Cruising Again

Carnival Horizon Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

rdecker51

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 23

Overall rating:

4.9 out of 5

8 Night Southern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 16, 2021

Ship: Carnival Horizon

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10269

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 3 years ago

Review summary

This was the fifth booking for us that finally went through after 4 cancellations dating back to March 2020. It was nice to have a lot of On Board Credit (OBC) and the ship at 50% capacity. There were not many long lines. Masks were required indoors and especially in the elevators but was not a problem. We had room service every morning with coffee, pastries and yogurt which made a good start of the day. Sitting on the balcony when the sun comes up with coffee was very relaxing. We have already booked a cruise on the Mardi Gras for March 2022.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Guy's Pig & Anchor BBQ Smokehouse Brewhouse

5 out of 5

Can't go wrong with the BBQ and Mac n' Cheese

RedFrog Rum Bar

5 out of 5

We had the CHEER's package and enjoyed many drinks.

Ocean Plaza

5 out of 5

We did mostly trivia and did get a ship on a stick.

Meridian Restaurant

5 out of 5

The waiters were eager to assist and learned our names early in the cruise.

Liquid Lounge

5 out of 5

All of the shows were entertaining.

Guy's Burger Joint

5 out of 5

Can't go wrong with Guy's burgers and fries.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

The Fun Shops

4 out of 5

We were disappointed that they did not have a more selection of Carnival branded souvenirs then on other ships. The lanyard selection was not great. The Carnival Branded coffee mug selection wasn't good. I wanted a Carnival Horizon mug and didn't see one that was similar to one I purchased on other Carnival ships.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Limelight Lounge

5 out of 5

The comedians were great!

Carnival Seaside Theater

5 out of 5

Pleasant, not crowded.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

They were awesome and was eager to help. Got to know our names during the cruise.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Was cleaned daily with a new Towel Animal each day.

Ship tip

The ship was at 50% capacity and I requested and received a window seat for meals in the Meridian Restaurant.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

4 out of 5

The bus transportation provided by Carnival from Fort Lauderdale to the Port was TERRIBLE! The seats were to close to each and it was difficult to get comfortable. I had more room in a Southwest Airline seat. The bus return back to Fort Lauderdale at the end of the cruise was a little better.

Thumbs Up 0

Oranjestad, Aruba

5 out of 5

Went on the Jeep Excursion which used Jeep 4 door Jeep wranglers. They picked us up in air conditioned buses (older school buses with all of the windows removed). Is was truly an off road experience and with rough terrain. The beach lunch at the end of the Excursion was not good. They had a blanket surrounded by throw pillows in the beach sand for all us (12) to eat and sit on. All of us was sitting close to each other and after spending the excursion in the sun and sweating, it was not comfortable having to sit on a pillow in the sand and try to eat with the sand sticking to you.

Thumbs Up 1

Willemstad, Curacao

5 out of 5

It was ok, we did not leave the entry area.

Thumbs Up 0

La Romana, Dominican Republic

5 out of 5

We did the train (tram) excursion through town and it was interesting that security was everywhere all armed. There were 2 security hanging on the side of the tram, a police car and police motorcycle following us and security at almost every street corner. I wonder if the fact we were next to Haiti had anything to do with that.

Thumbs Up 1

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

5 out of 5

It was a long walk from the ship to the entrance but overall not bad.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Best ever. We did not have to show our Passports. Face recognition software was used.

10 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe 3 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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CliffordCruiser 3 years ago

We could have gone on that a cruise, but unfortunately didn’t. Sounds like a lot of fun!

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GerryBCruisin 3 years ago

Thanks for taking the time to share your review. Welcome back to cruising!

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cruising2004 3 years ago

Thank you for sharing your experience

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javawoody 3 years ago

Thank you for the review and sharing

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AuntPinkie 3 years ago

Appreciate your feedback. Can’t wait to sail on her in 2 days. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

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CaribLifestyle 3 years ago

So it sounds like you had Great back in sea enjoying your Cruise and Caribbean Islands.. nice.. that's what is all about enjoyment

Thumbs Up 1

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hollysmomtravel 3 years ago

Thanks for sharing great ideas about window dining

Thumbs Up 1

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Curt34 3 years ago

Glad you had a great cruise. Thanks for the review.

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CurlyCruiserYAY 3 years ago

Good to be back.

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Other reviews of this sailing

Great trip

It was great, staff was more than helpful and polite as always, really enjoyed the entire trip!

No Towels needed for deck chairs