"Good Things on the Horizon" a cruisin USA "Long and Lengthy" Cruise Novella

[cruisin USA]

......It was busy. There was a couple right next to us. They looked as if they were done with dinner. They just sat there. I figured that they were waiting for dessert. There we sat. Waiting for menus…..and waiting……and waiting. We were sitting there for almost 10 minutes before we got our menus! OMFG!! That had to be a record for us!! I made note of our servers. Their names were on a small placard on our table. Gene, I Made, and Melvin. Interesting name “I Made”….. The couple that had been waiting for dessert left. It was a much shorter wait before Gene came up and took our orders. For me tonight? Shrimp cocktail, Roasted Tomato Soup, and Pork Loin. Mary Ann chose Shrimp cocktail, Caeser Salad, and Roasted Chicken. The shrimp was good! It had been awhile. The Roasted Tomato soup had a tang to it I had Mary Ann try it, and we both agreed it had a very “spaghetti sauce” quality. Maybe they should call it Spaghetti Sauce Soup? Maybe not. Then we waited…..and waited…..and waited some more before they came and cleared our plates to get ready for our entrée. I even took a picture of our dirty plates on the tables thinking they might think that I might be one of those crazy cruise critic people who might be posting a review with said pictures of dirty dishes. Didn’t help. There they sat. There we sat. Finally the assistant waiter clears the plates and our entrees our served. I liked the pork loin. I’ve always enjoyed the main dining room. Mary Ann said she liked her Roasted Chicken. The dining room was beginning to clear out a little. We finished our entrees. A new waiter appears to take our dessert order. Tiramisu for me. WCMC for Mary Ann. I ordered coffee which came quickly. Then we waited…..and waited….and waited, until we could wait no more. We waited for over 10 minutes, and still no dessert. We had to leave. There was no way we could make it back to the room for supplies and then to the theater to make it to the Welcome Aboard show if we didn’t leave NOW! We saw our waiter as we walked toward the exit. He was wondering why we were leaving without dessert? I just hoped the rest of the trip wouldn’t go like this…..sigh.......

[cruisin USA]

....Back to the cabin for supplies, then all the way to the front of the ship to the showroom. Got back to the cabin. There, on the bed was tomorrow’s edition of Fun Times. Ladies and Gents, we’ve been cruising for almost 20 years now. This was the first time we’d got back to the cabin after dinner, and not have a towel animal waiting for us. Not an OMFG moment. But Geez Kemmy!! Undaunted, we got our supplies and headed back to the showroom. A quick stop at the casino bar for a smoke. There, I saw the first person from our roll call that I recognized. It was Kam Kam! Kam Kam was a regular on our roll call, and it was good to see someone finally! We both recognized each other. Neither one of us had seen anyone else from the roll call since we boarded. We talked for a bit. We’d see each other throughout the cruise asking what each other what we were up to. I’d like to take the time to personally thank Kam Kam for keeping Mary Ann company while she was on smoke break. I know it’s a smoker’s thing, but it’s always good to have a friend in the crowd. Mary Ann said you were looking out for her....

[cruisin USA]

.....We parted ways, and we headed for the show. We got some prime seats off to the side.

Took a look around. On this ship, the showroom has been taken to another level. All sorts of lights across the entire ceiling! Not like they’re just trying to light the stage. Also, the bar in the back was the right idea. Very cool. This showroom just seemed a little smaller than other ships despite the Horizon being the largest Carnival ship afloat....

[cruisin USA]

.... As we sat, they were finishing Bingo for the night.....

Edited February 5, 2019 by cruisin USA

[cruisin USA]

.....Eventually, the lights dim, and Mike Pack is introduced. He walks out from behind the curtain. First Vibe????.......Gordon Ramsey!! Looks a little like him, and the accent is exact. Didn’t see him pissed off once, which definitely set him apart from Chef Ramsey. Mike is a good speaker. It’s easy to see why he got the CD job on Carnival’s newest ship. He’s a high energy guy. He spoke a bit of what was to come on this cruise. I really liked it when he said that he wanted us all to have the best vacation ever!!....

[cruisin USA]

.....He came out and found a couple of kids to bring back to the stage. He was telling the little girl and boy to put their arms in front of them. He said that if they raised their left arms up the left side of the room would cheer, and if they raised their right arms, the right side of the room would cheer. Both of them just raised both arms, and everbody cheered. They didn’t get the left side, right side part. They were just too young. Mike blamed himself for picking them. Chuckle. Both kids sent back to mom and dad.....

[cruisin USA]

.....He then picked 2 couples to come up. They were going to compete against one another. They had 2 clear boxes with holes on the sides. The boxes were full of ping pong balls. The boxes also had a waist strap, so they could tie the boxes behind each of their backs. They had them facing the ladies so we could see their backs. The object was to shake their booties to get the most ping pong balls out. One of the guys says something, so Mike puts his microphone up. They guy says “I aint no booty shaker”….Kinda funny. Too bad. Mark, get set, go!. Mr. No Booty shaker reaches back, opens the box, and pulls all the balls out, while the other guys is shaking it away. 2 of the balls just won’t come out. He keeps it going and eventually the balls come out. HILARIOUS. Mike commends Mr. No Booty for his creativity stating he’d never seen anyone do it like that before. Both couples get sent back to their seats with a bottle of champagne.....

[cruisin USA]

...Mike then mentions the comedy on board, and introduces Lou Carroll. Lou comes out. A regular kind of guy in a bowling type shirt. He asks questions of the people in the audience, and plays off that. Pretty funny guy. Off goes Lou, and on comes Roman. Roman had us ROLLING on the FLOOR. Just Hysterical. Everyone we talked to during the cruise agreed.....

[cruisin USA]

. ...Mike came back to introduce us to the Playlist production cast who did quite a few of their high energy music numbers. The singers and choreography is always so good. Mike comes back and repeats what he had told us earlier. “The parties on the Horizon don’t end, they just move”. Then directed everyone to move the party to the atrium where the Playlist cast was already heading. We followed and came out to the atrium. We took the stairway up to the promenade deck and hung around the railing to see the atrium filling with the showroom audience. The music was blasting, people were dancing all over. Mike is a great MC. I look down to see people dancing on the bar. There’s a gal next to Mike who had a wardrobe malfunction. He sees, and quickly gives her a hug to cover her and tell her it needed fixin. HAHA!! ....

[cruisin USA]

...Mike had mentioned that there would be comedy in the showroom that night. We had just enough time to get a quick smoke for Mary Ann, and a trip back to the cabin for supplies. The casino bar is nice. A smaller version of the Atrium “tornado” is right in the middle of the circular bar. There are 4 TV’s showing sports. Tonight, being Sunday, it was football. You can see the people on deck 5 looking down at you. There is a glass wall so that the smoke won’t rise up from the casino. We got back to the showroom pretty quickly considering we had to go front to back to front again. We found seats, and waited for the show to begin. I really thought that comedy here, in this showroom was a good idea considering how full those shows fill up. Got a good dose of laughter from both comdians. About 40 minutes altogether. It was getting late. One last stop at the casino bar, and then off to bed. It had been a long first day!......to be continued......

[cruisin USA]

[JaniceB]

Nice pictures.  Lately I have not found the welcome aboard shows worth attending, but after reading your review maybe they have gotten better.

[SenatorsFan]

Enjoying the review so far! We were on Horizon in Oct. and Mike was our CD, too. We thought he did a great job, too and enjoyed the ship and our cruise. All of our comedy seemed to be held in Limelight and there was a line to get in every show!

Heather

[oumagic]

I just started reading your review and it is very informative. I do have one question about this:

I guess the biggest “first” besides just being on a new ship was being in the specially designated Havana suites. 65 Cabins that share a private pool/Jacuzzi/bar area. No children allowed. Really looked forward to having that area till 7pm every night. More later.

 

We are going to book Panorama for March 2020 and the Havana rooms we are looking at say ages 12 and up. Is that what you mean by no children (no small children) or are you saying that kids can stay in the room but you have to be 18 and up to  use the Havana pool area?

[vanislandcruisers]

Enjoying this ...nice to see one of your Reviews again...been almost 7 years since we met you folks on the Carnival Miracle 

[Buffalobills]

Great review so far!

[cruisin USA]

Just a quick set of "Hellos" and I'll be ready to continue....

 

JaniceB. The Welcome Aboard show is a always a must for us. An introduction to the crew and the cruise director. A sample of both the comedy and playlist productions. I remember the hokey FUN letters back in the day.

 

Senatorsfan. Sorry to hear about the long lines at comedy. We never saw or had to be in one. I guess that they just decided to open it up early, let people in and sit down(and fill it up) instead of having a long wait line. Glad you agree with me on Mike Pack. Our next CD is going to have some big shoes to fill.

 

ourmagic.  The Havana area is open to all guests 12 and above. Sorry about any misunderstanding. It's a pretty far way from the waterpark though. For the record, we didnt see anyone even close to teenage there. More later

 

vanislandcruisers???? JIM!!! Wow! Nice to see someone I know here. To say that you are enjoying the review is HIGH PRAISE from someone who writes as well as yourself. I Thank You sir! You folks have the best cruise group ever. Everyone was sooo fun, and I loved the way you opened up all the balconys to make the "bowling alley". May we cruise together again sometime in the future!!

 

BuffaloBills. Thank you for your kind words!

 

continuing shortly

 

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Edited February 6, 2019 by cruisin USA

[cruisin USA]

Day 2-Fun Day at Sea

 

 

.....Slept great!! That rocking motion of the ocean! Woke up. The TV was still on. There, on my nightstand was a small carton of chocolate milk. Just had to smile. That told me that Mary Ann had got up early for her coffee and cigarette, brought me my chocolate milk, and was probably hanging out on the balcony. I got dressed, and headed out on the balcony, milk in hand. It was pretty cloudy, with some blue peeking through......

 

[cruisin USA]

.....It was still pretty coolish. We were expecting better weather/temps, but from a couple from Michigan all we had to do was think of how it was back home to appreciate this weather. Mary Ann was on her Ipad. That reminded me that I would have to call down to the internet café and see how to activate my already paid for account. We made a plan for the day. First off. Seaday Brunch, then we’d explore this new ship.

 

I made my call to guest services about how to get my prepaid internet account activated. Easy Peasy. Just go to the Carnival Hub App. Go to “Internet Plans” Punch in your Folio # and Birthday. I was now connected to the internet. Tried out a couple of things. It was FAST. Loved it!! We finished getting ready, and headed to the Meridian dining room. We were seated at a table and handed menus (good start this time). The menu has changed from our last cruise, earlier this year. They had added a few items. Missing?? Although they will sell you these “fresh squeezed” juices. I didn’t see where you could just get a glass of orange juice on the menu. BOO! A day without orange juice……Note to self to go get some from the buffet before we hit Seaday brunch next time.....

[cruisin USA]

...Mary Ann ordered Huervos Rancheros. I ordered the Filet and scrambled eggs(My Fav!). The server took great care of us compared to the night before. We knew last night had to be a fluke. We showed our drink coupons and they sent over a waiter to take our order. Mary Ann had tried my Miami Vice and we both decided that was what we’d have. They arrived shortly before we were finishing up. Perfect! Finished with brunch, we grabbed our drinks and headed out to explore.....

[cruisin USA]

....Took the elevators to Deck 11 so Mary Ann could grab a smoke. It was pretty cool and windy. After Mary Ann had her break, we headed up to the Sports daek. That’s where we hit the WIND tunnel. It was blowing us back. We worked our way forward. The basketball area was FULL of people playing hoops. Never seen it that packed before. Guess when it’s a coolish day, it gives you something to do. As we worked our way forward, we saw the pylons that hold up the skyride. Right in the middle of the deck. We hit the sportsquare center. Man was it windy. I tried to set a ball next to the pocket on the pool table, and it just kept rolling in. We stopped into the “clubhouse” for a second. 3 ping pong tables(all out of the wind!!) and a foot “billiard” area where you had to kick balls on a pool table to sink them. All the tables were full. We headed back into the windstorm, and finally got to the lido pool area where we headed down. There was Guys Burgers. We went back through the buffet, and caught an elevator down to Deck 5. Although we came through here last night to get our dining room assignments, it was just a pass through. We worked our way past the lower promenade sign, and directly into Ocean Plaza. Just like on the Breeze, with a door leading out onto the lani deck. Looked like we just missed a performance. Love them horns!!...

Edited February 6, 2019 by cruisin USA

[cruisin USA]

...Moving forward, we passed by Guys Pig and Anchor Bar/Brewery. (The back area was closed for some kind of renovations. I wanted to ride the metal pig out front….hehe).....

[cruisin USA]

....Passed the Java Blue Cafe. The new, and then passed the Pixels gallery where you can check out your pictures on an ipad.....

[cruisin USA]

....We were working our way forward. There was the Library(complete with automated wine dispensers)

[cruisin USA]

.....As we moved even more forward, we could see Bonsai Sushi, and more importantly Bonsai Teppanyaki where we had dinner reservations for night 3. The piano bar was just across the way. Had to stop in for a peek.....