momof4girls

I learned that, for sure, after my first cruise! I laugh when I think about what our room steward thought of all my shoes lined up. 😂 sooo ridiculous!! That would be second elegant night so I’m going with that unless I read differently! Our “costumes” will be fine for it since we are doing the 1920’s theme (think Gatsby).

I am trying to lighten up my packing! I’m hoping someone that has been on a 6 night cruise in OCTOBER will be able to tell me which night was the costume night? I’m hoping it is second elegant night so I can avoid having to pack two nice dresses…

Thank you guys for your responses! I used the "chat" option since I am busy at work, and the nice rep just resent the email to me. She doesn't know why it never arrived. I checked all my folders, even. At least it was a quick fix, and it didn't took much time out of my day (as opposed to my last phone call with Carnival).

I bought a $100 gift card on the 11th and haven’t received an email with the number yet. Anyone else had that happen? I’m hoping that calling AARP today will take care of it. I’ve never had this happen, and I’ve bought multiple cards in the past.

Thank you, everyone! I will hang on to it until I board, then.

Can you add a digital / virtual gift card to your account when you are at the port getting checked in? I can always use it to pay down a current cruise I have booked, but I was also hoping to use it as OBC.

We are in that cabin on the Horizon this fall ☺️

Excellent review! Thank you for taking the time. I’m hoping to try Excel class within the next couple years. Unfortunately (not truly unfortunate), we already have four booked on other ships

Enjoy reading reviews from cruisers who usually cruise other lines. Thank you for doing this!

Great writing! Very easy to read, straight to the point! Did you notice if the Serenity deck was just as crowded/busy during the day?

We usually cruise in balcony cabins too, and our first interior will be on this fall's Horizon cruise in the Havana area. I figured the best way to try out an interior room is on a Vista class ship in the Havana area since there is a wonderful area to relax in just "down the hall" from our room.

This is just my opinion, but I feel like Mr Sanchos is for the 20 - 30 somethings, Paradise is for families, and Nachi is for couples.

I am not a fan of Jamaica either. We were probably just going to stay on ship at that stop. I'm actually very surprised with your response! Especially since you had a balcony on Celebration. I try very hard to not take a cruise for specific ports as I know that can happen. We love being on the ship enough that we are ok if we just cruise around the ocean for 7 days. Wow! I did not expect the replies to be so strong on one side. I WISH I could edit my original post to say that we are going on the Jubilee in October of 2024. It is doing the Western itinerary, but it will be the most "shiny, new ship" that Carnival will have to offer.

Quite a bit more, and I don’t see how it’d be worth it. The Havana area on these class of ships is nothing like the Havana area on the Horizon (or the other two Vista class ships).

I can NOT decide which cruise to go with. I could really use other cruisers advice. Little about us to help decide…We are laid back and easy going. We rarely find anything to complain about and we are just as happy being on a ship that goes “nowhere” as we would be going on a ship that makes “magical stops”. I’ve cruised more than my dh, but either ship/class will be new to us. This will be our first cruise trying an inside stateroom🤞🏻, but we’ve tried balconies, cove balconies, and ocean views. We LOVE visiting beaches or exploring on our own (i.e. renting a golf cart, etc) We live far enough away we have to fly. Both leave out of Miami. We will be on the Horizon in two years for an 8-day southern Caribbean cruise. Unless we absolutely hate it, we are planning the same kind of stateroom. Cruise 1 Horizon 6 Day = Inside Havana Stateroom Jamaica = Been there 1x. We ziplined. Grand Cayman = Been there 1x. Lovely beach day. Cozumel = Been here a couple times. We love Cozumel. Went to Paradise both times although we want to try Nachi on our next visit. Cruise 2 Celebration 7 Day = Inside Stateroom Amber Cove = Never been. Have an upcoming family cruise stopping here April ‘24. San Juan = Never been. St. Maarten = Never been. The Celebration cruise IS one more day and $100 more but does not have the “private” beautiful Havana area.

HMC is my favorite beach stop that I’ve been to. It’s beautiful! Powdery white sand and crystal clear blue waters. PC wasn’t bad either but nowhere near as nice as HMC (IMHO).

Is this a Carnival excursion? Or one you booked with an independent company? We are doing this same cruise and ship in 2025. We booked early so we could be sure to get a room in the Havana area.

Can anyone that has possibly stayed in both types of rooms or at least seen both rooms comment on which is better for a couple? I was initially considering a balcony on our Celebration cruise but I feel like we’ll use our room less than our “norm” due to being on a brand new, much larger ship (with more to see and do). Also, is the bathroom the same size in a balcony room as it is an inside room?

Excellent review, as always! Your wife is a gem! The time she takes for picture taking and editing is amazing! Kudos to the both of you! We are on the Vista shortly before you next year, so I’ll be curious what your take is after we get off.

The facial expressions and body language speak volumes in this line… Thank you so much for taking the time to do this review! I envy the pics of your cabin and balcony area!

So I haven’t cruised in a few years. I was reading a different thread and noticed the breakfast room service menu had prices for sandwiches. Is room service not free anymore? The last time I cruised there was plenty of free items, but you could choose to pay for “upgraded” food items (I specifically remember sweet potato fries), if you so desired.

I’m a HUGE baseball fan too! We try to get to STL for at least one game a season (missing 2020 and 2021 though). It’s on our tv nightly from start of season to end…☺️🫣 Before I go searching, have you written other trip reports? I’d love,to read about your Costa cruise after you return!

I know this review is older, but I just finished reading it. Excellent review! Loved your pics and commentary! Very helpful to me since dh and I would like to book a cruise to Alaska. We’ve never cruised on HAL but have been told it’s highly recommended for Alaska. I LOVED your idea about the competition with the walking track. We think alike! I’ve only ever cruised on Carnival, so I’ve been nervous about trying a new cruise line. However, thanks to your review, I feel better about scheduling a HAL Alaskan cruise. Not sure if it’s because we both happen to be from Missouri, but after reading your review, I felt like we could easily be friends. 😊

Did he have to call and have it changed or were you able to do that?