Our family of 5 just returned from the Carnival breeze 8 night southern Caribbean on Sunday. Our kids are 15, 11, and 9. If you are looking for a family friendly boat, this is the one. Our first day on we were able to board at 12 pm. The boarding process went very smooth. All the food places were available for you to enjoy right away. Our room was ready by 1, and our luggage arrived at our door shortly after. I've been on others that the rooms and your luggage wasn't available for hours after boarding.

Let me start with the islands we visited. Our first port was Grand Turk, which is a very small island. We did not book an excursion, we took advantage of the free beach and pool there. These amenities are right off the boat literally. There is a few shops you can browse in, but they are your typical stores. At the pool area, in Margaritaville there is a flow rider, which is the surfing. If you are planning on doing this you have to book with your cruise ship. We tried to do it when we got off the boat and it was booked.

Our next port was the Dominican Republic. We booked an excurion outside of the cruise ship on our own. We went through pro excursions and went rented Dunn buggies. I have read in past reviews how it was confusing, I disagree, we had no confusion at all getting to the destination. A tour guide Michael took us around the island and we stopped at a sugar cane field, went into a village and were able to interact with families there and their children. This was amazing for my children, in which they were able to see how they lived there. We were able to bring them some toys, school supplies, and a few toiletries. We also donated $30.00 in which fed 43 families for one day. Next we went swimming in a little river to rinse off from the massive amount of mud we wore. If you love getting dirty and muddy, this is your excursion. Lastly, we stopped off at a locals home as they prepared us some delicious appetizers. We were also able to taste some of their fruits as we toured the property. On our way back we got more muddy. When we returned back to our starting point, they offered us some island rum. There is a gentlemen that stays with you the whole time on the tour taking pictures. He did an ok job, a lot of the same pictures, but you DO NOT want to bring your own camera here, it WILL get destroyed. He charged us $50.00 for the CD because we had 2 buggies, but it's $30.00 for one buggie. It was a fun day all around though. Read more