Got walking pneumonia, but still had a great trip

The Carnival Breeze is a beautiful ship, well laid out and highly enjoyable. The staff are top notch! This is one ship I'd love to sail on again. Although my trip was riddled with bouts of sickness, fever and loss of my voice, the crew were extremely accomodating.

Cabin 6246 is a great balcony with an awesome view and close to 12 elevators. Only downside, you hear EVERYTHING in the theater below. While this normally isn't a problem, when you're sick as can be, that's the last thing you want to hear.

Our cabin steward, Made' and I Made', we're family members from Indonesia. They were so caring. Checking on me several times a day, bringing blankets and towels, refilling ice buckets, water bottles and thoroughly cleaned my cabin daily from top to bottom.

Dining - When we got on the ship, we were assigned to the Blush upper level at 8:15 pm. I usually do not eat after 7 because of medications, so the maître d' Changed our seating to early in the lower level. We shared a table with two other couples and this became the highlight of our day! We enjoyed catching up and chatting to see what everyone was doing. They shared a lot of interesting facts about their state (Maine) with us and we became great friends.

Our servers: I Nengah (main server), Andrie (assistant) and Ray (assistant) were enjoyable. They remembered our names, what we liked and were very accomodating when I asked for orange juice for dinner. When they realized I was sick, they sent the meal to my cabin for me.

The lido deck's food was okay. Breakfast was always crowded especially the omelet bar. They kept the tables cleaned and everything was well stocked, but there wasn't much variety from day to day. Lunch was about the same as breakfast. The burrito place was always packed and it closed early (2pm) everyday. Dinner was always a surprise. They had lamb, prime rib, steak kabobs, etc. It was a treat to eat up there at 10. The pizza place was always hopping!

Entertainment: the shows were entertaining, but seemed to be the same thing over and over, but with different music. They featured Divas of music one day, Motown another, and Latin another. I missed the other two shows due to being sick, but I know they were happening (I could hear them!)

Mike the cruise director really made the shows! He is PHENOMENAL! Always cheerful, hilarious and a jokester! He brought the party! The shows never ended in the theater, they always took the show to the atrium and partied for another 30-45 minutes with the crowd! This was one of my favorite parts of the cruise!

Shopping -

Here's where it goes terribly wrong! Frank the shopping expert did not order the coupon books! The $25 Fun Find Coupon Books are great because they are filled with coupons for free and reduced items. I had an old book (2013), but everything was expired. I saw him on the first sea day during his shopping info session and he told me he had only 60 books. I told him I definitely wanted on and he ASSURED me he would put on aside for me. Well, that was a lie! Later that afternoon in the second class he had on gemstones, he told everyone he only had 20 books. During the presentation he promised myself and three other people gifts for answering questions and being interactive. He neglected to materialize those gifts, even denying saying he promised us something with all four of us standing there. Then he started giving out the coupon books and he ran out just as I reached his counter. He said he forgot to save one for me, but would check with the other ships in port and get me one. That never happened either. He conveniently forgot till the last port and then said I guess you'll have to take another cruise to get one!

Embarkation was fast and easy! Definitely sign up for an early check in time if you don't get the faster to fun pass.

Jamaica bobsled/Dunn River Falls excursion was fun. Get off the ship ASAP and get to mystic mountain fast. The line for the bobsled is crazy long! We spent 45 minutes in line, but the ride was worth it. You can go again for more money, but the line was three times as long, so we opted to go on to Dunn River. The chair lift up is very peaceful. Lots of great views and awesome pictures. The dancers at the top were engaging and taught my girls the dance. The craft vendors are kinda pricey, but that's how they make a living.

DunnRiver is extra cool. We've done this before, but really liked it. The guides are great. Couple of hints! Don't pay them at the top of the fall for the video. Tell them to bring the video to the parking lot. A good many never got their video this time because they paid ahead. They will find you! Promise! Also, as you exit there is a craft market that you have to wind through. They are similar to hungry begers trying to grab you as you walk by. Be firm! They are very persistent and can be over bearing at times, but if you tell them you have no money, they will leave you alone.

Grand Cayman Stingrays - We had bought the Deluxe Stingray City tour. We arrive at the port, e tied the tender and got into the open area to find our tour. There were no signs for stingrays anywhere, so we asked the ship's excursion staff. That is when we found out that they had canceled the tour. There was no notice or message in the cabin, nothing said on the ship or tender and nothing said till we inquired. The ship had canceled all stingrays without notice because they felt the water was too rough. This was frustrating to us since this was suppose to be a highlight of the trip. My daughter and I found out that the local port authority was doing stingray tours. The cost was $45 ($5 less than Carnival). The lady was willing to reduce the fare to $40, but I was not sure. I was afraid that the sea was going to be too rough. She assured us it would be fine and then offered to reduce the girls' fare to $35/each. My daughter jumped on the idea of a bargain and "wheeling and dealing/ haggling" was in her blood! She ended up getting the lady to agree to $30/person for everyone in our group. So, moral of the story... Haggle away! They want your money!

Cabin 6246 is a great balcony with an awesome view and close to 12 elevators. Only downside, you hear EVERYTHING in the theater below. While this normally isn't a problem, when you're sick as can be, that's the last thing you want to hear.
Our cabin steward, Made' and I Made', we're family members from Indonesia. They were so caring. Checking on me several times a day, bringing blankets and towels, refilling ice buckets, water bottles and thoroughly cleaned my cabin daily from top to bottom.