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Wednesday- Bonaire

Bonaire was my favorite stop and I would love to go back for a land vacation someday.  Beautiful turquoise water and excellent snorkeling.  We did the Sea Cow snorkel excursion and had the best time.  It is a smaller boat that holds a max of 30 people.  They split you into 3 groups of 10 and you snorkel with a guide.  The first location was about a 30 minute drift through beautiful underwater scenery.  We saw a ton of colorful fish, a turtle, and interesting coral reefs.  The second location was another 30 minute swim and including a huge coral wall that must have been 12’ tall.  I have never seen anything like it.  The crew of the Sea Cow are the best and I can’t say enough about this excursion.  By far my favorite snorkel trip I’ve ever taken.

We ate in the main dining room that night.  I had the wild rice, country chicken soup, the shrimp creole and the chocolate melting cake.  My husband had the Caesar salad, lasagna Bolognese and the apple pie.

Tuesday-Aruba

Our excursion wasn’t until the afternoon so we got off the ship and went shopping near the port.  We stopped into a great waterfront bar that is decorated with money.  Since this was our anniversary trip we made a donation to the décor.

Next we boarded our banana bus that would take us to Arashi Beach where we were doing the Sea bob excursion.  A little note about this excursion.  The way it was advertised made it seem like the “lazy way” to snorkel.  Sign me up!  Well it ended up being a work out let me tell you.  I barely had enough upper body strength to make my bob dive and you’re supposed to layout flat so your shoulders are screaming by the time you’re done.  While the tour company was fine, the actual sea bobs were not our thing.  Arashi Beach was beautiful and we enjoyed a couple of adult beverages on the beach before heading back to the ship.

Dinner that night was at Ji Ji’s and this was by far our favorite meal the whole week.  We loved it so much that we went back on the last night.  All items are served in portions meant to share.  We started with pot stickers and spring rolls.  For our entrees we ordered the Kung Pao Chicken and the Sweet and Sour Shrimp.  For dessert I ordered the Rose Crème Brulee and my husband ordered the crepes.  Everything was delicious and the service was excellent. 

Monday- Sea Day

We spent most sea days relaxing in the Havana area, in and out of the pool.  Some people mentioned this was the most “crowded” they had seen it at Havana but we were always able to get loungers or chairs in the shade.  We loved the Havana pool and will probably only sail this way again.  I’m not interested in having to be down at the pool at 6 am to get a lounge chair or to squeeze into the pools with hundreds of other passengers and I really appreciated not having kids running around the pool deck!  It was very relaxing.

We dined with Andy again in the main dining room.  I had the spring rolls, the leg of lamb and I can’t remember what either of us had for dessert.  My husband had the BBQ pork sliders and the steakhouse filet.

Sunday- Day at Sea

We got up Sunday morning and decided to go to the Sea Day brunch.  We requested a table through the Hub App and within 5 minutes received a notice that our table was ready.  When we reached the dining room it was apparent that MANY guests were not aware you could request a table through the app.  There were so many people standing around it was hard to get in the door.  It got better through the week as people realized they could reserve a table and show up when it was ready.  Brunch was fine.  I had the 12 hour French toast which reminded me of a cinnamon roll-hard on the outside and chewy on the inside.  My husband had eggs and bacon.  I had read about slow service during brunch on previous cruises but we did not experience that at all across the ship.

And here is where I will make my public service announcement regarding the elevators.  By day two I would expect the majority of people to have figured out how to work the smart elevators but alas that was not the case.  Although it was humorous to watch people get into the elevator and search for the buttons on the inside, it became frustrating as the week went on.  I have a suggestion for Carnival-explain the proper use of the elevator during muster.  They have condensed the muster briefing to 60 seconds, take an extra minute to explain the elevators please.  I was shocked on day 7 when I still saw people just jumping into an elevator not knowing where it was going.  How did they get where they going all week????  Is there an elevator God they were praying to all week to get them where they needed to go?

I didn’t take notes and I can’t remember where we ate lunch each day so I will just cover it all at once.  We ate the Seafood Shack and it was really good.  We both had fish and chips and enjoyed it.  We had Guy’s burgers twice.  This was the first time having a Guy’s Burger and while it was good I’m not sure what all the fuss is about.  It was not life changing.  And sorry but I can’t tell you if they have gone back to the original fries since this was our first time.  We had pizza delivered to us by the Havana pool one day and it was delivered hot, timely (under 30 minutes) and we were pleasantly surprised with how good it was.  We also had a salad and a California roll at Bonsai one day.  The salad was really large and very fresh same with the roll.  Super yummy.

That night we ate in the main dining room as it was the first elegant night.  We requested a table through the Hub app and were notified within 10 minutes that our table was ready.  Our lead server was Andy who we loved.  I had the cream of mushroom soup, the lobster and prime rib and crème brulee.  My husband had the Caesar salad, carbonara and the melting chocolate cake.  We dined in the main dining room 3 times on this trip and the best I can say is it was ok…as in not great, not horrible just ok.  Most of the dishes were really bland.  This was the best of the 3 nights.

Saturday-Cruise Day

Our check-in time for the Horizon was 10:30 so after a trip to Whole Foods for wine we took an Uber to the Port.  What looked like utter chaos upon arriving at the terminal, ended up being pretty organized.  We dropped one bag with a porter and made our way inside the terminal building.  We utilized Verifly which the agents appreciated and within minutes we were through security, on our way to show passports then directly onboard.  Total check-in process was around 15 minutes!  We went directly to our muster station and completed the safety briefing which took about 1 minute.  Next we made our way to the Havana area where we stashed our carry-on luggage and proceeded to spend the next couple of hours at the pool.  Rooms were ready right at 1:30 so we took our carry-ons and unpacked what we could.  This is when I realized I had stashed my 2 bottles of wine and 12-pack of sparkling water in my checked bag.  Oops.  Hoping my bag didn’t end up in the naughty luggage room, we went to Lido Marketplace for a little lunch.  I am not a fan of buffets so this would be one of only two times we ate there.  Typical buffet food, good salad bar though.  Before our trip I had read several reviews complaining about excessive heat in areas of the Horizon.  The Marketplace was the only area on board that we found it to be uncomfortably warm in certain spots.  The doors on both ends are constantly opening so I’m guessing the AC has a hard time keeping it cool in the heat of the day.

We had reservations for the steakhouse and took advantage of the wine special.  On night 1 you can have a complimentary bottle of wine or 50% any wine on the menu.  My husband doesn’t drink wine so I usually order by the glass but I knew that they would save it for me and it would follow me to other restaurants on board so I ordered a nice bottle of chardonnay at 50% off.  We were served complimentary micro mini beef sliders which were really cute and bite-sized.   I ordered the risotto appetizer, surf and turf with a baked potato and sautéed mushrooms and the de-constructed chocolate sphere.  My husband had the Caesar salad, filet mignon, wasabi mashed potatoes and the cheesecake.  Everything was fabulous, and service was very efficient. 

A little background to start with.  This was supposed to be a cruise for our 25^th anniversary in June of 2021 which was cancelled so rescheduled for August of this year.   My husband and I are both in our early 50’s and we hadn’t cruised since 2016.  This was our second cruise with Carnival and I chose the Horizon specifically for the Havana area.  We had a Havana Extended Aft Balcony on deck 8.

We are from Oregon so it is a hike to get to Florida for the Caribbean cruises we prefer.

On Friday we left home at 3:45 am for our 5:00 am flight to Seattle.  We only had a 45 minute layover in Seattle which was cutting it close.  We had a medical emergency on board which ended up getting us to SeaTac early and thankfully the passenger with the medical emergency was able to walk off the plane themselves.  By the time we reached our gate for our connecting flight to Miami we walked right on and we were set for the 6+ hour flight.

Flight was uneventful and we arrived on time including our luggage!

I am a platinum member with Marriott so we stayed on points at the JW Marriott Marquis in downtown Miami.  The hotel has a ton of things to do on-site including a full-size, indoor basketball court, bowling, ping pong, golf simulator, and one of the best concierge lounges with views of the water. 

After a couple of cocktails and appetizers in the concierge lounge we took an Uber to the Bayside Marketplace.  We had dinner at the Black Market which had a great outdoor/covered patio where we watched the tour boats as the sun set.  We wondered through the shops and purchased t-shirts at Hard Rock Café to add to our collection then made our way back to the hotel.

yes they do.

stayed in an Havana extended aft balcony on Horizon last month and loved it.  Deck 8.   

I paid for our whole cruise with gift cards (both e-cards and printed cards) through Allstate which are 10% discounts.  I also took some with me and added them to our sign & sail account at one of the kiosks on-board.  You can pay for just about anything with the gift cards (different than cruise cash)

Just did the Horizon last month (should have my review finished soon)  loved the ship.  We stopped in Aruba, Bonaire, La Romana and Amber Cove.  Loved Aruba, Bonaire was my fav.  Would love to visit Curacao next time!

I purchased Kokua Suncare on Amazon and just used it in Aruba and Bonaire.  It is pretty thick but you can work it in so you don't have a visible layer of sunscreen.  We only used it in the ocean since it's spendy and used regular sunscreen at the pool.  It worked well.  We also wore rash guard's while snorkeling so we didn;t have to worry about burning.

59 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

not for breakfast

 

I would eat a hot pastrami from Katz Deli for all 3 meals if I could.  enjoy!

I'm just off the Horizon yesterday.  also the southern route.  We purchased the value plan and had no trouble checking email or going online.  We were also able to send and receive text messages with no issues.  

are nice men's golf shorts acceptable in the steakhouse?

We have to fly to ports so normally I wouldn't even consider a 3 or 4-day cruise but we will be flying to LA in November for a concert so are tacking on a 3-day cruise on the Radiance.  Timing was right and the price was to good to pass up.  Next up though is the Horizon in 24 days!

Thanks everyone.  Sounds like it will work as I want it to if my husband ends up not being able to go.

Can’t wait.I am on Horizon in 30 days!!!!

My husband and I are going to be LA in November and I want to add a short cruise to the end of our visit.  My husband doesn't know if he wants to go yet.  Pricing is almost the same for 1 person as it is for two so my question is can I keep the reservation for both us and then if he decides not to go he would be a no show?  I'm thinking the port fees and taxes would be refunded for him making it possibly cheaper than reserving as a solo.  Has anyone done that before?

In Mazatlan our favorite is spending the day at Stone Island at Lety's.  Great food, cheap drinks, and they will set up lounge chairs and umbrella's for you as well as activity rentals.  Safe to do by yourself too.

On 7/18/2022 at 11:34 AM, nascartim said:

I usually have multiple cards on me, I keep tabs on my acct throughout my cruise and periodically go to a kiosk(at my convenience, usually no line) and add cards as needed. I waited in the guest services line once, I'll try to avoid it at all costs. Once you get the kiosk trick down, it's pretty easy. I've helped other people figure out how to use it, it can be finicky at times.

Can you clarify the trick to using the kiosk please?

9 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Had to get this for @sid_9169 At first I thought I walked into a crime scene, but someone had spilled their cherry slush in there. 

Using the box for a folding table AS a table.....next level.

We have a later flight out of Miami after our cruise and are looking for a hotel preferably on South beach to hang out for the day.  Anyone have success in renting a room for the day?  

Can you switch devices on one plan?  For example my iPad and iPhone?

Was there a reason given?  We're on the Horizon in August.

SAFEPLAYSNMORE for 2,000 points.