Cruisin_Husker

Hello Cruisingsince1982,  I just got off the Encore Sunday and even though the documentation says as shof515 quoted, the folks at the Cruisenext desk told me you could use your one "lower tier" restaurant certificates at Onda.

 

I ate at Los Lobos, based on several recommendations (as well as the recommendation of the Cruisenext folks) and it was excellent. I highly recommend the fresh tableside prepared guacamole and the tex-mex style snapper.  Both were fantastic.

Hello Everyone,  we just returned from the SKY and were surprised "cruise casual" was allowed in ALL dining venues including Cagneys, LeBistro, and the more formal dining room.

 

Does anyone know if the SUN, as a sister ship to the SKY, has a similar policy?  Thank you!

On 4/21/2019 at 2:15 PM, Icantswimaway said:

Thank you.

 

I was curious to see what kind of entertainment was available on board.  There was a band that played alternative rock back on our Bliss trip in October. I guess I’m hoping for similar entertainment on our upcoming trip.

You're probably thinking of Siglo (the Filipino guys that place mostly 80s classic rock?)  If so, they are an excellent band and to my understanding will be on the Bliss for the foreseeable future.

1 hour ago, Popcorngirl said:

Fantastic review! I am doing the same itinerary in a few weeks. I'm just wondering, can you confirm that the ship time stayed on Miami time the entire cruise? Previous cruises I have been on the ship time changed partway through the cruise because of the djstance/direction travelled - but I think this one does not change, correct?

We stayed on ship time.

 

I have always thought whether to stay on ship time or local time was at the discretion of the Captain; however, I think it may be dependent on cruise line policy.  I say that because we have gone on several other cruises since the Horizon, and the several on Carnival have always stayed on ship time while the 2-3 we have done on Norwegian we have always switched to local time (which we do not care for).

48 minutes ago, iahawkize said:

Thanks for the Great review & Pictures Cruisin Husker. Just asking what day & Time did Cruise Critic have their Meet & Mingle and in what venue ? My cruise 12/1/18 has 179 people registerd ! YIKES You can see I'm a Hawkeye but Always root for Big red when they don't play Iowa.

I've never been to the Cruise Critic meet & Mingle--although I plan to start; however, I believe I saw the small sign for it the first day in the Piano 88 lounge.

2 minutes ago, sayvan said:

Thanks for the review. Which restaurants had a fee? 

Farenheit Steakhouse (it's in the FunTimes but I think it was around $30/pp)

Ji Jis Asian: $15/pp

Cucina Capitano Italian (I think it was $15 pp)

Seafood Shack (ala carte pricing)

Bonsai Teppanyaki

Pig & Anchor Brewhouse (ala carte).  Note the lunch venue outside on deck 5 is complementary.  I think some guests got confused by this based on overhearing some passengers showing up the last day and not realizing the lunch venue was free.

 

I think that's all of them!

 

20 minutes ago, crewsweeper said:

Great review.

Love how you had the waiter do the picks. 

Sea Food Shack make it your way?

Alchemy Bar?

So the2  Havana Bar bands better than the Amor Cubano? Or were they the live groups playing?

We're most likely doing 4-5 nights of specialty dining, but definitely the 2 elegant nights and probably the 1st night will be the MDR.  I'll keep your recs in mind.  Love the chilled soups on other C ships.

 

Thanks,

We did not try the sea food shack--it looked excellent and lines were minimal and it seemed most prices were in the $8-15 range.

 

We did not listen to the bands in the Havana Bar, although we did listen to the "Event Horizon" band in the Ocean Plaza which included the Gravity Horns members.  This band doubled as the live orchestra during two of the Playlist shows, Amor Cubana and Vintage Pop.

7 minutes ago, BENHANDEL said:

Thank you so very much!

 

Question on the pub....you were disappointed that you could not get red frog there-(I will be new to CCL in 40 days so I have no reference point...) but...did you try the brewhouse options? I had previously heard good things...

I forgot to post at the start of my review the "about us" section which describes us as very frugal cruisers.  With that said, the Pig and Anchor Brewhouse on the Horizon has all 4 or 5 of their in-house brewed beers (Red, IPA, Wheat, Stout) on tap at the bar.  The brewhouse is very nice too.  We missed the "self serve taps" that were on the Vista, which, at .29 ounce, were about 25 percent cheaper than getting the beer at the bar.

 

I concur the Pig and Anchor Brewhouse is a very nice venue but you pay a slight premium to have the bartender serving your beer.

1 hour ago, iahawkize said:

I agree The new Sports line-up sucks along with their news channels.....Well now living just south of you in N Ft Myers but as you can see by my nickname I'm from IOWA and a big Hawkeye Fan. I'm sure Frost will right the ship at Nebraska. I don't know if Iowa will beat Nebraska for the Heroes game  the Friday after Thanksgiving but I'll cheer on the Huskers any other time as i went to Creighton U in Omaha (1966-1971)  and we didn't have a football team. It was back when Bob Devaney was the coach. Love Sarasota have friends that have a condo on Lido beach just past Sandcastles hotel.Also love St Armands Circle and Cha Cha Cocnuts and The Columbia Restaurant.

Iowa is my "second" home--my wife is from there and we lived in Des Moines 15 years.  I like Iowa and Kirk Ferentz but will be rooting for the Huskers in two weeks!

56 minutes ago, miamimere said:

Curious on the selection of college & NFL football games on the cruise... any showing?  We will be cruising next week and my teenage son is going to freak if we can't watch OSU beat Michigan 😉 haha!  

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but in the sport bar and casino they show ESPN and I believe the fox sports one channel. They did have the Thursday night NFL game and a couple Sunday games. If the game you want to watch is on ABC or CBS you'll be out of luck. I know I wanted to watch a couple of the national games on ABC and they weren't available. 

Sorry for the smiley faces...those should be "GRADE C" but for some reason got changed to smily face emojis.

 

EMBARKATION

Arrival at the Port/terminal facilities: Grade B. We arrived about 1030 am after taking a free rental car shuttle from the port (we drove from our home that morning in a rental). The Port itself is very busy but once inside the terminal, the new Carnival check-in process where they scan your passport upon entering the terminal and your boarding pass is your “room key” until picking up your permanent key outside your cabin is slick and flawless. My 2 bottles of wine and 2 cases of Pepsi sailed through without any problem and no corkage fee on the wine! We waited in the priority area which had a cooler of lemonade. We began boarding about 1130 which was quick and easy. There are vending machines in the terminal inside the secure area that are reasonable (snacks $1.25 and sodas $2) so you can take your drink / snacks on board.

 

THE SHIP

Overall; Grade A.  The ship itself is nearly new, easy to navigate, and the color scheme and decor are neutral earth tones with a modern feel.   Some of the lines can get long during peak times at some of the food areas (pig and anchor, blue iguana, pasta bar, Mongolian, and deli), but overall passenger flow was good. The crew was friendly and professional.  Some specific comments:

 

CABINS: Grade B. We had an inside cabin on deck 1 (we booked three days prior with only two cabins left).  I don't think we have ever been on that low of a deck which wasn't bad since all the activities are on decks 3-5 (except lido on deck 10), and it was very quiet.  The one downside being on the lowest deck fwd was a frequent shudder as if the bow hit a large wave Rooms were large, the shower worked well, the AC system worked well, and beds were very comfortable, and there was plenty of storage space. Note the room service default must be no evening turn-down service. We've always been asked on past carnival ships if we wanted evening turn down service which we always decline, so the fact it wasn't offered was no big deal.  We also had a problem getting our funtimes delivered each evening which we have never experienced--on 3 of the 7 nights, it was never delivered and only arrived at various times the next morning. I began to have a theory that either they put all the new room stewards, or possibly those on probation, on deck one where all the “low rent” cruise passengers are cabined!

 

POWER OUTLETS Grade C:. There are two 110 outlets, one european style outlet and two USB ports all above the desk. Surprisingly for a new ship there are no USB ports near the bed(s)

REFRIGERATOR Grade A. This is the first refrigerator we've had in awhile that did not have mini bar items making you remove all the items to put your own sodas in. The refrigerator worked good and kept items very cold (which hasn't always been the case on recent cruise ships)

 

TV:. Grade C (for Republicans) Grade B (for Democrats). I normally give grades of F and D since most carnival ships have the lousy no name TV's with remotes that seem to have a mind of their own and that use the older menu interface. On the horizon, it's a complete 180--the TV's are 40” (possibly 32”) LG flat panels, the remotes work well, and the menu interface is the new style where you can view your pictures, see your account activity, etc. The channel lineup is still lousy though.  The choice of channels leaves conservatives with a migraine after having to watch a week of CNN as your only news choice. (There is Headline News to watch in the morning which is good) Not sure when Carnival did away with its networks (abc, CBS, nbc) but they are sorely missed.

Gym / track: grade A. The track goes around the back of the ship to about mid ship. 7 times around is one mile. It was rarely crowded but very windy most of the time. The gym was one of the larger gyms I’ve seen and had plenty of equipment that was brand new and rarely busy in the morning (the photo was taken at 7am on a port day)  

 

FOOD

Overall Grade A.  Overall I think Carnival has an excellent food and dining operation   Their lunch offerings and variety are the best at sea in my opinion and the evening dinners are on par with all the other mass mainstream cruise operators. Specific venues:

 

GUYS PIG & ANCHOR BBQ: Grade B I began my cruise on embarkation day by visiting the pig and anchor on deck 5 which opens at 1130 on embarkation day. The food was excellent and may be the best BBQ at sea; however I downgraded my overall grade to a B. The one port day it was open it was not as good--both the beef and pork were dry and the sauces were very good (I was first one in line so I would recommend waiting 30 minutes or so if you don't mind waiting in line a bit).  I ate there 4 times for lunch--2 were excellent, one was good, and the one I just described was just average. NOTE:. PIG and anchor is only open on embarkation and sea days EXCEPT if you have a port day that ports after the lunch hour. On our itinerary we didn't arrive arrive San Juan until 1:15pm so the pig and anchor was open that day. The lines on embarkation day were short, but the sea days the lines were VERY LONG so go early! (There was a minimal line on the San Juan port day because I don't think many people knew it was open)  Also, the Pig & Anchor brewhouse turns in to a specialty restaurant in the evenings (see the photo below for the menu).

 

GUYS BURGER JOINT: Grade A. I then headed up to guys burger joint after BBQ on embarkation day. It was not too crowded yet and was quickly served what I consider the best burgers being served on the seven seas. The lines were generally longest when it first opened and about 3pm or so when all aboard time was 4ish  but quickly become short because of how efficient the burgers are served.

 

GARDEN BUFFET: Grade C. On embarkation day after hitting the guy fieri's venues, I then meet my wife in the garden buffet and sampled several items which were all hot.  The line at the first buffet line after entering from the pool area was moderate to long, but the best kept secret is to keep walking to the aft buffet because no one was there and no lines. I give the garden buffet a grade of C for two primary reasons: 1. The lines tend to get long at peak times; and 2. The breakfast does not open until 7:30 on sea days which is late for early risers leading to a big line right at 7:30 when it does open. The lines on port days when it opens at 7:00 were much shorter but still a fair number of people especially for the omelet line (which I attributed to an older crowd coupled with return of standard Time the second night of our cruise and it was light by 0530 each morning). It generally started getting very busy around 8:00.  Otherwise the food is on par with other cruise lines.

Self serve beer taps grade 😄 there are four self serve beer taps near the back of the garden Buffett. They are all .29 cents an ounce. On one side is Miller light and red frog red. On the other side is red frog and dos equis. I love the self serve beer taps and the only reason for the C grade is about half the time it was a lot of foam

DELI. Grade B.  The sandwiches are good and freshly made to your liking which would have received a grade of A except I downgraded because the service can be described in three words: SLOW, SLOWER, and SLOWEST, primarily due to only one guy making the sandwiches

 

MONGOLIAN WOK: Grade A.  Great mongolian / Asian food.  On the Horizon it’s up on deck 11 with the pasta bar (which is the Cucina Capitano Italian Specialty restaurant in the evening) and you place your order and receive a pager which works great compared to the older system of standing in line and all the smoke from the wok blows in your face making you cough!

 

PIZZA: Grade B.  The pizza on Carnival is very tasty--fresh made in an electric grill that mimics wood fired. Lines can be a bit long at peak times but it’s open 24x7.

 

BLUE IGUANA. Grade A.  Another great Tex-Mex option with great tacos, burritos, and taco bowls. You can get shrimp tacos as well (although shrimp is not listed on the taco side it is available on the burrito side).  Lines for both the tacos are normally short and fast but the line on the side for the burrito / salad bowl can get long during peak times.

 

PIG AND ANCHOR BREWHOUSE aka REDFROG PUB. Grade C on this ship (On the Vista I would give it an A) My wife and I headed to what we thought would be the redfrog pub on deck 5 but is the "Pig and Anchor Brewhouse" hoping it had half off happy hour on embarkation and port days like the redfrog on Carnival Vista did. Much to our chagrin and disappointment, no such luck on the horizon. Further disappointing was the lack of self serve beer taps like the Vista. If you want to drink Redfrog beer you'll have to go up to the self serve taps on 10 or order it at one of the bars.

 

MAIN DINING ROOM (MDR) Grade B  I normally ask the waiter each evening what their best appetizer and entree are and if your waiter has been on the ship for any period of time, their recommendations are spot on.  I even had a waiter on one cruise, with a good sense of humor, identify their WORST dishes and would bring one out for me at random to try just to prove it! I identify which items were recommended each evening

 

Day 1: waiter recommendation: strawberry bisque, Vietnamese roll, sweet and sour shrimp. My selections:  Strawberry bisque: A  this is like a strawberry smoothie that tastes more like a dessert than an appetizer but it's excellent whenever you choose to eat it. Sweet and sour shrimp grade B.  This was very good. You'll want to order a second entree if very hungry.

DAY 2 (first formal night):  waiter recommendation: lobster and prime rib.

 

My selections: Sicilian meatball soup grade A.  prime rib and lobster Grade A. All of the items were excellent.

 

Day 4: Waiter Recommendation: Flatbread and Lamb Shank.  My Selections: Flatbread Grade B; Lamb Shank Grade A: I’m not a big fan of lamb but this dish was excellent--extremely tender and great flavor.

Day 5: Waiter Recommendation: Seafood Newburg and Beef Wellington.  My Selections: Bing Cherry Bisque Grade A (identical to the Strawberry Bisque except cherry flavored); Penne Siciliana (ordered as an appetizer) Grade A; Beef Wellington Grade A.  All of these items were outstanding. A great evening menu.

DAY 6: Waiter Recommendation: Chicken Skewers; Penne Mariscos; Chicken Milanese.  My Selections: Chicken Skewers Grade A; Steak & Cheddar Soup Grade B; Penne Mariscos (ordered as an appetizer) Grade C; Chicken Milanese Grade B.

 

Day 7 (2nd formal night):  Waiter recommendations: Stuffed mushrooms, Filet, and Teriyaki Salmon Filet.  My Selections: Stuffed mushrooms Grade A; Chesapeake crab cake Grade B; Grilled jumbo shrimp B; Filet Grade B (I had the $20 surcharge filet on a recent Carnival cruise which was better than the filet on this menu).

 

DAY 8:. Waiter recommendation: Prime rib; My Selections: Baked onion soup Grade B; Penne shrimp & bacon (ordered as an appetizer) Grade B; Prime Rib Grade A.

 

PORTS:

I won't provide any port reviews because I doubt they would be helpful to anyone. When our kids were younger and cruised with us we used to get off at every port and do an excursion, go to the beach, etc but now we generally stay on the ship and if we do get off, well walk around the town or cruise village or town, have a drink, and return in a couple hours. I will say we enjoyed this itinerary because San Juan, St Kitts, and St Maarten are all very nice and you're not accosted by tour operator etc when walking around.

 

FUN TIMES DAILYS

EMBARKATION DAY

DAY 2 AT SEA

Day 3: GRAND TURK

 

DAY 4 SAN JUAN

 

 

DAY 5 ST KITTS:

 

DAY 6 ST MAARTEN

 

DAY 7 SEA DAY

DAY 8 SEA DAY

ENTERTAINMENT

 

Overall grade B. Overall the entertainment was very good. On the plus side is the variety of options each night, the plethora of live music options, and all events start promptly on time. On the negative side, the playlist production shows in the main theater each evening are somewhat “cookie cutter” with the same group of singers and dancers doing each show--it’s a little like going to a MLB game and watching a game with all utility players and middle relievers--skilled and competent performers but not real exciting. Carnival is being outpaced in this area by the other lines with Broadway inspired shows where the cast is contracted only for that show and isn't later running the bingo or trivia games like you see on carnival. The performers themselves are very talented but when they have to do four different shows it's not going to compare to the other cruise lines who spend substantial sums to bring in Broadway shows, eg Jersey boys, Mama Mia, etc. (It's quite impressive that the performers on Carnival perform so well the choreography and singing for four different production shows!)  The comedy shows in the punchliners were great--a lot of shows each night and they even flew in two new comedians mid cruise. Here’s are my comments on some specific entertainment:

 

Cruise director Mike Pack:. Grade A. Mike did a great job. He's a middle age guy from the UK that really did a nice job keeping the energy level up, was enthusiastic, articulate and seemed to like his job and genuinely likes interacting with the passengers. He was everywhere and his “signature” was giving hugs to all the passengers which came across as genuine affection for folks.

 

LIVE MUSIC: Grade A: The live music quality, variety, and quality is fantastic.  We also greatly appreciated how Carnival publishes the lineup for the entire week outside of each venue.  Here’s the lineup on the week.

Atrium Acts: Electric violins with new age, demage, and Owen Stephen: grade A. All these acts were excellent. New agen, a violin trio that plays modern hits on violin accompanied by recorded music, was our favorite.  The atrium was our favorite pre-dinner venue.

 

SHOWTIME PLAYLIST PRODUCTION SHOWS IN THE LIQUID LOUNGE (MAIN THEATER):

 

Showtime Soulbound: grade C  While a somewhat “typical” carnival dance and singing production show, this show was actually pretty good--it was high energy, and got the audience involved in singing clapping etc. If you like R&B hits from the 60s 70s and 80s you'll like the show. The pre-show activities, which started 15 minutes before Showtime, were entertaining too. Then the end of the show “spills over” into the atrium for a final two songs and passenger dancing etc. It was a good time and recommended. I liked it the best of the three showtime shows.

 

Showtime Amor Cubano. Grade 😄 this show was billed as the sounds of modern Latin America. It was another “typical” carnival production except a live orchestra  accompanied the singers and dancers which always adds to any live theater show.

 

Showtime vintage pop. Grade C. The live orchestra playing in the show was the highlight for me but otherwise it was just average and on par with the other shows

 

Showtime celestial strings. Grade B. The CD was touting this all day as the best theater production show at sea exclaiming you could only see it on the horizon, and predicting it would win the cruise industry award for best new show. While I don't think I'd go that far, I would say it was the best of the four playlist production shows. The violin trio that played in the evenings were the featured musicians (hence the name celestial strings) but most of the time the violins were drowned out by the pre-recorded music and singing. Many times when the violinists were playing you couldn't even hear them.

 

Showtime Viva variety: Brent and Sarah non stop laugh riot. Grade A:. This is a married couple that does a comedy magic show. They were flown in to do this show so I'm not sure they perform on every horizon itinerary. They were very good and entertaining for the entire family. The show lasted approximately 40 minutes.

 

MISC ENTERTAINMENT EVENTS:

 

Clue: Grade B (for families) Grade D (for everyone else) Based on the board game clue, on the first night all the suspects (Mr Green, Ms peacock, colonel mustard etc) explain why they couldn't have been the one to commit the murder. The passengers are then to gather clues the rest of the cruise to figure out “who dunit” on the last night. I only saw one other event advertised to get a clue so if you do choose to participate, you have to pay close attention during the week where to get clues. I attended the last day (right before Bingo) when the murder was solved and from the hands that went up of passengers that participated, there were not a lot of passengers that partook during the week.

 

60 minutes to win it: grade F. Many of you have probably seen this show where contestants have to complete tasks in 60 seco day or less but this was not that show. Instead it was one member of the fun squad leading various contests with passengers like a scavenger hunt, a trivia type game etc. This is the second carnival Cruise in recent months that has done this--i'm not sure why except maybe carnival got in to a licensing dispute with the original creator of the 60 seconds or less game show and can no longer copy the model.

 

Hasbro the game show. Grade A (for families). This show is a lot of fun--especially for families with smaller kids. Two teams (teams are kids with one adult captains) compete in various Hasbro games on stage. Some of the kids say some really funny things and it's a fun one hour show  

 

Dive in movies on the pool deck:. Grade A. On nice evenings it doesn't get much better sitting outside eating fresh popped popcorn (at the redfrog bar) and watching relatively new release movies. The breeze would show a matinee on port days and two in the evening at 7 and 930. All the chairs would normally fill up within 15 minutes after the movie starts so arrive early if you have more than 2 and want to sit together.

 

Park West art auctions:. They are no longer on the horizon. I wonder if this is the beginning of the end for park west's relationship with carnival?  Instead, on the horizon they sell metal prints of photographs under carnivals “pixels” photo studio brand.

 

Egg drop event in the atrium: grade B:. This was very popular--probably 40 guests entered. It was a fun sea day event to kill some time. The crowds were big so arrive a few minutes early.

 

Battle of the Sexes Grade and Love and Marriage Shows: Grade C  Both of these shows are usually entertaining and are heavily dependent on the team members and the CD for how entertaining they are.

 

COMEDY IN THE PUNCHLINERS:. The punchliners is always one of our favorite entertainment events. Couple things that may be helpful. All the shows started right on time and were finished in 30 minutes--every now and then  a show may go 35 minutes but I think carnival must stress to the comedians to keep it to 30 minutes. The 530 family shows don't get too crowded but all the shows after 730 normally fill up. I'd recommend arriving at least 15 minutes early and if the line stretches back to the casino, don't worry--you'll still get in. We saw approximately twelve shows by four different comedians over the course of the cruise. We saw both the family and adult shows and my wife and I thought they were just OK--some of them were pretty funny and others were not quite our style of humor. Carnival does a great job of scheduling comedy at a variety of times to suit almost everyone.

 

DISEMBARKATION: Grade A. We did the self-assist early disembarkation for platinum guests. We received clearance right at 7:00 a.m. and we were out to the shuttle by 7:30.

 

CONCLUSION: Our cruise aboard the Carnival Horizon was a fantastic 8 day cruise and I think anyone who enjoys cruises would thoroughly enjoy the Horizon. I hope the above review helps you plan your vacation on the Horizon and you have a great time!

One more thing I forgot to mention in my original review in the "FOOD" section:

 

If you see the Guy Frieri's Pig & Anchor sauces sitting outside the "Ole Fashioned BBQ" up on Deck 10 of the Liberty, don't get too overly exuberant thinking the Liberty meets up with a Vista class ship to load a bunch of the smoked meat on the Liberty!  The "Ole Fashioned BBQ" on the Liberty was disappointing. By "ole fashioned" they must mean they cook the meat like they used to before rolling out the Pig & Anchor BBQ venues.

 

The meat tasted like my wife's pot roast (which is quite good ) and the chicken tastes like it was just baked in the oven and the same chicken you would get on the Lido buffet.  The "ole fashioned BBQ" is not anything close to Pig & Anchor unfortunately.

Yes there are USB ports in the base of each light fixture on each side of the bed (I believe there were two ports per light fixture so a total of 4)

 

 

ABOUT US: My wife and I are in our early 50s and have been on nearly 40 cruises--mostly NCL and Carnival. We are “frugal” cruisers, seeking to get on the ship for as little as possible and spend very little once on the ship, e.g. we normally eat in the MDR and rarely do shore excursions (except we’ve done most of the popular ones when our kids were younger and cruised with us). We are early risers and and are rarely out and about the ship after 10:30 p.m. so I my review won’t encompass late night shows, comedy, and night clubs. So with that said, on to the review:

 

EMBARKATION

 

Arrival at the Port/terminal facilities: Grade A. We arrived about 10:50 am after parking in a commercial lot in Cocoa Beach. The Port itself is very busy but once inside the terminal, the new Carnival check-in process (this is the 3rd cruise we've been on that carnival has used it as the more traditional method of getting your key card at the counter) where they scan your passport upon entering the terminal is slick and flawless. My bottle of wine and case of Pepsi sailed through without any problem and no corkage fee on the wine! We waited in the platinum lounge which had water only (we were on the Breeze a few weeks ago that had coffee, juices, and cookies). We began boarding about 1110 which was quick and easy. There are vending machines in the terminal inside the secure area that are reasonable (snacks $1.25 and sodas $2) so you can take your drink / snacks on board.

 

Lifeboat drill. Grade F. This is one of the more dreadful lifeboat drills we've been to in some time. For starters it's the type you have to go outside to stand shoulder to shoulder with all the other guests (vs sitting in a lounge or dining room). The drill itself was disorganized--crew members didn't scan your card as you arrived but instead waited to try and scan cards when everyone was lined up. The drill itself had long periods of seemingly no activity in between periods of instruction. I would recommend showing up as late as you can to minimize the dreadfulness.

 

SHIP

Overall; Grade C.  The ship itself was well maintained, relatively easy to navigate, but showing some age. The decor is not to my taste--it’s the overly elaborate “Victorian era” type of decorations. The crew friendliness was uniformly very good. Some of the lines can get long during peak times at some of the food areas, but overall passenger flow was good. The buffet at 10:00 a.m. on the sea day was packed but otherwise lines were minimal. The smoke smell from the Casino when walking along deck 5 promenade was minimal.  Some specific comments:

 

CABINS: Grade B. We had an inside cabin on deck 10. Overall very good. The bathrooms were large and the shower worked excellent and beds were very comfortable with plenty of storage space.

 

TV:. Grade F (for Republicans) Grade D (for Democrats): The TV remote was horrendous--most of the time it was unresponsive, or you would press the channel button 3-4x with no response then if it was aligned just right it would magically work. The m enu interface is the older Carnival one without account access and your pictures like on the Vista class. The choice of channels leaves conservatives with a migraine after having to watch a week of CNN as your only news choice. (There is Headline News to watch in the morning which is good) Not sure when Carnival did away with its networks (abc, CBS, nbc) but they are sorely missed. While they have TBS and TNT, they're not live versions from what I could tell--for example the baseball playoff was airing on TBS but the TBS channel in the cabins was showing a movie of some sort (the sports bar also did not have the game on). The Liberty also did not have the “sport 24” channel that is on the Vista class (which shows mostly soccer but did also show nfl games).

 

Gym / track: grade B. The track goes around the back of the ship to about mid ship. 7 times around is one mile. It was rarely crowded but very windy most of the time. The gym was one of the larger gyms I’ve seen and had plenty of equipment that was well maintained and rarely busy in the morning (the photo was taken at 7am on a port day)

 

 

PLATINUM / GOLD VIFP BENEFITS:

 

FOOD

(We ate in the garden Buffett (incl guy frieris and blue iguana) each day for breakfast and lunch and the MDR each evening. We had a party of four trying the items below):

 

MDR DAY 1 (Overall Grade A): The waiter recommended the pork loin and the mahi mahi.

Fried calamari grade C. Just average  nothing special.

Orange and grapefruit fillets. Grade B. This was a small salad with fresh orange and grapefruit pieces that was quite good.

Grilled mahi mahi grade A. I'm normally a mild white fish guy but this mahi mahi was excellent and garnished with a mango type salsa. Highly recommend

Steakhouse selection broiled filet ($20 surcharge). Grade A. I'm loathe to pay a surcharge for any food on a cruise but paid for my dad to try this steak and it was worth every penny of the $20!  My dad is a lifelong nebraskan who knows good beef and said the fillet was as good as any he's tried. Highly recommend!

Honey glazed pork loin grade B. This was one of the waiter recommendations  My mom got this entree and said it was very good. The glaze wasn't too heavy, the flavor was good and the pork was tender and moist.

From the grill chicken breast. Grade B. Very good. Tender and juicy (my wife tends to get this entree most evenings and normally it's pretty good but every now and then one piece will be dry or bit tough but overall a very good entree for chicken lovers)

 

 

MDR DAY 2 - Cruise Elegant Night (Overall Grade A).  The waiter recommended the prime rib.

Stuffed mushrooms. Grade A. A waiter recommended dish. You get six mushrooms sauteed in an Italian type sauce. Highly recommend.

 

Strawberry bisque. Grade A. I have never had this but it will now be one of my anticipated appetizers!  After reading so many on cruise critic raving about it I tried it and it's like a strawberry smoothie for an appetizer!  Highly recommend

 

Rare Find Selection. Cured salmon. Grade B. We all tried this and agreed it was surprisingly very good. If you like sushi you will probably like this appetizer.

 

Prime rib. Grade B. The prime rib is usually pretty good on carnival and this piece was no different   it was tender and had good flavor.

 

Teriyaki glazed salmon. Grade B. Both my parents had this and both agreed it was very good. Just the right amount of terriyaki mainade and good flavor.

 

Jumbo shrimp. Grade A. We all tried a piece of the shrimp and it was unanimous it was excellent. You only get 4 shrimp so you better order two entrees if you're hungry or like shrimp.

 

 

MDR Day 3 (Overall Grade B):

The  weakest of the three menus in our opinion. The waiter recommended the lamb shank and portobello mushroom:

Flatbread. Grade C Just average and somewhat bland.

Leek and Potato Soup. Grade A. An excellent tasting soup.

American Navy Bean Soup Grade B. Another very good bean soup.

Rare find selection: Braised Rabbit. Grade C. Not really our taste.

Crisp Portobello Mushroom. Grade A.  These were excellent, recommended by the waiter, and all in our party recommend them!

Seared Tilapia. Grade B. This was very good but not the best Tilapia dish I have had on a cruise before.

 

Garden Buffett / guy frieris / blue iguana  grade B. These venues weren’t too busy on embarkation or the sea day with long lines like I've seen it on other ships. The Mongolian wok line got long and the pizzeria line gets long when all the other food venues were closed. The drink machines coffee and ice were all well maintained and stocked. All the venues opened on time and even a few minutes early.

 

Bars: Grade C.  There is no self-serve beer taps like on some of the other Carnival ships. There is a brief happy hour on embarkation day:

 

Dining Changes: If you need to change your dining, here’s the info:

 

ENTERTAINMENT

Overall Grade B (for 3 day cruise). The top shows and entertainment aren’t going to be on the older ships on short itineraries, but the entertainment on the Liberty was pretty good overall. We didn’t attend the playlist production shows since we’ve seen them before. The Comedians overall at the Punchliners were funny and there was a good variety of entertainment options each evening.

 

 

Cruise Director: Chris Salazar. Grade B.  Chris goes by the nickname “Donkey” and his signature phrase when coming on the intercom is, “This is your cruise director, Donkey! ‘The Voice From Above’”  The CD did a nice job--he was entertaining, humorous, visible, and friendly.

 

FUN TIME DAILYS

DAY 1:

 

DAY 2:

 

 

DAY 3: Sorry--forgot to take a picture for the sea day!

 

DISEMBARKATION: Grade A.  We used the early self-disembarkation for platinum guests. The stated time to arrive at the meeting point was 6:45 a.m.  The disembarkation started about 7:10 a.m. and we were on the parking shuttle by 7:25.

 

Conclusion:  Overall a great time on a fun, short-itinerary, well-run cruise.  Hope you enjoy your cruise on the Liberty and this review helps in planning out your vacation!

I was in the Carnival forum writing a review of the Carnival Liberty and when I dragged a .jpg file to insert it in the review, the photo enlarged to full screen and when I clicked the "X" in the upper right (it was the only way I could figure out how to get out of that screen) it returned me to the homepage for cruise critic and the review was completely lost!  Any idea what happened or if there is a fix for this issue?

I follow a vlog on YouTube, a married couple and their family who just finished up a cruise on the Breeze. In one of their videos i watched her use a self dispensing beer tap somewhere on the ship, I think it was $4.00-$5.00 per pour and maybe outside by the Pig and Anchor??

 

Yes there is ONE self pour tap on 10 AFT by the pizzeria. It's .29 ounce and is the RedFrog Thirsty Red. Unfortunately it was out of service the majority of the cruise even though it was supposed to be open I think 9 am - 11pm everyday (it's in the funtimes the times it's supposed to be open).

I was surprised your “floating buffet” didn't include a visit to the Italian restaurant on embarkation day. We find it one of the few spots to enjoy as it is out of the way and not generally found until the first sea day.

 

I do regret we did not try it...it had been awhile since we had been on Carnival and simply were unaware and thought it was a surcharge restaurant. We won't make that same mistake next time!

Besides the piano bar and big shows .... what live music is available in the evenings after dinner?:)

 

There was a fair amount, including a pretty funky eclectic five-piece band playing in the Oceans lounge that was pretty good. They also had a solo guitarist playing in the RedFrog Pub and a reggae type artist that played around the ship. Hopefully there should be a live music style that suits your tastes!

Are you sure it was Fox that was being broadcast? I have been on Magic, Liberty and Victory within the last several months. All three ships had Fox Sports 1, but none of them had Fox.

 

I think you are correct because I think those early games were on fox sports 1--not the national fox network. Thanks for catching that to clarify!

I don’t understand why so many posters mention/criticize the lack of network stations on Carnival ships. Maybe I cruise the wrong way, but in 22 cruises on Carnival I have never stayed in my room to watch TV. There are too many things going on around the ship that I would much rather be doing.

 

Other than to sleep in the evening, we spend approximately 1 1/2 hours in the cabin a day--an hour to shower and get ready in the morning and 30-45 minutes in the evening to read the fun times before going to bed. During this time we like to have the TV on to catch up what's going on in the world and when you have only a limited network choice of news and spend half your time getting on the channel you want because of remote or technical issues (I forgot to mention we frequently lost sound) it gets a bit frustrating.

 

Of course I do try to remember we are floating in the middle of the ocean on a moving ship!:):)

Thank you for your review. Looking forward to boarding Carnival Breeze in 13 more days! I have seen people mentioning on Facebook that there may be stabilizer issues because the ship was very rocky on calm seas. Did you have that experience? Glad you had a good time!

 

Our cruise was pretty smooth most of the time. The evening sailing out of Grand Turk there was a fair amount of ship movement caused by 5 foot swells which was a result of one of the tropical storms in the Atlantic according to the crew. The rest of the time, including the day at sea, was very smooth. You could feel some slight movement and the front and aft of the ship on the sea day, but that was about it. My wife is very prone to motion sickness and had no problems.

We just got off the Vista three weeks ago and the Breeze last week. Here was the TV lineup:

Vista: ESPN channels (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) and I think Fox in the RedFrog Pub and Casino. TBS, TNT, and "sport 24" in the cabin (sport 24 shows a variety of events--mostly soccer--but did have some NFL football)

Breeze: ESPN channels and Fox in the Redfrog and Casino. TBS**, TNT in the cabin (no sport 24) **I don't think the TBS onboard is the same version shown live in CONUS. One of the WC games was being broadcast on TBS, but the ship's TBS was showing a movie re-run--ugh. The game was also not being shown anywhere on the ship.

 

So with that if the games are on Fox, ESPN, TBS or TNT, there's a decent chance you'll be able to watch them.

 

Good luck and enjoy the cruise!

Great work on the review Husker! The picks of the menus and fun times are very helpful. My wife takes forever to decide what to eat so now she has a seven month head start.

 

LOL..too funny. I do recommend asking the waiter, "What's the best appetizer and entree on the menu tonight?" Almost all the waiters I've run across on both Carnival and NCL will give you their recommendation for the dish they know most of the passengers like. I even had one waiter tell me once, "Don't get that dish...it's terrible!" When I said "OK, bring me the one you recommend." He did so but then 15 minutes later brought me out the dreaded terrible entree so I could taste if for myself. Sure enough it wasn't very good. When I concurred that it was indeed terrible, he got a big laugh!

Is the pizza really made in a wood fired grill or oven??

 

The last time I was on the breeze, earlier this year, the deli had pre-made sandwiches. Have they changed that?

 

I may have gotten a bit carried away and eaten one too many BBQ chicken legs which clouded my description--I think it was an electric oven and I sure don't remember any wood being thrown in to be a "wood fired" grill. What I should have said is the crust had the taste and appearance of being cooked in a "wood fired oven" and it cooked fast! The server would make your pizza and within 7-9 minutes it was ready!

 

The sandwiches on the menu (I think there were 8 different sandwiches) were pre-made and heated up, but you were free to order whatever custom sandwich you wanted--which is both a positive and a negative--on the positive side you can get whatever you want custom made and the downside as you might imagine, is the time it takes for that customization!