Just back from 8 day Horizon cruise

[smurfm69]

 Just returned from an awesome 8 day cruise on the Horizon.  Ports were Grand Turk, La Romana, Curacao, and Aruba.

Mike Pack was a great cruise director with lots of energy and was at almost every function on the ship.  Does this guy ever sleep?  

The new smart elevator system worked great for us and we never had to wait long to go anywhere.

The Hub app was really helpful!  You could see all your pics and keep in touch with others on the ship with the chat feature. Also we had anytime dining and could reserve our table on the app instead of going to the dining room and waiting.

The ship was near capacity but never felt too crowded to us. The casino is just as smokey as every other ship so we didn't stay in there too long. 

The white night party in the atrium was fun and the 80's Rock n Glow deck party was a blast!

 Any questions, just ask?

[duncmelsmom]

Thanks for the review and being available for questions.  What did you do in the ports?  We're on the Horizon with this itenerary on July 13.  Can't wait!

[ciera123]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. I do have a couple of questions...

 

What did you do in La Romana?

 

Did they have homemade ice cream in the Marketplace for lunch?

 

Thanks!! 

[HeyNowMama1315]

We have the same itinerary in September! I'm also curious what you did in the ports, specifically Curacao. 

[Yayaof4andlovinit]

I have been hearing a lot about this “white party” but thought it was only on the 6 night cruise. Should we all bring white outfits? Did you dress for the 80’s party?

Thank you!

[eileen11]

We are doing the same itinerary.  What did you do in La Romana and Curacao?

[smurfm69]

18 hours ago, Yayaof4andlovinit said:

I have been hearing a lot about this “white party” but thought it was only on the 6 night cruise. Should we all bring white outfits? Did you dress for the 80’s party?

Thank you!

 The white night party was fun!  We brought white outfits to wear as did a lot of other people.  Now as for the 80's rock & glow deck party, that was the best night of the cruise for us!  We did dress up and so did a lot of other people.  The after party went late into the night on the serenity deck with the DJ playing music and more dancing!  

Edited May 30, 2019 by smurfm69

[smurfm69]

18 hours ago, ciera123 said:

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. I do have a couple of questions...

 

What did you do in La Romana?

 

Did they have homemade ice cream in the Marketplace for lunch?

 

Thanks!! 

We did the Saona Island excursion with Seavis Tours.  It was $75 per person and worth it!  You can contact them or do a search for a discount code.  I would do this one again in a heartbeat!  

[smurfm69]

13 hours ago, eileen11 said:

We are doing the same itinerary.  What did you do in La Romana and Curacao?

 In Curacao we did the East side tour with Irie Tours.  It was $25 per person and was a nice 3 hour trip in a big converted school bus.  You get to see the Curacao distillery and get to taste the different flavors.  You can buy bottles and this is also the cheapest place to buy them.  After the tour we had time to walk around and do some shopping.  Just across the floating bridge is a big heart that you can put a padlock on.

[smurfm69]

18 hours ago, duncmelsmom said:

Thanks for the review and being available for questions.  What did you do in the ports?  We're on the Horizon with this itenerary on July 13.  Can't wait!

 

In Grand Turk we just hung out by the pool at Margaritaville. 

In Aruba we did the Trikes and they were fun!!  It was $190 per trike and a great way to see the island. 

[Organized Chaos]

We'll be doing this itinerary next March. And we'll have Mike Pack, too. I've heard good things about him. Thanks for the Seavis Tours recommendation. One of the jungle tours looks like it'd be something we're into, and a good price to boot. Does Seavis pick you up at the port regardless of which excursion you do?

[ciera123]

5 hours ago, smurfm69 said:

We did the Saona Island excursion with Seavis Tours.  It was $75 per person and worth it!  You can contact them or do a search for a discount code.  I would do this one again in a heartbeat!  

Thanks so much!! 

[smurfm69]

4 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

We'll be doing this itinerary next March. And we'll have Mike Pack, too. I've heard good things about him. Thanks for the Seavis Tours recommendation. One of the jungle tours looks like it'd be something we're into, and a good price to boot. Does Seavis pick you up at the port regardless of which excursion you do?

 

In our 12 cruises, he was one of the best cruise directors ever!  They had a van/taxi for their tour that cost $15 per person round trip.

 

[Organized Chaos]

2 hours ago, smurfm69 said:

 

In our 12 cruises, he was one of the best cruise directors ever!  They had a van/taxi for their tour that cost $15 per person round trip.

 

 

Thanks. I was looking at one of the nature tours at their jungle ranch and their website said it's only 7 minutes from the cruise port. And I just found where it says that taxi is $7.

 

For the Saona tour, their website says you might see iguanas on the rocks of Penon and sometimes dolphins swim around the boat. Did you get to see any of those? Sorry for all the questions. My family & I would have to decide between the jungle nature tour or the island tour.

[smurfm69]

14 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Thanks. I was looking at one of the nature tours at their jungle ranch and their website said it's only 7 minutes from the cruise port. And I just found where it says that taxi is $7.

 

For the Saona tour, their website says you might see iguanas on the rocks of Penon and sometimes dolphins swim around the boat. Did you get to see any of those? Sorry for all the questions. My family & I would have to decide between the jungle nature tour or the island tour.

 

 No we didn't see iguanas or dolphins but did see a starfish bigger than my hand.

 

[smurfm69]

 We flew in a day before the cruise and stayed at Hotel YVE which was across the street from Bayside Marketplace and in view of the cruise ship terminal.  The rooms weren't huge but it was perfect for a pre cruise stay.

 

[baylee_riddle]

We will be sailing with Carnival for the first time over Spring Break 2020 on the Horizon with this itinerary. We looked into the Seavis Tours after reading your post. We couldn't figure out what we wanted to do in La Romana. I think we are going to do the same excursion! Thanks for the recommendation! 

[smurfm69]

21 hours ago, baylee_riddle said:

We will be sailing with Carnival for the first time over Spring Break 2020 on the Horizon with this itinerary. We looked into the Seavis Tours after reading your post. We couldn't figure out what we wanted to do in La Romana. I think we are going to do the same excursion! Thanks for the recommendation! 

 You're very welcome!  Some people did other things and weren't happy with this port so it looks like we made the right choice!  

[smurfm69]

I posted a couple pics from the 80's deck party.  Here's a pic from the white night party in the Atrium.

 

[Organized Chaos]

4 hours ago, smurfm69 said:

I posted a couple pics from the 80's deck party.  Here's a pic from the white night party in the Atrium.

 

My wife said she had a dream the other night that I was wearing white pants. I don't know the details, but I've never worn white pants in my life. I need to remember to tell her about the white party. Maybe it was a premonition. LOL

 

4 hours ago, smurfm69 said:

 You're very welcome!  Some people did other things and weren't happy with this port so it looks like we made the right choice!  

 

I've seen several recommendations for the Monkeyland excursion in La Romana, so I read up on it. It didn't take long to find multiple reports of the monkeys urinating on people's arms, shoulders, and even their heads as they climb on people. NO THANKS!! Sure, maybe it'd be fun to be so close to a cute little monkey, but it ain't worth it to me. I do not want to spend the rest of the day smelling like monkey pee before I'm able to get a shower. That's just gross.

[opensaysme]

Hey! Thanks for offering your advice according to your experience. I have noted a few things. I am thinking about some of the specialty dining aside from the steakhouse. Did you try anything?

[Watergal60]

Hi, Thanks for the review......were you on the port side or the ocean side of ship?  When the ship departed, were you next to the Miami port or the ocean?  What was your room number?  Trying to determine if I will  be on the port side when we get to each port.  I will be in room 7449.