A Mighty BREEZE, Part Three

Peter Knego continues his Caribbean cruise aboard Carnival Cruises’ latest, largest ship, the 130,000 gross ton CARNIVAL BREEZE.

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2013 Passenger Ships Desk Calendar by Peter Knego

All photos by and copyright Peter Knego 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Medical Center.

In the span of what must now be a couple hundred cruises, I have only had occasion to visit a ship’s infirmary twice. My first was for a bout of food poisoning on board Orient Line’s MARCO POLO in 1998 and my second time was this morning. After an ongoing battle with a croup I acquired in Singapore last month, it was time to see a doctor. It took some forty five minutes and a bill for $150 ($90 for the physician’s visit and $60 for medication) to get me on my merry way back to Cabin 6412.

Empty QUEST.

Meanwhile, from our vastly empty ship, we had a nice view overlooking the SEABOURN QUEST’s pool area. As that ship and ours lay awaiting the return of passengers from a particularly nice day in St. John’s, Antigua, we continued to check various spaces on the BREEZE off my “do” photo list.

Camp Carnival, facing aft.

The rather vast Camp Carnival children’s facility is located on midships Deck 11 and divided into three play areas for those aged 2 — 5, 6 –8, and 9 — 11. Tweens have a separate space called Circle C and Teens have Club O2, both of which are adjacent to a large video games gallery on Deck 5.  CARNIVAL BREEZE can handle up to 1,500 children on any given cruise.

Serenity on the BREEZE.

Serenity is the CARNIVAL BREEZE’s Adults-only area on forward Deck 15 with its own bar, several whirlpools, cushioned deck chairs, cabanas and hammocks. Unlike some lines with similar adult havens, there is no charge for Serenity.

Lido Marketplace, facing forward/starboard.

For lunch in the 826-seat Lido Marketplace, we decided to try the Tandoori section in its aft/starboard corner.

Spectrum of taste:  Hummus, Baba Ghanouj, Tzatziki and Mint Sauce…

In addition to authentic Indian dishes with curries, lentils, chicken and lamb, the Tandoori station also features Greek salad, baba ghanouj, tzatziki and hummus.

CARNIVAL BREEZE at Antigua.

Since my medication prevented me from being in the sun, we had to abort our planned snorkeling excursion. Instead, we wandered ashore and found a good wifi signal as well as soothing banana and pineapple slushes at the friendly Big Banana Cafe.

SEABOURN QUEST exiting St. John’s.

We returned to the BREEZE just in time to watch the handsome SEABOURN QUEST cast her lines and back out of St. John’s. At 6:00 PM ship’s time (interestingly, the BREEZE did not change time to accommodate the regional time zone, which was an hour later), we followed suit.

Gangham-style in the Blush.

Another festive meal in the Blush Dining Room concluded with waiters on pedestals gyrating in sync to the viral pop hit “Gangham Style”.  It was inevitable!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

CARNIVAL BREEZE at Tortola.

When we awoke, the CARNIVAL BREEZE was getting a morning drenching in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

La Gelateria to the BREEZE.

After a light snack in the Ocean Plaza, we headed ashore. Another planned excursion to Virgin Gorda and the spectacular Baths was also shelved, so we toted our laptops over to the friendly La Gelateria Cafe for the best cappuccino and cafe au lait of the week.

BREEZE in the sun at Tortola.

In the early afternoon, the sun broke out long enough to illuminate the BREEZE in her turquoise element.

Virgin Island Xmas.

On our way back to the ship, despite the sub-tropical locale and 84 degree temperature, there was a reminder or two that we were in the midst of Christmas season.

Wok, Mandarin style, aboard CARNIVAL BREEZE.

Back on board, we ditched the computers and jumped into a relatively short line at the Lido Marketplace for our Mandarin Wok feast of stir fried veggies and chicken in Szechuan and Black Bean Sauce.

Drenched on deck!

Up on deck, it was such a perfect day to get “drenched” by the Drencher or take a dizzying slide ride.

Rainbow ahoy!

At 4:00 PM, the CARNIVAL BREEZE pulled away from Tortola, as the skies were transitioning from rain to shine and back.

Blades above the BREEZE.

A helicopter making circles around the ship dangled what appeared to be the form of Andy Newman, who has been taking the official photos of Carnival Corp. ships for decades. Unfortunately, my malady did not relent enough to make going to regular dinner a wise choice, so I paid a quick visit to the Lido Marketplace for some salad, then spent a low-key eve. in Cabin 6412.

End of A Mighty BREEZE, Part Three

Special Thanks: Martin Cox, Jennifer de la Cruz, Vance Gulliksen, Lis Kemp, Lanie Morgenstern