Horizon 7/18

[Mike Dante]

Obviously it’s been way too long but I am happy to be out of drydock. Some observations so far:

Embarkation: we got the 1030 to 11 o’clock check-in time, and upon arrival there were a lot of people already there. We got there precisely at 10:30, and by 1115 we were having our first Miami Vice. Checkin went very smoothly. As we are platinum, there was no priority checkin, and no early room access yet but it’s coming back soon
 

Menu: since this post is midcruise, we have only eatien in the main dining room one out of three nights, which was on formal night for the prime rib and lobster. Service was fantastic as has always been the case for us on any cruise we taken on carnival. I have seen posts from the first two weeks of selling food was very slow to get out of the kitchen. For us this is simply not the case. The other two evenings we decided not to eat in the dining room because night ones menu-did not impress us so we opted for Bonsai Sushi which was awesome. Night 3 we weren’t thrilled with the menu so we ate similar fare on lido. 
 

Staff: other than them wearing masks, there is no difference from pre-Covid cruising. They are energetic, happy to be back to work, and super excited to take care of their guests.

 

Internet plan: we took the middle plan, which cost $78 for the cruise. That gives you access to social media, and email. Also if you are an iPhone user, it allows you to use FaceTime to those back home with iPhones,, As well as allowing you to send and receive texts as an iMessage.

 

casino: drinks on us package— enough said 😎

 

Amber Cove: we opted to simply stay in the cruise terminal area and spend the day relaxing at the huge pool. We enjoyed for the first time ever doing a zip line. $20 per person gets you unlimited rides time the length of your stay.The bar service was very slow is my only negative for today.

 

Comedy and production shows: Awesome

 

More thoughts and replies later…. I’m on a strict feeding schedule 😎

[asalligo]

Thanks for your post. Do you remember what time the cabins did become available? 

[Mike Dante]

27 minutes ago, asalligo said:

Thanks for your post. Do you remember what time the cabins did become available? 

They had said 1:30, but an announcement came at 1:15 that they were open. We enjoyed the sun and pool anyway so we didn’t go till after 5

[surfone]

Do you have anytime dining? If so,  did you wait long?  You mentioned drinks on us in casino,  how has the wait time to get a drink from a server been so far?  Are you staying in the Havana area by chance?  Thanks! 

[Mike Dante]

 

7 minutes ago, surfone said:

Do you have anytime dining? If so,  did you wait long?  You mentioned drinks on us in casino,  how has the wait time to get a drink from a server been so far?  Are you staying in the Havana area by chance?  Thanks! 

Drinks on us in the casino with no wait time as long as you tip. I don’t have my next drink before first was finished. Just order another as you receive first. 
 

We have anytime, you checkin on the app, and they alert you when ready. Maybe a 5 min wait if that( we are only 2 ppl though)

 

we have a balcony but not in Havana. Here’s a real-time pic of the uncrowned Havana  area

[JaniceB]

Thank you for the post.  Question about casino drinks can you get at the casino bar or do you have to be sitting at a table or machine?  My next cruise on the Horizon includes this perk.  Also, did they let you leave your bags in room as platinum or no entry at all?  What did you pay $20 for the zip line or the ride over?

[mondello]

8 minutes ago, Mike Dante said:

 

Drinks on us in the casino with no wait time as long as you tip. I don’t have my next drink before first was finished. Just order another as you receive first. 
 

We have anytime, you checkin on the app, and they alert you when ready. Maybe a 5 min wait if that( we are only 2 ppl though)

 

we have a balcony but not in Havana. Here’s a real-time pic of the uncrowned Havana  area

Nice picture. I've never seen an empty hot tub on a ship!

[JaniceB]

3 minutes ago, mondello said:

Nice picture. I've never seen an empty hot tub on a ship!

The beauty of the Havana area exception may be last sea day.

[surfone]

13 minutes ago, Mike Dante said:

 

Drinks on us in the casino with no wait time as long as you tip. I don’t have my next drink before first was finished. Just order another as you receive first. 
 

We have anytime, you checkin on the app, and they alert you when ready. Maybe a 5 min wait if that( we are only 2 ppl though)

 

we have a balcony but not in Havana. Here’s a real-time pic of the uncrowned Havana  area

Thanks Mike.  Great to hear.  Just 2 of us and good to hear the waiter service in the casino is better.  And thanks for posting the Havana area picture.  We were on the Vista a few years ago and when we peeked in the Havana area we said if we book the Havana area next time so we did for our Horizon cruise next month!  This ship doesn't have the Red Frog Pub where we were able to purchase half price beer or drinks for a few hours on embark day on a few other CCL ships and wondered if Horizon had another bar area that they had this available? thanks

[JaniceB]

31 minutes ago, JaniceB said:

Thank you for the post.  Question about casino drinks can you get at the casino bar or do you have to be sitting at a table or machine?  My next cruise on the Horizon includes this perk.  Also, did they let you leave your bags in room as platinum or no entry at all?  What did you pay $20 for the zip line or the ride over?

Where do you get drinks if the casino doesn't have a bar?

[Sailin_Pirate]

14 minutes ago, JaniceB said:

Where do you get drinks if the casino doesn't have a bar?

 

Servers 

[helene109]

Did you buy the Zipline package thru Carnival or at Amber Cove?

 Thanks 

[Mike Dante]

47 minutes ago, JaniceB said:

Where do you get drinks if the casino doesn't have a bar?

There are plenty of bar servers. You should have no problem. That being said, it is reduced capacity now, and these folks are hustling since we have been out of work for 15 months, 

[Mike Dante]

24 minutes ago, helene109 said:

Did you buy the Zipline package thru Carnival or at Amber Cove?

 Thanks 

Right at Amber Cove. 

[helene109]

Just now, Mike Dante said:

Right at Amber Cove. 

Ok thanks sounds like a better deal than thru Carnival 

[Mike Dante]

1 hour ago, JaniceB said:

Thank you for the post.  Question about casino drinks can you get at the casino bar or do you have to be sitting at a table or machine?  My next cruise on the Horizon includes this perk.  Also, did they let you leave your bags in room as platinum or no entry at all?  What did you pay $20 for the zip line or the ride over?

We had checked all luggage, but all passenger areas were blocked off til they announced they were ready. 
$20 was for zip line. There’s no ride over to Amber, you just walk off the ship and walk the pier. 

[EngIceDave]

2 hours ago, Mike Dante said:

Internet plan: we took the middle plan, which cost $78 for the cruise. That gives you access to social media, and email. Also if you are an iPhone user, it allows you to use FaceTime to those back home with iPhones,, As well as allowing you to send and receive texts as an iMessage.

But you are posting this on-board? You can surf basic websites such as news and forums like this?

[Mike Dante]

1 hour ago, EngIceDave said:

But you are posting this on-board? You can surf basic websites such as news and forums like this?

Yes indeed. And I am for sure in airplane mode, so I know there won’t be surprises later 😎

 

 

and in between posts, we enjoyed  pasta at cucina capitano which is free at lunchtime as is Mongolian wok. 

[dulcemariamar]

Thanks for the information. Sounds all good! How is the food in the Lido..? Does it seem that they are cleaning more often than before

[Mike Dante]

3 hours ago, dulcemariamar said:

Thanks for the information. Sounds all good! How is the food in the Lido..? Does it seem that they are cleaning more often than before

Cleaning like crazy for sure. Lido deck between guys, pizza, the deli plus lido buffet, everything other than the pasta with red sauce(tasted like ragu or fat sauce…sorry ragu fans). Has been great. 

[Georgie562]

Is the night club still a thing or did they stop that to avoid mass gathering?

[princess76021]

thank you for taking the time to post!!!

 

hugs from texas!!

[tap_out]

How was the mid level internet? We get it so we can FaceTime/Facebook messenger call home.  2018 on the horizon was great but have heard it's been slow. Glad to hear dinning service was good.  How were crowds for the shows/ comedian? Have to show up very early?

[Mike Dante]

14 hours ago, Georgie562 said:

Is the night club still a thing or did they stop that to avoid mass gathering?

the night club shares the comedy club. They move the DJ to various areas of the ship, but there’s no dedicated “club” like on most ships

 

12 hours ago, tap_out said:

How was the mid level internet? We get it so we can FaceTime/Facebook messenger call home.  2018 on the horizon was great but have heard it's been slow. Glad to hear dinning service was good.  How were crowds for the shows/ comedian? Have to show up very early?

Internet is Definitely not super fast, but for emails, and iMessages/FaceTime, it’s money we’ll spent IMO. 
crowds definitely not bad for main shows. Comedy shows for sure arrive early. What’s good is on several nights they have had comedy in the main lounge. 
 

off to Half Moon Cay…

[matt082600]

Hi Mike,

 

Hope you're enjoying your cruise!!  Do you have any idea how many passengers are on this sailing?