Horizon 6/5-6/13

[SWILDER67]

Thank you all for your thoughts and reviews. I usually do not complain about anything on a cruise unless it is extremely bad! For goodness sake I am on vacation how bad could it be?? :) I do feel better reading all your thoughts. I have had no issues on any other Carnival Cruises we have been on so I am sure this one will be just as nice. Any other tips from those who have already sailed are much appreciated and welcomed

[April42749]

One more important thing about the Horizon vs BA........

 

 

On the BA you put your keycard in a holder and it activates the electricity. When you take it out, immediately everything goes dark....bathroom, things plugged into an outlet, the TV....all the power off.

 

 

Not so on the Horizon. You still put your keycard in the holder. But, when you take it out the bathroom still has power and the outlets still have power (so you can use a nightlight). These things are independent of the keycard and work normally. The only power that's affected when the card is removed is lights in the main cabin area...they stay on for several minutes and then go off. I don't remember if the TV was connected to the room light or independent.

 

 

DH and I liked this system much better. After we figured it out, we kept a random card in the holder at all times. So, when we entered we just pressed the switch and the light went on; we we left we pressed the same switch and the light went off.

[GB Chicago]

Please be assured that despite all the negative reviews of the Horizon, as a seasoned cruiser I can tell you it is a beautiful ship, with awesome crew and there are some kinks to work out. I've been waiting for a week for my review to be published for the memorial day cruise so I know cruise critic must be inundated. I would say that the American menu just wasn't my favorite for the entire 8 days but there are other options for foodies. Don't get worried about the reviews.

[Turtlecruiser40]

I just read that review...lol. First of all, I'm 69 and DH is 83. We were "very old" for this sailing. The average age was 25-35. DH and I are in very good condition (did I mention that I loved the gym). The person who had to be evacuated was a 33 year old woman (friend on land read the report while it was happening).

 

Instead of Grand Turk, we had a beautiful (weather wise) day at sea. And my credit would have been enough to cover "additional expenses" if I had any.

 

 

Our steward was friendly and kept the room clean. Even if he wasn't friendly....who cares? I found all the staff friendly. As I said in my original post, our wait staff for the brunch seemed overworked and our food came out in the wrong order. Again...who cares? It's a Carnival cruise....not fine dining in a Zagat rated restaurant and you're not paying extra.

 

I can understand "old people" having trouble with the "technology of the elevator"....but considering that this reviewer had such trouble and is young...she must be "technology challenged". Even my "old" husband, who constantly asks me "how to" when it comes to his smart phone thought the elevators were a great improvement to the "old system".

 

 

I think her problem had more to do with dealing with an autistic child.

 

I wrote the review you got such a laugh out of. If it offended you, well that wasn't the intention. The cruise bombed because of all items i detailed. It wasnt because i had an autistic child. I wasn't alone in thinking this cruise was bad, look at all the other reviews of this ship. I'd love to see all these reports about the passenger that caused us to lose Gran Turk being a 33 year old woman because i can't find anything online about it. I did hear from other passengers that it was a much older person. If you enjoyed this cruise, good for you. Please feel free to write your own review but assuming all of my observations were soley because of a special needs child it just plain wrong. Have a nice day now

[April42749]

I wrote the review you got such a laugh out of. If it offended you, well that wasn't the intention. The cruise bombed because of all items i detailed. It wasnt because i had an autistic child. I wasn't alone in thinking this cruise was bad, look at all the other reviews of this ship. I'd love to see all these reports about the passenger that caused us to lose Gran Turk being a 33 year old woman because i can't find anything online about it. I did hear from other passengers that it was a much older person. If you enjoyed this cruise, good for you. Please feel free to write your own review but assuming all of my observations were soley because of a special needs child it just plain wrong. Have a nice day now

 

My friend was home on land, and tracking the ship. The live report said that a 33 year old woman had to be airlifted. Since they didn't give any information to the passengers on the cruise, how would anyone know it was a much older passenger? FYI, I couldn't find any information about it on line either. What would you suggest....they toss "whoever it was" overboard so you could make it to Grand Turk? The world doesn't revolve around you.

 

If you couldn't find anything for your son other than pizza, maybe it's time to introduce him to chicken or fish, or vegetables. I'm not giving parenting advice....just that there were other options. And there were always lots of seats at the buffet....we were there at peak hours daily....even at the dreaded 9am breakfast.

 

Learn to see the glass as half full. When you nitpick you'll always find problems. I'm a 69 year old cancer conqueror....and I'm far from "a decrepit senior citizen". Looking around the ship, I'm in better physical condition that the vast majority of other passengers (so is DH @ 83) and the vast majority of passengers were under 50. (Don't know...maybe you consider 35 old and decrepit seniors.)

 

I love and appreciate every day of my life and this thread is MY opinion. I had 8 days of happiness and beautiful weather.

[Turtlecruiser40]

My friend was home on land, and tracking the ship. The live report said that a 33 year old woman had to be airlifted. Since they didn't give any information to the passengers on the cruise, how would anyone know it was a much older passenger? FYI, I couldn't find any information about it on line either. What would you suggest....they toss "whoever it was" overboard so you could make it to Grand Turk? The world doesn't revolve around you.

 

If you couldn't find anything for your son other than pizza, maybe it's time to introduce him to chicken or fish, or vegetables. I'm not giving parenting advice....just that there were other options. And there were always lots of seats at the buffet....we were there at peak hours daily....even at the dreaded 9am breakfast.

 

Learn to see the glass as half full. When you nitpick you'll always find problems. I'm a 69 year old cancer conqueror....and I'm far from "a decrepit senior citizen". Looking around the ship, I'm in better physical condition that the vast majority of other passengers (so is DH @ 83) and the vast majority of passengers were under 50. (Don't know...maybe you consider 35 old and decrepit seniors.)

 

I love and appreciate every day of my life and this thread is MY opinion. I had 8 days of happiness and beautiful weather.

 

My daughter was a joy on this cruise, I don’t have a son and no I don’t care for your parenting advice. You liked the cruise. GOOD FOR YOU. I didn’t and it had nothing to do with my daughter and her autism. Speaking of world revolving around someone...seems you took my review as a reflection on YOU. No the world, and my very honest review meant for families with younger children, doesn’t revolve around YOU. Go find someone else to pick on

[Cruiser 4 Life 66]

Thanks for your review. Always good to get recent reports about ships.

[dchoney]

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard medevaced a cruise ship passenger approximately 100 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, Thursday morning.

 

Watchstanders at the 5th District command center in Portsmouth received notification at approximately 7:15 p.m. Wednesday from the cruise ship Carnival Horizon’s crew that a 33-year-old woman was suffering appendicitis-like symptoms and needed a medevac.

 

An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, responded. Upon arrival, the helicopter crew hoisted the passenger and medevaced her to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk.

 

“The Carnival Horizon diverted their course towards shore, which expedited our response time,” said Lt. j.g. Daniel J. Dunn, command duty officer at the 5th District command center. “The success of this case was a result of exceptional coordination between the cruise ship, the command center and Air Station Elizabeth City.”

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[April42749]

My daughter was a joy on this cruise, I don’t have a son and no I don’t care for your parenting advice. You liked the cruise. GOOD FOR YOU. I didn’t and it had nothing to do with my daughter and her autism. Speaking of world revolving around someone...seems you took my review as a reflection on YOU. No the world, and my very honest review meant for families with younger children, doesn’t revolve around YOU. Go find someone else to pick on

 

I'm not picking on you or your daughter. I'm the first person to say that I don't understand why people would take a very young child on a cruise. I speak from experience. As a "stay at home" mom to a son who was the world's pickiest eater and not easily adaptable, I didn't travel with him until he was 10.

 

But there are facts and there are opinions:

 

It's a fact that the buffets on Carnival cannot compare with NCL. On NCL there is food out almost all the time and the variety is unlimited. I like the NCL buffets much better. In my opinion, much better for a child or a picky eater (I'm picky).

 

It's a fact that on our sailing, except for embarkation, there were always seats available in the buffet. And I mean lots of seats...you didn't have to hunt them down.

 

 

It's a fact that popular priced cruise lines try to create an "upscale dining" experience. They post the menus in advance. My opinion is I don't like MDR food, when my son was little he wouldn't have liked it and basically, only a child with "sophisticated taste" would like it.

 

It's a fact that there's a learning curve with "new technology". An elevator system that doesn't stop on every floor and that limits the number of passengers per car is superior to hoards of people squeezing into one car and then that car stopping everywhere. The only time I got an elevator that was "too crowded" had to do with the size of the people already on it, and they told me "too crowded". I told them I'd find room, and I did.

 

The ages of the passengers were a fact. It's a fact that I was "old and an antique" compared to the average passenger. Maybe to you they looked old and decrepit...and, in my opinion, many of them should be taking better care of themselves. But, chronologically, they were not "up there" with me. I guess you never sailed HAL. (Neither did I, and I wouldn't. That's for the old sick and decrepit.)

 

Another fact, my friend found the information about the evacuation on the Marine Traffic website. It gives live updates. This would be more reliable than the rumors going around a ship.

 

Edited to add: See the post above. So next time, don't assume it had to be a sickly old person who was responsible for ruining your vacation.

[laumicmah]

Thanks for the review. I am on her in Oct and got some friends to join us who have only cruised Disney so I am hoping for a good cruise. Your review puts my mind at ease a bit.

[April42749]

Thanks for the review. I am on her in Oct and got some friends to join us who have only cruised Disney so I am hoping for a good cruise. Your review puts my mind at ease a bit.

 

There were a lot of things for kids. There was a nice big water park on one of the upper decks. In addition there was a Thrill Theatre and and IMAX...both with "child oriented" events. It was announced that there were over 700 kids on board, and honestly, they must have been off having fun somewhere because I hardly saw any.

 

Your friends are probably paying less for this than they did for Disney, so unless they have unrealistic expectations such as Mickey Mouse running around, they'll have a great time.

[A.S.]

Enjoyed reading your review. I have a question about the Italian restaurant for lunch.

 

I notice it's up a flight of stairs. How does that work? If I want it and my DH doesn't, can I go up, get it, and then bring it down to the Lido deck?

 

I'm even concerned about carrying it down. The stairs look pretty steep. Thanks for any info on this.

[tandemcruzr]

You can avoid the stairs by using the aft elevators to go up to Deck 11. Entrance to both the Asian and Italian restaurants are right off the elevator lobby.

[A.S.]

Thanks for the reply, but I would feel silly with a tray of food on the elevator.

 

I guess I will go down the stairs, or DH will come up. We'll make it work.

[mizLORInj]

Best to go try the ship out for yourself. We went last month because it was new and we didn't have to fly to it. It is a beautiful ship. There will be little things here and there that can be annoying. Isn't it that way on most cruises?

 

To those who are worried -- JUST GO AND HAVE FUN!!! :D

[JaniceB]

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard medevaced a cruise ship passenger approximately 100 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, Thursday morning.

 

Watchstanders at the 5th District command center in Portsmouth received notification at approximately 7:15 p.m. Wednesday from the cruise ship Carnival Horizon’s crew that a 33-year-old woman was suffering appendicitis-like symptoms and needed a medevac.

 

An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, responded. Upon arrival, the helicopter crew hoisted the passenger and medevaced her to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk.

 

“The Carnival Horizon diverted their course towards shore, which expedited our response time,” said Lt. j.g. Daniel J. Dunn, command duty officer at the 5th District command center. “The success of this case was a result of exceptional coordination between the cruise ship, the command center and Air Station Elizabeth City.”

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums[/quote

 

 

 

Thanks for finding this and posting.

[SWILDER67]

Where are you seeing the reviews? I feel like there are hardly any on here and most of the ones I’ve seen only complain about the theater and the elevators. I want to know what else I should be prepared to try not to let bother me. :D

 

 

I keep reading all the new posts about people just getting off the cruise since it started. Seems there are more bad than good but I am going to keep an open mind :D:D

[steveknj]

My friend was home on land, and tracking the ship. The live report said that a 33 year old woman had to be airlifted. Since they didn't give any information to the passengers on the cruise, how would anyone know it was a much older passenger? FYI, I couldn't find any information about it on line either. What would you suggest....they toss "whoever it was" overboard so you could make it to Grand Turk? The world doesn't revolve around you.

 

If you couldn't find anything for your son other than pizza, maybe it's time to introduce him to chicken or fish, or vegetables. I'm not giving parenting advice....just that there were other options. And there were always lots of seats at the buffet....we were there at peak hours daily....even at the dreaded 9am breakfast.

 

Learn to see the glass as half full. When you nitpick you'll always find problems. I'm a 69 year old cancer conqueror....and I'm far from "a decrepit senior citizen". Looking around the ship, I'm in better physical condition that the vast majority of other passengers (so is DH @ 83) and the vast majority of passengers were under 50. (Don't know...maybe you consider 35 old and decrepit seniors.)

 

I love and appreciate every day of my life and this thread is MY opinion. I had 8 days of happiness and beautiful weather.

 

I was on the same cruise, and have been on other cruises and really the demographics were pretty much the same as any other summer cruise. There were 700 kids on board, and everyone else was a variety of ages. I'm in my late 50s and there were people younger AND older than me.

[steveknj]

My daughter was a joy on this cruise, I don’t have a son and no I don’t care for your parenting advice. You liked the cruise. GOOD FOR YOU. I didn’t and it had nothing to do with my daughter and her autism. Speaking of world revolving around someone...seems you took my review as a reflection on YOU. No the world, and my very honest review meant for families with younger children, doesn’t revolve around YOU. Go find someone else to pick on

 

Just curious, was this your first cruise? What type of demographics were you expecting? A bunch of 20-30 somethings? First of all cruising traditionally have had an older crowd than going to something like WDW or an All-Inclusive. But the demo is getting younger and I didn't find this cruise any different than any other cruise I've been on. So I'm not sure why you think there are too many "old" people on the cruise who shouldn't be cruising. That was just not the case. As far as your other comments in your review, I respect that as any type of vacation is subjective and if you didn't like it, that's fine. Maybe cruising isn't for you.