Carnival Breeze... Things To Do on a Sea Day

 



On our recent cruise in the Caribbean on the Carnival Breeze, there were two Sea Days... only sailing, no stopping.  On these days, there were extra activities scheduled to keep the guests occupied.
The pool pictured above is the party pool. Lots of activity, loud music, a bar or two where alcohol was served, Guy Fieri's Burger Joint (Guy Fieri is the guy with the blond spiky hair on the Food Network's show called "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives), and a Mexican restaurant called "The Blue Iguana".  We spent no time here during the day but at night time, they showed movies.  We also watched some of the NBA play-off games here. It was nice when it was dark out.

There were four hot tubs like this on Deck #5.  Nice view!  The orange things in the photo are the tops of lifeboats.

 

While on the ship, I also really enjoyed walking around both inside and outside.  This area is called the atrium and it's the one area where you can see up several levels.  I kind of expected more areas on the ship where there would be big open cavernous spaces (I pictured more vaulted ceilings several stories high) but on a ship, space is limited so I guess it wouldn't make sense to waste space like that.   There are glass elevators in the atrium area which go up about at least 10 decks.  There were decorative fabric lantern-like light fixtures filling up the open space.  It made for dramatic ride in the glass elevator.

I took the photo above from Deck #10 and you can see the concentric ovals down below which is actually a dance floor on Deck #3.  The pale blue wall, which resembles the sky, has little white twinkly lights embedded in the wall.

Hmmmm, I did not take a good photo of the sports deck which was Deck #12 (I think).  This was a very cool area... mini-golf, a ropes course, ping pong, pool table, a multi-purpose area for basketball or volleyball, outdoor workout equipment, and a walking track (7 laps was one mile).  Zach and I spent a lot of time on the sports deck; I especially liked it up here in the evening.  The mid-day sun was a bit too much for me.  But at 9:00 pm, 85 percent humidity, and 80 plus degrees... I liked it.

I mentioned the towel creatures they housekeeping staff would leave in our room each evening.  On one of the Sea Days, we attended a towel folding demonstration and we learned how to make this rabbit and also an elephant.  The ship's candy shop called "Cherry On Top" had available for purchase a book showing how to make the towel creatures. 

The Cooking Demonstration I attended on board was also a really fun activity on one of the two Sea Days.  I have a coworker who goes on cruises a few times each year it seems. She said to look for trivia contests while on board.  I did find trivia contests on the Sea Days and attended a few of them and they were very fun.  There was Sports Trivia, Food and Drink Trivia (I missed that one... darn it!), Super Trivia, Name That Tune Trivia, all kinds of trivia.  It was a nice way to spend time and socialize with some other people on the cruise.  Zach and Ron both participated in some of the trivia contests and enjoyed them as well. They also had a napkin folding demonstration on one of the Sea Days.  Zach was so impressed by the fancy folded napkins in the fancy dining rooms in the restaurants on the cruise ship. We were bummed we missed the napkin folding class.

There was one day early on in the cruise where Ron and Zach were both feeling poorly.  I really enjoyed the time I spent lounging in shade reading a book. I read "The Hunger Games" on the ship. I loved that book.  I am reading the 2nd book right now.

My favorite area on the ship was the pool on Deck #10 at the very back of the ship. It was a quite, relaxed atmosphere. On the last night of the cruise, Zach and I hung out here and we had nearly the whole desk to ourselves. I liked hanging out here at nighttime... did not have to worry about getting too much sun. I was hoping for starry nights but with the humidity and cloudy skies, we did not see the moon or any stars. Sometimes we would see the lights from other ships off in the distance though.

 



Carnival Breeze... Visting Nassau, Bahamas

We did not plan ahead for our time in Nassau, Bahamas, so again... "we winged it". We hopped in a cab and went to the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort to spend the day.   At the resort, you can buy a day pass to use the various ammenities available at the resort.  The cheapest option is a day pass for access to the beaches, two acquariums, and lunch at the resort for about $60.00 per person. You can also pay for access to the pool and the most expensive option grants you access to their waterpark for $129.00 per person so you can ride five slides! Eeek!  We opted for the cheap version.  We swam in the water at the beach, snuck into one of their pools (shhhh, don't tell anyone!), and then we got kicked out of the pool due to rain, lightning, and thunder.  It rained like you would not believe. We hid under the edge of a building until it stopped (maybe 20 minutes and about an inch of rain). After that we found one of the restaurants where we could go for lunch and had some fish and chips.  After that, we checked out the two acquariums we were allowed to see and they were quite nice.  In one area, you go though a glass tunnel and the predators swim above and around you... sharks and the hugest manta ray called "Hercules".  I honestly think the thing was at least 12 feet across.  Spectacular to see.  They also had some beautiful acquariums that featured really cool creatures... seahorse.  Unbelieveable to see up close like that. Our favorite tanks contained jellyfish, including some that were phosphorescent or "glowed in the dark."  Watching them swim was rather hypnotic.  My husband and I both had the same thought, "Man, if we were really rich we would have big acquariums in our home with jellyfish in them!"

The Atlantis Paradise Island Resort... it was a hazy, cloudy day. When the sun came out, it was unbelieveably hot!

Carnival Breeze... Visiting Ocho Rios, Jamaica

One thing we panicked a bit about on our cruise was neglecting to research "what to do" when we got to the various ports. The night before we docked at Ocho Rios, Jamaica, we visited the desk on the ship where you could book tours.  Wouldn't you know, everything that looked good to us was already booked and not available to us.  But fear not, we've travelled just enough to know that the odds were still in our favor... we could get off the boat and try to book a tour with another tour group or hop in a cab and just go to the tourist destination on our own. We chose the latter in Ocho Rios.

Carnival Breeze... Visiting Turks & Caicos

Another post about our recent cruise.

First stop on our trip was the island of Grand Turk, which is part of Turks & Caicos.

Carnival Breeze... See Our Stateroom

Another post about our recent cruise to the Caribbean.  I hope I am not boring you with the details. I figured this was a good way to share our trip photos with friends and family.  I just realized in posting these photos, I have no pictures from this trip with me in them. Typical.  No evidence I was even on this trip. 

This was our room. We got an inside room with no windows.  We did not plan to spend much time in the room so we figured this was good enough.  I think we did sleep really well on the cruise since the room was so dark even when the sun rose in the morning.   Zach slept in the "bunk bed" which was like a Murphy Bed which popped out of the ceiling.  The bed below the bunk bed is actually two twin beds so you can see the room can be configured a few ways.  The room had a mini fridge, a small safe, big closets, a TV, three suitcases, and a very compact bathroom, but it was nice.

Carnival Breeze Cruise... On Board Cooking Demonstration

I am slowly sharing my experiences about our recent trip on the Carnival Breeze in the Caribbean. If I were to write about it all in one post, smoke would probably start coming out of my computer... so much to say!

One of the most fun things I did on the ship on one of the "Sea Days" (where we were just sailing... no stops) was attend a Cooking Demonstration in the ship's fancy restaurants called "Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse".  It was on Deck #5 and it was one of the restaurants where you had to pay $35.00 per person to eat at this restaurant. 

Cucina Del Capitano... Carnival Breeze Cruise Ship

We just returned from our first cruise!

 

We sailed on the Carnival Breeze out of Miami, Florida, from Sunday, June 2, 2013, until Saturday, June 8, 2013.  We stopped at the island of Grand Turk of Turks & Caicos, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and Nassau, Bahamas.  I could go on and on about the cruise but that would be a really long post, so I will share with you a post about the last dinner we had on the cruise ship which was probably one of the best meals I've had... EVER. 

 

We struggled a bit on the cruise.  My son had a terrible head cold before the cruise even started and it never entirely went away.  My husband was very sick from the motion of the boat. By the end of the cruise, I could tell I was getting my son's cold.  Despite all that, I think we did a pretty good job of making the best of it.  On the final night of the cruise, after spending the day exploring the resort called "Atlantis" in Nassau, my husband called one of the ship's "fancy" restaurants to see if they could squeeze us in.  I thought it was a lost cause but we got an early seating at 6:00 pm.  So glad we went.

 

The boat has a few restaurants where you have to pay a bit more for a meal. Of course, most of the food on the ship was free. For our meal at this restaurant, we had to pay $12.00 per person.  For the fancy steakhouse on ship, it was $35.00 per person.  The Italian restaurant is called "Cucina Del Capitano", which I believe translates to Captain's Kitchen. The ship's captain is from Italy.  The restaurant serves Italian dishes family style and there were symbols on the menu to denote "The Captain's Favorite" dishes.  Of course, the three of us were all interested in different menu items so we all ordered what we liked which was great because I loved seeing so many different dishes.  

I neglected to take a photo of the first course which was bruschetta (grilled bread). It came out on a wooden cutting board with ricotta cream, some roasted garlic, and some cherry tomatoes.  I would like to try to replicate the ricotta cream; it had both lime and lemon zest in it and was super creamy. 

Above is my appetizer which was "Antipasto".  A little grilled bread, a little prosciutto, some eggplant, zucchini, roasted peppers, and olives (all of which were marinated), and shavings of Parmesan cheese.  In the very front on the left of the plate, is a dollop of what I am calling mashed figs.  Behind that, there is an olive tapenade.  It was filled with whole pine nuts.  I have to say the olive tapenade with whole pine nuts seriously looked like wild animal scat.  Not trying to be gross, but I'm just saying...   It was a treat to try so many special and delicious items.

For my main course, I ordered "Piatta della Nonna" which was a pasta dish made with penne pasta smothered in a vodka cream sauce made with San Marzano tomatoes. I enjoyed reading the menu so much that, by the time my ordered arrived, I forgot that I had ordered a dish with shrimp.  I had a bite of the shrimp and wondered, "What the heck? Is that corn in the sauce?!"  It was shrimp. The dish was delicious and I LOVED the arugula on top.  I will have to try that at home to add some freshness to pasta.

For a side dish, I ordered Broccoli Capponata. It was basically steamed broccoli smothered in a sauce. I think the menu said it was a pepper sauce but it seemed to also have a lot of tomato in it. 

I love seeing Zach being adventurous when we travel. He's kind of a picky eater and does not like tomato based sauces. That can make ordering at an Italian Restaurant tricky and Fettuccine Alfredo is usually his "go to" dish.  This time, he saw "Spaghetti Carbonara" on the menu and he said, "That dish has a LOT of ingredients, but I like them all!"  Pasta, cream, cheese, bacon, and fried oregano... how can you go wrong!  Zach loved it.  He tried to finish it but eventually surrendered.

Zach ordered a side of Rosemary Potatoes and he said they were awesome.  Zach will chew on fresh rosemary leaves which I find amazing.  He loves strong flavors. 

Ron ordered "Nonna's Linguine and Meatballs".  His dish was garnish with fried basil leaves.  He said it was delicious and he could not finish it.  I think the portions were ridiculously huge since it's a family style restaurant.  Looks like we were "carb loading" at our table.

What a nice way to end the last day of our cruise... oh, we had a little carafe of Chianti wine.

But wait, there's more...

I ordered the Magic Tiramisu... a Captain's Favorite.
Zach ordered the Lemon Sherbert.

I have always wanted to try tiramisu.

Do you see the little "coffee bean" garnish on there? It was actually shaped coffee flavored chocolate. I think it was sitting on a sugar cube so it did not sink into the cream.  Zach ate the chocolate fans.  So pretty!

I snapped this photo when the serving staff were singing a song to the guests.

All of the light fixtures in the restaurant looked as if they were filled with or lined with these decorative glass "beads".  I know they don't have holes in them like beads do but I don't know what else to call these pretty glass things. 

Next, I'll have to tell you about the Steakhouse "Cooking Demonstration" I attended on board. It was a blast and delicious!