Enjoyed This Cruise
Carnival Horizon Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 4
Helpful Votes: 173
8 Night Southern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 05, 2019
Ship: Carnival Horizon
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 6348
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
It was our tenth Carnival cruise and the largest ship we have cruised. It didn't feel too big, though, as it was relatively easy to get around. Aside from the elevators, which took some getting used to, and the smoke from the casino, the ship was one I would definitely sail again. Speaking of the smoke, you could walk the length of the ship on Deck Five which eliminated the casino, so we avoided walling through it as much as possible. Nice ship, good cruise and can't wait until the next one.Embarkation
The embarkation process for this cruise blew me away. Within 20 minutes after being dropped off and checking our luggage, we were walking onto the ship. I would have to say it was the fastest embarkation we have experienced in 18 cruises. Well done!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The food in the main dining room was exceptional. Steak was cooked exactly as requested, amounts were plentiful and choices were varied. The Mongolian Wok was good but not to the point of wanting me to eat there on multiple occasions. Pizza was surprisingly good and Guy's burgers are Guy's burgers-very good. Aside from the main dining room, I enjoyed the Pig and Anchor Bar-b-cue as much as anything. Exceptional food paired with good drink made it our hangout place for the cruise.
Onboard Activities
The Skyride was pretty incredible, especially while the ship was underway. We waited to ride it on the last day and the crows were minimal. The pool areas were always crowed and chair hogs made it difficult to find chairs. At one point after finding a chair, I realized the lady on my left had her bag on a chair to her left and her purse on the chair to her right so she effectively occupied three chairs while only sitting in one. That is the kind of selfishness that frustrates many. For the most part, I was there to relax and did not engage in many other activities.
Entertainment
We did not feel the stage shows were as good as other cruise we have been on. The Celestrial Strings did not appear to have a plot and I did not think the sound quality was as good as other ships I have traveled on. The Emotional Duo violinists were phenomenal and I really enjoyed just sitting and listening to them. The duo called the Black Jack group in the Pig and Anchor were not only fun to listen to but hey were entertaining as well. I like how they interacted with the crowd and Jimmy is one hell of a musician.
Service and Staff
I maintain that our dining staff in the main dining room rate in the top three we have ever had in 18 cruise. Marsel, Zainal and Rishu addressed by name from the beginning and throughout the cruise whether in the MDR or elsewhere around the ship. They were attentive yet not intrusive. They were prompt and dining was kept to a very reasonable time frame. Our room steward, Anak, did his job and was never invasive on our time or privacy. Our room was kept clean, towels always refreshed and if there was a problem in our cabin, it was address immediately upon making it known to him. Andreea, a bartender in the Deck Three Atrium bar was friendly and welcoming despite being busy, busy, busy. She suggested a twist on a drink I prefer after dinner and it was excellent. Marvan and Salwa in the Pig and Achor were attentive and pleasant as well. Overall, I felt the customer service on this cruise was better than most. I would go again because of it.
Ship Quality
Aside from inconsiderate people leaving dishes and glasses in the hallways or wherever they felt like leaving them I thought the ship was clean and well-maintained. The layout was good as our cabin on the 6th deck afforded us to be close to everything we wanted to visit. The only exception was having to wait for long periods for the 'smart' elevators.
Cabin / Stateroom
Our cabin was a great sized cabin for the two of us and we really enjoyed the balcony. It was clean, cool and we had more than adequate space for our belongings.
Ship tip
The ship presents a very relaxed atmosphere. You will see folks eating in the main dining room in shorts, tee-shirts and hats. You will find young people in the Serenity area and it is amazing how many deck chairs stay occupied by a towel for very long periods of time. I guess my tip is not to get on the ship with too many expectations.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Grand Turk is one of my favorite ports of call and this time was not different. However, I scored it lower than I would normally score it for one reason. The cruise director so frightened people with threats of long lines getting back on the ship that folks began lining up by 11:00 in lines that stretched all the way to the duty free area when we didn't have to be back until 1:00 or 1:30. It created an rushed atmosphere. We still headed away from the port area to Jack's Shack and figured they couldn't leave us if we were in line, so we stayed at Jack's Shack in the water and enjoyed our beverages. We still got back in time without waiting the 35 to 50 minutes the cruise director predicted.
We were not going to get off here based on the history of negative news from the Dominican over the last year. however, we did get off, stayed in the duty free area, sampled Dominican rums, bought some Larimar and took a picture to prove we had been in the Dominican Republic.
We had to wait to get off the ship while the staff addressed some issues created by a situation in the Serenity area while sailing away from La Romana. We were parked behind a Celebrity ship and thus had quite a walk to the port area. We spent our time in the immediate are and went back to the ship for dinner. We decide not to get back off as we are going back to Curacao in December and will be there during the daytime. We will take a tour of the island then, spend sometime in the town and maybe catch some beach time.
Eagle Beach, white sand, beautiful aqua blue water, a shining hot sun and a cold beer. What more could you want in October?
Disembarkation
I felt the disembarkation was somewhat confusing. There were no specified areas to report to based on your tag numbers. Like I said earlier, it appears to be a very relaxed atmosphere. We were off by 10:30 which was fine as our flight home from Ft. Lauderdale was not until 4:15. The luggage coming out on carousels like the airport was abit hectic with so many passengers but I reckon it cuts back on costs.