Payton had been wanting to go on a cruise for years, and we finally managed to book one in. We decided on a 7 day eastern Caribbean cruise on the fun-filled Carnival Breeze. With stops in St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, Old San Juan in Puerto Rico, and Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic, and Grand Turk. I’ve put together this post to highlight the kind of experience you can expect on a 7 day cruise with Carnival, to help you decide what kind of cruise you might like.
I run a full service travel agency, and would be happy to find the right cruise option for you and your family. Contact me via my Cruise Planner form to start the ball rolling!
Surprising Payton
Years ago we began gifting vacations for Payton’s birthday and Christmas and she loves it, especially the surprise factor! So, for her Christmas present, we wrapped up seven numbered boxes and let her unwrap the clues and build the suspense as she attempted to guess what trip we would be taking. Her face when she opened the cruise ship keychain said it all – FINALLY A CRUISE HOLIDAY!
Tips on picking the best cruise for you
It can be hard to choose your first cruise. John and I had cruised many times, but not in the past 9 years since Payton was born. So we wanted to pick one that would suit her specifically. Our first inclination was a short cruise just in case she did not like the experience or if she suffered from sea sickness. The more I thought about it, that seemed like an oxymoron. Short cruises are often small ships and small ships are more likely to cause seasickness from the motion!
We decided on Carnival, the fun cruise company! We then decided on the Caribbean because we were going in February and wanted to break away from the cold and go somewhere warm and interesting (not to mention that February cruise prices are amazing)! In order to go on a large ship with tons of activities, we had to go for more that 3-4 days. Therefore, in the end, we chose the Carnival Breeze (Carnival’s second largest ship) for 7 days to the Eastern Caribbean.
Arriving for your cruise at Port Canaveral
Living in Georgia and departing from Port Canaveral, Florida is about a 4 hour drive for us. We considered driving down the morning of the cruise since we did not depart until 4pm, but we were concerned about traffic. So we decided to drive down the night before. We used the Radisson Resort at the Port, and their Stay and Park package; that allows you to leave you vehicle on site in a secure parking area while you are on your cruise. They also shuttle you to the ship and back for added convenience.
Boarding
We chose to not pay for the ‘Faster to the Fun’ upgrade that Carnival offers and scheduled our check in for 12:30pm. We then scheduled our shuttle from the hotel for 11:30am. Payton was so excited about her first cruise that she couldn’t sleep in. Lucky for us, there was an early shuttle available so we decided to go for it and see if we could possibly board early.
Arriving at the cruise terminal we found everything much more streamlined and simplified than we remembered it from years ago. We were not required to wait for our appointment. Instead, we proceeded to the line, through security, and were on the ship before 11am. It could not have worked out any better.
The best part about boarding early is that the ship is nearly empty (or at least feels that way). Rooms are not ready until 1:30pm, but we had access to so many options while we waited. We were able to explore the ship, play miniature golf, soak up the Florida sun, and enjoy lunch all before the room was even ready.
Choosing a room
We chose a balcony room mainly because we are a family that prefers to be outdoors. I agree that on a ship, you do not spend a tremendous amount of time in the room. But when we did, we enjoyed being able to step outside and get a breath of fresh air.
We chose a cove balcony because they are located on the second deck of the ship, close to the water level which makes for amazing views and sunsets on the water. They are also conveniently located just one level down from deck 3 which is the gangway (the level that you take to get on and off the ship at the ports of call). We loved this room and found it a good fit for our family.
The Carnival Breeze Cruise Ship
Food & Restaurants aboard the Carnival Breeze
Here are some of the restaurants and food options that we managed to sample on our 7 day eastern Caribbean cruise with Carnival:
Guy’s Burger Joint
Our first meal of the trip was at Guy’s Burger Joint, by Guy Fieri. With five simple but delicious burger options, it’s a easy and casual meal option on board the Carnival Breeze.
Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse
For our first night at sea, we decided to upgrade to the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse. This restaurant isn’t part of the inclusive food offerings, but can be added for a small fee per person. In our opinion, it was well worth the additional expense. If you choose the steakhouse on your first night onboard, they include a complimentary bottle of wine with your meal.
Main Dining Room
On our second night onboard, it was dress-up night. Unlike cruise ships of the past, there are so many dining options to choose from on the current Carnival cruise ships. For the main dining room you can choose early dining, late dining, or any time dining. We chose the late option because that fits into our usual routine better, but we only ate in the main dining two nights during our seven day cruise. Payton enjoyed participating in the lively entertainment provided by the staff in the dining room.
Bonsai Sushi Restaurant
On our third night we chose the Bonsai sushi restaurant for dinner and it far exceeded our expectations. The staff were wonderful, the sushi was spectacular, and of course Payton again participated in the entertainment! We enjoyed Bonsai so much we returned later in the cruise.
Pizza Pirate
We found ourselves on a different schedule, as you do when you’re on holiday. Eating at unusual times of the day. It often transpired that due to late night activities, we were starving by the end of the day. So the 24 hour Pizza Pirate was our saviour! It became our midnight tradition to pick up a few slices to eat in our room. Definitely a holiday treat!
Cucina Del Capitano
Another restaurant not included in the price, but worth trying is Italian restaurant, Cucina Del Capitano. For only $15 for adults and $5 for kids you can upgrade. This small fee allows you to order anything on the menu and it was all delicious. It had a more cozy and quiet atmosphere compared to the main dining room, which was a nice change.
Unlimited Ice Cream
The Carnival Breeze offers unlimited ice cream onboard. I don’t think Payton believed us about the unlimited part, so she had to find out for herself. I lost count of her ice cream cones by day 2! Let’s just say that she got her money’s worth on ice cream alone.
Seafood Shack
The Seafood Shack is on the back of the boat alongside the smaller pool and hot tubs. The food was excellent and Payton enjoyed the pool while we finished our meal. We enjoyed the sunset views from the back of the boat.
Entertainment
Fun for the Kids
Camp Ocean
Payton wanted to check out Camp Ocean – Carnival’s kids program. Any of you that know me personally know that I am that mom, that overprotective, can’t let my kid out of my sight, don’t trust strangers mom, so I was very skeptical. For years I heard rave reviews about the program, but I did not think I could trust anyone with Payton on a ship in the middle of the ocean. Payton wanted to give it a go, so we agreed to take a look. And I have to say, it was everything that I heard it was plus more.
From the moment we walked in I felt completely comfortable leaving her in their care. They provided us with a schedule for the entire week so that she could pick and choose which activities she wanted to participate in. Camp Ocean had everything – arts and crafts, games, magic shows, night owl parties, trivia, jewelry making, face painting, movies, theme nights, dress up parties, dance parties and more.
We decided to leave her for a couple of hours to see how she liked it and we proceeded to the adults-only serenity area upstairs. We checked back a couple of hours later to see if she wanted to join us and she turned us away because she was having too much of a good time!
Build A Bear
Payton has been to Build-a-Bear in the mall back home and loves it so we knew she would enjoy this. There were more than 50 families taking part in the workshop. My first thought was, this is going to take forever. I should have known that Carnival had it planned to perfection.
Each family was given a number upon entry and there were snacks and drinks available as well. The first 10 families were called up to get started while the fun squad entertained the kids waiting. They played I spy, Simon Says, and danced until their number was called. It was surprisingly fun! Payton dressed her stuffed animal in a Carnival shirt so that it would be a souvenir as well.
Water Slides on the Lido Deck
We also lost count of how many times Payton went down the slides during our time onboard. Even before land was out of site she had made new friends and was having the time of her life on those slides. I couldn’t stop smiling either.
4D Thrill Theater
There are 3 different shows to choose from – some are R-rated, so make sure you pick the right one for kids. The chairs in the theater actually move to make you feel as if you are in the movie. There is wind and rain included, movement and smells! As Payton said, it was fun but it was a little scary!
Bingo
We enjoyed playing Bingo on board twice during our cruise. It was very family friendly and fun for all. I was really hoping to win that $5K grand prize, but maybe next time!
Entertainment for the Grown-ups
Punchliner Comedy Club
We enjoyed a comedy show at the Punchliner Comedy Club on one of our ‘date nights’, when Payton was at a late night Camp Ocean event!
Live Music
There are pockets of live music everywhere on the ship, and they definitely aren’t just for adults (see the video of the violinists below). John and I enjoyed having a drink while watching the live shows, during those times when Payton was busy in the kids club!
Trivia in the Adults Only area
Having an adults-only area is a great idea. We all love our families, but having adult conversation and time out is a blessing. We enjoyed our afternoon playing Trivia. Not only did we play, but we won! The irony was that we had named our team ‘the losers’!
Eastern Caribbean Ports & Excursions
Dominican Republic – Amber Cove
Our first stop was Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic. This area was built by Carnival and is only available to Carnival guests. It was absolutely gorgeous and there was so much to do on site including a pool, lazy river, water slides, a zip line, and a sky bar restaurant.
Other Dominican Republic excursions include: Damajagua Waterfalls and historic Puerto Plata tours.
St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands
We arrived into the US Virgin Islands at noon. St Thomas was absolutely beautiful, with so much to offer! We enjoyed kayaking, and some great local food while there. We made a little mistake with our timings while in St Thomas, but the laid back island attitude made fixing things very easy!
Other USVI activities include: Swimming with turtles on Buck Island and taking a rum tour!
Puerto Rico – Old San Juan
We chose not to plan an excursion for this port. Instead, we decided to explore the city of Old San Juan on foot and on our own. We enjoyed an authentic restaurant, explored an old fort, and walked the colorful streets leisurely with no schedule at all. That made for a very relaxing port day.
Other Old San Juan activities include: A Segway tour or perhaps a visit to the Bacardi Rum Distillery!
Grand Turk
Our final port of call was Grand Turk Island in Turks and Caicos. We chose to go snorkeling with Chukka Caribbean adventures and loved every minute of it. We also visited Splashdown Grand Turk (NASA). It was an action packed day, and such a great way to spend our last port day on this seven day eastern Caribbean cruise!
Want to learn more about the history of Grand Turk? Why not take a historical tour by tram!
Sea Days
There is so much to do onboard that sea days aren’t boring at all! That’s the joy of a large boat like the Carnival Breeze – there is so much to explore and things to keep you occupied.
We enjoyed the relaxing sea days, with no particular schedule. Payton made multiple visits to Camp Ocean, we relaxed by the pool, enjoyed lunch on the upper deck, and cooled off in the main theater that afternoon for Bingo! We returned Payton to the waterslides to enjoy her final afternoon while we returned to the room to pack. It was bittersweet for sure to see our time coming to an end, but I can say without a doubt that we made the most of every minute!
Our 7 Day Eastern Caribbean Carnival Cruise
I can honestly say that Payton’s first cruise could not have been any better. The ship, the excursions, the ports of call, the food, and the entertainment were all prefect. I don’t know why we waited 9 years to take her on her first cruise, but I am so glad that we did not wait any longer.
Would you like to set sail on the Carnival Breeze and experience a 7 day eastern Caribbean Carnival cruise for yourself? Get in touch and we can help make your cruise dreams come true!
Let us help you plan your Caribbean cruise,
with our full service Travel Agency!
Copyright © Endless Family Travels – all rights reserved. Photos and content cannot be used without express permission.
Endless Family Travels is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
We love sailing Carnival and we love the Breeze! Glad you had such a good time!
We love, love, love cruising. So much fun! The photos look great.
You guys should join us on our group cruise in February 2020!
I was on a 14-day Journey cruise on the Breeze last November. She is an awesome ship!! Looks like you guys all had a great time. Love the photos and videos!
14 days! That would be awesome!
What a fun trip, Becky! Thanks so much for sharing. That kayak video in USVI definitely made me want to return!!
Well, it certainly looked like she had a blast! What a great cruise!
I never wanted to do a Carnival Cruise, but this sure looks like alot of fun. Maybe I should reconsider!
Thank you for sharing.
Carnival is definitely the fun ship!
That was a wonderful gift. There were so many wonderful activities.
This looks like so much fun! I love your little girls sparkly dress! We are going on our first cruise in January. I am so excited!
My in-laws are currently on a world cruise have a blast. I have never been on a cruise, but I need to! This looks like so much fun!
What a fun family vacation…and awesome surprise for your daughter!
Wow! I didn’t realize there was so much to do on a cruise ship. I am intrigued and might have to plan one for our next family vacation.
Great post. I love the violinists in the atrium
It looks like your daughter fit right in and had a blast! Love your photos and videos too! Especially the photo with all the umbrellas!
Wow, that looks really, really fun! What an informational post! I’ve never been on a Carnival cruise or any other cruise for that matter. It looks like an amazing time!
I WILL take a cruise some day soon! This makes me even more determined.
This is something we have wanted to plan for years. Maybe we need to make it a reality.
Yes you do!
I am always amazed by the sheer size of cruise ships and all the stuff they can put on them. This one looks amazing! I’ll have to check it out.
Every time I read a post about cruising, I want to pack my bags and go!
What a great post! We love sailing with Carnival. Our kids 2 and 4 had such a great time. Too bad Carnival isn’t great at responding, because this would be a great sponsored post. Great video and pics.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed!
Wow! What an amazing trip! And your daughter looks so happy in the pics! I’ve been hesitant to cruise, but this looks like so much fun!
We were hesitant for years, but don’t be! Go for it!
This is amazing! It looks like a floating resort!!! I can’t wait to try cruising at some point.
My husband does the same thing with me – wrap up various little gifts and usually sends me on a scavenger hunt throughout the house. I love the element of surprise and I love how you “gift” trips and vacations for Payton. What an adventure and it looks like you guys had an amazing trip. Cruising is a blast!!!
That is so cool! It makes the gifting so much more fun! The anticipation and excitement!
Always wanted to go on a cruise. Thought my first would be the Disney Cruise but, now I want to go on this one!
You should go with our group in February! You would love it!
Posts like this want me to book a cruise right now! Now if I could just get over my fear of water it’d be grand! One day, promised myself one day I will go on a cruise!
What a fun trip! You all made such special memories together. And so many fun activities to choose from too. Great cruise choice.
I want to cruise. I get motion sick so I’m nervous about it. I know there are things to help. I will get out there one day. Thanks for all the great info!
I’m warming up to Carnival now. My hubby’s cousin just did this same cruise, and between their pictures and yours, it looks pretty amazing!!
Gotta love a good cruise! Looks wonderful
Love cruising and the US Virgin Islands! Looks like a fun family ship
What a great idea. Experiences last a lifetime in their memories, so much better than “stuff”. I have been on this exact cruise, we loved it. It was great seeing all your pictures and reminiscing with those memories!
That looks so fun. We would love to go on a cruise. It’s on our list.
“Very interesting subject, thank you for posting.”
This looks so fun! And it looks like you all had a great time. I love the idea of gifting vacations.
Also, fellow Georgian here 🙋♀️. Traffic is a nightmare ha. My fiance’s mom and stepdad go on a cruise every year. They usually drive down a day or two before they depart and stay at a hotel or with family in the area.
First of all, I LOVE that you give trips as gifts. That would always be my favorite gift!!! Secondly, looks like an amazing time. We’ve got 2019 all planned out but have been kicking around the idea of a cruise in the next few years.
You should join our group cruise in February 2020!
What a lovely trip and so much fun at that age!
Alrighty… I love that tradition! I think I may borrow that for me and my husband and future posterity because that’s amazing!
We love it! Our next trip is in 3 weeks to celebrate Payton’s 10th Birthday and she has no idea where she is going! She just knows that it will be somewhere she has never been before 😁
This trip looks amazing!!! That ship looks incredible and it looks like Payton had the best time ever! We have cruised carnival before but never on the breeze. We will have to check it out! Great coverage!
Your article brought back amazing memories as Eastern Caribbean was our first cruise. My husband always say, if you can lift a fork you can cruise 🚢 😬 We love St Thomas & can retire there!❤️
I am happy that it brought back amazing memories! Retirement in St Thomas would be awesome!
I’ve always wanted to go on a cruise and this article makes me want to pack my bags right now!
I have never been on a cruise, but this looks like so much fun. I love the idea of gifting a vacation for birthdays and Christmas. My kids never go for it 🙁
I haven’t tried a cruise yet, it looks interesting. It seems crowded, but your post shows how fun they can be!
Wow, this looks like so much fun! Love the pictures and videos! Great post!
Thank you! I’m glad that you enjoyed!
This may be my next vacation!
This looks like such a fun trip, and from someone who has never been on a cruise, you offer some GREAT advice! Thanks so much for sharing your travel experience with everyone.
Excellent story once again! I am looking forward for your next post=)
Wow sound like you had a wonderful time. We are going on our first solo cruise, our 2nd on the Breeze. We have never been to Amber Cove your pictures were great! We are at 49 days and counting. We are on the Spa deck !!!
Awesome Pam and thanks for your kind words! We will be back on the Breeze in February 2020!
Good post!
Best days is Vacation days !