Carnival Horizon - 8 Day Eastern Caribbean Semi-Live August 28, 2018

[Irene225]

Good morning!

 

 

We are at the waiting for our flight home... I"m going to write a quick over view and then will go into detail about a few areas.

 

For perspective, I invite anyone who reads this review to consider our perspective. We are experienced cruisers who are not loyal to any one brand; we sail for the itinerary and the ship. All cruises are good cruises.... we had a great time because we can make the best out of most any situation.

 

I debated not writing anything at all, since I don't like to dwell on the negative or be nit picky. Ultimately I decided to go forward with putting thoughts on paper (digital paper?) so others can learn from our experiences.

 

As I mentioned in the opener, we are not loyal to any particular brand but have the most experience with the newer ships on NCL. To be upfront, I don't think there are huge differences between Carnival and NCL.... to me, it's a Target vs. Walmart type of situation. Most of my career has been spent in marketing, so I think of the cruise lines in marketing terms: Mass market lines with a few notable standouts/ new offerings, different branding and a difference in philosophy on how customers are treated.

 

I realize there are some diehard Carnival fans who probably won't like what I have to say, but oh well.... it's my review :)

 

TL;DR: If you are a fan of the brand, love Carnival and love the experience, you will love Horizon. It's a beautiful ship with a lot to offer. The crew works their tails off to make sure that people have a good time. There were some really GREAT Things about this cruise: The Havana area, the comedy shows, the specialty restaurants and Alchemy.

 

If you are like us (newer to the brand but curious about the new ship), you might not enjoy it. This is why I'm taking the time to write this review... for the people who are on the fence but curious to see how this new Horizon/Vista/Panorama experiment plays out.

 

Without further ado, here we go!

 

 

 

Embarkation:

VERY swift.. probably our fastest embarkation out of any port, ever. Our check in time was 1-1:30. We arrived about an hour early and were no the ship having lunch by 1pm. Super fast boarding process and love the new check-in system. Rooms were ready at 1:30 and cards were waiting for us as advertised

 

Guest Services

Only had to use this once and was relatively painless. We had gift cards to add to our account on Day 1 (Thanks, Delta Skymiles) and the kiosks were not operational when we boarded. We waited a fairly short and painless 5 minutes to get the cards added

 

Sail Away

Leaving from NY is always amazing. If you haven't cruised out of NY before, it's a great experience. However, the sail away is where we first started to notice that many, many people on this ship are CLUELESS about other people around them. Situational Awareness people... it's a thing. Don't stop in the middle of the aisles when there is a line of people walking behind you. We watched a young girl pull 3 deck chairs right into the middle of the aisle because she decided it was the best spot for her to sit..... everyone else be damned. Don't move my drink off a table so you can sit on said table (seriously). After we passed under the bridge, we had enough of people and moved down to our cabin to enjoy the aft balcony before dinner.

 

Havana

We escaped the chaos into our Havana aft-facing cabin... this was the single best decision of our trip. I had previously debated if Havana would be worth it. IT IS. If you are even remotely considering it, go for it. This ship was PACKED with people; the main pool area consistently looked like Black Friday at Walmart. It was lovely to have the private Havana areas to retreat to. The feel of the ship changed entirely in Havana. It wasn't perfect (more on that later), but it was a great place to be. This was also our first aft-facing cabin and we loved it. I had been worried about feeling more movement as I get a bit motion sick at times, but no problems at all.

 

(more to come)....

[Irene225]

Cabin

The cabin itself was very comfortable;I do like that Carnival cabins seem to be a bit bigger than some of the other lines. Plenty of storage space and the bed was very comfortable. I'm a light sleeper, but slept great on this cruise. Only one complaint: the safe is NOT large enough to hold a laptop. In this day and age, that seemed silly to me. We met our steward (I Dewea) on the first day and he was great... always smiling and always asking us if we needed anything. Those guys have the hardest job on the ship... they are ALWAYS working. Thanks to these guys for cleaning up after us all week; I'm sure they have some stories to tell

 

Public Areas of the Ship

The ship itself is beautiful. I am not a fan of the old-school gaudy Carnival decor, so I like that it has a clean, more modern feel. Everything looks shiny and new. The venues are fine (there seems to be a lot of complaining about the theaters and lounges having restricted views, but those poles are holding the ceiling up so let's thank them for doing a good job :) ) The only thing we noticed that seemed amiss was the AC. Several public areas on the ship were stifling hot. Waiting for the elevators, we could actually see condensation accumulating on the light fixtures and on the ceiling. In the lido marketplace, condensation was dripping all over the floor in places, creating a huge safety hazard.

 

Something I noticed on this ship that I haven't seen on others: The public areas were MESSY. I don't know if the crew is painfully understaffed, but there was a constant litter of room service items in the hallways, food left on tables in the restaurants, random garbage and empty drink cups on tables. I haven't seen that on other cruises so it was a surprise

 

 

(more to come!)

(boarding!)

[Irene225]

Casino

We are Casino people. This one is SMALL; for a ship of this size, I was surprised at how tiny it is. It’s also very smoky at times. There is only one craps table and it was constantly crowded. However, we did meet some great people here, so thank you for the fun times! Comps seemed a little lighter than what we are used to. Matt got a steakhouse dinner and I got a bottle of wine. No cookies :(

 

A minor complaint about the comped dinner. When we had our steakhouse dinner, it included a $50 bottle of wine. Rather than get a basic bottle, we wanted to splurge on a bottle of Caymus and pay the difference ($40). The waiter explained that they had no way to do that... seemed a little fishy. I said “you know I’m going ruing to give you money right?” Lol. They kind of rolled their eyes and apologized.

 

 

I did win $1500 on a penny slot so was something! There seemed to be a lot of big payouts on this cruise. Don’t worry, they made sure to put the 1099 in our cabin the very next day!

 

 

 

 

 

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[Hogladyrider]

So far your review is spot on! We cruised on Vista in March and felt the same way, the ship is way too crowded! We would definitely spend the extra $$ on a Havana cabin if it were available.

 

I also felt the spa was way too small for the size of the ship compared to the Dream class.

 

It still was a good cruise for us, as any cruise is better than no cruise!

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[Irene225]

So far your review is spot on! We cruised on Vista in March and felt the same way, the ship is way too crowded! We would definitely spend the extra $$ on a Havana cabin if it were available.

 

 

 

I also felt the spa was way too small for the size of the ship compared to the Dream class.

 

 

 

It still was a good cruise for us, as any cruise is better than no cruise!

 

 

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

 

 

SO CROWDED. The main pool is also backlit at night with a horrible yellow colored light. As my husband said, “well, that was an unfortunate color choice.”

 

 

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[Irene225]

Bars and Restaurants

 

The #1 best thing about Carnival is Alchemy. I can’t think of a comparable bar experience... great cocktails, great location and the best staff on the ship. Annamaria is a patient angel of a human being. She really is as great as the hype led us to believe.

 

One note on Alchemy: so many people have posted about asking the bartenders to make something special for them. They will... and it will be great. However, I think the customization is exhausting the crew... I’m sure they appreciate just making a drink off the menu. We tried not to get too crazy with requests. Also, if you ask for something off the menu, TIP THEM for the love of god.

 

I appreciated how much Anna took care of her team. There was one night where one of the younger bartenders seemed visibly annoyed and exhausted by all the requests for custom drinks. AM sent her on a break and confided in us “we don’t have enough people working and she was supposed to be gone an hour ago”. She was a mama bear in the best way possible.

 

Alchemy was our “neighborhood bar” for the cruise. We visited it before dinner (and sometimes after) for most of the cruise. We met some great people here as well... thank you for sharing a piece of your vacation with us!

 

Our second favorite spot for drinks was the Pig & Anchor. Great beers and you can tell the brewmaster loves his job. They have a great live music spot and did bar games throughout the cruise, things like beer pong, etc. We did not take the tour but heard great things from those who did.

 

We had most of our dinners in the specialty spots; the main dining room is typically too drawn out for us.

 

Steakhouse- great as expected. We actually did this twice (once on us, once comped by the casino). Both times were great. The smoked oysters and bone marrow starters were excellent.

 

We did Bonsai twice for sushi and once for teppanyaki. All three were great. Dinner at Pig and Anchor was also very good, minus the woman next to us who loudly complained about her ribs to anyone who would listen. Her complaints were an obvious attempt for a free meal. Note to her: you cannot complain about your meal, calling it inedible, ask for it to be taken off your bill and then ask for a to go box. Not how any of this works. LOL.

 

 

 

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[Irene225]

Shows and Entertainment

 

We did nearly all of the Comedy shows, more comedy than I have ever done in a cruise. Most of them were great. However, if you’ve seen a comedian once in a cruise, no need to see them a second time. We found that they repeated a lot of the same schtick from

show to show. A huge hats off to Lelani (aka Le Le) the comedy club manager. She has a smile on her face every night, even when she’s telling the same group of women to be quiet for the third time that night. On a side note, we had a small issue with our disembarkation and she happened to be there when it went down... she was very helpful. HEY HEY LE LE !!

 

 

As for the rest of the shows, I fully admit being biased about shows. I have been involved in a lot of tv production and I am just cursed with knowing too much. Carnival just doesn’t have the resources or budget to do the large scale shows like Royal. We stepped in the back for one of the shoes (Soulbound) and immediately walked out. That said, Celestial Strings was actually very good... kudos to Carnival for putting this one together.

 

Piano Bar was good. It’s a decent size and the headliner, Eden Parker is very talented and good with the crowd.

 

The bar service in the piano bar was unfortunately terrible. On night 1, we were lectured by the server for not ordering our drinks at the same time. Matt ordered a beer, but I didn’t know what I wanted yet. I asked for a minute to look at the menu and the server was openly annoyed with me. After that, she held a bit of a grudge and actually double swiped my card for my drinks so I maxed out on cheers. She was thrilled to say “this is your last drink, you’ll have to leave now” Matt reviewed our folio on his phone and confirmed the extra swipes. I meant to go to guest services but honestly the lines were so long later in the cruise that I just let it go

 

 

 

 

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[Irene225]

Cleanliness aka Washy Washy

Compared to other ships we’ve been on, there were far fewer hand washing areas or hand sanitizer stations. No washy washy guys or cute songs. I try to avoid touching anything as much as possible, but germs are inevitable with 4,000 people onboard and children spitting in your food LOL. As much as I washed my own hands like it was going out of style, I got a cold toward the end of the trip and spent the last two days voiceless.

 

Excursions

We did not do any ship sponsored excursions on this cruise. We spent Turks day at Jack’s but didn’t get in the water. To whomever asked about the sargassum, there was a bit but it wasn’t excessive compared to other pictures I’ve seen lately. Seaweed is like leaves on the ground in the fall.... can’t do anything about it so it’s a waste of energy to complain. In San Juan, we walked to the forts and had lunch in Old San Juan. We didn’t get off the ship in Amber Cove except to walk around the fake village area and get some cold medicine... I got sick on the cruise, likely because of one of the 1,100 kids onboard.

 

Final thoughts

 

The people we met on this cruise were fantastic. Matt and I typically cruise with a bigger group of friends and family; I think this has limited us from meeting others on the ship (not a bad thing, just circumstances!). We had a great time on this cruise and are glad we did it, despite some of the little annoyances.

 

If we had not upgraded to Havana, this would have been our least favorite cruise. The public areas were just overrun with kids running amok, something I thought we might avoid by being so close to school starting. Call me old fashioned, but there’s No WAY my parents would have let me block hallways, sit four across on the stairwells, run and push each other on the lido, etc.

 

My attitude about this reached peak Curmudgeon during our one and only night in the main dining room for dinner. We were seated with a very sweet mom and her 2.5 year old. She clearly had her hands full, so we were doing our best to help distract her son, ask him about his coloring etc. When we got our entrees, the kid chewed up his bread and SPAT IT OUT on Matt’s chicken. We’ve never cleared a table so fast in our lives. Mom was oblivious and barely apologized, just gave us a halfhearted “what can you do?” and laughed. Never again.

 

Disembarkation was smooth. We put our bags out the night before, something we’ve never done. The logic was that by day 8, people still couldn’t figure out the flipping elevators so we didn’t want it to be a madhouse in the morning. We were off the ship at 7:30 and on our way to the airport by 8a for our 11:20 flight.

 

 

Would we do Carnival again? I’m not sure. We talked to a lot of couples who are in love with the older ships, namely the Pride. We got a decent casino offer so I would potentially consider it if the timing worked. I would not do another large Carnival ship... it’s just chaos. On our last night, one of our new cruise friends hit the nail on the head when he commented that Carnival is more interested in being a theme park than a cruise. That might be great for some, but it’s just not our jam at this point in our lives.

 

 

 

 

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[Irene225]

I was on the sailing before yours. HINT. If you have Your Time Dining you can get your table assignment using the app! You don't have to go to Ocean Plaza! Just look under the Dining and Entertainment Section!

 

 

 

Yes, so useful. We only went to the MDR once so we didn’t use it much, but it was helpful when we did.

 

 

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[Irene225]

Is that such a big deal as far as I am concerned he is a has been who constantly reaches out to his fans to be reaffirmed and pawned on.

 

 

I’m going to express an unpopular opinion ... I do not love John Heald. I think it’s remarkable that he’s been with Carnival for so long and I do think he does his job well. My issue is that is sense of humor is completely tone deaf and borderline inappropriate. I feel like he’s gone past the point of being funny and now someone needs to tell our drunk uncle that it’s no longer appropriate to make fun of people for being Asian (which he did at the love and marriage show) or to talk about being naked so often.

 

 

Good for you! I totally unplug when on a cruise! My hubby? Well, he’s always unplugged—LOL (flip phone only)

 

 

 

One of the best things about cruising is turning off my phone and locking it in the safe for a week.

 

 

Because of my job, I unfortunately can never shut off completely. But we did do a good job of leaving our phones in the room for dinner and beyond. It was glorious!

 

 

 

 

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[aknguyen]

When we got our entrees, the kid chewed up his bread and SPAT IT OUT on Matt’s chicken. We’ve never cleared a table so fast in our lives. Mom was oblivious and barely apologized, just gave us a halfhearted “what can you do?” and laughed.

 

That is absolutely unacceptable anywhere! Sadly, I'm not surprised. This type of thing seems to happen more and more frequently. :mad:

[kwokpot]

Cleanliness aka Washy Washy

Compared to other ships we’ve been on, there were far fewer hand washing areas or hand sanitizer stations. No washy washy guys or cute songs. I try to avoid touching anything as much as possible, but germs are inevitable with 4,000 people onboard and children spitting in your food LOL. As much as I washed my own hands like it was going out of style, I got a cold toward the end of the trip and spent the last two days voiceless.

 

Excursions

We did not do any ship sponsored excursions on this cruise. We spent Turks day at Jack’s but didn’t get in the water. To whomever asked about the sargassum, there was a bit but it wasn’t excessive compared to other pictures I’ve seen lately. Seaweed is like leaves on the ground in the fall.... can’t do anything about it so it’s a waste of energy to complain. In San Juan, we walked to the forts and had lunch in Old San Juan. We didn’t get off the ship in Amber Cove except to walk around the fake village area and get some cold medicine... I got sick on the cruise, likely because of one of the 1,100 kids onboard.

 

Final thoughts

 

The people we met on this cruise were fantastic. Matt and I typically cruise with a bigger group of friends and family; I think this has limited us from meeting others on the ship (not a bad thing, just circumstances!). We had a great time on this cruise and are glad we did it, despite some of the little annoyances.

 

If we had not upgraded to Havana, this would have been our least favorite cruise. The public areas were just overrun with kids running amok, something I thought we might avoid by being so close to school starting. Call me old fashioned, but there’s No WAY my parents would have let me block hallways, sit four across on the stairwells, run and push each other on the lido, etc.

 

My attitude about this reached peak Curmudgeon during our one and only night in the main dining room for dinner. We were seated with a very sweet mom and her 2.5 year old. She clearly had her hands full, so we were doing our best to help distract her son, ask him about his coloring etc. When we got our entrees, the kid chewed up his bread and SPAT IT OUT on Matt’s chicken. We’ve never cleared a table so fast in our lives. Mom was oblivious and barely apologized, just gave us a halfhearted “what can you do?” and laughed. Never again.

 

Disembarkation was smooth. We put our bags out the night before, something we’ve never done. The logic was that by day 8, people still couldn’t figure out the flipping elevators so we didn’t want it to be a madhouse in the morning. We were off the ship at 7:30 and on our way to the airport by 8a for our 11:20 flight.

 

 

Would we do Carnival again? I’m not sure. We talked to a lot of couples who are in love with the older ships, namely the Pride. We got a decent casino offer so I would potentially consider it if the timing worked. I would not do another large Carnival ship... it’s just chaos. On our last night, one of our new cruise friends hit the nail on the head when he commented that Carnival is more interested in being a theme park than a cruise. That might be great for some, but it’s just not our jam at this point in our lives.

 

 

 

 

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Thanks for taking the time to put your thoughts about the cruise. There are areas of agreement with your assessments and some disagreements (I thought all the shows were quite good, on the other hand, I'm not a cruiseship comedy show guy so never go to those).

 

My take on Carnival Cruises.(Quick background; 57 Yr Old Male, avid cruiser with 74 cruises - 15 Carnival;16 NCL; 3 Princess;16 Celebrity; 23 RCL ;1 MSC) EVERYONE on a Carnival cruise seems to want to have lots and lots of fun. Your comment on how packed the main pool deck is seems to be how all Carnival Caribbean cruises are, even on small ships. My take is those people WANT TO BE where all the crowds, noise and craziness occur. Me? I went to the Serenity area and on MY cruise,which was the one right before yours, I was able to always get a lounge chair and enjoy the sun in peace and quiet. During the Electric White Night Deck Party it was PACKED to the gills with people enjoying the line dancing. And you know what? I almost NEVER hear ANYONE complain on a Carnival cruise. Of course that's an exaggeration, but in general everyone you meet seems to be having a great time on a Carnival cruise. Now as contrast you go on a CELEBRITY Cruise, oh my lord! Complain, complain complain! Especially the older passengers that were used to how Celebrity did things 15 years ago, talk about a miserable bunch! And you will NEVER see the audience participation on a pool Deck party on a CELEBRITY Cruise as you do on a Carnival!

 

So although it may sound like I'm bashing Celebrity remember I have 16 Cruises with them and actually they are my favorite cruiseline! I see in your signature line you'll be on the Edge and I'm jealous! Would love to be on that ship but just a bit too expensive for me right now.

 

I see you're doing Carnival Players Club cruises, same here. Since June '16 we've (husband & I) done 11 Carnival Players Club Cruises so I'm pretty familiar with what the current Carnival product is AND more importantly,what it ISN'T. I'm VERY curious to see how you will like your future Celebrity Edge cruise and if the anticipated premium modern expereince is more to your liking for a cruise vacation. I find that I enjoy each of the mainstream cruiselines for different reasons. They each have their own positives and negatives (A Carnival stateroom will NEVER,EVER look like a Celebrity stateroom!).

[Irene225]

My take is those people WANT TO BE where all the crowds, noise and craziness occur. Me? I went to the Serenity area and on MY cruise,which was the one right before yours, I was able to always get a lounge chair and enjoy the sun in peace and quiet. During the Electric White Night Deck Party it was PACKED to the gills with people enjoying the line dancing. And you know what? I almost NEVER hear ANYONE complain on a Carnival cruise. Of course that's an exaggeration, but in general everyone you meet seems to be having a great time on a Carnival cruise. Now as contrast you go on a CELEBRITY Cruise, oh my lord! Complain, complain complain! Especially the older passengers that were used to how Celebrity did things 15 years ago, talk about a miserable bunch! And you will NEVER see the audience participation on a pool Deck party on a CELEBRITY Cruise as you do on a Carnival!

 

 

 

So although it may sound like I'm bashing Celebrity remember I have 16 Cruises with them and actually they are my favorite cruiseline! I see in your signature line you'll be on the Edge and I'm jealous! Would love to be on that ship but just a bit too expensive for me right now.

 

 

 

I see you're doing Carnival Players Club cruises, same here. Since June '16 we've (husband & I) done 11 Carnival Players Club Cruises so I'm pretty familiar with what the current Carnival product is AND more importantly,what it ISN'T. I'm VERY curious to see how you will like your future Celebrity Edge cruise and if the anticipated premium modern expereince is more to your liking for a cruise vacation. I find that I enjoy each of the mainstream cruiselines for different reasons. They each have their own positives and negatives (A Carnival stateroom will NEVER,EVER look like a Celebrity stateroom!).

 

 

 

Absolutely - I think one of the best parts about cruising is that everyone can have their own experience. If we had not done Havana, we would have been at Serenity every day. There was just no need to go there on this cruise.

We did Reflection in February and my husband is very, very leery of trying Celebrity again after that cruise. You hit it on the head, so much complaining.

 

 

Everything in life has pros and cons and the entire experience is so subjective... what works for us might not work for someone else and vice versa.

 

 

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[Irene225]

That is absolutely unacceptable anywhere! Sadly, I'm not surprised. This type of thing seems to happen more and more frequently. :mad:

 

 

 

It was disgusting and a prime example of why I will spend $40 to get out of the MDR

 

 

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[crewsweeper]

Thanks for your review and candor, ashirene.

 

We're on the Horizon in a Havana balcony in January. Hopefully way fewer than 1100 kiddos.

 

We made the error of selecting an overpriced, less amenities spa balcony on the Vista 2 years ago, not the spa we remembered on the Breeze or Dream. The Alchemy on the Vista was my nightcap spot. Annamaria was on that cruise, hoping she'll still be on in January. We're prebooking several specialty places and for the first time, DW is not concerned about when elegant night in the MDR is. Wasn't a fan of the Big Jim's or whatever it was called on the Vista, but loved the pub and micro-brews. Looking forward to those again, if I can get my mind out of the dislike mode for all things "Sunglasses Neck".

 

How was the Cuban menu on the Havana?

 

Thanks.

[LynnB]

Just returned home from this sailing. We were in a Family Harbor Suite on deck 2. Loved the cove balcony, loved the quick walk up to dining room on deck 3. The Family Harbor lounge which we were really looking forward to was just okay. It got very crowded and always seemed to be a mess. I’d book cove again but not in the family harbor area. Oh, I know this has been mentioned before but our cabin, 2414 was loud.. I had heard someone on a previous review say it sounded like some one was throwing pots and pan down a flight of stairs and that’s pretty accurate.

 

I did run into John Heald while he was waiting for an elevator. I said hello and mentioned I’d heard he was going to be onboard. He asked if we were enjoying our trip and then asked for our cabin #. He sent up a plate of cookies and a ship on a stick which totally made my 11 year old sons day.

 

We’ve been on numerous Carnival Cruises and were sailing with friends whose only previous cruise was on The Pride. While we all had a good time each of us decided our next cruise will be back on The Pride. There’s just something about that ship.

[cruisinsly]

Sail Away

However, the sail away is where we first started to notice that many, many people on this ship are CLUELESS about other people around them. Situational Awareness people... it's a thing.

 

..

 

 

It is!! At one time in my life, I worked at Disney and Universal in Orlando. I noticed when I was in the parks as a guest that many people would just be oblivious to what was going on around them. My husband and I started calling it VB - Vacation Brain!! lol:'):') :'):')

[SNJCruisers]

It was disgusting and a prime example of why I will spend $40 to get out of the MDR

 

 

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Ashley....I assume you had ATD......why did you not just ask for a table for two, that's what we did the four nights we ate in the MDR.

[Irene225]

Ashley....I assume you had ATD......why did you not just ask for a table for two, that's what we did the four nights we ate in the MDR.

 

 

 

 

Hey you! Hope you guys made it home without any problems. We did ask for a table of 2. The table next to us was so close, that’s what happened. Next time I’ll be more specific. I’m used to NCL where a table of 2 isn’t as close together. Lesson learned!

 

 

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[SNJCruisers]

Hey you! Hope you guys made it home without any problems. We did ask for a table of 2. The table next to us was so close, that’s what happened. Next time I’ll be more specific. I’m used to NCL where a table of 2 isn’t as close together. Lesson learned!

 

 

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Got home with no problem. Cleared the ship in under an hour and were home just before Noon. Back to work on Thursday.... it's just after 930... should be consuming innovative concoctions from Alchemy.:cocktail::cocktail:

[NYcruzzer]

Hey you! Hope you guys made it home without any problems. We did ask for a table of 2. The table next to us was so close, that’s what happened. Next time I’ll be more specific. I’m used to NCL where a table of 2 isn’t as close together. Lesson learned!

 

 

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Welcome home guys. We were on same cruise. Had one of those 1"apart tables for two the first night. After that I had hostess make notes in computer that we preferred the tables for two along the walls. Got those the rest of the cruise. Much better !!

[Jenjer]

So are you saying the pool deck is worst than Escape? That was the worst I ever saw.

 

So how was the Havana area? Was it like Vibe on Ncl? Was it relaxing and easy to find a spot to sit or hang out in the pool? How was the Havana bar?

[mikel24m]

Thanks for taking the time to put your thoughts about the cruise. There are areas of agreement with your assessments and some disagreements (I thought all the shows were quite good, on the other hand, I'm not a cruiseship comedy show guy so never go to those).

 

My take on Carnival Cruises.(Quick background; 57 Yr Old Male, avid cruiser with 74 cruises - 15 Carnival;16 NCL; 3 Princess;16 Celebrity; 23 RCL ;1 MSC) EVERYONE on a Carnival cruise seems to want to have lots and lots of fun. Your comment on how packed the main pool deck is seems to be how all Carnival Caribbean cruises are, even on small ships. My take is those people WANT TO BE where all the crowds, noise and craziness occur. Me? I went to the Serenity area and on MY cruise,which was the one right before yours, I was able to always get a lounge chair and enjoy the sun in peace and quiet. During the Electric White Night Deck Party it was PACKED to the gills with people enjoying the line dancing. And you know what? I almost NEVER hear ANYONE complain on a Carnival cruise. Of course that's an exaggeration, but in general everyone you meet seems to be having a great time on a Carnival cruise. Now as contrast you go on a CELEBRITY Cruise, oh my lord! Complain, complain complain! Especially the older passengers that were used to how Celebrity did things 15 years ago, talk about a miserable bunch! And you will NEVER see the audience participation on a pool Deck party on a CELEBRITY Cruise as you do on a Carnival!

 

So although it may sound like I'm bashing Celebrity remember I have 16 Cruises with them and actually they are my favorite cruiseline! I see in your signature line you'll be on the Edge and I'm jealous! Would love to be on that ship but just a bit too expensive for me right now.

 

I see you're doing Carnival Players Club cruises, same here. Since June '16 we've (husband & I) done 11 Carnival Players Club Cruises so I'm pretty familiar with what the current Carnival product is AND more importantly,what it ISN'T. I'm VERY curious to see how you will like your future Celebrity Edge cruise and if the anticipated premium modern expereince is more to your liking for a cruise vacation. I find that I enjoy each of the mainstream cruiselines for different reasons. They each have their own positives and negatives (A Carnival stateroom will NEVER,EVER look like a Celebrity stateroom!).

Have you noticed FINALLY Carnival has kicked it's Casino program up a notch ? My wife and myself both work in a casino and gamble very often here in Atlantic City. For years Carnival gave barely anything and for maybe the last few years have gotten so much better. Our next cruise on Horizon I'm getting $1000 cash which basically paid for our cabin. I remember one cruise years ago I lost $12k and didn't even get a discount letter the last night lol

 

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[Irene225]

Have you noticed FINALLY Carnival has kicked it's Casino program up a notch ? My wife and myself both work in a casino and gamble very often here in Atlantic City. For years Carnival gave barely anything and for maybe the last few years have gotten so much better. Our next cruise on Horizon I'm getting $1000 cash which basically paid for our cabin. I remember one cruise years ago I lost $12k and didn't even get a discount letter the last night lol

 

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It does seem to be a bit better, but consistency is key... we will find out!

 

 

So are you saying the pool deck is worst than Escape? That was the worst I ever saw.

 

So how was the Havana area? Was it like Vibe on Ncl? Was it relaxing and easy to find a spot to sit or hang out in the pool? How was the Havana bar?

 

 

 

Yes, far worse than Escape. And everyone (including adults) opted to wear life jackets which made it even more crowded.

 

I forgot to go into more detail on Havana. It made the cruise for us, so we liked it. Very easy to find a spot, almost any time of day. People were wonderful. Service was spotty... it seemed like there was just one poor server working at any given time. I didn’t drink much back there (it was my reading spot) but I always had to go get my own drink if I wanted it. Not a big deal but definitely didn’t have consistent service at the loungers. The bar itself is very pretty, I loved the decor of the entire Havana area. Interesting cocktails and they have some unique sodas to drink or have in concoctions, like pineapple soda.

 

 

Welcome home guys. We were on same cruise. Had one of those 1"apart tables for two the first night. After that I had hostess make notes in computer that we preferred the tables for two along the walls. Got those the rest of the cruise. Much better !!

 

 

That advice is burned in my brain now. REMEMBER THE HORIZON!

 

Got home with no problem. Cleared the ship in under an hour and were home just before Noon. Back to work on Thursday.... it's just after 930... should be consuming innovative concoctions from Alchemy.:cocktail::cocktail:

 

 

I think my liver needs some time off! We walked off the ship at 7:30, flight was at 11, airport at 1:30, home by 3. Now it’s back to work like a chump. Lol.

 

 

 

 

 

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[KarimaJ]

I’m going on my first Carnival cruise (Breeze) in Feb. I usually cruise NCL and things are pretty spotless, dirty dishes and glasses are picked up quickly. I will report back after my cruise, not sure if the trash lying around is typical on Carnival or not.

 

 

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