Return to Cruise: Carnival Breeze – Embarkation Day Recap

After a fifteen month hiatus, Carnival Breeze will sail her first cruise on July 15th from Galveston. Premier Custom Travel’s Chris Grum will be onboard and will chronicle the experience in our special blog series RETURN TO CRUISE: CARNIVAL BREEZE.

Today, after a fifteen month wait, I boarded a cruise ship again.

The last time I was on a ship was the Breeze’s sister ship, Carnival Dream. We were onboard the very last sailing before the shutdown. Some COVID-19 protocols were already in place and I remember the day we got the news that the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo had been shut down. Now, some 450 days or so later, the moment I’ve longed for arrived and I was able to walk up the gangway and onto a cruise ship.

AT THE TERMINAL

Overall, the experience at the terminal has not changed drastically. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the baggage porters, who were clearly happy to have customer back after a long absence. We had the first arrival window – 10:30am to 11:00am, so we were among the first to enter the terminal. Because this is the first cruise for this ship in fifteen months, there were no passengers to disembark. This made the port traffic much more manageable. Once we had handed our bags over to the porters, we headed into the main entrance.

Pre-COVID, you would have your boarding documents and ID checked downstairs, go through security, and then proceed upstairs to wait for your boarding group to be called. The experience now (at least for July and August) is very similar, with one additional step. Now, the downstairs check is primarily to confirm your vaccination status. Once that is done, you head through security like normal, where your carryon bags are scanned and you walk through a scanner.

Once upstairs, the old check-in counters are again being used to confirm your IDs, boarding passes, and onboard expense account. While it is an additional step, there was not a wait (at least during our time slot) for a representative and we were done in 2-3 minutes. We were then asked to wait in any seating area for our zone to be called.

BOARDING THE SHIP

As you can see from the above video, we were greeted with cheers from the officers and crew as we boarded. To be honest, I had planned on narrating this video but when I started to talk, I got choked up. Just being able to walk onto this ship again took fifteen months of hard work from thousands of people in the travel industry including folks at all the cruise lines, local and national politicians, and many, many more. This was a true team effort and although it took longer than any of us would have liked, we are grateful to be back at all.

My first impressions upon boarding were that really not too much has changed. While we were allowed to remove our masks the moment we stepped onboard, the crew is all wearing masks. Someone at Carnival had the brilliant idea to have each crew member’s photo taken and they are all wearing buttons showing what they look like without the mask. As smart as that is, I look forward to the day when we can throw those buttons in the trash for good.

The first thing we noticed was the lack of crowds, at least for the first hour or so. The ship was EMPTY when we boarded and stayed that way for some time. We were able to go to our staterooms and drop bags – another benefit of not having a cruise on this ship prior to this one. Once our bags were dropped, we headed to the Lido deck for some lunch. Every single crew member we passed greeted us and welcomed us back onboard. Several used the words “welcome home family.” They are truly grateful to be back onboard, perhaps even more than the passengers.

The other thing that was glaringly obvious was the lack of younger children. Typically a summer cruise on Carnival would find about 40% or more of the ship under 18 and quite a large portion of that under 12. Since those under 12 cannot currently be vaccinated, only a handful are onboard. The CDC allows an exception for up to 5% of the passengers, but priority is given to those with a legal or medical need for a vaccine exemption. That leaves little room for younger kids, plus some families may have chosen to delay their cruise until everyone could travel together.

I don’t have an exact count, but I’d guess that we have somewhere between 2500 and 3000 onboard, well below the 4500 or so that would typically sail during the summer.

E-MUSTER DRILL

Let’s face it – nobody likes the muster drill. Prior to COVID-19, we all assembled either on deck or in a lounge, restaurant, or theatre, and watched as the crew demonstrated how to use a life vest and the cruise director or captain read off a long litany of rules and regulations regarding safety. I believe this briefing to be important for sure, but most people failed to pay attention, and often we’d see people extremely intoxicated at these drills. Those days are gone, hopefully forever.

The new E-muster drill is very simple and smartly executed, although it did have a few glitches in its matrix. The idea is pretty simple: You watch a video in your stateroom and report to your muster station at any point during the first few hours onboard (prior to sailing) and watch a short demo about the life vests. That video is also available on your phone, as is a sample file to hear what the emergency signal sounds like. Once you have completed all these steps, your room key is scanned and your muster is complete.

The Carnival HUB app is where the system has its problems. The app reminds you to do your drill, but everyone in our group continued to receive warnings to check in even after we had completed the process. I could see where this would be confusing, especially to first-time guests. This being the first sailing however and the first time this crew has done this, I am happy to give them some slack. Once they iron out the rough spots, this will be a great new feature and make things a lot easier for most.

DAY ONE HIGHLIGHTS

Overall, the experiences on the first day were mostly like things were prior to our long shutdown. Dinner took a bit longer than normal, but I expect there to be a bit of rust, especially when the entire crew is essentially brand new. Usually the ship will only change over a few people at a time, but right now this is the first time this entire crew has worked with paying passengers, some for the first time in fifteen months, and the new employees for the first time ever. There will be a learning curve, and I just hope that people understand that and allow for a few mistakes and a bit slower service. There’s no doubt that they are giving their best and then some.

We enjoyed an awesome sail-a-way from Galveston, plus a delicious dinner in the Blush dining room. Of course, our entire table ordered Carnival’s signature Warm Chocolate Melting Cake for dessert.

Melting Cake Hack: Order a small dish of peanut butter to mix in to the cake itself, and mix up the ice cream for an even tastier experience. The vanilla that typically comes with it is always great, but tonight I had butter pecan, while others opted for more chocolate or strawberry ice cream. No matter what option you choose, you can’t go wrong with this amazing dessert.

After dinner, we enjoyed some shopping in the Fun Shops, the welcome aboard show was packed, and comedian Tom Foss at the Punchliner Comedy Club. The 88 Keys Piano bar was rocking and there were happenings all over the ship. Everyone seems to be very happy to be back and there is a definite energy onboard.

I’m going to be brief at times because our internet connection isn’t the best. I will be uploading photos and menus from each day to a Carnival Breeze: Return to Cruise album on our Facebook page starting tomorrow. I’ll also share blogs posts each night, plus random posts and videos to our social media channels. It’s been a long, emotional day and for us, it’s time for bed. We have spa appointments at 8am tomorrow, plus we want to visit the amazing SeaDay Brunch. So I’ll leave you tonight with another tradition – our first of many towel animals for this cruise.

Have questions you want answered or topics you’d like to see me cover? Send me an email and I’d be happy to include them in future posts.

Tomorrow I’ll have details on our first “fun day at sea” and what a typical day is like onboard with the new protocols in place.