Our party of four arrived in Barcelona around 12:30 PM the day of the cruise - November 6, 2012. We were three hours delayed in arrival due to an unresolved problem with an upgraded navigational system installation on our aircraft. We were all quite relieved when we finally departed from the gate at JFK. There were quite a number of us onboard taking the cruise. Our transfers with Carnival from the airport to the ship went well. We completed the boarding process in minutes.

What surprised me the most about our cruise on the sparkling new Carnival Breeze cruise ship was the smoothness of our transatlantic crossing. How lucky we were since last year's crossing of The Carnival Magic was quite rough. Our 15-day Transatlantic Voyage included Ports of Call at Barcelona, Spain, Palma De Mallorca, Spain, Malaga, Spain, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Antigua, St Maarten, NA and Miami, FL This newest addition to the Carnival fleet has a very different feel to it.

The ship itself is simply stunning. Gone are the glaring neon color schemes and dizzying competing patterns on older Carnival ships. Instead, I welcomed the calming Caribbean palette of colors: clear aqua, sky blue, mint green, shades of yellow and soft browns the color of sand. There was just a tease of delicate pink neon swirl on a section of the ceiling in the Lower Level Sapphire Restaurant (MDR). I did enjoy the outdoor palm tree decorations, the cheerful yellow umbrellas in the Lido Marketplace Buffet and the whitewashed & the rattan deck furniture. The three deck-high Ovation Theater looks lovely and inviting with comfortable long couches and convenient small beverage tables. Almost every seat has an unobstructed view of the stage. All the public areas- lounges, bars, Breeze Atrium, pubs etc are beautiful. The Serenity decks & others have comfortable cushioned lounges and rattan enclosures - even some hammocks. Read more