Willdra’s Hyperactive Carnival Horizon April 15-22 Cruise

[Fatcat604]

Thank you, I been waiting for your review the whole day. I can't wait to read the next one.

[luckybecky]

Love your pictures of Rome. What a whirlwind tour you had! You managed to fit a lot into that day.

[Lhound92]

I loved your Rome day. Rome was my first stop on my first European trip so it holds a special place in my heart. My hotel wasn’t far from Trevi so I had a bit of an attachment to it (ok apparently I get attached to things easily)

 

It’s gorgeous at night time

 

 

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[jayowl]

I was wondering if you purchased the internet onboard. If so was it better than any other ship. You write such an entertaining review.

 

 

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[beatbandit]

Say what?!? Golden Girls trivia? I’ve been lurking on the Carnival boards trying to decide if I want to try a Carnival cruise - this and your hilarious and awesome review might have convinced me!

[willdra]

Florence/Pisa

 

 

The alarms woke me up, so it’s a good thing we set 2. W woke up a short time afterwards, when I opened the curtains. We took showers, and since I didn't want to walk around looking like somebody’s thumb, I took the time to fix my eyebrows. They're important. Walking down the hall we saw lots of Funtimes still in mailboxes. This Med cruise was abnormal in so many ways. The ports were all new to us, therefor we didn't spend much time at all looking at ship activities and entertainment. We actually forgot that there was stuff to do on the ship. I didn't know when I would get W to agree to go back to Europe, so we had to get all of our money's worth on this go round. Use it or lose it!

 

Our excursion left a little later that day, which gave us an opportunity to actually taste our food. I also had time to run down to the Blue Iguana to get arepas and huevos ranchos (with no huevos). My mouth was ecstatic with those choices.

 

 

[willdra]

After breakfast, we went down to the Reflections Dining Room to meet our excursion. We left at 10:35, when everyone was checked in. On the bus we were giving headsets which made it so much easier to hear Eleanor, our guide. She didn't have to yell, and no matter where she was, we could hear her. She liked to walk around as she talked, which seemed to be an Italian theme. The bus ride was around 40 minutes, and Eleanor gave us interesting facts along the way.

 

 

When we got to Pisa, the bus parked in a huge lot, then we walked 1/4-1/2 mile to the square. We were handed off to Alessandra, another tour guide on site, who took us inside of Pisa Cathedral and around the Piazza del Duomo. She gave us history of the structures and some of the specifications. The inside of the Cathedral was breathtaking. There was so much to look at. We didn't spend as much time in there as I would've liked. When we came out of the Cathedral, we couldn't go back in, so take your pictures during the lecture, if pictures are a priority. Females are required to have their shoulders covered and men had to remove their hats. If you don’t have sleeves or a sweater, they will give you scarf at the door. I honestly didn't understand that part. Does God hate shoulders? What is it about shoulders that's offensive? I saw a lady walk in with toenails that looked like she could swoop down out of the sky, and catch her dinner in a lake. That was ok, but my shoulders weren't? Sounds fishy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

I digress. Once we got back outside, we had 1 hour 40 minutes free to explore the Piazza. We used the time to take pictures, then we found a charming little pizzeria to hit up. It is very common to see restaurant employees out trying to hustle people to come to their restaurant. They usually have the menu and try to get you interested in their food. It’s annoying tho when you're not hungry. Both of us had pizza and W had the biggest glass of Diet Coke ever. For dessert I tried the tiramisu gelato and it was nothing short of epic. I felt like my whole life had been a lie before that moment. Everything that I knew about ice cream was false. This stuff was so good, I wanted to slap my own self for not trying it sooner! I was disappointed and delighted at the same time. That's powerful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

The vendors were out in full force in Pisa as well. Why do they think all of us want freakin selfie sticks, and what makes them think that if I did want one, that I would buy it on the street from a guy who prolly won't wait around for me to see if it actually works? They are so aggravating, and they don’t care if you are eating, drinking, sightseeing, already shopping, sleeping, picking your nose, or on your death bed. They are coming thru to try to sell you something. #backoff

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the appointed time, we met up with the group, and waited for the stragglers. Once everyone was accounted for, we walked back to the bus. Our guide couldn't find the bus at first, but we actually walked right past it. I made a mental note of the bus as we exited, and I knew what it looked like. Eleanor was kinda leading the group all over the parking lot looking for it, so I told W to stay put cuz our bus was right there. Sure enough, she finally got the bus driver on the phone, and he said he’d been sitting there the whole time. Every now and then, I pay attention and it pays off.

 

 

 

 

The bus ride back was about 30 minutes. I didn't nap on the bus, cuz we were getting back early, and I could really nap hard in the cabin before dinner. When the bus pulled up to the port, we sprinted off. As soon as we got to 1209, W and I pulled the curtains, set our alarms, and fell fast asleep. When our alarms sounded, it felt like only 5 minutes had passed. We got up and scrubbed the b.o. off, then left for dinner.

[willdra]

That night was elegant evening number 2, and there were a few empty tables in our section. Some of the excursions really get back late on this itinerary, and peeps are worn out by the time they get back on the ship. AC and V were at our table alone when we arrived.

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

For dinner I had Crab Cakes, Grilled Shrimp, and Filet Mignon with Braised Short Ribs. W had exactly the same thing. Copycat. I had the WCMC for dessert. W had Gran Marnier Soufflé and WCMC.

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

We really didn’t have solid plans for right after dinner, and we had no idea what we wanted to do. We changed clothes and walked around the decks to see what was going on. Nothing jumped out at us, so I figured that would be a good time to snap pictures on the Lido. I went back and grabbed my camera, then went up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

[E@syPe@zy]

"W had the biggest glass of Diet Coke ever. For dessert I tried the tiramisu gelato and it was nothing short of epic. "

 

That's not a glass...that's a barrel! That's at least a "5" Tripper...if you know what I mean!?!

 

 

I know what you thanked God for when you went to sleep!:D

It's even in a beautiful glass...sigh!

Edited May 24, 2018 by E@syPe@zy
dumb fingers

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

I wanted to catch the Lip Sync Mini Battle which started at 9:00. We got there a little early to get a good spot to watch it. I liked it a lot, and the contestants were getting better! Right after the Mini Battle, Celestial Strings had their Pre-Show. We watched in awe as the trio of violinists took our breath away. They snatched my edges clean off, and I wanted more. If that was Carnival's master plan, it's effective, and they need to keep it!

 

 

[willdra]

After that pre-show teaser, we followed the cast into the Liquid Lounge to watch the rest. Wow. Just.Wow. It was phenomenal! I highly recommend the Celestial Strings Show. The musicians and performers are very talented, they play a brilliant selection of songs, and it is just an all-around great show. Afterwards, I was kinda mad that we didn't catch any other shows!

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

When the show was over, we went back to 1209. W wanted to go to the casino, but I was yawning. I got my clothes and bag ready for our last port day, read a little on my iPad, then turned in.

 

 

 

Before I fell asleep, I sent up a prayer thanking God that A and Z were Magic the Gathering nerds.That card game, which I have never played, brought us all together to visit the most wonderful places that we've ever been to, on a cruise ship that still had its "new car smell". It truly was a Magical Gathering.

[willdra]

Say what?!? Golden Girls trivia? I’ve been lurking on the Carnival boards trying to decide if I want to try a Carnival cruise - this and your hilarious and awesome review might have convinced me!

 

LOL Welcome aboard! :'):D

[willdra]

I was wondering if you purchased the internet onboard. If so was it better than any other ship. You write such an entertaining review.

 

 

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We all got the Social Media Plan. I thought it worked very well, and it was more reliable than in the past. :D

[willdra]

Thank you, I been waiting for your review the whole day. I can't wait to read the next one.

 

Thanks for tuning in! ;)

[willdra]

I loved your Rome day. Rome was my first stop on my first European trip so it holds a special place in my heart. My hotel wasn’t far from Trevi so I had a bit of an attachment to it (ok apparently I get attached to things easily)

 

It’s gorgeous at night time

 

 

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Rome was all the things! We had so much fun bouncing from place to place. I totes wouldn't mind going back and really spend time there. :hearteyes: