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Carnival Horizon Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 39

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5
Carnival Horizon

8 Night Southern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 25, 2020

Ship: Carnival Horizon

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6297

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

PLEASE sort out the smoking situation in the casino. It was really bad and there didn't seem to be any ventilation. Smoking is permitted throughout. This is not healthy for those who don't smoke and who want to use the casino. I have never been a fan of Carnival and after taking my first Carnival cruise in April on the Magic I vowed never to get on Carnival again. However, I was part of a group of 50 from Bermuda for a birthday so off I went. I truly had a great experience and would consider sailing on the Horizon again - IF the smoke situation can be sorted out. I can still feel it in my chest 4 days later! I know Carnival is a cruise line for families but I did not like how young children were allowed to "party" with adults - on Lido deck, in the shows, and also around the atrium bar. That would deter me from going again. We encountered ONE rude waiter in the Meridian and what's worse is that as my friend and I were talking about his abruptness, a couple sitting next to us -(husband is a travel agent)- started up a conversation about the same guy and his lack of friendliness. I asked the waiter how long he had been on the ship as I guessed he had either been there a long time and didn't like his job or he was new and hadn't received proper training. He told me he had been with Carnival for 25 years. He is not a good fit for that ship because everyone else was so awesome. Mike the cruise director is a ball of energy! OMG he is a perfect fit for the job and he engages everyone and his jokes are funny too! Finally the elevators! Whew! Getting on and off the ship passengers can forget about using them as the staff use all of them for luggage. But they are all electronic and I did notice someone got stuck in elevator C. But throughout the whole cruise the elevators took f.o.r.e.v.e.r to come!! All for now - I'm glad I went and I'm ready to go again...minus the casino smoke...it's a beautiful ship!

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Smooth and easy!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Excellent and the staff were all so friendly and attentive

Liquid Lounge

3 out of 5

Upper middle seating is not good. Can't see much over people's heads. Seats should be more elevated. But the actual lounge is really spacious and very nice.

The Library Bar

2 out of 5

I sat in there for 3 hours specifically to write! It was very warm and smoky! And when people walk through either door the other one on the other side of the library pops open. I didn't like that it was a walk through venue. And after about 2 hours 2 groups came in there to play games and ruined my quiet time.

Reflection Restaurant

5 out of 5

Fantastic! Attentive staff and they always called me by name.

Meridian Restaurant

4 out of 5

Very good menu options. Friendly staff except for that one grumpy guy I wrote about in my review.

Lido Marketplace

5 out of 5

Always great variety of food to select from and friendly staff

Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ Smokehouse Brewhouse

5 out of 5

Awesome! I ate there twice.....loved the variety!

Guy's Burger Joint

5 out of 5

Deeeeeeeeeeeeelicous! Mouthwatering and fresh!

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
N/A - I did not do any of those things but I did see many people enjoying them. (I don't like pools!)

Horizon Casino

2 out of 5

Got lucky for the first time in my life....but the cigarette smoke in there is horrendous!

Entertainment

4 out of 5
Very good! DJ Timmy is an excellent DJ and I'm sorry I can't remember the karaoke DJ's name. He was awesome as well.

Limelight Lounge

4 out of 5

Hard to please the whole crowd at the same time - just have to go and wait for your genre of music. But I had a good time on the dance floor when music I liked was played.

Carnival Multiplex

5 out of 5

Enjoyed watching Bad Boys in the state of the art theater

Children's Programs

I was not traveling with children.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Friendly and attentive

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Super! I hope it stays that way.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
There were 2 of us in the cabin. It was quite comfortable. We enjoyed the cabin - even though someone in a room near us was smoking weed from time to time. We couldn't tell who it was but that ruined our opportunity to sit outside sometimes.

Ship tip

Avoid the casino if you have respiratory issues. The smoke in there and the surrounding areas is horrendous. We could actually smell the smoke on the floor directly above and directly below the casino.

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5
For embarkation only

Grand Turk Island

3 out of 5

La Romana, Dominican Republic

3 out of 5
Quite a hike to get to the main terminal and a bit uphill for those who have challenges walking or who are in wheelchairs. But all in all it was nice. We purchased larimar rings from a store (2 for $10) and I specifically asked the lady for a receipt. She said she doesn't give receipts. This is too bad because my friend's ring actually broke and the cheap metal is just hanging and we can't even look at a receipt to name the store. I'd advise people not to shop there!

Willemstad, Curacao

5 out of 5
OMG! Curacao was beautiful! I am glad we got to spend some time there at night. A very colorful and pretty island and the people were so friendly!

Oranjestad, Aruba

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
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7 Comments

deelite37    4 years ago

Im not a smoker been on dozen of cruises if you do like smoking do go on royal Caribbean ships the whole casino is smoking

Fiesta83    4 years ago

Thanks for the positive feedback

gwright1129    4 years ago

Casino smokers keep the price of cruising down! If they had to leave to smoke, they probably wouldn't spend as much money! Carnival casinos are much more profitable than the other cruise lines with non smoking casinos!

Cruise2Gether    4 years ago

I thought smoking on the balcony was forbidden? We have a Havana Cabana and were wondering about others smoking on the balcony.

carmenrosa1977    4 years ago

I agree they should make carnival smoke free

ElizabethOregon    4 years ago

Celebrity cruise casinos are non-smoking which is really nice!

packer2687    4 years ago

Horizon is my favorite ship. Love it all

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