SnowWhiteNYC

We are planning on renting a car in Aruba. We will be in port from 8a-10p. Does anyone know if we can park the car at the port if we co back to the ship mid day and then head back out to go for dinner? Just trying to plan our day. Thanks in advance! 

Photos worked for me...

Just don't book a Havana room of any sort on the Mardi Gras.  They have completely downgraded the size of the area and the amenities offered as well.  No hot tubs and only a small, "relaxation" pool that was originally intended to be a spa.  

We saw all 4 production shows.  We liked Soulbound the best - it is the first of the 4.  We didn't like Celestial Strings at all and actually left before it was over, a first for us ever.  We loved the 3 violinists who were featured in the show and enjoyed them performing around the ship - just disliked the show despite the casts' obvious talents and the beautiful costumes.  To each his/her own.  

They showed: Bohemian Rhapsody, Mary Poppins Returns, Ralph Breaks the Internet, A Star Is Born, Hellboy, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Venom, Creed II, Aquaman, Mama Mia, Green Book, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Gindelwald, Bumblebee, Glass, Instant Family and Crazy Rich Asians.  We also saw Captain Marvel in the Imax as well as Dumbo.

On 4/29/2019 at 2:03 PM, mdaviswv said:

Would you believe we’re booked in that cabin next summer? I’m also very interested in photos.  We’re sailing this summer too, so I’ll probably go be nosy that trip and see for myself. 🙂 

We just also booked cabin 9201 for next summer!  

The themes for each show were basically good.  The song choice and the flow of the individual shows was odd.  There was no one song or moment that just pulled you in, the audience was never electrified or ever really in to the show or the moment or the songs.  There was, at best, polite clapping.  We've always enjoyed the on board productions.  They've always been fun and entertaining.  These four shows were just, meh... even though the sets and scenery were well done and the cast had obvious talent.  We actually left the last of the shows early.  We went each night thinking, this is the one that's going to grab us and wow us but it never happened.  If we sail the Horizon again we won't go to the playlist productions.  There was so much other great entertainment around the ship that we will be fine without going to these.

Driving down there was no problem - other than 3 states with tornado warnings.  We were excited about starting our vacation.  The trip home?  Ugh.  But there was no choice - flights were more than we paid for the cruise itself!

We loved her, really!  Liquid Lounge seating tip: enter the left door and go left immediately to the back.  Bar stools on end are elevated and give a great view of the whole stage with no heads blocking you.  Those seats were available every night until we took them about 15 minutes before the shows started.

We were in the car by 8a and pulled into our driveway at 4:55a the next morning.  I left for work at 5:30a!  

We've done NY as well several times but we actually drove to Miami and home for this last cruise because of the air fare costs and it being Spring Break...long drive and we did it non-stop on the way home because I had to go to work the next day!

For us, the convenience of sailing out of NYC may win out.  Curious to see the reviews of the Sunrise though!

We really did love her too!  And we love the 8 day itinerary!  Just booked the Mardi Gras for 2021.  Still deciding on 2020's cruise - leaning toward the Sunrise out of NYC.

Overall the entertainment was great.  The musical acts on board were top notch and extremely enjoyable.  We spent quite a bit of time in the different venues enjoying them.  We went to all 4 playlist productions.  We did not enjoy them despite the talented cast and the amazing scenery.  Typically we thoroughly enjoy the shows on our cruises.  Not this time.  We watched several of the Dive In movies up on Lido and watch one movie, Captain Marvel, in the IMax theater.  We really enjoyed this feature.  We attended several of the Atrium "parties" with the cruise director and had a blast.  We also did the adult only quest one evening and that was a riot!  Would definitely suggest trying it!  Loved the Punch Liner Comedy club and went to several of the shows throughout the cruise.  We had so much fun - this was a really great time. 

We were on board for Easter Sunday.  They had a morning, non-denominational service in the Limelight Lounge.  It was packed.  Beautifully done.  One of the best experiences I have ever had on a cruise.  So moving.  Each guest attending received a beautiful pin.  They also had an Easter Egg hunt.  Eggs were hidden all over the ship and clues were given.  Everyone who found all 12 was given a special prize.  My son did it and loved it. 

Sea days were very crowded up on the decks but that's too be expected.  Pools are very small and don't really handle the big sea day crowds well so we tend to avoid them and only really used them on emabarkation day, Grand Turk day and our last sea day (when we got out relatively early).  The hot tubs were a bit of a disappointment.  We used all of them at some point including the two in the Havana area (after 7p open access).  They were never "hot" more like "warm" and the jets weren't powerful by any stretch of the imagination.  Because they weren't really hot, once people got in them, they tended to stay in them for hours without ever leaving.  This was one of the few negatives of the cruise for us.  Not a deal breaker but definitely something I mentioned in my review-survey. 

Our ports of call were Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Kitts and St. Martin. We opted to stay on the ship in Grand Turk - we always pick one port to stay on board and enjoy the ship and we'd just been to Grand Turk on our last cruise.  So while most of the ship go off to explore we rode the Sky Ride, did the Sky Course, enjoyed the pools and the splash zone and slides, played mini golf and pool and ping pong... We had a great day and were glad we did it this way.  In San Juan we just got off the ship at leisure and headed up to El Morro with a kite we'd brought with us.  Spent a few hours enjoying the scenery up at the fort and flying our kite.  We've been to San Juan many times and didn't need to do much else.  In St. Kitts we booked a private tour with Thenford Gray and toured the island with several stops and about 2 hours at the beach.  Would highly rec.!  We'd been to St. Martin on our very first cruise in 2002 but hadn't been back since.  We rented a car from the port area and drove around the island stopping at several beaches and lookouts as well as for a bite to eat in Grand Case and a brief stop in Marigot.  All in all another great day.  It's a relatively easy island to navigate on your own.

We're off our Horizon cruise for just under a week and wanted to take the time to give a brief review.  Overall we loved the ship and had a fantastic time.  It was packed and we knew that going into the cruise as it was Spring Break/Easter week but that didn't impact our experience more than a little bit.  It was my husband and I (26 CCL cruises) and our 13yo son.  We booked an interior cabin, Deck 10.  Having the third bed as a pullman v. a trundle made a big difference in the comfort of our room for us.  We don't spend much time in the room so interior is usually fine for us but not having the extra bed take up floor space was a big plus for us.  The location was great for us as we could hit the Lido deck with ease and we never heard any noise from the public areas of the ship at all. Service overall was excellent.  We did notice that the drink servers were virtually none existent  on the decks other than in the main Lido area mid ship.  We had assigned early dining and had a great wait staff serving us.  The assistant maitre'd took note that I had ordered the Indian Vegetarian entree the first two nights and stopped by our table near the end of our second dinner.  She asked if I was vegan/vegetarian and when I said that I wasn't and that I just loved Indian cuisine she offered to get me a non-vegetarian Indian entree each night if I would like from the crew dining room.  Sure enough, each night I was able to get both the vegetarian and non-vegetarian offering if I wanted.  She stopped by our table each night to check on us.  She explained that this is an option on every CCL ship as long as the guest requests.  With all of our cruises and all of my research this is something I never knew! 

I have been reading and researching through threads on this board. We will be in Havana for two days with an overnight in August. Does anyone have suggestions for something for us to do with our 12yo son in the evening that involves local music/dancing? He is a budding musician. Thanks in advance. Still planning out our days, but would still like to experience a bit of the "nightlife" if possible.

Wear or carry on a swimsuit for embarkation day. Eat lunch as soon as you get on board. Then put on your swimsuit. Go to the hot tub and/or pool and relax. Resist the urge to explore the ship, take advantage of the time when everyone else is doing that and enjoy just being on vacation. Then when your room is ready, go back and get changed and explore the ship and enjoy the sail away. Depending on your itinerary, we like to stay on board during one port and enjoy the ship without all the people. Sometimes we just pick a port to only spend a little bit of time so that we can enjoy the ship. Above all else, remember that you are on vacation and it is all good! Enjoy.

We preferred LSC because there was a great deal more shade. I didn't need to rent the clam shell and many who rented the umbrellas, never used them.

You can absolutely by soda while in port and bring that back on with you as well.

There is a beach in Nassau that is within walking distance from the cruise port. Junkaroo is it's name. There is no beach within walking distance in Freeport that I know of. We typically stay on board in Freeport and enjoy the ship without all the people.

Leaving in one week on the Fantasy! This was great!

to quote "Oliver"

Please sir (ma'am), I want some more!