Carnival Horizon: Spring Break 2019

[cooltch]

Finally getting a chance to do a review of Carnival Horizon from Spring Break 2019.  We did the 6 day to Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios and Cozumel.  We went March 31- April 6.  We have cruised Carnival several times and chose this cruise because it was daughter's Senior spring break, she's 18 and as parents we were able to be off work at this time as well.  We flew into West Palm Beach. It was MUCH cheaper.  Spent the night at the Embassy Suites near airport.  Nice room; reasonably priced.  Rented a car to drive to Miami.  That part was easy.  Went to Walmart and picked up soda and snacks for ship.  Easy drive down to Miami- a little over an hour south.  Our mistake:  returning car to Car Rental Center in downtown Miami - Budget.  It was a madhouse.  Seriously. Should have paid attention to others who said to not do it.  Lesson learned.  It took us over an hour to return car.  Having Fastbreak meant nothing.  We didn't take the shuttle back - got an Uber.  But that even took forever.  It was so busy .    We got to the terminal and we had FTTF.  That helped - but it was quite busy.  We skipped the photos.  We were able to drop our bags - we didn't check any - we carried on everything.  We have learned to pack efficiently and do a bit of laundry.  We had a balcony on Deck 8.  Nice room.  Love the muted decorating.    Muster was a bit long - because folks do not know how to be on time.  Sigh.  Oh - before that we had lunch at Guy's BBQ.  You can eat there without charge on sea days for lunch (and on embarkation day).  

 

Anyway - next up was dinner in the Steakhouse.  Very nice.  It had been a few years since we had eaten in one of the steakhouses.  The only disappointment was the dessert.  We ordered the Art... and while the presentation was amazing...the actual dessert was ...blah.  

 

Sea day was pretty chill. We had the Sea Day Brunch.   For dinner we went to the Italian Restaurant.  It was good.  

 

Jamaica:  Not our favorite port.  We did not plan an excursion.  We went to Margaritaville.  Since our daughter was 18 - she could legally have adult beverages in all the ports.  We allowed her partake with our supervision.   Margaritaville had a package for chairs and a couple of beverages that was reasonable.  We also ate lunch there.  It was fairly relaxing... but be forewarned that there are aggressive vendors of all types around.  The smell of pot was all around and easily accessible, if that is your thing.  It was not ours.   That night we had reservations at the Bonsai Grill.  It did not disappoint.  I did make those reservations a couple of months before we boarded... as there are only two grills in the restaurant.  It is worth it.  We had a lot of fun and the food was quite good. 

 

Grand Cayman was the next day.  We went to the Royal Palms Beach club.  It was $2 per person for entry... then we rented chairs for an additional fee.   Drinks are not cheap there (everything is in Cayman dollars - but they do take American Dollars).   It is 18 and over to get in the pool.  Beach is family friendly. It had a very nice vibe and we enjoyed our time there.  You can also order food there, but we did not.  We went back to the ship to eat a late lunch.  That night we did eat in the dining room.  We had anytime dinining - and we had downloaded the app to request our time to eat.  That was very helpful.    Food was okay and service was fine.  

 

Cozumel:  we did book a Carnival excursion  to Passion Island.  Normally we would go to Mr. Sanchos.  But there were 5 ships in Cozumel the day we were docked; we felt it would be too crowded there. And, I waited too long to book Nachi Cocum - so it was booked.  Passion Island was a nice compromise - food was good and it was pretty.  It was all inclusive - drinks and food.  However - what we didn't like were all the "rules" talk... of course we understand the rules - but the guides talked forever... really about nothing which likely took up about 45 minutes of our time there.  I'm serious.   Once we were back - we chilled that night.  Had pizza and cold beer in the room, on the balcony.  At least the hubby and I.  Our dd crashed  from a full day at the beach. 

 

Our last sea day was relaxing.  We enjoyed Serenity Deck, trivia games and just enjoying being together as family.  I honestly cannot remember what we did for dinner that night.  

 

Throughout the week we enjoyed the comedy shows - the adult versions.  Our dd thought it was fun getting "carded" to get into those (it's 18 and older).  Comedians were quite good.  We also enjoyed the music/dance parties in the atrium.  

 

Since we had FTTF - we got off the ship early  ( we were off by 7:30/8AM) and took an Uber to the Car Rental Center at MIA (yep... switched our car rental after our fiasco in downtown MIA)... and that was SO much easier.  We were staying another night in West Palm Beach at a Marriott resort.  So...we made the quick hour trip up north to Marriott Ocean Pointe.  Our room wasn't ready yet...so we went to a cafe nearby to have breakfast.  Then we returned to resort and enjoyed pools.  Our day was very relaxing.  We took naps in the room.  Had dinner... and got up very early for our flights home.  

 

I would totally use West Palm Beach as an airport option... it was a very easy drive.    We loved our Spring Break Cruise on the Horizon.  I think this was our 9th or 10th cruise on Carnival.  We have done two on Celebrity.  We may explore other options... as our child is now grown... and do not need all the family things, kids clubs, etc.  But we will still keep Carnival as an option.  

 

 

[carlacruz]

We were on this same cruise!  We were in room 8340 in a balcony. 😊  I'm too lazy to do a trip report.  Maybe I'll give it a try one of these days...🤔

[Bases5]

Thanks for the review. Glad you enjoyed the trip   Overall  How did the Horizon compare to other ships as far as feeling crowded?

[cooltch]

You are welcome. We thought it was designed fairly well. On sea days the pools and decks were full... but we headed away from those areas. We actually spent a lot of time on our balcony, reading. And... we made use of specialty restaurants. 

[beshears]

I enjoyed your review.  I am in the "thinking" mode of taking my 3 sons and d-i-l's as well as a friend on this ship.  I'm trying to figured out the difference between the 6 days with the Horizon, as the Vista has the 7 days, but is about $200 more for an additional day.  You did the itinerary I want to do, as I have not been to Ocho Rios Jamaica for over 20 years.  I know things are different, but I know with a group of 8 of us, we would be alright there.

[cooltch]

We had two sea days ... which was plenty for us. Taking the 6 day enabled us more flexibility in scheduling flights...finding cheaper ones; and we could take our time getting home...spending a day in Florida at a resort and not rushing to airport or having to wait all day at airport. 

 

Your 7 day cruise likely has 3 sea days. There is plenty to do on the ship.  We loved the newness and amenities. But... we just enjoy our time in ports.