, in order to find the type of cabin that offers the best combination of luxury and value. We've been in everything from interior cabins that don't even have a window, to ocean view cabins, balcony cabins, spa cabins, aft-wrap cabins with huge balconies, and even The Captain's Suite at three times the price of a regular balcony cabin.
We've decided that a standard balcony cabin is our minimum requirement. In other words, no more interior cabins without windows, and no more ocean view cabins without balconies. What we really like best, and are willing to pay a little extra for, are the aft-wrap balconies on the back corners of many Carnival ships. We like them because of the huge balconies that wrap all the way around from the side of the ship to the back of the ship... and also because of the beautiful view of the ship's trailing wake, and the unique layout of the corner room. On Carnival's Conquest-class and Dream-class ships, those aft-wrap cabins are not ridiculously priced because they're not considered suites... just premium balcony cabins. On Carnival's Spirit-class ships, and on almost all the other ships of the other major cruise lines, aft-wrap balcony cabins are priced tremendously higher than they are on Carnival... because they're considered suites. (And they often come with extras like butler service, which we don't really need.)
Unfortunately, by the time we got around to booking our Carnival Breeze vacation, all the aft-wrap balcony cabins had been spoken for. So, I had to go for the next best thing... which on a Dream-class ship is a spa balcony cabin. A spa balcony cabin is very similar to a standard balcony cabin, except it's located next to the ship's spa and it includes free access to some of the amenities of the spa, such as the steam rooms and the thalassotherapy pool.
In looking over the list of available spa cabins during the booking process, one jumped out at me... 12007. I thought it would be funny to stay in a cabin with 007 in the number. We did it once before on another Carnival cruise, and I had so much fun making jokes with the cabin steward about James Bond and Octopussy and secret agents. However, my wife didn't see the humor in being referred to as Octopussy, so for this cruise I decided that the joke would be that she was Moneypenny . So that all of my neighbors could share in the joke, I made up a little sign involving my face photoshopped on to a picture of James Bond... and taped it to our cabin door.
While cabin 12007 on the Carnival Breeze is not actually a suite, just a spa balcony cabin, I jokingly referred to it as "The James Bond Suite" for the entire cruise... and I had a good time making jokes with the cabin stewards about secret agents and driving my Aston Martin at each of our ports of call. An especially funny thing was that our main cabin steward spoke with an accent that sounded just like a classic Bond movie villain! When he would shout "Mister Bond!" down the hall to me, it sounded exactly like something the villain would say in a 007 movie. On the last night of our cruise, I laughed so loud when he said to me with his wonderful villainous accent: "Now Mister Bond, you must die!"
Here's one more picture of our spa balcony cabin, so you can see how the layout is basically identical to a regular balcony cabin...
Regarding the little stuffed animal in the picture... that's "Lady", from the 1955 Walt Disney movie "Lady & The Tramp". My wife and I bred American Cocker Spaniels for 15 years and "Lady" has always been our favorite Disney character. The night before our cruise, at the Bayside Marketplace in Miami, we stumbled upon the Disney Store and couldn't leave empty handed after spotting "Lady" among their collection of Disney characters. So, don't expect to find one in your room on a Carnival ship... unless you bring it along yourself!
Before I move on from the subject of our spa balcony cabin, I should probably mention what all the benefits of staying in a spa cabin are. I already mentioned that you get free access to the steam rooms and the thalassotherapy pool. You can see from the pictures that spa cabins are decorated in a very pleasing and relaxing green and beige color scheme... which is different from the way all the other cabins on the ship are decorated. The bathrooms are also supplied with special high-quality shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion that the other cabins don't get. There are two bathrobes and two pairs of slippers for you to use. You also get priority spa appointments for things such as massages and hair salon treatments, if you make them by 6 PM on embarkation day. Finally, you can sign up for two (per person) free fitness classes in the gym... including Pilates, Yoga, and Tai Chi.
There's an elevator up in the front of the ship, within the spa, that I bet some passengers never discover...
The Cloud 9 spa elevator only services decks 11, 12, 14, and 15. Carnival ships never have a deck 13, due to silly old superstitions... and black cats will be sacrificed and eaten by the crew. (Just kidding about that last part.)
Speaking of the Cloud 9 Spa... There's a cool little place within the spa that I bet most passengers never see. It's a little relaxation room at the very front of the ship, on deck 14, right next to the thalassotherapy pool. It doesn't even show up on the deck plans . Here's a picture:
I honestly don't know which passengers are allowed to hang out here. It might be just for the passengers in spa cabins, or it might only be for people waiting for a spa treatment. In any case, it's got one heck of a view out those windows in the left of the photo... a beautiful view forward at what's ahead of the ship!
I mentioned earlier that we don't ever consider staying in anything less than a balcony cabin anymore. I have a picture that illustrates one of the reasons why! Here's a shot I took from our balcony one morning after we had just woken up, and before we went to breakfast. If we had been staying in an inside cabin, we never would have seen this!
Speaking of great places to enjoy the view... that's another benefit to the spa cabins. There's a really cool little viewing area that you can easily get to from the spa cabins. It's at the bow of the ship, on deck 11. From our spa cabin on deck 12, it was an easy one-minute walk down one flight of stairs to reach the viewing area on deck 11 forward...
Our cabin looked out to the starboard side of the ship. If there was something in front of the ship that I wanted to see, such as our arrival in to a port of call, I would take the one minute walk down to this little viewing area. It was usually empty... although one morning, during a spectacular sunrise, I ran in to three other people who had come to take pictures of the gorgeous scene... who you can see in the background of the photo above.
The Highlight Of Our Cruise
Something very unexpected happened to us during this cruise, and it was so great that I bet we never forget it. We got to meet and get to know Sarah Tweedle , her husband, Drew Webber , and quite a few of their family members. Sarah is the spunky lead singer, and Drew is the guitarist, for The Run For Cover Band... currently performing on Carnival Breeze, through December 5th, 2015.
Before I go any further, I have to give you the back story. As you know, I've been on a lot of Carnival cruises. On just about all of those cruises, there's been a cover band on the ship that plays familiar old pop songs. The number of those cover bands that left a lasting impression on me is probably one or two. As far as I recall, they've all been Filipino bands. Ship after ship... Carnival had a Filipino cover band onboard. Clearly, whoever was hiring cover bands for Carnival was doing their recruiting in the Philippines. My guess is that it probably boiled down to money... they could get Filipino musicians who would work for next to nothing... and they weren't willing to pay the kind of money that an American musician would expect. The problem with that whole practice is that listening to a Filipino cover band is great until the singing starts. The instrumental part is fine... they've all been good musicians. But hearing American pop songs sung with a Filipino accent just really doesn't do it for me. It always reminds me of a funny YouTube video where a woman who doesn't speak English tries to sing a Mariah Carey song ... and it goes horribly badly!
So, on the first night onboard Carnival Breeze, when we went to hear The Run For Cover Band for the first time, it was such a delightful surprise to find that the musicians hailed from such far away places as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Branson, Missouri. And it sure didn't hurt that the lead singer was ridiculously good looking, and friendly, too.
Before we go any further, I have to apologize for those last two pictures. The lighting was absolutely HORRIBLE in the two venues where The Run For Cover Band played. Carnival seems to think that pointing blue lights at the band makes them look cool. It really just makes them look blue! And it's impossible to color-correct for it when post-processing the photos! So, it took me a few days of getting consistently bad photos of Sarah and the band to figure out that maybe I better put the big external flash unit on top of my camera. The pictures got a lot better after that!
OK... we've established that she's cute. Perhaps you're wondering if the girl can sing. I think so! You can see what I mean by checking out this video of The Run For Cover Band doing "I Love Rock 'N' Roll"...
So, have you ever heard the term "meet-cute"? It's a movie term. You typically have a meet-cute in the beginning of a romantic comedy. The female star of the movie goes in to the men's department of a department store and asks if it's possible to buy just the top half of a pair of men's pajamas. At the same time, the male star of the movie is in the same department store asking if it's possible to just buy the pajama bottoms. The two meet, the whole scene is cute, and the movie takes off from there. That's a meet-cute.
Sarah and I had a meet-cute on the gangway to the Carnival Breeze one day! It was hilarious. Here's what happened...
I had seen Sarah and The Run For Cover Band perform during the first couple of nights of our cruise. She mentioned during one of the shows that her parents and several other family members were onboard that week. (Cruise ship employees are at sea for long periods of time, often six or nine months straight... so it's not unusual for family members to take a cruise just to be able to spend some time with them.) I made a mental note that the family of the spunky lead singer was onboard.
In St Kitts, I headed off on my own on a snorkeling excursion while my wife stayed onboard to read a book. So, there I was... coming back to the ship after my snorkeling excursion. I'm on the gangway, in a long slow-moving line of people waiting to get through security. I turn around behind me and I see a girl that looks an awful lot like the lead singer for the band, only she looks a lot shorter, is wearing librarian glasses, and her face is more plain. I remember the mental note that the singer's family is onboard that week... and I notice behind the girl in the librarian glasses that there's several people that I recognized as the singer's family because I had seen them at the show. So, I turn to librarian glasses girl and I say "Are you the singer's family?" She smiles and says yes. Then I say "so you must be the singer's sister..." because she kind of looks like the singer, but not really. Must be the sister, right? She says "no, I'm the singer!" And then I spend the next two minutes clumsily trying to justify why I didn't recognize her. She seemed so much taller on stage! The singer doesn't wear glasses! And I pretty quickly realize that she just wears contacts, big heels, and some make up when she's on stage! OK, I admit it. I'm an idiot.
So, we met on the gangway, and I'm sure that I made a lasting impression on her... the idiot on the gangway that didn't recognize the star of The Run For Cover Band! But later that night, things got REALLY interesting.
That night, Kellyn and I took a seat at a table in the Red Frog Pub where The Run For Cover Band would be playing. Shortly after we took our seats, all of Sarah's family came in and sat down at the tables right next to us. And when I say all of Sarah's family, I mean her mother, her father, her grandparents, her brother, her mother-in-law, her father-in-law, and throughout the evening a few others who I never figured out who the heck they were! We were sitting so close that there was just no way that we could stay out of their business. And they were all such a friendly bunch (and by the way, we were in a pub, so we were all drinking!) that as the evening went on we just all started to get to know each other. It was an amazing night that started at 8 PM and literally went on until the management shut it down at 1 AM so the people in the cabins above could get some sleep! After spending five hours with Sarah's family that night, Kellyn and I were pretty much honorary members of the family by the end of the night. It was SO MUCH FUN!
Another little thrill for us was seeing the very first performances of The Run For Cover Band after Carnival decided to add a three-man horn section. Check out their version of "Proud Mary", and notice the horn section that wasn't there in the previous video...
So, if you ask me what was the highlight of my cruise, the answer is easy. It was Sarah Tweedle, and The Run For Cover Band.
Sunrises and Sunsets
Perhaps by now you've figured out that I've got a pretty decent camera, and I know how to use it! Luckily, I'm also a morning person who gets up at 4:30 AM on a normal day... 6:00 on a cruise ship... and so I'm usually up in plenty of time to get a photo of all the spectacular sunrises. When my dinner plans cooperate, I'm available for sunset pictures, too.
If you're expecting pictures of beautifully prepared meals served in the main dining room... this ain't the review for you. Kellyn and I are very casual and prefer casual dining. When cruising on Carnival, we eat almost all of our meals in the buffet restaurant on Lido deck, never setting foot in one of the main dining rooms.
One of my favorite things about Carnival is their collaboration with Guy Fieri from the Food Network. When they started adding "Guy's Burger Joint" to Carnival ships, they really scored a big hit with me. Here's what I eat for lunch about every other day during a Carnival cruise...
On the Carnival Breeze, the casual buffet restaurant is known as the Lido Marketplace. I like the way they've decorated the place... even the fake trees! Kellyn and I actually have a favorite table that we sit at almost every time. It's on the left side of this next photo, against the fake brick wall.
Our favorite little corner table, next to the fake brick wall, has bench seating on the wall side... and a really cool view of the ocean. When we're sitting at our favorite little spot, here's what we see... including a beautiful view of the Caribbean Sea, right outside the window.
I really like the way they do breakfast in Carnival's Lido buffet restaurants, too. The breakfast buffet on Princess, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean is just not as good. Here's a typical Carnival buffet breakfast for me...
Carnival makes it fairly easy to get a good omelet in the morning. The other cruise lines I've been on... not so much! I like the potatoes, too. Also... is it my imagination, or have they recently started doing something to make the croissants better? I liked the croissants on this cruise more than I've liked them on previous Carnival cruises. One last thing about breakfast... notice the Lawry's Seasoned Salt. I bring that from home. It makes the eggs and the potatoes taste better than regular salt does.
While we're talking about the Lido Marketplace, I do have to bring up one negative thing... <Begin Rant> The background music they played in there during our cruise was absolutely horrible! Once again, I must ask the question... have they not ever heard of Jimmy Buffett? Clearly, they were trying to set a tropical mood with the music they played. But what they did was play some kind of Jamaican or Caribbean music. A lot of it was really bizarre. Most of it was horrible. None of it was anything you would ever hear on a radio station in the USA. I used to be a radio program director. I know a little bit about selecting music that will appeal to a wide audience. It's not actually all that difficult. When in doubt, consult the Billboard charts for the period from 1970 to 2000. Pick from the top 30 or 40 songs of each of those years. Your audience will know and love those songs. This is what cover bands play... and there's a reason for that! Heck, have The Run For Cover Band pick the music for the Lido Marketplace... because they sure know how to pick the right songs to play at their gigs. That's the music that should be playing in the background of every Carnival ship. </End Rant>
Kellyn and I keep it casual almost every day on a Carnival cruise. I'm in shorts, a tropical-themed short-sleeved shirt, and a pair of flip flops almost the entire time. If not in shorts... I'm in swim trunks!
But we did dress up a little bit nicer for one night of our 14-day cruise... the night we went to the steak house. I snapped this photo of Kellyn, just before our steaks arrived:
I mentioned earlier that we never set foot in to the main dining room during our entire cruise. OK, that's not 100% true. 99% true, yes, indeed. But I did step in for one brief minute to take this picture, just so you could see what it looks like...
Now let's talk about booze for a moment...
Speaking of the VIFP party... Because we did two cruises back-to-back (B2B in cruiser lingo) we got to attend two VIFP parties... one each week. It was especially interesting the second week, which was a 6-day cruise... as opposed to the first week, which was an 8-day cruise. I guess your frequent Carnival cruisers prefer to do an 8-day cruise over a 6-day, because there was a MUCH smaller crowd for the VIFP party during the 6-day cruise than there was during the 8-day. The first week, there were so many VIFPs with 75 or more days in their cruise history that the VIFP party had to be held in the Ovation Theater... the big showroom at the front of the ship. But the second week, it was such a small crowd that they held the VIFP party in the Limelight Lounge at the back of the ship... the intimate little room where they do the comedy shows.
The nice thing for us about having the VIFP party in the Limelight Lounge is that it's very easy to order a specific drink there. The bar is right there inside the lounge. We just literally sat at the bar in the limelight lounge, and asked the bartender to make us what we wanted... and because it was the VIFP party, there was never a charge for those drinks. We probably drank $50 worth of free drinks at that party! In the Ovation theater, the bar is hidden in a room passengers can't go in to. Roving drink servers carry trays of pre-made drinks around, and you pretty much have to take whatever they happen to have. Sure, you can ask them to bring you something in particular, but it may take a LONG time before they give away all the drinks on their tray, go back to the bar and request your special drink, and then bring it back to you. So, being able to sit at the bar in the Limelight Lounge and have free drinks on Carnival's tab was kind of fun!
On another day, we ended up with free champagne and chocolate covered strawberries, courtesy of Carnival's Senior Cruise Director, John Heald...
Our Pre-Cruise Stay in Miami
I've been to Miami six times now, and I absolutely love it every time I'm there!
If we're getting in to Miami on a late flight and are leaving first thing in the morning on a cruise, we'll just stay in a hotel out by the airport... usually the Homewood Suites, Blue Lagoon , because they have nice rooms with free wi-fi and a halfway decent free breakfast in the morning. It's a LOT cheaper than staying at a hotel at or near the beach.
However, if we're going to have an extra day or two before the cruise, I've got no problem with paying the big bucks to stay out at the beach where the action is. Last year we stayed at a pricey hotel just across the street from Miami's famous South Beach. To keep the price from getting too outrageous, we stayed at an older hotel that itself was nothing spectacular... but whose location was amazing and right in the center of all the action.
For our September 2015 cruise on Carnival Breeze, I wanted to try somewhere new. I had read about the Bayside Marketplace in Miami... a tourist-oriented shopping/dining/entertainment complex that featured Hard Rock Cafe, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Hooters, Chili's, Five Guys Burgers, several other bars & restaurants, plus lots of shops and entertainment. Someone on CruiseCritic mentioned that they had stayed at the Holiday Inn across the street from the Bayside Marketplace , and that they had really liked it. So, I thought we'd give it a try. It turned out to be an EXCELLENT choice, and I've already made my reservations there again for my next visit to Miami.
Here's a shot of the Holiday Inn...
I mentioned to one of my friends that we were going to stay at a Holiday Inn, and she rolled her eyes when I said it... but really, this was a nice hotel. Whatever your preconceptions about Holiday Inn might be... fuhgetaboutit. They've come a long way since their days as a bare-bones budget-conscious chain 40 years ago. The room had everything I needed, the air conditioning worked great, and the bed was comfortable. Everything was modern and updated. There was a swimming pool on ground level, behind the hotel.
But the real selling point for me was the location across the street from the Bayside Marketplace, and the fantastic views of the Miami cruise port. We paid about $30 extra for a "Bay View" room, and requested that they put us up as high as possible. We ended up with a room on the top floor of the hotel, and with an amazing view of the cruise port and the turning basin where the ships turnaround in the morning. It was the perfect room for me. Here's a picture I shot through the window of our hotel room, of the Carnival Breeze as she spun around in the turning the basin about five or six hours before we got onboard...
Here's another shot from the window of our room at the Holiday Inn. Just beyond the trees and before the water, the red buildings with the gray roofing is the Bayside Marketplace. I took this at sunset, the night before our cruise...
The night before the cruise, we had a really nice dinner at the Bubba Gump Fish Company in the Bayside Marketplace. Here's the shrimp salad that Kellyn ordered...
After dinner, we enjoyed listening to a cover band that was playing in an outdoor patio area of the Marketplace. We also walked through the shops in the Marketplace, and spent some time in the Disney store buying a gift for the dear friend that was filling in for me at my real job during my vacation. That's also where we found the Lady & The Tramp stuffed animal that my wife simply could not resist. And on the first night of our vacation, I certainly wasn't going to say no to her!
Embarkation Day
I'm a California boy from a beach town where the only humidity we understand is a foggy 60 degree day. Things are a little different in Miami, especially during hurricane season. Note the "feels like" temperature in the Weather Channel graphic at 6:25 AM on embarkation day...
Embarkation day is fun, especially when you've reached Platinum status with Carnival! You get to skip a lot of the lines, and be among the first people on the ship! I didn't take a whole lot of pictures when we first got onboard, because our main goal was to get rid of all our carry-on luggage, find a cold drink, and do something to beat the heat.
When the ship finally sailed later in the afternoon, I got a kick out of seeing an old friend... the Norwegian Getaway. The most spectacular cruise we've ever taken was a luxurious week in The Haven, a truly VIP experience, on Norwegian Getaway. Here she is, colorful paint job and all.
Miami is an incredible place to sail from. The views are spectacular! During previous cruises out of Miami, I've shot video that really shows what a Miami sailaway is like. I didn't really bother to shoot any video of it this time, since I've already gotten good video of it in the past... but if you'd like to see what it's all about, just take a look at some of my videos from previous visits. Here are the best ones:
The view from the back of the ship, looking to the rear (Time-lapse format, 2 minutes long) The view from the front of the ship, looking forward (In actual time, 16 minutes long) Another view from the back of the ship, looking to the rear (Time-lapse format, 1 minute long) The multi-million dollar mansions you see as you sail out of Miami (In actual time, 4 minutes long)
If you like cruising but you haven't sailed out of Miami yet, you absolutely MUST do it some time. My favorite part is when you get to the point where you can see the world-famous South Beach...
We stayed at a hotel on South Beach about a year ago, before a cruise on the Carnival Glory. The hotel we stayed at was somewhat older and just slightly funky, but what was amazing about it was the location. We were right in the middle of the action on South Beach. There were restaurants and bars and one of the world's best beaches all within a minute's walk of the hotel. It was pretty cool. You can read all about it here .
Our First Port Of Call: St Maarten
We've been to St Maarten several times before, and we always have a good time there. They have beautiful beaches, lovely weather, and I'm looking forward to going back there again on our next Caribbean cruise... on the brand new Norwegian Escape.
For this visit, we decided to head over to downtown Philipsburg and spend some time at the beach. It's an easy excursion that you can do on your own without having to pay Carnival for an official ship-sponsored shore excursion. There's a water taxi that will take you from the cruise ship pier to a little pier in Philipsburg where I was standing to shoot this next photo...
As you can see, there's a beautiful little beach right there next to the water taxi pier... and just behind the beach is a whole bunch of shops, restaurants, and bars. Basically, everything you need for a fun day at the beach is right there! The only challenge is to pick a restaurant that you'll eventually want to eat at, and then to rent a pair of loungers and an umbrella on the beach right in front of that restaurant.
We walked down the beach until we found a little restaurant that spoke to me. I have a sister-in-law named Lizzy, so when we got to Lizzy's restaurant in Philipsburg, I figured that was a good sign.
Once I looked over the menu , I knew we had found a perfect place to spend the day. A friendly Lizzy's server set me up with the right guy on the beach who set us up with a pair of loungers and an umbrella. We were set for the day!
There was an unusual thing that happened there at the beach in St Maarten that day. When we're on vacation, Kellyn and I are all about the beach. We don't go shopping, we don't tour historical sites, we don't do jungle zip lines... we just like to spend the day at the beach. But Kellyn doesn't generally go in the water! If she does, she goes in up to her ankles... and that's about it. I'm out in that warm Caribbean water all the time... but Kellyn just relaxes on a lounger with her Kindle and is happy as can be. So it says something about what a beautiful day it was, how soft the sand was, and how warm that water was... that Kellyn actually came out in to the water with me that day... until it was practically all the way up to her neck! It was the most beautiful Caribbean beach day you could imagine.
Later in the day, back onboard the ship, the sun started to set and the lights came on onboard the Disney Fantasy. I thought the red lights on deck and the yellow lights on the side of the ship were so pretty in the fading daylight that I snapped a picture of the scene...
I was particularly fascinated with an expensive suite up at the front of the Disney ship. I looked it up online, and it goes for $3000... a day! A one week cruise in a balcony cabin on Carnival will set you back about about $2000... and this guy in the big suite on Disney just shelled out $21,000 for his cabin. It was cool to see his butler set the table for dinner, though! And having his own whirlpool tub on his balcony is pretty cool, too.
I've only been to St Kitts one time before, and it didn't impress me much. I'm all about the beach, but St Kitts is pretty rocky and doesn't have many nice beaches. So, this time I decided to take a snorkeling excursion. Kellyn has a bad foot and snorkeling is almost impossible for her... so she elected to stay back at our cabin and continue reading her Kindle while I headed off for my snorkeling excursion. Normally, we're pretty much joined at the hip during a cruise, so I thought it was interesting that she wanted me to get out there and have my fun without worrying about her for a few hours.
I packed my underwater camera and was surprised to discover that it was dead as a doorknob when I got in the water and tried to turn it on. I guess I'm getting old and stupid, but it didn't occur to me to charge it the night before! So, no snorkeling pictures for you.
However, I did have my big DSLR camera in my daypack, so once I got out of the water and back on to the snorkel boat, a friendly fellow passenger was kind enough to snap this photo to prove that I was actually there.
As the snorkel excursion boat headed back to the cruise ship dock, I took this photo of the Carnival Breeze. In the photo, you can see that St Kitts is a mountainous island that's very green... which, of course, means they get a fair amount of rainfall. Both times I've been to St Kitts, the top of the mountain has been covered in clouds.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Kellyn and I have been to San Juan many times before. The thing we like about it the most is that there's a CVS drug store right across the street from the cruise ship pier! We always head over to CVS to pick up anything we may have forgotten to bring with us, or anything we've run out of, or anything that's just a little too expensive on the ship.
We felt like having a lazy day onboard the ship on this particular day. Cruise ships can be a bit crowded at times, especially the whirlpool tubs and swimming pools, so sometimes if you don't have anything you want to do on shore, it's a good idea to just stay on the ship and enjoy it being mostly empty. We made a quick trip to CVS and to Starbucks, and then got right back onboard. We had the whirlpool tub on the Serenity deck all to ourselves!
Earlier, I explained to you how Kellyn and I are all about the beach... and how we generally don't visit historical sites in the various ports of call. Well, San Juan is the one exception that comes to mind. The last time we were in San Juan, which was just earlier this year during a cruise on Royal Caribbean's Independence Of The Seas , we toured the old forts that were built hundreds of years ago at the entrance to the San Juan harbor. It was very cool. If you're ever in San Juan and don't know what to do, grab the free trolley across the street from the cruise ship pier and take it over to the historic forts known as Castillo de San Cristobal, and El Morro. I really got a kick out of walking all around the forts and imagining the days when they repelled an attack by Sir Francis Drake!
Here's a photo I snapped of El Morro on a previous visit...
Grand Turk is another one of those destinations we've been to many times. It's absolutely one of our favorite cruise ship destinations! We always have fun there.
As you can see in the photo, the ship docks at a pier right next to a great beach in Grand Turk. You can literally walk out your cabin door and be on to the beach in five minutes. There's absolutely no charge to spend the day at the beach and even to use the loungers. However, if you want an umbrella or one of those big blue covers over your lounger, that'll cost you a small but reasonable charge.
Another free activity you can do at Grand Turk is to spend the day at the pool at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. There's a gigantic swimming pool, surrounded by hundreds of loungers, and you can use them totally for free. The trick is to get there early enough to find one under the shade of an umbrella. As you can see in the next photo of the beautiful pool at Margaritaville, not many of the loungers are shaded by umbrellas. We try to be one of the first people off the ship in Grand Turk so that we can snag one.
A very cool thing about Margaritaville on Grand Turk is that they have a Flowrider surf simulator. I always enjoy watching people crash and burn on the Flowrider. Here's a video I shot of some of my fellow passengers doing just that! (Although the video starts with one amazing success!)
After a few hours by the pool, we gave up our choice spot and headed in to the Margaritaville restaurant for a nice lunch. I always enjoy the nachos...
There was an unfortunate incident at the pool at Margaritaville on this particular day, and it kind of ruined lunch for us, though. While I was shooting that video of kids on the Flowrider, some guy just a few feet from Kellyn got upset at his young daughter and simply beat the hell out of her right there in public. Kellyn saw the whole thing, as did quite a few other passengers. Kellyn yelled at the guy to stop, but of course, it didn't faze him. I missed the whole thing as I was at the other side of the pool, next to the Flowrider. But even though I didn't see the incident itself, I know it happened... because one of the other passengers came up to Kellyn later and talked to her about the whole thing they had witnessed. And when we got up to leave to go have our lunch, Kellyn stared down the child-beater as we walked by him... and he proceeded to give her the finger right there in front of me. Classy guy. Thanks for ruining our day.
Turnaround Day
As I've mentioned, our 14-day cruise was actually two cruises: an 8-day cruise followed by a 6-day cruise. So, at the end of 8-days, the ship returned to Miami. It was so beautiful as we docked in Miami and the sun came up...
Turning the camera in the opposite direction... with the wonderful lighting of sunrise, downtown Miami was a beautiful sight. Especially with another cruise ship docked on the other side of the island!
With our ship docked in Miami, it was time for 99% of the passengers to head home. About 50 people were going to stay onboard for a B2B. Some of them elected to go in to Miami for the day and to come back onboard later. But most of them stayed on the ship, and posed for this picture...
I have to tell you that it's REALLY FUN to watch 4000 passengers get off the ship and to know that you get to stick around for another 6 days! It's also really fun to be able to walk around a nearly empty ship before all the new passengers are allowed onboard!
Ocho Rios, Jamaica
The first stop on the second leg of our B2B was Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Here's the view as our ship tied up at the pier...
I am delighted to report that things have gotten a LOT better in Ocho Rios. It used to be kind of a scary place. We were here once before, and the local vendors were REALLY aggressive. During that previous visit, Kellyn and I walked off the ship and in to the downtown area... and got so scared during the first few minutes that we bought one thing at a local shop and then marched right back to the safety of the ship. And we were not the only ones that were made really uncomfortable in Ocho Rios. It was an infamous spot that people on CruiseCritic talked about never wanting to visit again. Well, the feedback finally got back to the right people... and this time around, we had a VERY different experience in Ocho Rios. The place was crawling with cops! They were everywhere, and not just one or two here or there. It was amazing. We noticed the difference from the minute we stepped outside of the cruise terminal.
Our plan for the day was to head over to Margaritaville (yeah, they have one in Ocho Rios, too!) and to enjoy the free beach they have and the nice swimming pool and waterslide. We had never been to this particular Margaritaville before, but I read good things about it.
Just like at the Margaritaville in Grand Turk, the plan was to get off the ship quickly so that we could be one of the first ones at Margaritaville... so that, hopefully, we could find a shady spot to sit for the day. As luck would have it, the place was empty when we arrived, and there was a gigantic shade tree where one of the friendly employees placed two lounge chairs for us, while three cops looked on from about 15 feet away. And those cops stayed there for the whole day, thank goodness!
Grand Cayman
As our ship approached Grand Cayman, we saw another old friend anchored off shore: the Carnival Freedom. We did a really rare 12-day repositioning cruise on her in February, when Carnival moved her from Ft Lauderdale to her new home port of Galveston.
In Grand Cayman, we made a rookie mistake. With as many Carnival cruises as we've taken, you'd think we would know better. We did something that usually only a first-time cruiser does: we failed to fully read our shore excursion ticket, and we ended up missing the excursion! The ticket had two times listed on it. At the top of the ticket, it said that our shore excursion was at 10 AM. But in smaller print, a few lines below that, it said to meet in the Ovation theater at 9:15 AM. We missed the part about being in the Ovation theater at 9:15, and by the time we figured it out... it was too late. Our tour group had left already. Rookie mistake!
As soon as we realized our mistake, we headed down to the Guest Services desk... where there was a huge line. Luckily, one of my favorite Carnival perks for being platinum in their loyalty program is that they have a dedicated help desk for platinum guests... so we got to skip the whole line and get immediate help. They confirmed that we had missed our excursion and that there was no way to catch it. But they were totally willing to refund the cost of the excursion and book us on another... which I thought was a pretty great deal since it had been our mistake and not theirs. So, we booked ourselves on to an excursion a little later in the day to the stingray sandbar on the other side of the island.
The stingray excursion is one of the coolest excursions you can do on a Caribbean cruise. We've actually done it twice before in Grand Cayman, and I had no problem with doing it a third time. It's that cool. From the cruise ship pier, you take a small bus to the other side of the island, and then you get on a boat that takes you out to the sandbar where the stingrays hang out... known as Stingray City. It's pretty darned cool to stand in water that is about 2 or 3 feet deep, and to have stingrays swimming all around you. You can see the joy in Kellyn's face...
You are totally free to touch the stingrays and don't worry, they won't hurt you unless you do something stupid.
Our excursion used a much cooler boat than many of the other boats that visited Stingray City that day. Look at the boats in the previous two pictures, and compare them to the boat that we were on:
Although this next photo is a little out of focus, I got a laugh out of her reaction to this guide's offer for her to kiss the stingray!
Cozumel, Mexico
The final stop of our 14-day cruise was one of our favorite vacation destinations: Cozumel. I could go to Cozumel once a month for the next several years, and still not get bored with it. There's a lot of fun stuff to do there!
For this particular day in Cozumel, we decided to make a repeat visit to a place we've been to twice before. It's a shore excursion that is exclusive to Carnival, called La Casa En La Playa. Translated to English, that's the house at the beach. It's a little slice of paradise, as I think you'll see from the next few pictures!
Here's why they call this excursion La Casa En La Playa...
Under that thatched roof is the house at the beach. The guests stay out on the beach, under an umbrella, or under the shade of all those palm trees. Or, of course, the guests go play in the warm ocean water! Inside the house, there are bathrooms... and almost as importantly, there's a kitchen where they'll make you a delicious lunch!
Did I mention that it's an open bar? And the wait staff quickly finds out what you like and keeps them coming as often as you like.
There's also a massage tent, and several ladies standing by to give massages, for an extra fee.
They also have a small reef just a few feet offshore, where you can go snorkeling and see quite a few fish. I got smart and charged my underwater camera the night before, and then was able to get this video of the fish I saw just a few feet offshore of La Casa En La Playa...
If you've got an upcoming Carnival cruise to Cozumel and you're interested in La Casa En La Playa, be aware that you have to book this excursion months in advance! It's not one of those excursions that you can wait to book until you get onboard the ship. It's limited to just 16 people, and it typically sells out months before the cruise. So, think ahead, and try to book it as soon as you can.
One Show Not To Miss: Motor City
If you only go to see one show in the Ovation theater during your cruise on Carnival Breeze, make sure you see "Motor City". It's a show featuring lots of great Motown music... everything from Diana Ross to Michael Jackson. It's one of Carnival's "Playlist Productions" shows... which means you'll be treated to some really cool production effects thanks to the electronic screens that are all part of the set. I wish Carnival allowed people to shoot video during the shows, so I could show you how cool it is when all the colorful stuff you see in this next picture is in motion.
In the still photo above, it just looks like a static set... colorful, but nothing that couldn't have been painted on to a backdrop 30 or 40 years ago. What the still picture doesn't reveal is that during the actual show, all those colorful items you see on the stage are moving, bouncing, gyrating, and dancing to the music! It's really FUN. If you're older than 30 years old and you haven't seen "Motor City" yet... do it, before Carnival moves on to something else!
I do have one little tip for you about Motor City... and that's not to miss the "pre-show". In the Fun Times newsletter, you'll see Motor City listed as starting at a certain time... let's say 8:15 PM. But what they don't bother to tell you, or they bury in a different part of the newsletter so you might not see it, is that there's a "pre-show" that starts 15 minutes earlier. So, if you waltz in to the theater at the last minute, thinking you're just in time for the 8:15 show, you'll find that the show is actually already in progress! They just call it the pre-show. Here's a few photos from the pre show...
Internet Access
You may have heard that Carnival recently made some improvements to the Internet service that is provided on their ships. I'm happy to tell you that Carnival's Internet service really is a whole lot better than it used to be in the old days... and cheaper, too. Bravo to Carnival for realizing that in this day and age, having good Internet access while on a cruise is kind of a big deal for many of their passengers.
Carnival offers several different options for purchasing Internet access. First off, you don't have to pay by the minute anymore like you did in the old days. So, you're never rushing to quickly disconnect to save your minutes for later. Now you can either buy Internet access for an entire day, or for the entire cruise. Also, you can buy full Internet access or buy a very inexpensive plan that gives you access to only Facebook, Instagram, and What's App.
For the first of our back-to-back cruises, I purchased the most expensive Internet plan available. I figured that would allow me to see what the best case scenario was for Internet access. This set me back $99. The thing that totally surprised me about it -- something I've never experienced before on a Carnival cruise -- was that when the ship was docked in Miami, the Internet speeds were blazing fast. I did a quick test at Speedtest.net to see exactly what was going on, and the results clearly indicate that Carnival isn't using a satellite connection for Internet access when the ship is docked in Miami. When accessing the Internet on a cruise ship, via satellite, you typically get a ping test result of more than 600 milliseconds. But from my cabin on the Carnival Breeze, docked in Miami, I got a ping test result of just 9 milliseconds! That's BLAZING fast... like the kind of connection I would have at home, via cable modem. So, clearly, Carnival was either making some kind of wired connection in Miami, or using some other advanced connection technique (microwave?) rather than using the satellite system they use at sea. The two other important Speedtest metrics, upload and download speeds, were equally impressive: I measured download speeds as high as 8 mbps and upload speeds as high as 7 mbps. Of course, you can't expect a blazing fast connection like that when the ship is at sea! But it was impressive to see it when the ship was docked in Miami.
About an hour after the ship sailed out of Miami, I did another Speedtest and could tell immediately from the ping test that we were now using a satellite connection. The ping speed dropped down to 759 ms and the upload speed to .66 mbps. Surprisingly, though, I got a 10 mbps download speed.
I did quite a few other Speedtests during our cruise. Ping times were typically right around 700 ms every time I tested it, except for when we got back to Miami again. Download speeds were most often around 1 mbps... but went as high as 10 mbps on a couple of different occasions. Upload speeds were typically about .5 or .6 mbps. Now I know that doesn't sound particularly fast when you compare it to the kind of Speedtest results you would get at home. But the thing is, it worked reasonably well. Forgetting the numbers, and just sitting in front of my computer and going to various web sites, it really worked pretty well... especially compared to how bad Internet access used to be at sea just a few years ago. In the old days, there were times when trying to access the Internet was just an exercise in frustration and futility. But on the Carnival Breeze, it worked very consistently. There was never a point where I turned my computer off in frustration and had to come back later and try again. That used to happen a lot, back in the old days!
During the second leg of our back-to-back cruises, I thought it would be interesting to try the $60 "value" Internet access plan... and to see how it compared to the $99 "premium" plan I had used during the first week. The surprising result of my tests was that I could see no difference at all between the usability or the Speedtest results during the two weeks. The "value" plan seemed to work just as well as the more expensive "premium" plan... and the Speedtest results were all right in the same ballpark. The bottom line is that I won't be buying the premium plan in my future cruises with Carnival. I could detect no benefit to it whatsoever.
One last thing about Internet access: If you want to experience the state-of-the-art in Internet connectivity at sea, you have to cruise on Royal Caribbean's newest ships, such as Allure Of The Seas or Anthem Of The Seas. They use a much more advanced system than Carnival does. Royal Caribbean uses the O3B Networks system of low-earth orbit satellites... and it provides a significantly better connection than you can get on Carnival. On Allure Of The Seas, I got a consistently fast Internet connection during the entire cruise, with a ping time of about 185 milliseconds, a download speed of about 4 Mbps, and an upload speed of about .9 Mbps. That's the fastest Internet connection I've ever experienced at sea.
Cruise Director: Matt Mitcham
For the first of our back-to-back cruises, our Cruise Director was Carnival's golden boy, Matt Mitcham. Carnival Cruise Line holds Matt in such high esteem that they've announced that he'll be the Cruise Director of Carnival's newest ship, the Carnival Vista, which is scheduled for delivery in April 2016. I haven't ever cruised with Matt before, so I was curious to see what it was about him that made Carnival consider him the top dog of Cruise Directors. Within the first 10 hours onboard, it was obvious to me. He's a real pro.
However, I still consider Carnival's Jaime Deitsch as my Cruise Director of choice. Both are fantastic hosts that come across very well on stage or over the public address system. But if I can be totally honest with you on this subject... Jaime has a manner that relates well to people of all ethnicities and age groups. Some of Matt's stuff seems aimed at a younger black audience... especially the way he does the social events out at the mid-ship pool. I'm a 55+ white guy, and Jaime's manner hits me just right. On stage, I had no problems with Matt... but at party time, the whole thing was just a bit too black for me. I know some will call me racist for saying that. But Carnival's passenger demographic is predominantly white and over the age of 40... and I don't think Matt comes off as well to that demographic as Jaime does.
I think you'll see what I mean if you watch a little video I shot of the sailaway party on the very first day of our cruise. Take a look at the video, and ask yourself if this is a party that a 55+ white guy is going to enjoy attending.
Now watch a video of Jaime Deitsch (on the Carnival Sunshine ) hosting an event out at the mid-ship pool, and notice the completely different vibe... one which works with people of just about all ages and ethnicities.
Don't get me wrong... I totally see why Matt Mitcham was named Cruise Director of the year for 2015, and why Carnival picked him to be the CD of their new flagship. I'd just rather cruise with Jaime Deitsch.
During the second leg of our back-to-back cruises, Matt had to attend a Cruise Director conference at Carnival's head office... so one of his subordinates got the big chance to fill in as Cruise Director for 6 days. There seems to be a little confusion on what this guy's name is, though! In the Fun Times newsletter, they had him listed on one page as "Orlando Majic" and on another page as "Orlando Barrett". Clearly, the guy's first name is Orlando! I suspect that Barrett is his real last name, and that Majic is a stage name he uses. Here's a photo of him...
To be honest, Orlando was clearly not ready for prime time. Listening to him stumble through reading the scripted safety drill was painful. Reading from a script is definitely not his strong suit! I attended a couple of events that he hosted... but after the first couple of events, I tried to steer clear of this one for the rest of the cruise. I don't expect to see him promoted to full-time Cruise Director any time soon.
An Odd Photo
Imagine me and Kellyn walking down a hallway, when she suddenly asks for the camera and demands that I pose for a picture.... and I say to her: "You want a picture of me in a hallway? Why not somewhere a little more interesting?"
If you're researching the idea of taking a cruise on the Carnival Breeze, here are a few documents you might want to download: Carnival Breeze Deck Plans Fun Times daily newsletter - 1st 8 days Fun Times daily newsletter - Final 6 days Entertainment schedule - 1st 8 days Entertainment schedule - Final 6 days "Good To Know" information (such as where the self-serve laundry facilities are) Departure information for the last day of the cruise Room Service Menu
Our Previous Cruise on Carnival Breeze
If you've enjoyed this cruise review and you'd like to see even more pictures of the Carnival Breeze, you might want to take a look at the review I wrote about our 2013 cruise on the Carnival Breeze . Compare the pictures in the two reviews and see if you think my photography skills have improved at all over the last two years!
Need A Travel Agent?
Booking a cruise can be confusing, especially if you haven't been on many cruises before. There are lots of first-time cruiser mistakes that a travel agent can keep you from making.
If you're interested in booking a cruise with any cruise line... please feel free to use the services of my travel agent, Caitlin Gallagher. She's extremely pleasant to deal with, easy to talk to since she lives in the United States and speaks without any kind of an accent, and quite experienced and knowledgeable about different types of cruising. Caitlin is the owner of Ambren Travel. Visit her web site , check out the Ambren Travel Facebook page , or contact her using the information below.
Our Future Cruises
Perhaps you're wondering what we've got coming up.
Later this year, we'll be returning to Carnival for a "Mexican Riviera" cruise to Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta. That's on the Carnival Miracle... a ship we've never been on before. It's a sister ship to the Carnival Spirit, a ship we've sailed on four different times and which we liked a LOT. So, we're looking forward to that. At the conclusion of that cruise, we will have spent a total of 47 days on cruise ships in 2015... a record for us!
Given the current state of the stock market, where our cruise money is invested, I'm pretty sure we won't be beating that record in 2016. Although we do have some really cool cruises planned! In the first quarter, we'll be cruising on Norwegian Cruise Line's brand new ship, the Norwegian Escape... and to make it even better, we'll be staying in The Haven! We did a cruise in The Haven on Norwegian Getaway last year, and it was the best cruise of all the ones we've ever been on. So I'm REALLY excited about getting back in to The Haven on Norwegian Escape. I'd actually cruise on NCL a lot more often... except for the fact that they offer very little variety in their itineraries. If Norwegian Getaway or Norwegian Escape did some different itineraries from time to time, I'd surely cruise with them more often. But it's pretty much just the same ports over and over, every week. Boring. Carnival does a much better job of offering a variety of Caribbean itineraries. Nevertheless, I can't wait to experience Norwegian Escape in 2016! I have no doubt that it will be the most amazing cruise we've ever been on.
In the second quarter of 2016, we'll be cruising with Royal Caribbean on their newest ship: Anthem Of The Seas. That's the one you may have read about with the robotic bartender, the bumper cars, and the skydiving simulator. After a great cruise earlier this year on one of Royal Caribbean's older ships, I'm really curious to see how the next generation of RCCL ships strikes me.
You may be wondering when we'll be sailing on the brand new Carnival ship, the Carnival Vista. It will probably surprise you to learn that we don't have a cruise on the Vista booked at this time. I'm sure we'll eventually do so, I just don't know when that's going to be possible yet. I think those Havana staterooms at the back of the ship, with their own private pool area, look pretty cool! I hope they're not all booked up by the time I'm finally ready to book.
Carnival Cruise Sounds
Have some fun with these! Listen to the Carnival Cruise theme , or play the sound of a Carnival ship horn .
If you're a true cruise junkie, download the audio files (by right-clicking, and saving) and then set your computer to play the ship horn when you get a new email, and to play the theme song when the computer boots up and/or shuts down!
A Great Series Of Books About Cruise Ships
After you've been on at least one cruise, there's a book that you really should read! It will give you a whole new perspective. It's a book that was written by a guy that worked on several Carnival ships... and he shares some funny stories about life on a cruise ship. To give you an idea of what kind of book this is... the story starts as he is staying in a hotel room in Miami, the night before his very first day working on a cruise ship. Even though it's the day before his first day onboard, he's basically "on the job", so Carnival is paying for the room. To save the company money, they don't give him a private room... he shares it with someone else. So, he checks in to the room, and the first thing he does is to take a nice long shower. And when he's finally done with his shower, he discovers that his roommate has shown up... and is in the middle of having sex with a woman right there in their shared hotel room! Does that give you an idea of the kind of book this is? Well, that's just the beginning... and things get even more interesting once he starts working on the ships!
If you've ever wondered what life is like for those people that work on cruise ships... what kind of hours they work... how much they're paid... and what they do when they're not working... this is the book for you. The overall plot of the story is that the author, Brian Bruns, meets a girl named Bianca in Las Vegas and quickly falls head over heels in love with her. It turns out that she's on vacation from her job as a waitress on the Carnival Conquest. Soon enough, the vacation is over and Bianca heads back to the ship... and Brian must make a decision about whether this was just a quick fling, or something more. He decides it was something more, and takes a job with Carnival in order to be with Bianca. Ship life is tough, and creates one roadblock after another between Brian and the girl he loves.
It's a huge love story that literally follows them all around the world. If you just want to hear Brian's best inside stories about life on a cruise ship, you don't even need to read all four books... just get the first one. But if you find yourself loving all the dirty details of life on a cruise ship, and want more... or if you get hooked on the love story and you want to find out whether ship life breaks up Brian and Bianca or whether there's a classic happy ending at the end... buy all four.
Packing List & To-Do List
Here's my official packing list. Perhaps this will help you think of things to pack for your cruise. On a few of the unusual items, I'll provide a link to the exact version I recommend at Amazon.com
Passports Airline boarding pass Cruise boarding pass Luggage tags If driving, printed directions to the hotel & cruise terminal Wallet (I actually forgot this on one cruise!) Swimsuit Flip-flops Waterproof beach shoes Sunglasses Underwear & socks (incredibly, I actually forgot to bring socks on one cruise) One dressy outfit Shirts Pants Shorts Sweatshirt Deodorant Q-tips Hair brush Nail clippers Razor Medications Toothbrush & toothpaste Sun block Hand lotion Travel-size Kleenex for the airplane Lint remover Lawry's seasoning salt Laptop computer or tablet computer, including charger Digital SLR Camera Waterproof camera Camera tripod, or selfie-stick Binoculars Wireless indoor/outdoor thermometer 6-outlet power strip MP3 player Noise-cancelling headphones Cell phone & charger Waterproof wrist watch Clothes hangers My pre-cruise to-do list: Stop newspaper and mail delivery Book shore excursions Send an email to family members with my travel plans & itinerary Turn off water to the house to prevent the chance of a pipe break Turn down (or turn off) the water heater to save energy Make sure garden sprinklers are on Make sure house is locked and alarm system is active
On the last day at work: Update voice mail message to indicate my return date Update out-of-office email message, and turn it on Make sure my temporary replacement has an updated desk guide Put a sign at my desk indicating my return date
What Camera Do I Use?
Whenever I post these cruise reviews, I always get questions about what camera I used to take the photos. I actually bring two cameras with me on a cruise, plus my cell phone.
One is just a fairly inexpensive waterproof camera, so I can shoot pictures and videos while snorkeling. The one I use is an Olympus TG-830. However, that's a slightly older model now... and if you're in the market for one, you should get the new version which is the Olympus TG-850 .
For everything except the underwater stuff, the camera I use is a Canon EOS-70D digital SLR camera. I bring several different lenses with me on a cruise, too.
The 70D is probably too much camera for most people... so if you're in the market for a very high quality digital SLR camera, the one I actually recommend for most people is the Canon Digital Rebel T5i. If you get one, make sure you get the T5i with the 135mm lens , not the cheap version with the 55mm lens.
I also like to have a Canon EF-S 10-18mm lens with me when I'm on a cruise ship. This is a wide angle lens, which is extremely useful when trying to shoot in small spaces (for example, shooting a photo of a bathroom in a cruise ship cabin ) or when shooting something very large (like a cruise ship, when you're standing on the pier next to it.)
Every now and then I see something photo-worthy when I don't have either of my camera's with me. When that happens, I'll shoot with my cell phone, as a last resort. I don't think I used any cell phone photos on this page, but if you notice any horrible looking photos on the rest of my site, you might be looking at a cell phone photo.
One important technique that I use with my Canon DSLR, since I'm looking to getting the highest quality photos possible, is to shoot in RAW format rather than JPG. This preserves the photos with the highest possible quality, and gives me the greatest ability to tweak them after shooting them. However, it does require a lot of extra work. Any photos which I want to share (via email, Facebook, or on this web site, for example) have to be converted from RAW to JPG. This takes some time and effort, but it's worth it to me in order to get the best end results. Just about all the photos you see on this page have been tweaked to some extent to give them the best finished look. For most photos, I do some sharpening and color correction. On some photos, I have to do even more tweaking than that to get them to look just right.
I also bring along a tripod with me, to allow me to shoot long-exposure shots in low-light situations. It's also handy to have for shooting "selfies". I've got a tripod that is just the right size to fit inside my big suitcase but which is heavy duty enough to be stable. It also has a fluid head, which is something that's very important to look for in a tripod if you intend to use it when shooting video.
The funny thing about posting pictures of myself here is that I do actually get recognized on the ships by people who have read my cruise reviews! During our September 2015 Carnival Breeze cruise it didn't actually happen on the ship, it happened at Margaritaville in Ocho Rios. I was shooting a photo of the beach at Margaritaville and a very pretty young woman came up to me and asked if my name is Jim. She said she thought so because she had read my cruise reviews. I got a kick out of it! And that was definitely not the first time it had happened to me.
The Cruise Ships We've Been On
If you've enjoyed this page, you would probably also enjoy reading my web pages about:
There is a LOT more to this web site than just this page! Please explore the rest of the site by viewing our table of contents , or by clicking on one of the quick links below.
JimZim.net Main Page Meet Jim Zim Cruise Ships All About Our Cocker Spaniels
- Search Please fill out this field.
- Manage Your Subscription
- Give a Gift Subscription
- Sweepstakes
A Guide to All 27 Carnival Cruise Ships
With 27 ships and hundreds of itineraries, there’s a Carnival cruise for everyone.
Courtesy of Carnival Cruises
Carnival Cruise Line offers numerous cruise options worldwide with a fleet of 27 ships. Their cruises include all the hits: celebrity chef-driven restaurants, onboard rollercoasters, dedicated kids venues, serene spa moments, adults-exclusive pool decks, and exciting destinations. Carnival has it all — and can be relatively affordable. But which ship is right for you?
After sailing on eight Carnival cruises, including voyages on its oldest ship, Carnival Elation , and the newer Carnival Celebration, I’ve learned that sailing on newer ships is generally more expensive, and older vessels are more budget-friendly. However, I often consider more than the total cost before booking a cruise. I look at the ports of call, the space-to-guest ratio, the amenities and onboard activities, and the launch point.
When I select a sailing, I book through Carnival Cruise Line’s reservation number to see if I can snag an exclusive deal not listed online. Carnival's free-to-join loyalty program, the Very Important Fun Person (VIFP) Club, offers deals like reduced deposits, onboard credit, and room upgrades. The more you book with the cruise line, the better your deals will be.
Before committing to a cruise, I break down the price per person per night, particularly if I need multiple cabins because I'm traveling with a group. I recommend you take advantage of Carnival's convenient 24-hour reservation hold, which displays the total cost, itinerary, and a countdown timer so you know when to purchase to secure the locked-in price.
Here, find guidance on every Carnival cruise ship, from the newest to the oldest.
Related: How to Save Money on a Cruise
Carnival Firenze
Inaugural Year: 2024
Ship Class: Venice Class
Ship Capacity: 4,126 double occupancy; 5,245 total guests
Standout Amenities: Amari bar for a peritivi and digestivi ; Serenity Adult-Only Retreat when you need time away from kids; and Pizzeria Del Capitano for hand-tossed pizza made with imported Italian ingredients
Originally debuted in 2021 as part of the Costa Cruises fleet (an Italy-based subsidiary of Carnival), the Firenze will set sail as a Carnival ship — with an Italian twist — in Spring 2024. Across Firenze , you’ll see touches of Italy; think cute cafe set-ups that look like they were picked up from a Florence sidewalk. Terrazza staterooms access a private sun deck with whirlpools and a bar. Carnival’s fan-favorite dining options and amenities, like Guy’s Burger Joint and WaterWorks, will be on board.
Carnival Jubilee
Inaugural Year: 2023
Ship Class: Excel Class
Ship Capacity: 5,374 double occupancy; 6,631 total guests
Standout Amenities: BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster rollercoaster; relaxing Cloud 9 Spa thermal suites with adjustable humidity and temperature; pickleball courts for challenging family and friends
Carnival Jubilee is the newest Excel-class ship in the fleet, sailing from Galveston, Texas. The massive ship offers Camp Ocean, the onboard kids club. Adults also have their own space at the Serenity Adult-Only Retreat with swaying hammocks and a bar.
Carnival Venezia
Ship Capacity: 3,934 double occupancy; 4,977 total guests
Standout Amenities: The Gondola Lounge, themed after Venice's beautiful canals; a pool area with a retractable roof
Initially built in 2019 for Costa Cruises, this ship joined the Carnival fleet in 2023. Carnival Venezia is ideal if you’re looking for a ship that celebrates one of Italy’s most iconic cities. Venice is the inspiration behind the indoor and outdoor areas, including the atrium, modeled after Piazza San Marco, and the Carnevale Lounge, inspired by Venetian masquerades. Don't miss the Venetian Toast, where the ship’s captain greets guests and crew don Venetian masks.
Carnival Celebration
Inaugural Year: 2022
Standout Amenities: Space Cruisers, a kids camp in partnership with Kennedy Space Center; The Golden Jubilee Bar for vintage cocktails; BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster
Carnival Celebration is all about never-ending good times. During my recent sailing, I found all the Carnival classics, like the Alchemy Bar and Guy’s Burger Joint, a thrilling ropes course, dive-in movies, and plenty of themed deck parties. If you’re looking to relax, it has that, too. Rent cabanas or lounge in the ocean-view whirlpools at Loft 19, where attentive staff take care of everything, like delivering you fruit and chilled towels. My favorite spot to hang out was the aft Patio Pool because it wasn't ever super crowded, and the view of the ocean was unmatched.
Carnival Luminosa
Ship Class: Spirit Class
Ship Capacity: 2,260 double occupancy; 2,826 total guests
Standout Amenities: Carnival fan-favorite Alchemy Bar; Circle “C” tween club; Cloud 9 Spa hydrotherapy pool for rejuvenating soaks
Carnival Luminosa (formerly the Costa Luminosa ) is for you if you want to sail to destinations like Alaska and Australia. It also offers occasional itineraries through scenic transpacific spots like Fiji, Tahiti, Hawaii, and Japan. The ship has all of the brand’s classic amenities, like the RedFrog Rum Bar and Punchliner Comedy Club, plus an array of dining options, including sushi, pizza, ice cream, and an over-the-top brunch.
Carnival Mardi Gras
Inaugural Year: 2021
Ship Capacity: 5,282 double occupancy; 6,456 total guests
Standout Amenities: BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster for adrenaline junkies; Havana Bar for Cuban drinks and live music; Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse and Brewhouse
Carnival Mardi Gras is a nod to Carnival’s first ship, also named Mardi Gras, which was launched in 1972. The vessel has six onboard zones where families can have fun together, including the Ultimate Playground, where BOLT and the SportsSquare are located. Of course, there’s no Mardi Gras without New Orleans, so the French Quarter zone is where you’ll find Big Easy-inspired amenities like an Emeril Lagasse restaurant.
Carnival Radiance
Inaugural Year: 2021 (formerly Carnival Victory , which set sail in 2000)
Ship Class: Sunshine Class
Ship Capacity: 2,984 double occupancy; 3,873 total guests
Standout Amenities: BlueIguana Tequila Bar for great margaritas; ZSPA for teens who want a spa day; an outdoor gym on the ship's top deck
Carnival Radiance has culinary delights and family fun in spades. If you're a foodie, try Guy’s Burger Joint for loaded burgers straight from Flavortown or Shaq’s Big Chicken for the basketball star's incredible fried chicken sandwiches. Kids will love seeing The Cat in the Hat characters during activities like character parades, story time, and character breakfasts.
Carnival Panorama
Inaugural Year: 2019
Ship Class: Vista Class
Ship Capacity: 4,008 double occupancy; 5,146 total guests
Standout Amenities: Sky Zone trampoline park where families can bounce and play games; Skyride, a suspended bike on the top deck with great ship and ocean views; Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse and Brewhouse featuring Carnival Cruise Line exclusive craft beers
Carnival Panorama is smaller than today's mega-ships, but it packs a ton of fun into its 15 decks. Rooms are spacious; some come with exclusive perks like access to the Havana Pool area or unlimited use of the spa’s thermal suites. Kids will also love that there’s an onboard waterpark, kids club, and a Build-a-Bear Workshop at Sea.
Carnival Sunrise
Ship Capacity: 2,984 double occupancy; 3,973 total guests
Standout Amenities: Cloud 9 Spa cabins with access to the thermal suites; Lucky Bowl restaurant, which is only on Carnival Sunrise and only open for lunch
Carnival Sunrise (formerly Carnival Triumph ) features an exciting splash zone for kids and a piano bar where adults can sing along to their favorite songs all night. The ship sails on two to five-night and six to nine-night cruises from Miami, Florida, to the Bahamas.
Carnival Horizon
Inaugural Year: 2018
Ship Capacity: 3,960 double occupancy; 4,977 total guests
Standout Amenities: IMAX movie theater for a family night out; Dr. Suess Bookville for family story time and character appearances; volleyball court where adults can test their skills or just hit the ball around
Carnival Horizon has all the makings of a fun family vacation. The kids clubs have dedicated counselors who ensure children are always having fun, and parents can slip away to an adults-only bar for a cocktail or the Serenity Adult-Only Retreat to catch some sun. Then, as night falls, you can come back together for a special meal in the main dining room or JiJi Asian Kitchen, which specializes in regional Asian cuisine.
Carnival Vista
Inaugural Year: 2016
Standout Amenities: The thrilling SkyRide suspended bike for great ship and sea views; Thrill Theater for a 3-D show with water, lighting, wind, and chair movement effects; RedFrog Pub & Brewery, the first brewery at sea in North America
Carnival Vista is perfect for new cruisers. Sailings range from two to nine days out of Port Canaveral, so you can get a taste of what a cruise is like without committing to a more traditional weeklong sailing. Expect an onboard brewery, incredible restaurants, and family-friendly fun.
Carnival Sunshine
Inaugural Year: 2013
Ship Capacity: 3,002 double occupancy; 3,758 total guests
Standout Amenities: Carnival WaterWorks with multiple slides and water features; BlueIguana Tequila Bar for poolside libations; an onboard steakhouse with a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for its exceptional wine list
Carnival Sunshine (formerly Carnival Destiny ) is 10 years old and a fan favorite. The lower guest capacity, at just over 3,000 for double occupancy, means you won’t have to fight hoards of people to get to and from activities. Families who want even more cabin space should book one of the aft-view extended balcony rooms with great wake views and ample private outdoor space.
Carnival Breeze
Inaugural Year: 2012
Ship Class: Dream Class
Ship Capacity: 3,690 double occupancy; 4,724 total guests
Standout Amenities: Cloud 9 Spa for next-level relaxation; Mongolian Wok lunch restaurant; pickleball courts to get competitive with your family; waterslides
Carnival Breeze is ideal for a short cruise out of Galveston, Texas. The ship has plenty of activities throughout the day, including bingo, trivia, and live performances in the comedy club.
Carnival Magic
Inaugural Year: 2011
Ship Capacity: 3,690 double occupancy; 4,724 total guests
Standout Amenities: Cloud 9 Spa; a thrilling ropes course; Chef’s Table dining experience
Carnival Magic sails for a week or more from Miami, Florida. The ship debuted the restaurant Cucina del Capitano, which is now onboard multiple ships in the fleet. It’s also home to the original Guy’s Pig & Anchor. I sailed the Carnival Magic years ago, but I vividly remember spending an entire day enjoying the amenities at the Cloud 9 Spa and eating at the Mongolian Wok quick-service restaurant almost every afternoon for lunch.
Carnival Dream
Inaugural Year: 2009
Ship Capacity: 3,646 double occupancy; 4,631 total guests
Standout Amenities: Ocean Plaza, a multi-use entertainment venue that’s family-friendly during the day and a nightclub after dark; Guy’s Burger Joint for standout smash burgers; Cloud 9 Spa for adults to relax
Carnival Dream is known for exciting entertainment and food and beverage offerings, including Alchemy Bar, a vintage-themed cocktail "pharmacy." The ship sails from Galveston, Texas, on six to nine-day cruises. I loved playing the onboard mini-golf course.
Carnival Splendor
Inaugural Year: 2008
Ship Class: Splendor Class
Ship Capacity: 3,012 double occupancy; 3,734 total guests
Standout Amenities: Masala Tiger Indian restaurant, which is only open for lunch and only on this ship; a mini-golf course; a pool with a retractable cover
Carnival Splendor sails the Southern Hemisphere around Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific on cruises that range from two to 10 days. The ship has Carnival’s only quick-service Indian restaurant and boasts a pool with a retractable roof, so you can swim without worrying about the weather.
Carnival Freedom
Inaugural Year: 2007
Ship Class: Conquest Class
Ship Capacity: 2,980 double occupancy; 3,754 total guests
Standout Amenities: Space Cruisers kids program in partnership with Kennedy Space Center; RedFrog Pub, with Key West-inspired food and drinks; Dr. Seuss Bookville, a kids library that's themed after the famous author’s characters
Carnival Freedom is ideal for first-time cruisers because of the lower guest capacity and the smaller ship size. But don’t let the numbers fool you; this ship is packed with high-energy activities for all ages; from the kid's clubs to the casino, there’s no lack of fun to be had.
Carnival Liberty
Inaugural Year: 2005
Ship Capacity: 2,974 double occupancy; 3,576 total guests
Standout Amenities: Punchliner Comedy Club for family-friendly laughs during the day and adults-only fun at night; SkyBox Sports Bar to keep up with the big games back home; Mongolian Wok, a prime lunch spot with custom bowls
Looking to relax? Prefer a high-energy vacation? Carnival Liberty can do it all. Head to the main theater for enchanting live performances and shows every night, enjoy tacos and burgers on the pool decks, or find a lounge chair around the pool and soak up the sun.
Carnival Valor
Inaugural Year: 2004
Ship Capacity: 2,980 double occupancy; 3,756 total guests
Standout Amenities: Dive-in movies where you can catch a family-friendly flick under the stars; BlueIguana Tequila Bar for tequila and Mexican beer-based cocktails; Scarlett’s Steakhouse, where perfect steaks and impeccable sides await
Carnival Valor is almost 20 years old and still showing cruisers a good time. The ship's home ports are New Orleans, Louisiana, and Barcelona, Spain, and it offers two to over 10-night sailings. Don’t miss the epic Seaday Brunch, where you'll find all kinds of treats like huevos rancheros, french toast, loaded burgers, and chicken and waffles.
Carnival Miracle
Ship Capacity: 2,124 double occupancy; 2,680 total guests
Standout Amenities: Serenity Adult-Only Retreat where the 21-plus crowd can enjoy a kid-free space; pickleball courts that have great views of the ocean and ports of call
Fantasy worlds and elements inspired Carnival Miracle . Around the ship, you’ll find spaces like Phantom Lounge and Dr. Frankenstein’s Lab, where you can see shows or dance the night away. When you’re ready to soak up the sun, find a lounge chair at the adults-only pool deck or splash down on one of the slides at WaterWorks.
Carnival Glory
Inaugural Year: 2003
Standout Amenities: Camp Ocean kids club for children ages two to 11; AquaTunnel waterslide; 24-hour pizza delivery to anywhere on the ship
Carnival Glory is a vibrant ship inside and out. Think nightly dance parties in White Heat Dance Club, movies under the stars on the pool deck, and tacos from BlueIguana Cantina. The ship sails around the Bahamas, Caribbean, and more on two to 10-day itineraries.
Carnival Legend
Inaugural Year: 2002
Ship Capacity: 2,124 double occupancy; 2,610 total guests
Standout Amenities: White Hot Night Party; jogging track with panoramic ocean views; Build-A-Bear Workshop at Sea where kids can make a new friend to bring home
Carnival Legend, themed around legends and lore around the world, has two pools and plenty of places to grab a bite, including the Golden Fleece Steakhouse for a stunning multi-course dinner. You're sure to return home with tales.
Carnival Conquest
Standout Amenities: Pickleball courts so you can keep up with weekly family matches; '80s Rock-In-Glow Party for an evening of throwback fun; Guy’s Burger Joint for tasty and quick meals between activities
Carnival Conquest takes cruisers to the Bahamas and the Caribbean on two to 10-day sailings. Special programs allow kids to see their favorite Dr. Seuss characters at sea, and adults can enjoy the enticing Alchemy Bar for one-of-a-kind cocktails.
Carnival Pride
Inaugural Year: 2002
Standout Amenities: Mid-ship pool with a retractable roof; Heroes Tribute Bar, which recognizes each branch of the American military
For an extended cruise from Tampa, Florida, or Baltimore, Maryland, look to Carnival Pride . The ship has something for every type of traveler, including three kids clubs, adult-only spaces, and over a dozen different dining options.
Carnival Spirit
Inaugural Year: 2001
Ship Capacity: 2,124 double occupancy; 2,610 total guests
Standout Amenities: Domed swimming pool; two-deck fitness center; a pizza window open until 4 a.m.
Carnival Spirit sets sail from home ports around the United States to Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and the Panama Canal. The ship offers a wide range of entertainment options, including mini-golf, a jogging track, kids clubs, and adult-centric entertainment.
Carnival Paradise
Inaugural Year: 1998
Ship Class: Fantasy Class
Ship Capacity: 2,052 double occupancy; 2,606 total guests
Standout Amenities: Serenity Adult-Only Retreat when you need a place without kids; twin racing waterslides for all ages
With two to nine-day cruises from Tampa to the Caribbean and the Bahamas, Carnival Paradise literally takes cruisers to paradise islands. The ship brims with fun amenities like the WaterWorks splash zone and the relaxing Cloud 9 Spa.
Carnival Elation
Ship Capacity: 2,052 double occupancy; 2,606 total guests
Standout Amenities: Duke’s Piano Bar for nightly sing-a-longs; Alchemy Bar for custom cocktails; BlueIguana Cantina for breakfast and lunch options with a Mexican twist
Carnival Elation is currently the fleet's oldest ship, debuting in March 1998, and the only cruise ship from any cruise line that sails from Jacksonville, Florida. Even though the ship is small, with a total guest capacity of 2,606, it’s ideal for a quick weekend away if you want a mix of relaxation and high-energy activities. I've sailed the most on Carnival Elation since the ship sails from my hometown of Jacksonville. Even though it's the oldest in the fleet, I love that the sailings are short weekend trips where I can sit outside in the sun enjoying a Guy's Burger Joint smash burger before heading inside to see a show or play bingo. And because the ship is so small, it's easy to navigate, and I always end up making friends with the delightful crew onboard.
latest in US News
Endangered sawfish 'whirling and spinning' to death in Florida,...
Aunt of NYC straphanger fatally shoved in front of train begged...
Couple recalls terrifying moment lightning struck cruise ship...
Nyc rideshare, taxi passengers bracing wallets for double-barrel....
Suspect accused of breaking NYC woman’s jaw in sucker-punch...
NJ store robbed off $1M worth of jewelry after handy thieves cut...
Mets honor slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller on Opening Day
Republican-led states file lawsuit to block Biden’s massive new...
Carnival freedom cruise ship catches fire for second time in less than 2 years.
Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission.
The Carnival Freedom cruise ship experienced its second fire in less than two years, and passenger footage caught the flames with smoke coming from the ship’s exhaust funnel Saturday afternoon.
“That’s nutty,” X user @breezebreeze_ can be heard while showing the fire aboard the ship.
Carnival Cruise Line put out several tweet replies regarding the incident they say happened at 3:15 ET.
“Carnival Freedom reported a fire on the port side of the ship’s exhaust funnel,” one of the posts read. “The ship was 20 miles off Eleuthera Island, Bahamas, heading to Freeport after a canceled call to Princess Cay due to weather.”
The news prompted passengers of the ship’s upcoming departure from Port Canaveral on Monday to ask the cruise line if their itinerary would go off as planned.
“Is the cruise for the Carnival Freedom March 25 departing cruise from Port Canaveral still planning on going?” one X user asked Carnival. “We need to know for travel purposes!”
“I can almost guarantee it’ll be canceled,” another X user wrote about the ship’s next planned cruise. “This isn’t the first time this has happened ironically to this ship, and the following sailing when it happened that time were canceled, but obviously not confirm[ed].”
Carnival quickly responded to quell any rumors, saying it does not expect any impact on the next Carnival Freedom voyage.
The Freedom’s exhaust funnel caught fire in May 2022 while the ship was docked at Grand Turk Island in Turks and Caicos. Video from then also showed the ship’s funnel – referred to by some as the whale tail – consumed by flames and smoke.
The part of the ship that caught fire is designed to help direct the flow of exhaust gases away from the ship, according to the Crown Cruise Vacations website.
“The ship’s fire response team was quickly activated, and the ship’s captain also turned the vessel towards the heavy rain in the area to maximize the efforts to put out the flames,” Carnival said about Saturday’s fire. “Eyewitnesses reported the possibility of a lightning strike and that is being investigated.”
Carnival said the captain made “multiple announcements to guests and crew” about the fire. The port side of the funnel fell onto Deck 10, Carnival said. No injuries were reported.
The Carnival Freedom was in Freeport as scheduled Sunday, according to CruiseMapper. Carnival said there are no operational issues with the ship’s systems.
Share this article:
Advertisement
Bridge in US city of Baltimore collapses after ship hits it, sending vehicles into water
Six construction workers who were on a bridge in Baltimore remain missing after a container ship rammed into the bridge and sent it crashing into a river, authorities in the north-eastern US city say.
But they say more casualties were prevented after the ship sent a mayday call, prompting authorities to warn traffic not to drive onto the bridge.
Two construction workers were pulled from the water after the 2.6-kilometre Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River in the early hours of Tuesday (local time).
Earlier reports suggested sonar technology had also detected cars in the river. But when asked if authorities believed vehicles had fallen into the water when the bridge collapsed, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld indicated only the construction crew may have been on the bridge at the time.
Governor Wes Moore said: "We're thankful that between the mayday and the collapse, that we had officials who were able to to begin to stop the flow of traffic so more cars were not on the bridge."
Baltimore Fire Department Chief James Wallace said of the two people rescued so far, one is in a serious condition and the other is not seriously injured.
"We are still very much in an active search and rescue posture at this point and we will continue to be for some time we have a large area to search," he said.
"This includes on the surface of the water ... as well as the deck of the ship."
The governor has declared a state of emergency.
A live video posted on YouTube showed the ship ploughing into the bridge in darkness. What appeared to be the headlights of vehicles could be seen on the bridge as it crashed down into the water and the ship caught fire. Reuters could not immediately verify the videos.
Baltimore police said they had been notified of the incident at 1:35am local time (3.35pm AEST).
Baltimore Mayor Brandon M Scott told the media: "This is an unthinkable tragedy."
"Never would you think you could see the key bridge tumble like that, it looked like something out of an action movie and you just think about… nothing but those families and people impacted and people risking their lives right now to try to save lives," he said.
"We will continue to work in partnership with every part of government to do everything that we can to get us through the other side of this tragedy."
Data from marine tracking websites show the vessel involved is the Singaporean-flagged container ship Dali, which had left Baltimore's Point Breeze before the collision occurred.
Synergy Marine Group, which owns the Dali, confirmed the ship had collided with a pillar of the bridge.
"Whilst the exact cause of the incident is yet to be determined, the Dali has now mobilised its Qualified Individual Incident response service," it said, adding that all crew members, including the two pilots who were aboard, have been accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries.
The Dali was scheduled to sail on shipping company Maersk's route to Colombo in Sri Lanka, the Danish company's website showed.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge opened in 1977 and spans the Patapsco River, a vital artery that along with the Port of Baltimore is a hub for shipping on the East Coast.
The port's private and public terminals handled 847,158 cars and light trucks in 2023, the most of any US port. The port also handles farm and construction machinery, sugar, gypsum and coal, according to a Maryland government website.
The bridge is named after the writer of the US national anthem The Star-Spangled Banner.
ABC/AP/Reuters
- X (formerly Twitter)
- Accidents and Emergency Incidents
- Maritime Accidents and Incidents
- Road Accidents and Incidents
- United States
Carnival cruise ship catches fire after possible lightning strike
(CNN) – A Carnival cruise ship caught fire Saturday near the Bahamas.
Passengers say the Carnival Freedom was likely struck by lightning during a violent storm.
That, however, has not been confirmed, and the cause is still being investigated.
The ship sustained major damage to its exhaust funnel. Carnival says the fire caused the funnel to fall onto the deck.
The captain turned the ship toward an area with heavy rain to help put out the flames. It took about two hours to put out the fire.
There were no reports of injuries, but two firefighters were treated for minor smoke inhalation.
Passengers were able to attend dinner as planned on Saturday night, but the damaged deck area remained closed.
The ship returned to Florida on Monday.
Cruises on the ship that were originally scheduled to depart on Monday and Friday have been canceled as the ship undergoes repairs.
Carnival says passengers will get a full refund and a credit for a future cruise.
Copyright 2024 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
One person dead following early morning house fire in Pender Co.
Man arrested on first degree murder charge after roommate is found buried in yard
Property owner stunned after $500,000 house built on wrong lot: ‘Are you kidding me?’
Sunset Beach Mayor: State investigating after mayor finds forged signature on town check
Handpicked numbers were the golden ticket to the $1.13B Mega Millions jackpot in New Jersey
Latest news.
Allergy season is starting earlier each year. Here’s how to manage it.
Trump posts video with an image of a hog-tied Biden, drawing a rebuke from Democrat’s campaign
Mother charged with murder after 4-year-old son’s body found near highway
Mom arrested in Vancouver, charged with murder of 4-year-old boy in Everett
- Search Please fill out this field.
- Manage Your Subscription
- Give a Gift Subscription
- Newsletters
- Sweepstakes
Carnival Cruise Passenger Captures Ship Fire on Video After Reports of Lightning Strike
The incident marks the second time in two years this particular ship has caught fire. It has caused the cancellation of two upcoming voyages
A Carnival cruise ship’s exhaust funnel caught fire on Saturday during a trip to the Bahamas, causing the company to cancel its next two voyages.
This is the second time in less than two years that the Carnival Freedom, based in Port Canaveral, Fla., has been impacted by a fire.
"Regrettably, the damage is more than we first thought, and will require an immediate repair to stabilize the funnel, resulting in the cancellation of the March 25 and March 29 cruises from Port Canaveral," Matt Lupoli, Carnival Cruise Line's senior manager of public relations, told Florida Today in a statement. "The funnel has been stabilized for the ship’s return to Port Canaveral overnight to disembark guests, and then it will go to the Freeport shipyard on Monday afternoon to begin the required repairs."
PEOPLE has reached out to Carnival, but did not immediately hear back.
MALCOLM DENEMARK/FLORIDA TODAY / USA TODAY NETWORK (2)
While the cause of the fire is still being investigated, Carnival noted in a post on X Saturday that eyewitnesses reported the possibility of a lightning strike.
One of the cruise’s passengers, Heath Barnes, posted footage of the incident on Facebook Saturday afternoon.
In a statement to TMX, Barnes said it had been storming on and off and he was on one of the ship’s upper decks when he experienced “the loudest thunder and lightening [sic] I have ever heard.”
After he returned to his cabin for about 15 minutes, his nephew and two friends came to tell him the ship was on fire.
“I thought they were giving me a hard time but I got up and went out on the balcony and sure enough the flames and smoke was pouring out of the tail,” he continued, adding that he took the videos from his balcony before travelers were asked to stay indoors.
MALCOLM DENEMARK/FLORIDA TODAY / USA TODAY NETWORK
Carnival's brand ambassador John Heald addressed the incident on Facebook, acknowledging that those impacted by the cancellations “will be feeling very disappointed.”
“And I want to add my apologies and my assurances that when you rebook using your full refund and your 100% future cruise credit, that the crew will be standing by to give you all the Fun you deserve,” he added.
In May 2022, the Carnival Freedom caught fire during a five-day cruise to Turks and Caicos.
At the time, Carnival Cruise Line verified that a fire broke out in the funnel of the ship while it was in Grand Turk.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The company said its "emergency response team quickly activated and extinguished" the flames.
"All guests and crew are safe, and the ship's guests were cleared by local authorities to go ashore," Carnival added.
The 948-foot Carnival Freedom, built in 2007, can hold just over 3,500 passengers, according to Cruise Mapper .
Related Articles
PHOTOS: Carnival cruise ship damaged after slamming into pier amid strong winds
TAMPA, Fla. ( WFLA ) — A Carnival cruise ship docked in Jamaica was left damaged after its side slammed into the side of a pier.
The Carnival Magic made contact with the pier in Ocho Rios after a pier fender — the protective structure that helps prevent ships from colliding with the pier — fell off amid strong winds on Tuesday morning.
The ship, which departed from Florida on Sunday, had docked at the pier shortly after 8 a.m. local time, a few hours before the incident took place.
Carnival Cruise Lines confirmed the incident in a statement to Nexstar’s WFLA, but said operations continued as normal following the collision.
“Carnival Magic was involved in an incident while in Ocho Rios, Jamaica on Tuesday morning, Feb. 6 when strong winds and swells caused the pier fender to collapse under pressure, and the ship made contact with the pier,” reads a statement shared by Carnival.
The cruise line said no one was injured during the incident.
For the safety of the guests and staff aboard, the ship left the area and docked at a nearby pier. All guests that were ashore were able to get back on the ship.
Carnival also said weather conditions caused several cruises to cancel their docking in the Grand Cayman on Wednesday.
The Carnival Magic left Miami on Sunday. Its itinerary included stops at the Bimini Islands and Ocho Rios before its scheduled return to Miami on Saturday.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Thanks to its focus on casual, no-frills fun, Carnival Breeze was rated the best Carnival ship for onboard activities in 2019 according to thousands of verified reviews by Cruiseline.com members.Breeze's onboard water park, WaterWorks, comes with PowerDrencher tipping buckets, mini-racers and splash parks, and the Twister, a 320-foot-long corkscrew waterslide.
On Carnival Breeze, fun-fan faves like SportSquare ™, and mouth-watering dining spots like Cucina del Capitano ®, are just the beginning of how this ship keeps the fun blazing.. Speaking of blazing, enjoy the island atmosphere of the very cool RedFrog Rum Bar ®, or south-of-the-border taco goodness at BlueIguana Cantina ™.There are many fish in the sea… and somewhere among the expertly ...
173 photos. Carnival Breeze Photos: Browse over 2545 expert photos and member pictures of the Carnival Breeze cruise ship?.
Carnival Breeze. 166 reviews. 1-800-764-7419 Website. All photos (1,951) Traveler ( 451) Common Areas ( 1,027) Dining and Bars ( 523)
Very Good. Overall. Carnival Breeze has a light and lively Caribbean feel, with friendly and accommodating crew members. In fact, service is one of the ship's strongest points. As befits a mega ...
Carnival Breeze Ship Pictures. On this page you will find pictures of Carnival Breeze cruise ship. Cruisedeckplans.com also provides links to our own pages filled with Carnival Breeze public area venue pictures. On all our albums you can click on the picture for a larger image and slideshow. We thank the thousands of contributors for the photos.
The 3,690-passenger, 130,000-ton Carnival Breeze was launched in June 2012 by Carnival Cruise Lines. As one of the largest ships in Carnival's fleet, the Carnival Breeze is sure to offer something fun for everyone. The ship offers many of the most popular venues and attractions from its sister ships, the Carnival Dream and Carnival Magic, and ...
The 2012-built Carnival Breeze cruise ship is the 3rd Dream-class vessel in the CCL-Carnival fleet, together with Carnival Dream (September 2009), Carnival Magic (May 2011) as well as Costa Diadema (2014).. The vessel (IMO number 9555723) is currently Panama-flagged (MMSI 354842000) and registered in Colon.History - construction and ownership
carnival breeze cruise ship anchored in george town, grand cayman - carnival_breeze stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images Carnival Breeze cruise ship anchored in George Town, Grand Cayman Wedding party guests dance inside Liquid aboard the Carnival Breeze at the Port of Miami, Jan. 5, 2012.
Find details and photos of Carnival Breeze cruise ship on Tripadvisor. Learn more about Carnival Breeze deck plans and cabins, ship activities including dining and entertainment, and sailing itineraries to help you plan your next cruise holiday. ... Just returned from a 5 night cruise. Ship seemed clean. However our room was located above the ...
Some of the best features of the ship include an incredible water park, fresh and spacious staterooms, Fun 2.0 upgrades like Guy Fieri burgers and Punchliner comedy club, and a fantastic spa with ...
To Book Call: 800-414-1531Website: www.cruisesit.comThis is a full tour of the Carnival Breeze cruise ship. Take a tour of all the public areas in full HD.
Step aboard Carnival Breeze ® for a cruise to the Caribbean or the pink-sand beaches of Bermuda, and you'll leave all your cares to embrace food, fun and adventure on the high seas. Carnival Breeze ® is the ultimate family cruise ship, since it's packed with pools and play areas for kids. Looking for adults-only relaxation?
All ship Traveler Ratings are based on ratings provided under license by Cruiseline.com. See 10 pictures of Carnival Breeze, which is ranked 8 among Carnival cruise ships by U.S. News.
The cruise ship Carnival Breeze of Carnival Cruise Lines was built in 2012 , belongs to the Dream vessel series, and is 306 meters long with a displacement of 130,000 tons. The ship can accommodate up to 4428 passengers on board in 1845 cabins. The number of personnel on board is equal to 1386 people.
The Carnival cruise ship Breeze has a total of 35 wheelchair-accessible cabins (for disabled passengers) and 79 Cloud 9 Spa cabins (of them 20 Inside, 4 Oceanview, 52 Balcony, and 4 Suite). The number of all cabin categories is 34.
The Carnival cruise on the Breeze was so much fun! Really, a once in a lifetime experience and I'm so glad I got to partake in such a lovely trip. ... In this post, I'm going to share packing tips and what it's like to check into a cruise ship and board, as well as pictures of the ship and some of the amenities on board. An overall view ...
Carnival Breeze Decks and Cabins. Carnival Breeze cruise ship weighs 130k tons and has 1845 staterooms for up to 4428 passengers served by 1386 crew. There are 14 passenger decks, 9 with cabins. You can expect a space ratio of 29 tons per passenger on this ship. On this page are the current deck plans for Carnival Breeze showing deck plan ...
Carnival Breeze has several "secret" deck areas around the ship that offer amazing views -- or the ultimate selfie. Walk toward the ship's bow on cabin corridors between decks 6 and 11.
Carnival Breeze Cruise ReviewSeptember 2015. We spent 14 great days cruising the Caribbean. on the Carnival Breeze cruise ship. Here's my review, with 107 photos and 11 videos! Carnival Breeze docked in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Our 14-day cruise on the Carnival Breeze was actually two cruises: an 8-day cruise to St Maarten, St Kitts, San Juan, and ...
Courtesy of Carnival Cruises. Inaugural Year: 2023 Ship Class: Excel Class Ship Capacity: 5,374 double occupancy; 6,631 total guests Standout Amenities: BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster rollercoaster ...
The Carnival Freedom cruise ship experienced its second fire in less than two years, and passenger footage caught the flames with smoke coming from the ship's exhaust funnel Saturday afternoon.
Six construction workers who were on a bridge in Baltimore remain missing after a container ship crashed into it and caused it to collapse into a river, authorities in the north-eastern US city say.
3.9. (12 Reviews) Here at the ship's main pool, you can take a swim or just relax poolside - whatever floats your boat... Free Price Alert. See Cruises. Check out all of the pools onboard the Carnival Breeze for both children and adults. Read verified user reviews and real traveler photos on each pools available on the ship.
(CNN) - A Carnival cruise ship caught fire Saturday near the Bahamas. Passengers say the Carnival Freedom was likely struck by lightning during a violent storm. That, however, has not been confirmed, and the cause is still being investigated. The ship sustained major damage to its exhaust funnel.
The incident marks the second time in two years this particular ship has caught fire. It has caused the cancellation of two upcoming voyages A Carnival cruise ship's exhaust funnel caught fire ...
Cruise ship officials reported the fire broke out on the port side of the ship's exhaust funnel around 3:15 p.m. local time, according to a news release from Carnival Cruise Line.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Carnival cruise ship docked in Jamaica was left damaged after its side slammed into the side of a pier. The Carnival Magic made contact with the pier in Ocho Rios after a ...