Great things...checking in at airport and avoiding lines at the terminal, our wait staff in the Meridian dining room (Catalina & Janelle), our cruise director (Schwartz), massage at spa was fabulous (Hazel). Bad things and the reason I will never sail the Horizon again...elevators (wasted so much precious vacation time because they were very inefficient), long lines (not enough accommodations made for the huge number of people on this ship), limited seating around pool areas and my cabin steward (Cindy) who was probably the worst steward I have had out of 10 cruises.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
This was by far the best embarkation ever. We flew into FLL and paid to have the Carnival shuttle carry us to the port. The Carnival staff at the airport pre-checked us in. They checked our documents and passports, which meant no waiting in line at the terminal. It was so awesome. From the time we exited the shuttle at the terminal, we never broke a stride until we got on the ship. We went straight through security and they led us right through the FTTF lines, and next thing we knew, we were on the ship. We didnt even have to wait in line for our Sail & Sign cards. They were waiting in the mailbox outside of our cabin. We were on the ship and having a drink by 1130am.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Food was excellent as always. We frequented the lido buffet for breakfast every morning except one. The one morning we went to the dining room for breakfast was actually a brunch day, and while I wasn't thrilled with the menu they had to offer, the food was still good. We usually hit Guys burger joint for lunch, which is always a good choice. We went to the Pig and Anchor for lunch on embarkation day and it was awesome. I did hear later on in the cruise that the lines were really long for the Pig and Anchor. We ate in the Meridan dining room every night except one, and the food was great as always. The one night we skipped the dining room to eat in the steakhouse. A little pricey, definitely of higher quality than the main dining room. It was all about food presentation, which was very cool, but a little too fancy for me. It also took a very long time in the steak house.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
I enjoyed the pools as always, however, I have found on Carnival that whether you are on a ship with 5,000 people or 2,000 people you have the same size pools and the same number of pools...that just doesn't work! Also, we could almost never find a lounge chair. Spend lots of time wandering and looking for chairs. Also, my son participated in the sky ride, rope course, etc. Always long lines!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Schwartz was the absolute bomb as cruise director! He has more energy than anyone I know and kept everyone in stitches with his jokes and shenanigans.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
My son attended club O2 for the first time and really enjoyed himself and make lots of new friends. In fact, he never wanted to come back to the cabin at a decent hour. LOL
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
I would have given this an excellent except for my cabin steward was probably the worst I have ever had. However, our waiters were top notch and the cruise director was awesome. Also, most other personnel for friendly and helpful.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Layout as pretty much like every other carnival ship. For the most part everything was clean and well maintained. Every now and then you may walk into a bathroom that need service, but nothing major.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
My cabin steward was very bad about taking out dirty dishes from our room. Most times there were not enough clean water glasses in my cabin and sometimes, we did not have enough towels or washcloths.
Ship tip
Ship is huge, but does not make enough accommodations for as many people as it holds. Expect long wait lines at elevators, food lines, shows and dont expect to get seats anywhere near the pool. I will never take this ship again specifically due to the elevators. I know that sounds petty, but I wasted so much of my vacation waiting on elevators because of the new method they use. Trust me on a ship this big, elevators are your lifeline for the majority of your day, everyday.
Did not do an excursion. There were very few available. We took a taxi to a Marriott resort that was very nice. For $35 per person we were able to use the pool and had access to the pool bars, restaurants and beach.
Again, few excursions available. It was extremely crowded everywhere. We were docked there at the same time with 5 other very large ships. Getting a taxi was close to impossible. Once you got one, there was tons of traffic. We spend the entire day just trying to get a taxi, take it to the airport area (which was also very crowded), stayed at the little bar there for a drink or 2 and take the taxi back. That pretty much took up the entire day.
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