Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships 2017 (Berlitz Cruise Guide) (2016)
Carnival Breeze
★★★ +
Berlitz’s Ratings
Ship: 379 out of 500
Accommodation: 144 out of 200
Food: 220 out of 400
Service: 260 out of 400
Entertainment: 77 out of 100
Cruise: 265 out of 400
Overall Score: 1345 out of 2000
Carnival Breeze Statistics
Size: Large Resort Ship
Tonnage: 128,251
Lifestyle: Standard
Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Lines
Former Names: none
IMO Number: 9555723
Builder: Fincantieri (Italy)
Original Cost: $740 million
Entered Service: Jun 2012
Registry: Panama
Length (ft/m): 1,004.0/306.0
Beam (ft/m): 158.0/48.0
Draft (ft/m): 26.2/8.0
Propulsion/Propellers: diesel-electric (75.600kW)/2
Passenger Decks: 13
Total Crew: 1,386
Passengers (lower beds): 3,690
Passenger Space Ratio (lower beds): 34.7
Passenger/Crew Ratio (lower beds): 2.6
Cabins (total): 1,845
Size Range (sq ft/m): 185.0-430.5/17.1-40.0
Cabins (for one person): 0
Cabins (with private balcony): 905
Cabins (wheelchair accessible): 35
Wheelchair accessibility: Good
Cabin Current: 110 volts
Elevators: 20
Casino (gaming tables): Yes
Slot Machines: Yes
Swimming Pools: 2
Hot Tubs (on deck): 7
Self-Service Launderette: Yes
Dedicated Cinema/Seats: No
Library: Yes
Onboard currency: US$
A fun ship for family cruising, with a great water park
Overview. Carnival Breeze is a big floating playground, carrying almost 5,000 passengers when full. It has lots of facilities for young families with children, who will love the outdoor pool deck and its facilities. Serenity is an adults-only, extra-charge retreat, with two large hot tubs on deck.
The Ship. This ship and its sisters, Carnival Dream and Carnival Magic, are the largest ‘fun ships’ yet for this cruise line. Although its bows (front part) are short, the ship’s profile is quite well balanced, with a rakish front and more rounded stern than most other Carnival ships.
A WaterWorks pool deck has lots of water and sports amusements - not to mention a really long orange multi-deck ‘Twister Water Slide’ and popular ‘Power Drencher.’ There’s also a large Seaside Theater LED screen for poolside movies and a laser light show at night. The general open deck space is not large enough for the number of passengers. The ship has a full walk-around open promenade deck lined with deck chairs. Also along the outdoor promenade, four ‘scenic whirlpools’ are cantilevered over the water, and provide fine sea views.
On a lower deck, The Ocean Plaza, with around 190 seats, is a comfortable place by day and a trendy entertainment venue by night. Its indoor/outdoor café and live music venue has a bandstand and a large circular dance floor.
The Caribbean-themed interior decor is bright, but well executed. Many of the public rooms, lounges, bars, and nightspots are located on two main public room/entertainment decks. These can be accessed via an 11-deck-high atrium lobby, whose ground level has a cantilevered bandstand atop a massive dance floor.
Jackpot is the colorful, large, and always lively casino. Other rooms include The Song (Jazz Bar), and Ocean Plaza, a sort of quiet area during the day, but lively at night with live entertainment. Three dozen Internet terminals are scattered around the ship, although most have no privacy. There’s a 232-capacity conference room. The Library has a bar, board games, and even a few books.
Families. Youngsters have their own play areas, with children’s programs divided into five age-specific groups under Camp Ocean (ages 2−11 - with children ages 2−5 called ‘Penguins’; 6−8-year-olds called ‘Sting Rays’; 9−11-year-olds called ‘Sharks’). Tweens have ‘Circle C’, while teenagers have their own ‘Club O2’ - a chill-out (no adults allowed) room/disco. Also, soft-drinks packages can be purchased for children (and adults).
Kids also get their own restaurant towards the top of the atrium. Carnival WaterWorks, the expansive aqua park offering exhilarating multi-deck tunnel water slides and various water spray apparatus, is a big hit with the active kids.
By the end of 2015, the words and world of Dr. Seuss will have been rolled out as part of Carnival’s children’s program (check before you sail) − from ‘green eggs and ham’ for breakfast, served by waiters in Dr. Seuss-inspired uniforms, and characters such as the Cat in the Hat, Thing One and Thing Two, and Sam attending, to special showings of movies such as The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (these will be shown outdoors on the poolside Seaside Theater screen on Lido Deck).
Accommodation. There are numerous cabin price categories, priced by size, grade and location. Whether you go for high end or low end, all accommodation includes plush mattresses, good-quality duvets, linens, and pillows. The suites aren’t very large, although they are laid out in a practical manner, while some of the standard cabins are fine for two but become crowded for three or more.
The decor is a mix of light browns and nautical blues, but the accommodation deck hallways are bright, even at night.
There are a lot of interior cabins. All in all, the cabins to go for are those right at the stern of the ship, with great rearward ocean views, on decks 6, 7, 8, and 9.
‘Deluxe’ ocean-view cabins, with two bathrooms, provide comfort and convenience for families. In addition to twin beds that convert to a king, decent closet space and elegant decor, the two-bathroom configuration includes one full bathroom and a second bathroom containing a small tub with shower and sink.
Some cabins can sleep five persons - useful for families. There’s a wide selection of balcony cabins and suites (not really suites because they don’t have separate sleeping and living quarters).
Adjacent to the Cloud 9 Spa are 50 spa cabins, designated as no-smoking; these come with a number of ‘exclusive’ amenities and privileges. All have direct access to the spa. Note that cabins on Deck 12 are subject to lots of noise from kids having fun on the deck above - so forget the afternoon nap.
Dining. There are two main dining rooms: the Sapphire (midships) and the smaller Blush (aft). Each has a main and balcony level (stairways connect them). There are also two small restaurant annexes, which can be reserved by small groups as a private dining room. Choose either fixed time dining (6pm or 8.15pm) or flexible dining (any time between 5.45pm and 9.30pm). Although the menu choice looks good, the cuisine delivered is simply adequate, but unmemorable. Note that the two main dining rooms are not open for lunch on port days.
Other dining options. Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse (and bar) features an à la carte menu. It has good table settings, china and silverware, and leather-bound menus. The specialties are premium-quality steaks and grilled seafood items. It’s worth paying the cover charge for food that is cooked to order.
The Lido Marketplace - a direct copy of the name used aboard the AIDA Cruises ships - is a large, self-serve buffet facility, with indoor/outdoor seating areas on a lower (main) level and indoor-only seating on an upper level. A number of designated areas serve different types of ethnic cuisine (including ‘Comfort Kitchen’ - for Americana favorites), although it does become very congested at peak times - the worst is during breakfast - especially around the beverage stands. Go off-peak and it’s much better. The venue includes a Mongolian Wok and Pasta Bar on the upper level, open 6-9pm for tablecloth-free, candle-less buffet dinners. Outside and aft you’ll find the deli and tandoor.
Forward of the Lido Marketplace, adjacent to the ‘beach pool’ you’ll find Guy’s Burger Joint. There’s also BlueIguana Cantina for Tex-Mex fast food items like burritos, tacos, and enchiladas.
Down on Promenade Deck on the starboard (right) side is Fat Jimmy’s C-Side BBQ. Reminiscent of a backyard barbeque, it features grilled items like kielbasa, grilled chicken breast, and the venue’s signature item - pulled pork sandwiches.
Inside on Promenade Deck is Bonsai Sushi - Carnival’s first full-service sushi restaurant, with decor by graffiti artist Erni Vales, and sushi, sashimi, and bento boxes by Carnival.
Cucina del Capitano is an Italian extra-charge eatery, located on the upper level of the Lido Marketplace, with pasta served at lunchtime, and ‘authentic’ Italian specialties at night (now you know where the ship’s navigation officers go).
Entertainment. The 1,964-seat Ovation Showlounge spans three decks at the front of the ship, with seating set in a horseshoe shape around a large proscenium arched stage; the sight lines are generally good, except from some of the seats at the back of the lowest level. Large-scale production shows, with lots of feathers and skimpy costumes, are staged, together with snappy cabaret acts, all accompanied by a live showband.
The Limelight, at the aft of the ship (the showlounge is at the front), seats 425, has a stage, dance floor, and large bar. For late-night raunchy adult comedy, it becomes the Punchline Comedy Club.
For an active movie experience, check out the Thrill 5D Theater, where the seats really move you.
Spa/Fitness. The expansive 23,750-sq-ft (2,206-sq-m) Cloud 9 Spa is large, positioned over three decks in the front section of the ship. The uppermost deck includes indoor/outdoor private spa relaxation areas, at extra cost. A spiral staircase connects the two decks.
The spa offers a wide range of treatments. There are 10 treatment rooms, including a VIP room, a large massage room for couples, and a Rasul mud treatment room, plus two dry flotation rooms. An extra-charge Thermal Suite features the sensory-enhanced soothing heated chambers: Laconium, Tepidarium, Aroma, and Oriental steam baths.