Just off of the Horizon, mixed feelings

[crewsweeper]

It was only on sea days, but that is when we really just wanted to hang out in the Havana area. I know the Horizon did add more cabins to the Havana area than the Vista had. I believe the Vista now added the additional cabins as well. It was mostly the "chair hog" scenario, most of the comfortable big circular loungers just had towels and books on them with no people. And with this area so small, it is very easy to tell if the people are just in the pool. Pool was empty, hot tubs were empty but chairs were all taken with towels. We never had this problem last year on the Vista, always somewhere to sit. This trip we did sit on our private patio more due to the chair situation.

That's why we're doing the Havana balcony. If chair hogs prevail, we have our swing and lounger. But I would assume, based on Serenity Deck experience, that those big circular loungers are prime chair hog territory. Grab it at 6:30AM and then show up at 3PM for an hour.

[ksmcdonald]

That's why we're doing the Havana balcony. If chair hogs prevail, we have our swing and lounger. But I would assume, based on Serenity Deck experience, that those big circular loungers are prime chair hog territory. Grab it at 6:30AM and then show up at 3PM for an hour.

 

 

Yes, we did use our patio/lanai quite a bit this cruise. Only bad thing is, depending what side of the ship the sun is on, you either get all sun or all shade! And yes, we did get the circular loungers twice, but it was on a port day. When the masses came back on the ship at 3:00 pm, the people who usually had these loungers in the Havana area walked by and looked at us like we were taking their private lounger. It was the same three families that hogged these loungers everyday. (Three loungers in a row. They had to come down early to always get three in a row). They actually got one of the loungers and dragged sitting chairs around their one lounger. We could hear them talking about how they should of saved them all before they went to shore, that way, at 3:00 pm they would have them saved when they got back on board.

[Sizzlechest]

We just cruised on Horizon June 5.

The first night it was almost three hours in the dining room. The waiter we had that night was doing everything himself, taking orders, serving drinks, bringing rolls, bringing the entree, doing everything himself.

 

The next day we got another section and had a serving team of three people that worked together. That dinner only took 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Obviously, with three people, things got done quicker. I did feel sorry for the waiter the first night that was all by himself. Every night there after we got in and out in a timely fashion, but we made sure we requested the same section.

 

WHOA! I think I might be hitting the buffet this cruise. :eek:

[tea4ular]

OP I truly adore the violin picture with your son! That's one I would have framed. To me, it epitomizes what Carnival staff is known for, sincere caring and kindness.

[steveknj]

Was on the June 5th sailing with my DW. I wrote a review in the Review section of the website so I'll just address the issues mentioned here and add a few comments:

 

 

Elevators - I think it got better as time went on, but there were too may times when totally full elevators stopped after our request and had to wait for another one. There's also the issue of pushing the wrong floor (which was too easy to do on the touchscreen) and folks pushing the button for a floor and then deciding to take the stairs, thus elevators stopping and no one getting on (I have to admit being guilty of this). I think the system is a WIP and eventually will work well.

 

 

Service - We were on 8 forward (inside) and our CS was exemplary. But we do things "backwards" in that we tip the CS when we get on the ship and tell them to make sure everything is great, and it was (we figure we could just take the tip off the bill at the end if it's bad service, but have never had to do this). Always got greeted by name. Make friends with your CS and you'll get great service. Unfortunately can't say the same about the MDR service. We like to eat early and have the rest of the night to do other things, and we never really had to wait more than a few minutes for a table (we had ATD). But the wait staff was probably the worst we had on any cruise. Wife got cold food, a few times, had to ask for coffee or milk for coffee a few times without being offered it at dessert (standard on other cruises). Waiters seemed annoyed or ambivalent quite often. Last couple of days was a bit better, and breakfast was better. We did JiJis one night for dinner and everything was great there, but for lunch (Mongolian Wok) it was slow and the food was meh. We had to wait for at least 45 minutes for what was glorified frozen pizza. Ate at Guys on a Port day and no big wait. Avoided the Lido Buffet as much as possible (except for some cake a couple of days. Pig and Anchor was wonderful for lunch, as was the on order pasta. Ocean buffet on level 5 was a nice option for quick breakfast on port days and almost no crowds. They served what looked like a nice lunch too.

 

 

 

Embarkation was easy - got to pier at 11:15 for our 11:30 embarking time, and they called our group immediately so we essentially got through security and went right on. We did the do it yourself debarkation, and was off the ship by 7:20AM, almost no wait.

 

 

Mike Pack is probably the best CD we've ever sailed with. Completely engaging with passengers, always stopped for selfies and just seemed to love his job. I commented to my wife how someone can be having SO much fun every minute of the day. Shame he's going on vacation for the next 5 weeks. His staff was great and got everyone involved. We play a lot of trivia and my one complaint is having people run the contests who have ZERO knowledge of the topic (they had a person doing the Seinfeld trivia who had never watched Seinfeld....contrast that to RCCL who had someone actually recite their favorite lines from the show). But there were engaging. Entertainment was standard cruise fare....short stage shows, Dating game like contest and Lip Sync Battle which was fun. NCL and Royal have Broadway shows.

 

 

Pool areas were typical in that you couldn't get a lounger after 8AM but we didn't spend much time there.

 

 

We were disappointed not to go to Grand Turk Never heard of a death, but did hear about the appendicitis victim.

 

 

I will say that of the ships I've been on 2 NCL larger ships (not Breakaway class), the Anthem of the seas on RCCL and the Carnival Dream), this was the best laid out ship I've been on. I don't think we ever encountered over crowding in any one area, nor felt confined. As for passengers, we didn't encounter any very rude passengers outside of the occasional kid acting like, well, a kid. Adults were all well behaved as far as my experience.

 

 

I'd do the Horizon again in a heartbeat.

[pc_load_letter]

Let me ask for those who have been on Horizon and got off at any of the ports....How have the smaller ports handled all those passengers getting off the ship? I've been on smaller class of ships and even then, sometimes the smaller ports can't handle all those people. I can't imagine what it's like for 5000 guests to get off.

 

I love the concept of a bigger ship and all extras that a larger, new ship can offer, but having been in small ports in the Mediterranean like Kotor, and even Venice, I can't imagine how these small ports can handle all these people.

 

Just got back from Alaska and in Skagway, people said restaurants ran out of food when the Norwegian Bliss and it's 5000 guests came ashore.

[steveknj]

Let me ask for those who have been on Horizon and got off at any of the ports....How have the smaller ports handled all those passengers getting off the ship? I've been on smaller class of ships and even then, sometimes the smaller ports can't handle all those people. I can't imagine what it's like for 5000 guests to get off.

 

I love the concept of a bigger ship and all extras that a larger, new ship can offer, but having been in small ports in the Mediterranean like Kotor, and even Venice, I can't imagine how these small ports can handle all these people.

 

Just got back from Alaska and in Skagway, people said restaurants ran out of food when the Norwegian Bliss and it's 5000 guests came ashore.

 

For this cruise we skipped Grand Turk so I can't speak to that. Amber Cove was built by Carnival and it seemed fine for this size ship. I didn't walk around the port area as our excursion left fairly early and we got back a few minutes before last boarding. And San Juan is a large port and city and have been handling cruises for years. So a ship of this size shouldn't be a problem.

[SNJCruisers]

You are correct, I should of pushed it. Looking back, I definitely should of ask to talk to someone else. I had the Cheers so I just thought I would order another mudslide somewhere else. But the more I think about it, I should not of thrown in the towel and given up so fast. I'm normally not a confrontational person.

The circumstances you mentioned were regarding a drink that you have consumed many times over the years on many different ships and cruise lines. You knew you were correct and the bartender was wrong. If it every happens again, then you know to stay your ground and protect what you paid for. Just because you had Cheers and it only wasted one of your 15 drinks does not mean that you should roll over and not be slightly confrontational with a bartender who clearly made a mistake. This is the reason I usually stick to beer during the day and enjoy the Alchemy Bar or shots at night, then I don't run into incompetent bartenders since the mixologists at Alchemy know what they are doing.

[SNJCruisers]

It was mostly the "chair hog" scenario, most of the comfortable big circular loungers just had towels and books on them with no people. And with this area so small, it is very easy to tell if the people are just in the pool. Pool was empty, hot tubs were empty but chairs were all taken with towels.

If it is like this at the end of August when we are on the Horizon, I will not hesitate to move crap if it's obvious that it's chair hogs. Especially since I paid a premium price to have a Havana cabin. I don't usually lounge poolside because of the rugrat situation, but after being spoiled in the Vibe area on multiple occasions on the Norwegian Escape, the Havana area seemed like a nice alternative on the Horizon. And I have no problems being confrontational with anyone if I know I am correct.

[SNJCruisers]

WHOA! I think I might be hitting the buffet this cruise. :eek:

You do realize that was because one waiter was doing three people's jobs and what would usually take about 75-90 minutes took 180.

[crewsweeper]

If it is like this at the end of August when we are on the Horizon, I will not hesitate to move crap if it's obvious that it's chair hogs. Especially since I paid a premium price to have a Havana cabin. I don't usually lounge poolside because of the rugrat situation, but after being spoiled in the Vibe area on multiple occasions on the Norwegian Escape, the Havana area seemed like a nice alternative on the Horizon. And I have no problems being confrontational with anyone if I know I am correct.

 

Sounds like it was a group that did the chair-circular lounger hogging on ksmcdonald's cruise. Hopefully that won't be your or my situation, But raise a stink if it happens.;p

[SNJCruisers]

Let me ask for those who have been on Horizon and got off at any of the ports....How have the smaller ports handled all those passengers getting off the ship? I've been on smaller class of ships and even then, sometimes the smaller ports can't handle all those people. I can't imagine what it's like for 5000 guests to get off.

 

I love the concept of a bigger ship and all extras that a larger, new ship can offer, but having been in small ports in the Mediterranean like Kotor, and even Venice, I can't imagine how these small ports can handle all these people.

 

Just got back from Alaska and in Skagway, people said restaurants ran out of food when the Norwegian Bliss and it's 5000 guests came ashore.

There is a major difference between a European port with 1 or 2 ships and some Caribbean ports that could have 5-7 ships dumping 15,000 or so people ashore. Cozumel and St Thomas can handle these crowds with no problem.

[pc_load_letter]

5-7 ships dumping 15,000 or so people ashore. Cozumel and St Thomas can handle these crowds with no problem.

 

Meh, sounds miserable. I was never that impressed with any of the caribbean ports anyways.

[nicole9s]

one thing I just remembered with the Havana talk. One afternoon we were taking the elevator down to 5 and there was a group of three in their late teens/early 20's in bathing suits, with towels. They then walked thru Ocean Plaza loudly proclaiming that they'd better be let into the Havana area, with all the Carnival cruises they've been on, they deserve to hang back there. I was really tempted to follow them and see what happened :giggle:

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[Sizzlechest]

You do realize that was because one waiter was doing three people's jobs and what would usually take about 75-90 minutes took 180.

 

Who cares whose fault it is?

[SNJCruisers]

Who cares whose fault it is?

It was a unique situation for whatever reason, it's not like every table took 3 hours. You implied with your initial response that you would be relegated to the buffet because of the 3 hour MDR service. This occurrence was not the norm.

[BlerkOne]

One of your comments really highlights I think what many experienced cruisers are feeling now with Carnival. That is the increasing number of 1st time cruisers. While I understand this is a necessity and really ought not be a bad thing, I think new cruisers of today are vastly different than new cruisers say 10, 15 or 20 years ago.

 

In my opinion, the pervasiveness of entitlement in today's society is very evident amongst a lot of new cruisers. They seem to be very demanding, rude, and manners are almost non existent. And with staff who are part of that generation, a lot of the "classiness" of cruising seems to be missing.

 

At a minimum, the new cruisers of today are 10, 15, or 20 years younger, on average, than the entitled, grumpy, old cruisers. If there is a problem with young cruisers, it began with their parents.

[Keys2Heaven]

At a minimum, the new cruisers of today are 10, 15, or 20 years younger, on average, than the entitled, grumpy, old cruisers. If there is a problem with young cruisers, it began with their parents.

 

We're not like this and neither is our daughter. So, your blanket statement need not apply. But, I understand your need to constantly put your 2 cents in. :rolleyes:

[Sizzlechest]

It was a unique situation for whatever reason, it's not like every table took 3 hours. You implied with your initial response that you would be relegated to the buffet because of the 3 hour MDR service. This occurrence was not the norm.

 

The 1 1/2 hour duration with the three people isn't acceptable either if you're trying to make a show.

[NYcruzzer]

If it is like this at the end of August when we are on the Horizon, I will not hesitate to move crap if it's obvious that it's chair hogs. Especially since I paid a premium price to have a Havana cabin. I don't usually lounge poolside because of the rugrat situation, but after being spoiled in the Vibe area on multiple occasions on the Norwegian Escape, the Havana area seemed like a nice alternative on the Horizon. And I have no problems being confrontational with anyone if I know I am correct.

 

Well said. I'm on same sailing in a Havana cabin as well. Scored vibe passes on Breakaway a few times. That experience is what sold me on booking a Havana Cabin. See you on board.

[BlerkOne]

The 1 1/2 hour duration with the three people isn't acceptable either if you're trying to make a show.

 

The ship doesn't revolve around 3 people but thousands who have to share. I'm reasonably confident you can eat on Lido in well under 90 minutes.

[sperkins921]

one thing I just remembered with the Havana talk. One afternoon we were taking the elevator down to 5 and there was a group of three in their late teens/early 20's in bathing suits, with towels. They then walked thru Ocean Plaza loudly proclaiming that they'd better be let into the Havana area, with all the Carnival cruises they've been on, they deserve to hang back there. I was really tempted to follow them and see what happened :giggle:

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

I hope they were thoroughly embarrassed when no one let them in.

 

This is the one thing I am most worried about – are they going to stick to monitoring for wristbands and keep the people who aren’t in Havana cabins out of the Havana area?

 

Chair hogs I can deal with, we were fortunate enough to be able to splurge on a wraparound balcony so if need be we can always go back to our cabin on six. And if we didn’t have that wraparound? I have no qualms with moving stuff if it’s obvious that people are cheer hogging.

 

But if the area is flooded with a bunch of people who don’t belong back there in the first place? That’s a dealbreaker. I’m sure getting away from the crowds is why most of us booked back there in Havana in the first place. Why pay the premium price if they are not going to be strict and making it so only Havana people are back there during the day?

[SNJCruisers]

Meh, sounds miserable. I was never that impressed with any of the caribbean ports anyways.

Well, I have never been impressed with the high airfare and shore excursion prices in Europe. That's why I cruise for the state of the art ships these days like the Horizon, Bliss and Edge, all in this hemisphere.

[SNJCruisers]

The 1 1/2 hour duration with the three people isn't acceptable either if you're trying to make a show.

There is a 700 show for those in late seating and a 830 show for those in early sitting. If you have ATD, going at 630 still gets you out by 800 with a half hour to spare for the 830 show.

[SNJCruisers]

Well said. I'm on same sailing in a Havana cabin as well. Scored vibe passes on Breakaway a few times. That experience is what sold me on booking a Havana Cabin. See you on board.

Here is the link to the roll call for our cruise. Stop by and say hi and sign up for the meet n greet.https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2508457