We sailed on the Carnival Breeze September, 2019. The ship leaves out of Port Canaveral. It holds 3,690 passengers and was built in 2012 with her recent refurbishment in 2017.
The first thing we did on the ship was eat at Guy’s Burger Joint. What an awesome burger with amazing toppings and fantastic french fries! A great way to start our cruise.
We found several great places on the ship to just sit, people watch, read and be on the ocean. On both sides of Deck 5, outside of Ocean Plaza, are chairs and tables with umbrellas which are very comfortable. The pool deck aft of the Lido Marketplace Buffet Restaurant is also nice and has some covered chairs and lounge chairs to sit in. The Serenity Deck on this ship is the aft part of the ship, deck 15. Adults only with lots of lounge chairs but not shade.
We were scheduled to go to Bermuda where we had reserved a tandem electric car to explore the island. But, Hurricane Humberto went there a day or so before we left port and Hurricane Jerry was on the way there. So, they diverted us to San Juan, Puerto Rico and Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. Guess that is what you get when you schedule a Caribbean cruise during hurricane season. But, although we didn’t go where we expected, it was still a fun cruise and the ports were great!
What are the odds!?!? We were still on the way to San Juan when Hurricane Karen popped up and was headed directly for Puerto Rico, to arrive about the same time we did. And, the early morning we were to get there, there was a 6.1 earthquake 5 miles offshore of San Juan. Were we being told something? Fortunately, the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical depression and slowed so it didn’t get there until after we left. The people who were awake felt the earthquake but it didn’t cause any damage and no tsunami.
We had fun there walking around San Juan. We heard about a coffee shop in Old San Juan, very close to the dock, called Cuatro Sombras. Wonderful coffee and pastries! We highly recommend it!
Next stop – Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. No beach access but the pool was nice with a swim up bar and a water park. Lots of shops, but we thought they were overpriced.
Grand Turk is pretty with the colorful buildings you expect in the Caribbean. There is a Margaritaville there, nice pools and beach access with lots of lounge chairs. The sand is very soft and white. There are also many water activities, paddle board, lots of boat rides, etc.
One day we went to our normal spot on Deck 5. There was a young couple there with their one year old son who was just learning to take his first steps. The kid was cute as a button. There were several of us grandparent types sitting in the chairs. We were encouraging him and clapping for him. He would grin, clap back to us, then try even harder to perfect his walking. Have to say it was the best show on the ship.
Another interesting thing we got to do on the ship – the head chef took us on a tour of the largest galley on the ship. It was a real learning experience. Seemed like miles of stainless steel cabinets, neat as a pin, and busy. There were separate areas for prepping all the food – salads, entrees, desserts, sides, etc. And even separate dishwashing areas for china, glasses, utensils, etc. You should have seen the size of the chocolate bar they use for the Carnival Warm Chocolate Melting Cake! They make 22,000 meals every week, not counting the pub meals, barbecue and pizza. There are 190 chefs onboard. That’s a LOT of cooking!!
We had both entrees the night we had shrimp and filet; also the night we had lobster and prime rib. Plus we had the Melting Chocolate Cake and Creme Brûlée each time it was offered. They are both awesome!
The Italian Restaurant on the ship, Cecina del Capitano, is fantastic! And if you can get in, on the days they have a pasta bar, it is also wonderful. You get a choice of pasta, sauces and added items such as mushrooms, peppers, onions, grilled chicken, shrimp, etc. Then you pick your bread. It was ready in 5 minutes and was very good. Then you could go to the buffet for dessert.
Speaking of the buffet for dessert, the last day they had the Chocolate Extravaganza – lots of different chocolate cakes, desserts and there was a chocolate fountain that fruit, marshmallows, etc. could be dipped in. If you like chocolate, this was not to be missed!
In addition to the Guy Fieri’s burgers, the BlueIguana Cantina had a great taco bar, burritos and a few several breakfast choices. Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse had great barbecue, chicken, mac and cheese, slaw, collards and baked beans. The pizza on the ship was good too. You could take what they had or you could ask for specific toppings and they would fix it for you. The Carnival Deli also fixed wonderful sandwiches.
We really had a good time and enjoyed the cruise immensely. We will certainly have no issues putting our clients aboard the Carnival Breeze.