ss OceanBreeze
By Lisa Plotnick

OceanBreeze 4-Day Cruise November 1996

The next two decks are mainly devoted to passenger cabins. Evidencing the absence of separate class accommodations, these decks have long, straight corridors. (Although we admit that adding to the charm of the SeaBreeze was the maze we had to navigate on a daily basis. On that voyage, it took us three days to figure out how to get to our cabin without taking a wrong turn.) Most of the Atlantis Deck's outside cabins overlook a covered promenade. The promenade on this level is longer than that of the Promenade Deck, extending almost all the way down both sides of the ship. Towards the back of this deck are the hair salon and a rather large and well-equipped Children's Room. The next deck, the Barbizon Deck, is mostly comprised of cabins, as well. Located in the center of this deck are the Purser's Office and Shore Excursion Office.

One level down is the Caravelle Deck, home to the ship's formal restaurant, the Caravelle Dining Room. Tables for two, four, six, and eight encircle a grand piano. Also located on this deck are a few passenger cabins, and the doctor's office. The galley divides the deck in two; in order to get from the cabins or dining room to the doctor's office, one must go up one flight, walk to another staircase, and walk back down one flight. The next two decks, Emerald and Dolphin, contain passenger cabins. Finally, the bottom-most deck, the Nightclub Deck, contains only one passenger area, the Five-Star Disco, tucked away near the front of the ship.

Because this is an older ship, accessibility is limited. There is only one elevator, which covers only six of the nine decks. One must descend an internal staircase to reach the disco and doctor's office, and the upper two decks are accessible only by external stairways. We urge Premier, the new owners, to find a way to make these areas available to all passengers.

Cabin types are quite varied, as is to be expected on older ships. There are 12 suites, all located at the front end of the Boat Deck. All suites can accommodate four passengers each, although they differ in how the berths are configured. There are ten categories of standard staterooms; 60% of which have an ocean view. Many cabins have one or two Pullman uppers, and a few others have one double bed. Be sure to consult the stateroom codes in the brochure when choosing a particular cabin.

We had selected an outside cabin near the center of the Barbizon Deck. We had two lower beds, configured in an L-shape, and one upper berth that was folded up and out of the way during the day. The lower beds could not be moved to form a queen-size bed, something that is also common on older ships. The large nightstand, desk, and closet provided plenty of storage space for six days' worth of clothing and souvenirs, as well as ample space for a large toddler car seat. The cabin was brightly decorated and was kept impeccably clean by our cabin steward, Yamin. We also had a 3-channel radio. Our only complaint was that it was possible to hear voices from the neighboring cabins, but again, that is to be expected on an older ship.

Food is an important part of any cruise, and Dolphin excelled in this area. Passengers may have breakfast and lunch in the Caravelle Dining Room or at the buffet in Cafe Miramar. Later in the afternoon, the cafe serves coffee, tea, finger sandwiches, and miniature pastries. Dinner is served in the Caravelle Dining Room in two separate sittings. And, if that's not enough, an extraordinary buffet is presented every night at midnight.

During our cruise, we ate two breakfasts and two lunches in Cafe Miramar. The selection was typical - eggs, omelets, pancakes, bacon, hot cereal, cold cereal, fruit, breads for breakfast; salads, chicken, hamburgers for lunch. Lines moved fairly quickly and there was always a place to sit. Breakfast in the dining room was also pretty standard, but lunches were impressive. During one meal, our son devoured a huge portion of pasta in pesto sauce, leading the couple next to us to order it for themselves.

The Cafe Miramar

Entertainment was generally good, although there was not much variety. The Mayfair Lounge featured a pianist, who also performed nightly in the Caravelle Dining Room. The duo Dis and Dat, who added a reggae beat to songs of the 1940s through 1990s, were regular performers in the Cafe Miramar. There was also a Calypso Band, who performed poolside, and an orchestra who performed in the Rendezvous Lounge. The big production numbers were good, but not spectacular, although the comedian was a big hit with the audience. But, the intimacy of the ship allowed us to actually talk with the performers. We learned that the pianist hailed from a small town in which we had once lived. Dis and Dat were among the most personable entertainers we have ever seen. They gladly played requests, including one from our son for "The Hokey Pokey". And, when we returned the following night, they remembered him and played it again.

But, the highlight of the cruise for us was the STORM. Our ship left Port Everglades at 4:30 Monday afternoon, scheduled to arrive in Cozumel at 9:00 Wednesday morning. The seas were fairly rough, but the ship rocked gently back and forth. I had forgotten to bring my elastic Seabands, but none of us felt any seasickness that evening.

That all changed on Tuesday, when we awoke to very choppy seas. We headed up to Cafe Miramar for the breakfast buffet. The ship was rocking from side to side, giving us alternating views of sky and sea. While eating breakfast, we witnessed the funniest scene and the funniest line we have ever heard aboard ship. A couple sat down at the table next to us. Unlike us, they decided to do away with the cafeteria tray and put their plates and cups right on the table. The ship tilted to one side; the man's plate, and the full breakfast that was on it, slid to the floor. The ship then shifted back and to the other side; the woman's plate, and the full breakfast that was on it, slid to the floor. When the ship moved back up and towards the other side; his cup of coffee slid off the table. In exasperation, the gentleman looked at us and said, "Excuse me, is your table slanted, too?" They then attempted to find a table that wasn't slanted and were convinced that all of the tables were defective!

Around midday, the Captain announced that a report from the SeaBreeze indicated that the waters around Cozumel were too choppy. Because we had planned to tender to Cozumel, the captain decided that it would be too dangerous to continue. Instead, he announced, we would turn around and dock in Key West Tuesday night through Wednesday morning. As our original itinerary called for a visit to Key West on Thursday, a revised port of call for Thursday was being negotiated. Although we were disappointed to miss Cozumel, we agreed with the Captain's decision.

Tuesday's weather was very bad. I longed for my Seabands as I downed some Dramamine. Fortunately, it prevented me from getting seasick, and my husband and son were unaffected by the motion. We spent a good part of the day in the Children's Playroom, where our son enjoyed drawing pictures and playing with us and the youth counselor. Among the daytime offerings for most passengers were various games, gaming lessons in the casino, bartending instruction, an art auction, and a wine-tasting seminar. Some activities were canceled due to weather, including a line dancing class, skeetshooting and the pool games. However, since the casino and all of the bars were open, there was plenty to do.

There were many activities to enjoy in the evening, too. Tuesday night was formal night and the Captain's cocktail party. The Captain needed to remain on the bridge, so staff introductions were made by the first officer. Most of the passengers abided by the suggested dress code for the evening; women typically wore nice dresses and men wore suits and ties.

We arrived in Key West around 7:00 PM on Tuesday. This gave passengers a chance to explore the Key West nightlife. The crew also enjoyed the overnight stay, as it gave many of them a chance to get out, as well. Unfortunately, the day's activities had tired out our son, and I was finding it hard to stay awake after taking the Dramamine, so we stayed in the cabin while my husband went ashore. He noted a very eclectic mix of people - from hippies to college students to couples with babies. There were lots of street vendors and artists, and he came back to the cabin with a nice watercolor of Sloppy Joe's for his office. This was a truly unique experience for cruise passengers, and for the town, as it is rare to have a cruise ship dock here overnight.

Because our revised itinerary had us leaving Key West at noon on Wednesday, that left little time to sightsee during the daytime. Dolphin had rearranged the shore excursions - our tour was now at 10:00 - so we left the ship at 7:30 AM to go on our own walking tour. The ship was docked at the foot of the Old Town, so it was a fairly easy walk. We headed down Whitehead Street, past Hemingway's house and the zero mile marker of US 1, to the Southernmost Point in the Continental U.S. After taking the obligatory photograph, we walked back to the ship via Duval Street. We had a light snack, and left the ship again for a 1 hour tour aboard the Conch Train (which is a bus designed to resemble a train). Our driver gave an informative narrative as we rode through the streets of both historic and modern Key West. The only drawback to the tour was that we were not allowed to get off to view the sites on our own. So, Mallory Square and the cats at Hemingway's house will have to wait until our next visit.

The ride was a bit rocky leaving Key West, but it smoothed out during the afternoon. I did some reading up on the top deck while the Calypso band played. There was a shore excursion briefing on Nassau, which would be our second port of call on the revised itinerary. Much of the afternoon was like that of the previous day - the shops, bars and casinos were all open - but the seas were calmer. The weather worsened in the early evening, as we were attending the Dolphin/Majesty repeaters' party. Hosted in Cafe Miramar by cruise director Gil Sevil, we were treated to wonderful hors d'oeuvres and the fabulous reggae sounds of the duo Dis and Dat. The ship rocked fairly slowly, but it seemed that we were tilting farther than we had earlier in the cruise. This did not bother our son one bit, as he took to the dance floor alone. He was serenaded by Dis and Dat as several passengers looked on in amusement.

Thursday morning, we woke to quieter weather conditions as we arrived in Nassau. After the ship docked, we had breakfast on the deck outside Cafe Miramar. Since we had been to Nassau twice before (in 1990 and 1993), we opted to spend our time enjoying the (motionless) ship. But, when we spotted two other ships docked in Nassau - the Royal Majesty and the Nordic Empress - we decided to get off to learn of their experiences traveling through the same storm. A couple of the Royal Majesty's passengers told us that their trip had also been tough. They were supposed to have traveled to Cozumel and Key West (as were we), but instead they went to Freeport and Nassau.

Now that we were off the ship, we decided to walk around for a little while. We hardly recognized the town that appeared before us. For one thing, the pole with the many signs indicating the mileage to various locations was gone - a police officer told us that it had been knocked over in a storm some time before. But, on a more positive note, the town looked absolutely beautiful! Areas that were covered with dirt and gravel in 1993 had been turned into clean and orderly plazas. Bay Street was amazingly clean; even the people were friendlier than we had remembered.

At 4:00 PM, the OceanBreeze left Nassau to return to Fort Lauderdale. The storm picked up again during the evening, and continued into the morning, culminating with the crashing of dishes to the floor in the Caravelle Dining Room during first sitting breakfast. At about 7:00 AM, we docked in Fort Lauderdale, and debarkation went smoothly a couple of hours later. Although it was nice to finally stop moving, it was hard to say goodbye to this stately ship.

The Captain and crew are to be commended for the voyage. When bad weather struck, they did their best to ensure that we remained safe while seeing that we got to one of our two scheduled ports. The staff revised and printed daily newsletters and worked with tour operators in Key West and Nassau to schedule (or reschedule) shore excursions. I think that several people were disappointed with this particular trip, but that may have been because of the weather and the change in itinerary, or because they did not know what to expect from an older ship. We, on the other hand, were pretty excited to be experiencing a storm, and were very glad to be on a ship that was built to handle it.

Fortunately, three ex-Dolphin, now-Premier ships, the OceanBreeze, SeaBreeze, and IslandBreeze, are continuing to cruise the Caribbean. We urge all cruise-lovers to give these classics a try. With all of the new mega-liners now being built, it is refreshing to travel on a ship that actually feels like a ship. While you will not have the towering lobbies, the glass elevators, or the private verandahs, you will receive a lot more in return. There is something magical about being on a ship that has such a rich history. And, the service provided on the OceanBreeze and SeaBreeze is among the best in the industry. We are glad to have finally traveled on the OceanBreeze, and recommend this cruise to anyone who wants to experience cruising as it was meant to be.