Carnival Breeze November 2018 Part 2

For pictures, click here.

This is part 2 of our trip on the Carnival Breeze.

We went on a 14-day Journeys cruise on the Carnival Breeze. Our captain was Guiseppe Giusa, Chief Engineer: Vito Antonelli; Hotel Director: Carlos Santos de Melo; Cruise Director: Steven Schwartz. Our cabin steward was Lorenzo and we were in Cabin 1322. Our dinner table was 552 and our dining stewards were Danilo and Ari.

Day 8: Barbados 11/10/18

We had a lovely day in Barbados. We got off the ship at 9:15 and walked the catwalk out of the dock (and it was a long walk!). Then we turned right and walked into town (about 1 mile). We walked for a couple of hours and the weather looked threatening, so we took a cab back to the port (the cab fare was $2 per person). Then we took a free shuttle from the terminal to the ship because it was raining. After lunch, we sat on the deck and relaxed. Before dinner, we went to the Red Frog Pub to enjoy a couple of beers with Earl to celebrate his 50^th birthday. At the end of the dinner, they brought a cake and sang happy birthday to him. Then we went back to our cabin and decided to go to bed early. While we were watching TV,  a repairman showed up to repair our sink and I told him that we were already in bed. I asked him if he could come back tomorrow and he said if I didn’t have a complaint about it, he wouldn’t fix it. I decided to talk to the hotel director the next day!

Day 9: At Sea 11/11/18

We had a lazy day at sea. I saw Lorenzo, our cabin steward, who knew what happened the night before and told me that the guy would fix our sink. After breakfast, I went to find the hotel director. I gave him the message from Roberta and then told him what a great cabin steward we had because he was fixing our situation. Of course, Carlos wanted to know more about the situation and I told him. Then we walked around the track for an hour. We also went to the Academy of Fun session and learned about shopping apps that will help us save money when shopping.  Then we relaxed and sat on the deck until teatime when I had delicious scones. The hotel director sent us a bottle of wine for dinner which was nice. After dinner, we went to the comedy show featuring Derrick Eason.

Day 10: St. Maarten 11/12/18

We walked into St. Maarten and planned on going to the beach, but the weather looked threatening as we walked into town. We ended up walking around town and stopped at Zee Zee’s for some beer (5 Miller Lite for $10) and talked to Andrea. She told us that Suzette was out of town for her daughter’s graduation.  We missed her! We got back to the ship around 1pm and had lunch. We sat on the outside deck for a little while before leaving to get ready for dinner. After dinner, we went to the comedy show featuring Dwight Slade who was pretty funny.

Day 11: Tortola 11/13/18

We got off the ship around 8:30am and walked around the town. We were surprised how devastated many of the buildings were from Hurricane Irma. We went to Pusser’s store to get Don a couple of more baseball caps with the pirate logo, but they were wrinkled and distorted, so he didn’t buy one ($22 each). Then we walked back through town on the way back to the ship. We got back on the ship by 10am. After lunch, we went back to the cabin to relax. After dinner, there wasn’t any show, so we had an early night.

Day 12: San Juan, Puerto Rico 11/14/18

We had a nice day in San Juan! We got off the ship around 8am and walked to the Castillo del Morro. I love walking there along the water and my daughter and son-in-law have never been there. It was about a 2-mile walk from the ship. We got there before it opened and just sat on the wall and enjoyed the scenery. After visiting the fort, we went to El Meson for Mallorcas and sodas. Then we visited the supermarket. We split up and they went to souvenir shops while we went to my hubby’s favorite second-hand store. It started raining harder about then, so we made it back to the ship around noon and had lunch. After lunch, we relaxed in our cabin and watched Coco on the movie channel. After dinner, we went to the comedy show featuring Billy D. Washington.

Day 13: At Sea 11/15/18

We had a lazy day at sea. We had our laundry done today. We also went to a lecture to learn about astronomy apps for your phone. Then we went to an arts and crafts session where we decorated wooden tags. We spent the rest of the afternoon resting until dinner. Hubby had to leave dinner and went to bed because he has some kind of respiratory thing going on. I think his sinus drip made him nauseous. When I got back to the room, I was able to pack my suitcase and organize some things in the room.

Day 14: At Sea 11/16/18

Another relaxing day at sea. My hubby felt much better today. After brunch, we got our Bloody Mary’s and we packed our suitcases. Then we went to the seminar on Photography using your smartphone. After that,  we went to the Lido deck and hung out until we got hungry. At 2pm, we went to Arts and Crafts but all they had were wooden tags and the earlier session had picture frames, so we were disappointed. We went to the Limelight Lounge to wait until the session on Editing your Photos. Before the session, we saw a crew member who went to the back storage room and gave us a couple of picture frame crafts that they had earlier in the day. We had to leave at 4pm to go to the Captain’s party. We were able to see the bar waiter, Nijo, there and he kept the Miller Lites coming our way. We had a nice farewell dinner in the dining room and then we had to put our suitcases out in the hallway. After that, we went to bed early.

Day 15: Debarkation 11/17/18

We got up to the Lido deck around 5:30 and they started serving breakfast at 6am. After breakfast we went to our meeting place (Sapphire Dining Room Deck 3 at 7:15am) By 7:45, we were getting off the ship. Getting off the ship was very well organized. As soon as we got to our luggage, all of the luggage was in an area marked “Diamond.” Going through customs was a breeze and we went straight to a shuttle desk to turn in our return tickets. We went straight to the bus and got on it. By 9:30am, we were on the road.

Things I Learned:

1.     Cab fare to town in Barbados was only $2 but it wasn’t far to walk if the weather is nice.

2.     We really liked the Academy of Fun sessions! They are informative and well worth going to.

3.     We found a nice outdoor bar to get beer in St. Maarten.

4.     We found out that there was a lot of damage to Tortola from the hurricane!

5.     If we go to Tortola again, we will look at taking an excursion to Virgin Gorda and The Baths.

6.     Tortola was our least favorite port on this trip.

7.     We love walking around San Juan when it is overcast and light rain!

8.     The store Ecomania is still there but it is only half the store that it used to be.

9.     The supermarket in San Juan sells diet Pepsi for .79.

Original Photo by Pat Hensley

Carnival Breeze November 2018 Part 1

For pictures, click here.

We went on a 14-day Journeys cruise on the Carnival Breeze. Our captain was Guiseppe Giusa, Chief Engineer: Vito Antonelli; Hotel Director: Carlos Santos de Melo; Cruise Director: Steven Schwartz. Our cabin steward was Lorenzo and we were in Cabin 1322. Our dinner table was 552 and our dining stewards were Danilo and Ari.

We drove down to Florida on November 1 and stayed at the Sleep Inn at Ormond Beach ($59 including hot breakfast). Then we drove down to Cocoa, FL on Friday. We went to antique stores in historic Cocoa Village and I met my cousins Becky and Carol and Liam at Ossorio’s Bakery for a visit. For dinner, Earl and Dyanna joined us at Mitchell's. We stayed at America’s Best Value Inn for $79 and we could leave our cars there for 2 weeks while we went on the cruise. We paid $10 per person for the shuttle to and from the port. We were asleep at 10:30 when there were people yelling and fighting down the hall but eventually, they left. Then at 2:30am, we heard dogs barking. At 5:30am, another couple was fighting in the parking lot.

Day 1: Embarkation 11/3/18

We took the 9am shuttle to the port and went right into the terminal. We went upstairs and waited in the “red chairs” designated for Diamond members. Then at 11:30, we went right on board the ship. Our cabin was ready, so we dropped our backpacks off and locked up valuables in the safe. For some reason, our safe would not work and open up again. After lunch on the Lido deck, I went to see the Maître D to have our dinner table changed for all 4 of us to sit together. When we returned to the cabin, we had them send someone to fix our safe.  While we waited, our luggage arrived, and we unpacked. Everything was finished by 2:30pm. At 4pm, we had our muster drill and at 6pm we had dinner. We were so tired, that we went to bed after dinner. Around 9:15pm, someone came to our door and delivered a plate of chocolate covered strawberries sent to us by Allie and Sam, our travel agents.

Day 2: At Sea 11/4/18

We had a fabulous day at sea. Even though it was Daylight Savings Time, the ship’s time did not change. I didn’t know this until Dyanna told me about it in the morning.  At 8:30, we had the Seaday Brunch in the dining room. After brunch, Don and I walked for 45 minutes. At 11:00, we had the galley tour and all of the crew seemed happy to be working on the ship. Then we had lunch and sat with Cyndi and Gary from Illinois. The food at lunch was very good! After lunch, we went back to our room to change and then realized that I had signed up for the slot pull. It cost $20 to enter and when it was all done, I got back $9. Next, we went to the lecture – Academy of Fun: All About Food. The lecturer was Jason Rich who we had met on our last Journeys cruise. It was a good session. After that, we had to get ready for dinner and had a drink before dinner. After dinner, we went to the comedy show and heard JR McCollom.

Day 3: At Seas 11/5/18

After breakfast, we walked the track for an hour. Then we went to a lecture on Social Media. By then it was time for lunch and then we returned for a session on Internet Safety. After we ran by the Arts & Crafts session, it was time to go for Teatime. I ate too many scones, but they were so good! We had time to relax for about 30 minutes before getting ready for dinner and then getting a cocktail before dinner. After dinner, we went to the show that featured a comedian and juggler.

Day 4: St. Thomas 11/6/18

We had a lovely day in St. Thomas. Since they were expecting a 90% chance of rain showers, we decided not to go to the beach. Instead, we walked 2.5 miles into town and walked around the shops. It was so hot and humid that we took the cab back and shopped around the port. By lunchtime, we were back on the ship. After lunch, we sat on the deck. Before dinner, we went to another seminar called Let’s Talk Art. We learned a lot about different websites and apps that will teach us more about art. Then we had a cocktail until dinner. Dinner service was really slow, but we had a good time anyway.

Day 5: Antigua 11/7/18

We had a pleasant day in Antigua and walked all around town. We saw our friend, Ninja, who is a cab driver there. We have gone on two tours with him. They charge $25 per person for a two-hour tour around the island but we didn’t go on a tour. We walked to the church at the top of the hill that is being renovated. The graves look like something out of a horror movie. We came back to the ship for lunch and then sat and read the rest of the afternoon. After dinner, we went to the comedy show to see Diane Ford.  

Day 6: St. Lucia 11/8/18

We got off the ship around 8am and we walked into town. It is about .9 miles walk to the General Market. We walked around town and stopped at the Cathedral and the Public Library. We used the bathroom at the library and they are getting renovated. They said they had a lot of rain and would welcome donations of books. We went to a grocery store and was going to buy some turmeric which was marked $2.73. The lady told me that the exchange rate was $2. 67 so we bought a bag but when she rang it up, she rang it up as $5.99 so we left it. We walked to one section and a policeman told us not to go past the next block and warned me to keep my hand on my phone. We turned at the next block and I had put my phone away in my bag. We ended up back at the General Market and bought some Turmeric there ($2/bag). Dyanna and Earl went back to the ship. We had a beer there at the market (Piton Gold - $3/bottle). Then we walked back to the ship and found a café where beer was 3 Pitons for $5. We ended up meeting another couple from our ship (Ray and Barb from Daytona Beach) and bought a few rounds of beer. Then Maggie from DC who was sailing on the Silver Seas ship joined us and bought us some rounds. We had such a great time that we didn’t return to the ship until 3:40. I ran up to the Lido deck and had a couple of hot dogs. Then we came back to the room to rest before getting ready for dinner. It was a fun day!

Day 7: Grenada 11/9/18

We arrived into port almost 30 minutes early, but we didn’t get off the ship because Don had a conference call. I forgot that they changed the time at home but not on the ship so Don’s 8am conference call was 9am on the ship. We walked around the ship to find the perfect spot for his phone call. When his call was over around 11am, we got off the ship and walked around Grenada. We walked around town and to the markets. It was straight uphill to Ft. George but the view was awesome. We walked down steep stairs back to town and then walked through a car tunnel that connects the east and west side of town. We got back to the ship around 2pm. After lunch, we sat on the deck and relaxed. After dinner went to the comedy show to see Mark Simmons.

Things I’ve Learned:

1.     I need to learn more about VPNs for internet safety when we travel.

2.     I want to check out a new movie service called Cinemia or something like that. I will have to investigate further.  

3.     It cost $4 a person to ride into Charlotte Amalie (St. Thomas) by cab.

4.     I want to attend more classes through iTunes U.

5.     In Antigua, the exchange rate is $1 USD = $2.70 EC (Eastern Caribbean)

6.     In St. Lucia, the exchange rate was the same as Antigua

7.     The beer was cheaper by the ship in the port terminal at St. Lucia.

8.     St. Lucia has really improved their port city.

9.     A couple took a tour around Grenada for $15. (Originally, they were told $25 pp but they negotiated it down to $15). Maybe we will do that next time.

Original Photo by Pat Hensley

Carnival Breeze 2015

Click here for pictures!

Last week we cruised on the Carnival Breeze out of Miami. Our daughter Dyanna and son-in-law Earl went with us. Our cabin number was 8334 and we hat late dinner seating at table 536.

12/13/15:

We left Lantana around 8am and had breakfast before heading to the port. At 10:45 we arrived at the port and parked our car. We went in the door and immediately we were separated at the security gate. We went through and started walking away when we were called back for them to search our bags and I couldn’t believe there was a big question about my knitting needles! Finally they let us go. Getting on the ship was so unorganized and chaotic. Around noon we were told to line up and get on the ship but then we went one way only to be turned around another way. Diamond members were let on the ship about the same time as everyone else. One lady was told to take the stairs when another lady told her to take the escalator. We had lunch around 12:15 and then wandered around the ship. At 4pm we had our lifeboat drill and our station met in the lower dining room. After the drill we sat out on the deck and watched the ship pull out. After that we walked around before getting ready to dress for dinner. After dinner we wanted to go to the Welcome Aboard show but we were all too tired so we went to bed.

12/14/15: At Sea

We had a lovely day at sea yesterday. We ate steak and eggs and cheesecake for breakfast. Then we walked a few miles around the track to burn off calories. After that we went to the food demo and we ate so many samples that I couldn’t eat lunch. At 1pm we had the meet and greet with our Facebook group and then I took a little nap. At 4pm we had cocktails with the Captain and lot of free cocktails! I was so excited to take photos with the Captain and Wee Jimmy (the cruise director!). Wee Jimmy was so personable and I felt like I had known him for a long time. He showed me all these lovely photos of his wife and his babies (dogs and cats). We went to the comedy show to see Jaylyn Bishop at 7:30 and it was really good. Dinner was prime rib and lobster so I ate so much that by 9:30pm I was ready for bed!

12/15/15: Montego Bay

We had breakfast in the dining room and the service was not very good. They served my poached eggs on the raisin English muffin that I asked for on the side. Plus, it was very slow so we will probably eat breakfast on the Lido deck tomorrow. We arrived at Montego Bay around 9am and got off the ship. We walked around the kiosks in the port and then walked outside the gate to get a picture of the ship. My daughter found the souvenirs she wanted (Jamaican coffee, shot glasses, and an ashtray.) Then we went back to the ship because there wasn’t anything else to do there other than pay a lot of money for a cab to go somewhere else. I took pictures of the cab prices. Security made us turn on our phones and cameras. Then we stopped for some pizza before going to relax on the deck. After lunch we went back to the room to watch movies on TV and take a nap. After dinner we went to the show Viva Variety that was the hypnotist and we really dislike that show. But I didn’t know what the show was (because I didn’t read the program) and I dragged my whole family there so we all stayed.

12/16/15: Grand Cayman

We had a lovely day at Grand Cayman. We got off the ship at 7am and arrived at the beach around 7:45 before it got crowded. We spent a couple of hours snorkeling while my son-in-law watched our stuff. He wore blue jeans and enjoyed sitting in the shade watching us since he doesn’t swim. Then we enjoyed a bucket of beer (4 for $20) before heading back to town. The cab fare was $5 per person one way to and from the Public Beach (Calico Jack’s). The cab fare to Royal Beach was $4 but you had to pay $2 entrance fee. After doing some souvenir shopping, we came back to the ship around 12:30 for lunch. Then we relaxed until dinner, which was elegant night.

12/17/15: Cozumel

We had a lovely day in Cozumel yesterday! We got off the ship at 10am and took a cab ride downtown ($8 for 4 people). Then we walked around before stopping for a beer in this shop while a rain shower came by. The Coronas was $1.50 each.  Then we walked some more before going to the Megastore to buy some Pepsi for me to bring back to the ship. On the way through the Duty Free shops, we had an incident with one of the sales persons. He wouldn’t let me take a photo of the liquor and the price and then wouldn’t let me get his name (which was Marco). When we went to ask at the Guest Services desk, the person there was pretty rude to us. Then we walked out on the deck to watch people almost get left behind when the ship was leaving. When we got back to our cabin, our clean laundry was waiting for us.

12/18/15: At Sea

We had a nice day at sea. I ate too much at breakfast and we walked an hour on the track. Then I sat and relaxed while hubby walked another 30 minutes. Then we packed up our suitcases before going to the Questions for the Cruise Director event. After that I got ready to go to the Platinum/Diamond party. My daughter Dyanna went with me and then Don and I went to the comedy show to see Tommy Drake. He was okay nothing fabulous. After that we listened to the music in the Ocean Lounge until dinner. During dinner they announced that we were diverting to Key West for a medical emergency but later they announced that the person was responding well to medicine and instead of going to Key West, we would continue to Miami. I never got a letter informing me about what time breakfast is served tomorrow so I called Guest Services. I was told 7:30 and when I asked the man what do people do for breakfast if they are getting off the ship at 7; he had to go ask someone. Then he came back and said it opened at 6am. They don’t seem to know what they are doing.

12/19/15: Debarkation

Getting off the ship went much smoother than getting on. We had breakfast at 6am and we met Dyanna and Earl by the elevators. Then we all went to the Lobby Atrium to wait for them to let us off the ship. At 8am, the 4 of us were the first ones off the ship.

Summary:

This was an okay cruise. I’m glad we were able to cruise with Dyanna and Earl since this was their first cruise. We have noticed how service has really gone downhill from when we first started cruising with Carnival. Service in dining room is extremely slow. They used to put the napkins in your lap and they didn’t this time consistently. They reached across guests to pass plates and pour drinks. I was missing forks for several courses of the meal several times. The Guest Services desk guy was extremely rude. The food was not up to the usual standards but it was still okay. It was a lot of fun meeting up with the Facebook group and seeing people we recognized throughout the cruise.

Things I Learned:
1. We were told that the chocolate mints on the pillow at night were discontinued in order to pay for the accordion player and violinists and other entertainment. 
2. The crew can only work 14 hours at a time and must be given 10 hours off with 6 hours of uninterrupted time for sleep. 
3. Sitting outside in the early mornings away from the Lido deck kept me from overeating at breakfast. 
4. We don’t like Jamaica at all. 
5. We like the lower floors better than the higher floors. 
6. The beach at Grand Cayman was nice. 
7. People walking through the halls after 10pm and before 7am need to lower their voices! 

 Original photo by Pat Hensley