Carnival Breeze 2023 5-Day Caribbean Cruise Review
Day 4 Part 1 May 16, 2023 Cozumel, Mexico
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Day 4 Part 1 May 16, 2023 Cozumel, Mexico
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Morning Walk Around The Carnival Breeze:
I once again woke up early to walk around the ship before breakfast. Today my plan was to eat breakfast in the main dining room instead of the buffet. Breakfast was scheduled to start in the Blush Dining Room at 7:30am so I had about 45 minutes to walk around the ship before needing to head to the dining room. I started my walk on Deck 11 at the back. Above the Lido Marketplace buffet is Cucina Del Capitano. At lunch, Cucina Del Capitano serves a complimentary pasta lunch where guests select ingredients on a piece of paper. At dinner, Cucina Del Capitano serves a variety of Italian dishes and has a reservation fee.
I once again woke up early to walk around the ship before breakfast. Today my plan was to eat breakfast in the main dining room instead of the buffet. Breakfast was scheduled to start in the Blush Dining Room at 7:30am so I had about 45 minutes to walk around the ship before needing to head to the dining room. I started my walk on Deck 11 at the back. Above the Lido Marketplace buffet is Cucina Del Capitano. At lunch, Cucina Del Capitano serves a complimentary pasta lunch where guests select ingredients on a piece of paper. At dinner, Cucina Del Capitano serves a variety of Italian dishes and has a reservation fee.
After looking in Cucina Del Capitano I walked down to the Lido Deck below. The Tides Aft Pool was not yet open for the day. The clouds behind the Carnival Breeze were a thick gray and it looked like it was raining in the distance. A man happened to walk by and told me that another ship was approaching if I wanted to get pictures. I thanked him for letting me know and then walked up to Deck 11 to see the other ship. It turned out to be the Carnival Dream. The Carnival Dream sails 6 & 8 night cruises from Galveston at the time of this review.
It was great seeing the Carnival Dream! I have sailed on the ship previously in 2014 and 2020, once out of New Orleans to the Bahamas and the other time was to Cozumel from Galveston. The Carnival Dream was the last cruise I took before the Covid pandemic shutdown.
After seeing the Carnival Dream sail by and walking a bit outside I went back inside. My first stop was Deck 5. I walked across the Carnival Breeze's atrium towards the back of the Promenade Deck.
I stepped outside on Deck 7 to see if I could see the sunrise. Unfortunately, the sunrise was blocked by thick dark clouds and it was starting to sprinkle. I was worried our day in Cozumel was going to be a bust weather wise, but the later would be great!!
Looking At The Breakfast Pastries & Fruit On The Continental Breakfast Line:
Although I was planning to eat in the Blush Dining Room, I still walked by to see what the buffet was serving. The continental breakfast buffet line had most of the same pastries as the other mornings of the cruise. Since today was a port of call day the continental breakfast buffet line was scheduled to open at 6:00am. The main lines in the Lido Marketplace were not scheduled to open until 7:00am.
Although I was planning to eat in the Blush Dining Room, I still walked by to see what the buffet was serving. The continental breakfast buffet line had most of the same pastries as the other mornings of the cruise. Since today was a port of call day the continental breakfast buffet line was scheduled to open at 6:00am. The main lines in the Lido Marketplace were not scheduled to open until 7:00am.
Breakfast in the Blush Dining Room:
Breakfast in the Blush Dining Room was scheduled to start at 7:30am and would be taking place on the Deck 3 level of the dining room. A few minutes before 7:30am one of the hostesses came outside the dining room to let everyone know check-in was open. Unfortunately, I had trouble with the Carnival Hub App and thought the check-in did not work. I asked the hostess for help and she was able to see on her end that I was checked in despite the app telling me I was not checked in. The hostess gave us our table number from her tablet instead of the Carnival Hub App since the app was having problems. When the doors opened we told the waiter our table number and he led us to our assigned table. We were assigned the back window section and I had a great view of the back of the ship! |
The breakfast dining room menus were available on the Carnival Hub App or via QR code on the table:
The breakfast menu had some juice options that were free and others that cost $5. I had some grapefruit juice (it was a free option). It tasted delicious and in my opinion seemed fresh squeezed. For my food, I had vanilla French toast with a side of hash browns & bacon. The french toast came with a caramelized banana, but I did not enjoy the sweet taste this early in the morning.
While we sat in the Blush Dining Room eating breakfast the Carnival Breeze docked in Cozumel. It was raining a little bit when we docked (from what I could see from the dining room). However, by the time breakfast ended and I went outside I was surprised to see blue skies. When I left the dining room I headed up to the back of Deck 5. When I stepped outside the first thing I saw was the Carnival Celebration. As of the time of this review, the Carnival Celebration is Carnival's newest ship and is the 2nd in the Excel class. This ship is going to be a sister ship to the Carnival Jubilee that is scheduled to debut later in 2023 and sail from Galveston.
I walked up to Deck 9's front area to look out too. I was able to see the Puerta Maya pier area as well as the International Pier in the distance. Puerta Maya Pier is where Carnival ships docked in Cozumel most of the time. The pier is divided into two sections and can hold 3 ships on a given day. There is a shop that guests must walk through before being able to leave the pier. I'll discuss that a little later...
Eating breakfast in the dining room did not fill me up so I headed up to the Lido Marketplace to get some fruit & pastries. The buffet was packed! After leaving the buffet I went up to Deck 10 to look at Cozumel and see what was going on around the ship. SportsSquare was nearly empty, except there were a few guests walking around.
When I got to the front of Deck 12 I noticed the Carnival Breeze's WaterWorks was in the process of opening. The Drainpipe and Twister Waterslides have entrances that guests can access from Deck 15. I went up to Deck 15 and climbed the stairwell to the WaterWorks. At the very top a crew member was standing to work the slide. I asked her if it would be okay if I stayed up there a minute or two to take some pictures. She said yes and told me the view was great. It was a fantastic view!
Before heading ashore I went back to my stateroom. I made sure to grab an extra camera battery since my battery was getting low as well as my US Passport. Although I personally did not have to show my Passport, announcements were made that we should carry our identification ashore. I also brought some cash ashore (not too much) for making purchases.
Going Ashore To Cozumel:
Getting off the Carnival Breeze to go ashore to Cozumel was quick & easy. We walked down the FWD elevator/stairwell to Deck 0. On Deck 0 crew members directed us to the gangway. The Carnival Breeze's security team was standing by the gangway to scan Sail & Sign cards. There were two lines going and each moved very quick. At the bottom of the gangway, the Carnival Breeze had photographers taking pictures of guests. I declined getting my picture taken and started walking along the pier. The weather was great and the temperature was not too hot at this time. I got some good pictures of both the Carnival Breeze and Carnival Celebration, but due to keeping this review at a manageable size I am not sharing most of my pictures.
Getting off the Carnival Breeze to go ashore to Cozumel was quick & easy. We walked down the FWD elevator/stairwell to Deck 0. On Deck 0 crew members directed us to the gangway. The Carnival Breeze's security team was standing by the gangway to scan Sail & Sign cards. There were two lines going and each moved very quick. At the bottom of the gangway, the Carnival Breeze had photographers taking pictures of guests. I declined getting my picture taken and started walking along the pier. The weather was great and the temperature was not too hot at this time. I got some good pictures of both the Carnival Breeze and Carnival Celebration, but due to keeping this review at a manageable size I am not sharing most of my pictures.
Exiting The Pier & Agricultural Checkpoint:
Before being able to exit the pier all guests were directed through a long shopping complex that sold all sorts of jewelry, perfumes, snacks, shirts, random Cozumel items, soft drinks, and more. This shop was crowded and when someone stopped to look at stuff this would cause a backup of people. It took a few minutes to navigate through the long shop. After exiting the shop we were stopped and everyone had to go through an agricultural checkpoint. Dogs were utilized to find people who were bringing food off the ship. Prohibited items were being confiscated. Going through this checkpoint was required for everyone.
Before being able to exit the pier all guests were directed through a long shopping complex that sold all sorts of jewelry, perfumes, snacks, shirts, random Cozumel items, soft drinks, and more. This shop was crowded and when someone stopped to look at stuff this would cause a backup of people. It took a few minutes to navigate through the long shop. After exiting the shop we were stopped and everyone had to go through an agricultural checkpoint. Dogs were utilized to find people who were bringing food off the ship. Prohibited items were being confiscated. Going through this checkpoint was required for everyone.
After getting through the agricultural checkpoint, we were free to walk around Cozumel! Puerta Maya has many shops in the cruise complex and many of these are discussed during the Carnival Breeze's SEE The Caribbean Shopping Show.
My first stop ashore was Puerta Maya's beach. The beach area at Puerta Maya has many chairs setup for people to lay outside and look at the nice blue water & ships. Despite it being early in the morning several of the chairs were already taken and the beach area was crowded. Please note - this beach is not one for swimming at all or even getting in the water! Getting in the water is prohibited!
Since Puerta Maya was crowded I decided I wanted to walk out of the complex and head across the street. There are many different shops located outside of Puerta Maya, but you do have to cross the street. As I walked towards the entrance/exit at Puerta Maya there were many taxis lined up waiting to take guests
After leaving Puerta Maya I waited to cross the street. Sometimes in the past there has been a police officer to help stop traffic, but today there was not. The street is busy so if you do decide to cross here you need to be careful. The pavement on the sidewalk and along the crosswalk is not very even so be cautious and watching your step is very important. The shops, bars, & places to dine here are also very hounding to get people in their door. I was constantly bugged about renting a car, moped, or buying cigarettes. Those seemed to be common sales themes as I walked by the shops. I had to tell each one "no, thank you" but would find they would keep upping the pressure until I would walk past. Here are some pictures as I crossed the street after leaving Puerta Maya:
I walked to the 7-Eleven because I was thirsty for Coca-Cola. I bought a glass bottled Coca-Cola for $1.00 in USD and it was very tasty. The 7-Eleven is a great place to buy small things that a guest might need on the ship. Some items inside were priced nicely while others were expensive. Also, it is worth noting all of the prices were in pesos. The store was clean and the employees working were helpful. I had to ask them to open my glass bottled coke since the top needed a bottle opener to open.
After leaving the 7-Eleven I walked towards the Royal Village Shopping Center. I wanted to find a quiet place to sit and drink my Coca-Cola.
The Royal Village Shopping Center is a very short walk from the 7-Eleven and is right across from the International Pier. The Royal Village Shopping Center has two stories, but most shops are located on the first floor. There is a restroom on the 2nd floor. On the 2nd floor there are some vacant tables so we sat upstairs to drink our Cokes. There is an elevator to come upstairs, but it was out of service.
The 2nd level of the Royal Village Shopping Center allowed me to get some pictures of the ships in the distance. The power lines were in the way of me getting some really good pictures, but I was happy with the view. I did notice it was starting to get cloudy and the wind had a slight coolness to it. I started to get worried it was going to rain (it did not).
International Pier:
The International Pier in Cozumel is typically where Royal Caribbean ships will dock. This cruise complex is located very close to Puerta Maya and has many different shops, restaurants, & bars. There was not a ship docked at the International Pier on this day, but the gates were open because guests from the Carnival ships could walk to Margaritaville, Sr. Frogs, and a couple of the other things that were open in this area. The area was very empty since there was not a ship docked.
The International Pier in Cozumel is typically where Royal Caribbean ships will dock. This cruise complex is located very close to Puerta Maya and has many different shops, restaurants, & bars. There was not a ship docked at the International Pier on this day, but the gates were open because guests from the Carnival ships could walk to Margaritaville, Sr. Frogs, and a couple of the other things that were open in this area. The area was very empty since there was not a ship docked.
There was a good spot close to the Margaritaville to get pictures of the Carnival Breeze. Since it was cloudy the pictures did not turn out as nice, but when the weather improved later I ended up coming back out to get more pictures.
After visiting the International Pier area I was ready to start heading back towards the Carnival Breeze. I walked on the opposite side of the street from all of the shops to avoid being hounded with sales pitches. The walk from the exit of the International Pier to the entrance of Puerta Maya Pier was about 5-6 minutes. The walk was quick and overall easy.
Once I was back at Puerta Maya I took a walk around. Some shops were busy and others were sitting empty. My only goal was to purchase some rum cakes to bring home from the Mayan Fiesta Rum Co.
Visiting The Mayan Fiesta Rum Cake Co.
On my past cruises I have been buying rum cakes to take home. I love eating rum cake and it reminds me of being on the cruise & in Cozumel. I did a Mix & Match of 6 rum cake flavors. The employees in the store were offering samples of Mexican Vanilla and Pina Colada rum cakes. Both were very good. I ended up buying several Mexican Vanilla rum cakes, a banana daquiri flavored one and a double chocolate chip flavor.
On my past cruises I have been buying rum cakes to take home. I love eating rum cake and it reminds me of being on the cruise & in Cozumel. I did a Mix & Match of 6 rum cake flavors. The employees in the store were offering samples of Mexican Vanilla and Pina Colada rum cakes. Both were very good. I ended up buying several Mexican Vanilla rum cakes, a banana daquiri flavored one and a double chocolate chip flavor.
After buying the rum cakes I was ready to start heading back to the Carnival Breeze. I stopped to take some pictures along the way, but it was getting close to lunch time and I was getting hungry!
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