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Premier Cruises

TSS IslandBreeze/Big Red Boat III

Your Rating:
B>Reviewed by: Julia Franks-Lombardi
# previous cruises: 1
Date of Trip: June 25, 2000
Itinerary: Caribbean

I read Mark Goldberg's review with a smile of nostalgia. You see, I worked on the Island Breeze when it was the Carnival ship Festival in 1981/2. It brought back memories of the days when ships were not the impersonal monstrosities that are common today.

This ship was smelly and outdated even then, but for me, it was a new adventure. Down in the crew quarters where passengers shouldn't go, is a whole different world. The crew bar (where even we casino girls were warned not to enter) was a haven for the guys who were exiled from passenger areas. Crew bar, along with the crew deck, were great spots to get away from the passengers. I made lots of friends there and I had a great time.

If this ship is still in existence, I want my ashes scattered from her when I die, preferably from Puerto Rico. It witnessed some of the greatest passion and biggest heartbreaks of my life and she will always be a part of me.

Public areas are a fright, indeed. It sounds as if they kept all the tacky reds and oranges that were prevalent when I was there.

Pools were really small. I liked the kiddy pool because hardly anyone went there.

As far as non-public areas, I wonder if the Casino break room still has those blue leather coaches?

I don't remember the food being all that great, but it wasn't bad. On Tuesday nights they had paella, which was pretty good, but that was the night that we were in San Juan, and I usually had a date and ate out.

I remember they used to have a buffet at midnight and then another one around 1 on the Promenade Deck, down the hall from the Casino. Later, I heard that they discontinued the later one and had breakfast buffet on Lido Deck. That sounded stupid to me, but that's only hearsay.

My cabin was way down below the water, but some of them were nice. We had our own bathrooms (really small), and there were 2 sets of bunk beds in each room, 4 closets, 2 dressers, and 2 draweres under each bottom bunk. They were a little bit bigger than the passenger cabins, but no frills.

If you were resourceful, you hooked up with an officer or department head. They had nice big cabins with a bigger bed, and no room-mate. If you were unlucky enough to fall for one of the wine stewards (like me), you not only had to put up with a room-mate, but a bathroom in the hall as well. Waiters, wine stewards, and lower crew members' cabins have 1 or 2 sets of bunk beds, a dresser, a closet and a sink. I know a girl who sat on the sink to take a pee and it fell from the wall. She had a hell of a time explaining that one!

I only went to one show the night I got fired. I don't even remember it. But the showrooms were really tacky!

As far as the cruise staff and entertainers go, they were all really nice and friendly. Especially the musicians.

My favorite port was San Juan. I liked St. Thomas, and I usually went to Morningstar Beach. If I wanted to get away from everyone, I would go to Airport Beach. In San Juan I had so many favorite places, among them LaChimere Restaurant, Maria's Tropical Drinks, Gonzalez Padin department store, Plaza Los Americas Mall, Cosa Nostra Pizza, and this one little ice cream stand where I used to buy guanabana and passion fruit ice cream. I don't know if any of these places are still in existence.

Passengers are there for a good time, but I really didn't mix with them any more than I had to. Nothing personal, but it was a bit like the movie "Dirty Dancing." There are 2 worlds on the ship, the passenger world and the crew world. Although some of the crew would mix with the PAX (as we called them) I kept my distance..