carnival horizon

We booked this new Carnival Horizon (leaving Monday 6/25) to take my 3 grandchildren on a "fun ship" but the reviews have been disheartening. Of course we will go with an open mind :cool:. I'm wondering is there anything special we can do while in the Caribbean ports without actually taking the excursions from the cruise line. Any input would be appreciated. The ports at San Juan, Turks Cacaos and DR.

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

Most any port in the world can be done on your own with a little planning. For example, San Juan is very walkable to many places. Or there is cab transport. Grand Turk is also very easy to use. Not sure what port you are using at the DR, but that is one location I would probably take a ship's tour, or not go ashore.

Start your research on the Ports boards, here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

Always take reviews with a grain of salt. Are they written by someone with abnormally high expectations? Did they understand what is and is not available on the ships? Are they just simply a normally disgruntled person? Was there anything unusual about their cruise (1st cruise of a new ship, an itinerary that the cruise line doesn't normally cruise, etc.)? I will typically read multiple reviews to try to get a cross-section of perspectives.

Go with an open mind and develop your own opinions. You might check out the Carnival board if you haven't already to get a good idea of what your expectations should be.

Don’t worry about planning anything in Grand Turk. Carnival has a huge multi million dollar port set up that is really nice. There’s a huge beach area as you walk off of the ship with lots of free loungers with umbrellas, Margaritaville, and shopping. You can also rent a golf cart to drive around the island (it’s not that big) and look at the light house and other scenic areas. We’ve done this and really enjoyed it. So did our kids.

In DR there’s a monkey land excursion that’s a blast. It’s one of our favorite excursions. We got to play with orphaned monkeys that were being rehabilitated. Hopefully it’s still available through Carnival because I know it willl be a hit with the kids. If not, take a taxi to the Chocal Cooperative which is a chocolate factory. There is a tour where you can see how chocolate is made (they let you make some yourself) and taste lots of varieties of chocolate. You sort the cocoa beans, shell them, make and package the chocolate yourself. Quite fun for the kids and adults too.

In San Juan the two big forts right by the pier are amazing for adults and kids alike. One of them has a real dungeon with messages scribbled on the wall. There are real cannons, cannon balls, meeting rooms, authentic period clothing they wore, lots of history etc. I thought my kids might not like it as much as us adults but they went nuts over it. They were especially into the dungeon and cannon balls. The views from the top are breathtaking too. It’s not a strenuous activity either so I think you’ll like it.

As far as negative reviews about the new Horizon and it’s sister ship, the Vista, they’re not bad ships it’s just a new concept that breaks away from the normal Carnival ship and it has people in a tizzy. They just don’t like change. The atrium is different, the theater is different, and even the elevators have a new system. And people hate change, even if it’s for the better, like the new elevator system which helps tremendously with crowd control and eliminates kids being able to push buttons randomly on the elevator. The complaints will die down and eventually the new concepts will be accepted and the cruisers will go from hating it to loving it. But the kids will definitely love the sky ride, ropes course, IMAX theater, and 4-D thrill ride. Ignore the bad reviews and focus on all of the good points of the newer ships and you will have a great time I’m sure.

Pay no attention to the reviews. People love to complain. A friend of mine just cruised the Horizon a few weeks ago and loved it.

San Juan is a great port. Your grand kids will get a kick out of El Morro a giant fort about a twenty minute walk from the cruise pier. Lots of interesting shops and cafes and Old Town San Juan too.

Have a great cruise.

Jonathan