We had an incredible time on this trip and enjoyed literally every minute! HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Carnival Horizon and this route.....very fun!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Fantastic.....smooth, well organized, and seamless!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Food and all restaurants were very good. Food quality was great in main dining room as well as specialty restaurants. Buffets were not quite as good (still good though), but worked great for grab & go or early morning quick breakfast on excursion days. The dining room staff (and bartenders) were all AMAZING......particular attention to every detail and worked fiercely to make sure we were happy. Knew us and called us by name by midway thru the cruise, which made it a great touch! Can't say enough about them!
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Really not sure what we DIDN'T do, but with the amount of things there were to do, I'm sure we missed a bunch. We did karaoke, bingo, shows / productions, IMAX theatre, deck parties, trivia, pools, shopping, just to name a few. More than enough for everyone to find their "thing" and even try something new.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Incredible across the board.....all that can really be said.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
My 17 year old "checked out" "O2" on the first night during the welcome event. The only time we really saw him the rest of the cruise was meal time, bed time, and on excursion days....the rest of the time he was "hangin' with his O2 crew" which really made the trip extra special for him and allowed him to do vacation his own way too.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Service was quite literally 10 stars, but I can only do 5 max here. EVERY SINGLE DETAIL was looked after, and wait staff, room stewards, bartenders, and even cleaning staff around the ship called us by name when we saw them throughout the week. Incredible to get to know them, learn about their families and their stories. The most hard working, humble folks I've been around for a long long time, and quite honestly what really made this trip special for us......every single crew member we encountered was a "10"!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cleaning on the Horizon seemed to be quite literally non-stop. I can not thing of a time or place that we went on the ship that someone (or multiple people) were not cleaning, picking something up, polishing, dusting, disinfecting, etc. etc. Quite literally spotless the whole time we were there.......and yet they still cleaned!
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Plenty of room for 3 in our cabin with all our clothes, luggage, etc. Balcony really made it feel even more open, and I'd HIGHLY RECOMMEND a balcony cabin for anyone. Our favorite part of the balcony was sitting out when we were docking / undocking at ports of call, as we were on the port side and it was fun / fascinating to watch the activity. LOVED IT. Also, super relaxing during day's at seat to just sit out with a book, hear the waves, and soak up the sun!
Ship tip
DO NOT HESITATE TO BOOK ON HORIZON! Awesome ship with anything you'd want to do. For adults, be sure to check out Serenity Deck.....super nice spot with great views that we discovered too late in the game. Piano Bar 88 is a blast (Keys on piano & Dan at the bar are INCREDIBLE). We also enjoyed our hibachi meal for our special meal night.
Quite honestly, we were the most disappointed in Aruba, as we didn't realize the the majority of the island is a desert! If you like shopping, this had the most to do of our stops. We did an exclusive Jeep tour that saw a lot, but guide was so-so....would have been an awesome excursion had guide been more excited / engaged.
Our favorite port of call on this trip, hands down. We did a "Best of Bonaire" bus tour and saw pretty much the whole island. Saw TONS of wildlife that the guides pointed out (and stopped to see) on our way, including many exotic birds, fish, flamingos, etc. Guides were fun, knowledgeable, and we really enjoyed this quite little port. Open air market downtown was fun with unique handmade local items (including cactus liquor). Most beautiful water of the whole trip, and friends of ours who were divers said it was the best diving they'd ever done and would be back again. Great vibe on this little island!
We did what was called "Ultimate Adventure" here, which was zip line and dune buggies thru the jungle, both of which were really fun. Was a 40 minute bus ride one way to do this, which took more time than we would've liked, but not sure what else we would have done otherwise.
We did another "best of mega truck tour" here with "Mega Adventures" who did an INCREDIBLE job. Saw a ton of stuff from going thru town in Puerto Plata to going high up on the hillside to oversee the whole town and bay, as well as adjacent countryside. Went to a plantation to see how local crops were grown (pineapple, cocoa, coffee, bananas, etc), which was super interesting, and finished up with a traditional Dominican meal for lunch which was delicious! These guys do it right if you're in Amber Cove!
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