LIVE HoHo Horizon and a Bottle of Tequila Christmas Cruise 12-23-18

[itchintocruise]

Yesterday was a nice relaxing sea day with the morning spent doing the Behind the Fun tour of the ship. It was our Christmas gift from our children. Thanks. Very interesting to see what happens behind the pretty ship walls. There is a corridor that runs from the front of the ship to the back that is referred to as I-95, complete with traffic jams on turn around day. In the laundry room they have a machine that drys and folds sheets in less than 60 seconds. Of course the view from the bridge is tough to beat. Maybe an activity to put on your bucket list. The afternoon was spent trying to absorb a few last minute sun rays before we had to head back north.

 

This morning we were in no hurry to get off the ship as our flight didn’t leave MIA until 3:30. After a leisurely breakfast in the main dining we waited for our number to be called. 30 minutes later, Mike the cruise director announced that we had done such a good job disembarking this morning that all the numbers could get off now since the terminal had only six people inside and all the luggage was off ship. Guess what, we got bamboozled again. This time, Mike the cruise director scammed us. As we came down the escalator into the luggage area, the area was a sea of people still waiting for their luggage. After finding our designated carousel we waited close to an hour before our luggage came through the door. Luckily customs was a breeze and we had a very expeditious cab ride to the airport. Just be aware of your time management when planning your disembarkation and flights. I’m pretty sure that the cruise director flat out lied in order to get everybody off the ship.

 

Oh well. Overall we had a great time and made some nice memories. I will try and do a recap of the pros and cons tomorrow and wrap up this review.

[crewsweeper]

Thanks for the great review and sharing your adventures.

[itchintocruise]

The Wrap Up Show.

 

In no particular order or reason, I am just going to post some pros and cons about our experience.

 

First of all, I want to thank all of those that have followed along or viewed our posts. I have always enjoyed reading other LIVE reviews and I thought I would give it a crack. MUCHAS GRACIAS.

 

Being that the ship is less than 1 year old there is nothing to complain about.

 

The staff with no exceptions were friendly and accommodating. Each time you passed a crew member they smiled or said hello, even in the crew area on the Behind The Fun tour.

 

The main dining room and buffet food has gradually changed over the years we have cruised. Less selection and lower food quality is evident. I understand that all the cruise lines are attempting to push people into the pay for eateries. We either have to accept that or budget for it in the future. The refinement of the service is also declining.

 

We ate at the Steakhouse and the Italian restaurant and were very satisfied with the experience. The staff was very accommodating for the members of our group that had food allergies, primarily gluten free.

 

Guys Burgers, Pig and Anchor for sea day lunch and the Blue Iguana for lunch also did not disappoint.

 

Bar service was also friendly and efficient with  Annamaria at the Alchemy Bar being at the top of the list.

 

The rooms were good. We typically book basic interior rooms (steerage class) in order to save money and cruise more often. We think, but not sure that they omitted one of the larger storage/ hanging closets on this ship compared to Vista last year. I may be wrong.

 

BINGO: We attended the Bingo session on the first sea day that was advertised as a 750.- Holiday Jackpot session. We estimated a crowd size of between 200-250 people in attendance. The first game's payout was a measly 100.-. Three people won and Carnival ended giving them 50 bucks a piece. The seconds game's payout jumped to a whopping 250.- which was won by one person. The misleading 750 final jackpot luckily only had one winner who then had to pick among five boxes to find out her payout. Each box contained different amounts ranging from 250.- to 750.-. Thankfully she picked the right box. After doing some mental math, Carnival potentially walked away with over 6000 dollars for 30 minutes of work.

• 225 people at average ticket price of 30.- (card prices were 20, 30 and 40) =     6750.-
• additional revenue from pull tab sales (1 for 5.- and 5 for 20.-)  estimate               500.-
• minus jackpot payouts of                                                                                               1150.-

Seeing that Carnival was not willing to split the pots as is done in traditional Bingo, we chose to throw some money over the side of the ship for fun and avoided playing any more sessions.

 

Thanks again for following along and may a cruise be in your future. We are currently looking at going on the PANORAMA next New Years.

 

[onthelido2]

This was a fun read!!  Thanks for sharing your family’s vacation with us all. I love reading others prospectives and how they line up with what we have noticed in the overall cruise experience. We are counting down to cruise number 21. It never gets old!!🤪

[itchintocruise]

1 hour ago, onthelido2 said:

This was a fun read!!  Thanks for sharing your family’s vacation with us all. I love reading others prospectives and how they line up with what we have noticed in the overall cruise experience. We are counting down to cruise number 21. It never gets old!!🤪

Thanks for reading along. I'm sure with the number of cruises you have been on, you have seen a noticeable change over the years. Enjoy #21.

[saturn6901]

Hi Itchintocruise.  Do you happen to have the funtimes from this cruise?

[JaniceB]

Great review.  I never thought about how much money Carnival makes off of the Bingo game, you have enlightened me.  I sometimes play but now I will really have to be bored to play.  Did you ever mention the name of the tour you were on?  I don't want to book that one for sure.  I can't believe they offered  tequila tastings while driving.  

Happy New Year!

[itchintocruise]

On 1/2/2019 at 8:43 AM, saturn6901 said:

Hi Itchintocruise.  Do you happen to have the funtimes from this cruise?

Sorry, I do not.

[itchintocruise]

On 1/2/2019 at 12:45 PM, JaniceB said:

Great review.  I never thought about how much money Carnival makes off of the Bingo game, you have enlightened me.  I sometimes play but now I will really have to be bored to play.  Did you ever mention the name of the tour you were on?  I don't want to book that one for sure.  I can't believe they offered  tequila tastings while driving.  

Happy New Year!

Thanks for reading the review. Makes you think twice about playing Bingo. I'm going to withhold the name of the shore excursion company for now as we are trying to negotiate a refund. I do want to stress that the guides did a great job and were super friendly, I just think that the excursion as a whole and what was advertised was misleading.

[JaniceB]

Thanks for your reply and let us know what happens with your refund.