7 Reasons I Still Love the Carnival Breeze

If you have booked a cruise on the Carnival Breeze, you are in for a great time.

I first sailed on the Carnival Breeze and absolutely loved it. Since then, I've had the opportunity to sail on quite a few other ships, including smaller Royal Caribbean ships, Harmony of the Seas, and MSC Seascape.

Sailing on those ships has definitely changed the way I look at cruising. I've experienced larger ships with more activities, different layouts, more dining options, and amenities that weren't available on the Breeze.

But here's the thing—I still love the Breeze.

There is something about this ship that made my cruises enjoyable, and after sailing on so many different ships, I can appreciate those things even more.

I've sailed on the Breeze twice in the past year, and there are many reasons I would happily sail on her again.

So this isn't a comparison of the Breeze to every other ship I've sailed. Instead, I want to share the things I love about the Carnival Breeze and why I think you can have a fantastic cruise without sailing on the biggest or newest ship.

There are many more reasons to love the Breeze than what I've listed below. I had friends who went to the Cloud 9 Spa and said it was a great experience, but since it requires an additional fee and I didn't personally use it, I left it off this list, along with other activities that require an extra charge.

#1 THE ROOMS

One of the things I really liked about the Carnival Breeze was the size of the staterooms. I've stayed in rooms on several different cruise ships since then, and I think the Breeze does a good job of giving you enough space to be comfortable.

The rooms can get a little crowded if you have four people sharing a cabin, especially with the upper bunk taking up some of the space. But overall, I found the rooms comfortable, and the bathrooms have a decent amount of shelving for storing your belongings.

On one of my cruises, we were traveling with a two-year-old and had a stateroom with two bathrooms, one of which had a tub. That was a huge bonus when traveling with a little one.

#2 SERENITY DECK

I'm just going to jump to one of my favorite parts of the ship—the Serenity adult-only area.

Cruise ships can get crowded, and sometimes finding a quiet place to relax can be a challenge. That's especially true on ships that are very family-oriented.

The Serenity area on the Breeze was one of my favorite places to escape the crowds. There are comfortable loungers and hammocks, and I found it to be a great place to read a book, catch up on Facebook, take a nap, or just sit and enjoy the ocean.

#3 THE FOOD

Let's face it—one of the best parts of a cruise is eating food you don't have to cook yourself!

And the Carnival Breeze certainly doesn't lack for food choices.

There are two main dining rooms, the Blush and the Sapphire. The presentation was beautiful, and I enjoyed the food. And if you like crème brûlée, don't skip it!

There are also plenty of included dining options around the ship, including pizza, Guy's Burgers, BlueIguana Cantina, the Deli, and Mongolian Wok.

There are also several specialty dining options available for an additional fee.

You can read the entire list of dining options, along with descriptions, HERE.

#4 WATERWORKS 

you're cruising with kids, they're probably going to love WaterWorks.

There are slides, water sprayers, and the giant bucket that dumps a ton of water once it fills up.

This is one of those areas where the kids can have a great time while the adults get to enjoy watching them have fun.

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#5 ENTERTAINMENT

You won't lack for things to do on the Carnival Breeze.

The ship has a three-tiered Ovation Theater, which can be accessed from decks 3, 4, and 5. It hosts the ship's main productions, with music from different eras and genres.

There are also games and activities throughout the day. We had a great time playing Guess Who and Music Trivia.

And if you love those towel animals you find in your cabin, you'll want to take the towel-folding class!

But one of my favorite forms of entertainment was much simpler.

Every night, movies were shown on the big screen on the Lido Deck. Grab a lounge chair, get some popcorn, and relax under the stars while watching a movie as you sail across the ocean.

That is still one of those simple cruise experiences that I remember fondly.

#6 CAMP OCEAN

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Camp Ocean, especially since my two-year-old grandson spent many hours there.

Camp Ocean is for children ages 2–11. You'll need to register your child to participate in the activities, and there are strict sign-in and sign-out procedures. There's also a gate that stays locked, so people can't simply walk into the center. You'll need to show your ID when picking up your child.

But here's what I loved most about it:

There was no guilt about leaving my grandson there.

He loved it!

He couldn't wait to go each day, which meant we knew he was having fun while the adults could enjoy some time of our own.

#7 YOU CAN CRUISE ON A BUDGET

Since this blog is about traveling on a budget, I had to include one last thing: you can cruise the Carnival Breeze without spending a fortune once you get onboard.

In fact, you can spend an entire week on the ship without spending any extra money beyond what you paid for the cruise.

I know it can be done because I've done it many times.

We even spent time in the arcade. As you can see from the pictures, we had a great time.

But here's the funny part: we didn't spend a penny.

We pretended to shoot, played air hockey, and "slayed the bad guys" throughout the arcade without putting a single coin into the machines.

Now, obviously, there are plenty of ways to spend money on a cruise if you want to. Specialty restaurants, drinks, excursions, shopping, spa treatments and other extras can add up quickly.

But you don't have to buy all of those things to have a great vacation.

Don't let a tight budget keep you from having a great time. 

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