This is a mixed review of the Carnival Breeze. While I have some very good things to say about this cruise ship. I have some negatives to point out as well. None of the negatives were so horrific that they were able to take away my ability to have an excellent vacation. However, they are definitely worth mentioning and they did manage to turn my enjoyment down a few notches. All in all this is a fun and beautiful cruise ship and definitely worth sailing on.

My family just recently got back from an eight night Christmas Cruise aboard the Carnival Breeze. Let me start by saying that the ship is a beautiful vessel! The new cleaner more modern look is far better and more attractive than the typical psychotic color choices of older vessels. The wide outdoor promenade deck on deck 5 was extremely enjoyable. The sports deck with its fun multi-level putt-putt course, outdoor pool tables and ropes course was a fun attraction. The water slides are very fun and the young and the young at heart should make it a point to enjoy both of them. The adults-only Serenity area was a favorite of ours and is a very nice addition to the boat. The fact that those hot tubs stayed open till 11PM was handy. The Ocean Plaza on deck 5 was always a happening place. There was always a crowd for the various trivia games they would run and my family really enjoyed Giant Jenga. The interior flow of the boat and the ability to get fore and aft easily on multiple decks without having to go through the casino was an upgrade not to be overlooked. I mention this mostly because it brings me to the first and probably biggest negative I have about this boat. The casino stinks! I don't mean that it doesn't have good games or is poorly laid out or you never win. I mean it very literally, it reeks! It smelled so horribly of stale cigarette smoke the very first day before we ever even left port that none of us really wanted to walk through the area. You can only imagine how bad it got by the last day of our 8 night cruise. If you even walked through the casino your clothes would smell horrible and it quickly got unpleasant to stay and play any games. What made things even worse was the Carnival staff displayed a behavior that I witnessed a few times during this cruise, they are very willing to accommodate a small number of vocal guests at the expense of a larger majority. Normally games like blackjack, three card poker and ultimate Texas Hold'em have smoking and non-smoking tables. The pit bosses were so easily convinced to change that policy that by day two of the cruise there were no non-smoking tables period. It wasn't until enough of us called them out about it that they changed it back on the last day of the cruise. It had the positive effect of keeping me out of the casino and saved me money. However, since I had been seriously looking forward to gambling a good bit on this cruise, it was a major disappointment. Like all of Carnival's fleet they have the horrible Poker Pro tables instead of a live Texas Hold’em dealer. Even if I actually wanted to play on their lone atrocious table, it was stationed inside the even smokier casino bar. It is the 21st century and the dangers of smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke are very well known. To have a brand new boat smell like a night club from the 80s already because a company puts the needs of the few above the needs and health of the majority of their customers not to mention their own employees (some of which even complained to us about how bad it was on that cruise) is a crying shame. The casino has such a low ceiling and absolutely zero smoke control measures other than to try and cover the smell with Fabreeze which made things worse. By the end of the week, my wife had given up completely on the casino and I had limited my time greatly. It will be a very huge factor in selecting our next cruise ship and line. If Carnival continues to do nothing about smoking on their boats, this very well may have been my last Carnival cruise!

The food on the Carnival Breeze was very good for the most part. I will start of by saying that we tried their steakhouse, Fahrenheit 555, and it was totally worth the extra charge. That was by far the best meal I had had not only on this particular ship but any cruise ship. The service was superb and you definitely left feeling confident you not only got your monies worth but were treated like royalty. If you have the opportunity to try the Steakhouse, I highly recommend you do. The entrees and appetizers in the dining room and at the buffet were extremely enjoyable. A few of my party did choose poorly a night or two and got the few dishes that were not a highlight such as the horrific lobster bisque and the Seafood Newberg that had a sauce that looked and tasted just like the bad bisque. If you try the dining room and see them on the menu, chose something else! The only real gripe I have with the food was the deserts. They were definitely below what you would expect from Carnival and in fact I can only think of one or two that were actually worth eating. Even the famous Carnival Chocolate Melting Cake was a disappointment on all but one night it was tried at my table. So I am not sure who the pastry chef was but he or she was definitely not up to par that week. Every single dessert tried in the buffet area was tasteless and was not finished. I did have one other issue with the restaurant staff on this cruise. It was something I would have never had expected from an industry that prides itself on customer service. Without any warning or discussion, my party of five was moved from a wonderful table with a view out the back of the ship to a table inside the other dining room by the interior railing. When I inquired about the change I was told that they had to make 551 moves that day to accommodate a party of 31 that wanted to sit together. So again, Carnival was willing to put the needs of a few people over that of a larger group. When I complained, the Maitre D’ did try to do everything he could to make sure we were happier than when I first found out about the switch. He bought us all a round of drinks and assured us that we would be extremely happy with the level of service we received. To his credit, the waiter and his staff we were reassigned to took exceptional care of us and in the end we were very happy with our dining experience. However, I will say that the way it was handled did not make for a very good customer experience. I am also convinced that the only reason the Maitre D’ even addressed the situation is because I made my displeasure very well known to his assistant the morning I received my change notice in my mailbox. Read more