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Carnival Horizon 8 day cruise 8/7 - 8/15/21

critcatny

By critcatny,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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critcatny

critcatny

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OK, so back yesterday from the 8 day cruise on Horizon. A well needed vacation. Open for questions....just be patient for answers lol

 

EMBARKATION: A breeze. Got to port by 10:30 and on ship at 11:00.  No Priority boarding separate room though.

MUSTER DRILL: Another breeze. So much better. Now you can go anytime to your own muster drill station (inside ship) between when you board and time ship leaves. It took all of 5 minutes. Then you watch the rest on your cabin tv. 

ELEVATORS: Now they have the floor choice panel before you get into elevator. Then screen tells you which elevator to get into. Helps keep the crowds separated a little. Liked that.

FOOD: Choices in buffets not great, taste was fine though. Preferred the other FREE places such as Deli, Pizza, Guys Burgers, Mexican, or Dining Room. Didn't do any Specialty Restaurants.

Seaday Brunch great but service a bit slow.

We looked forward to the Gelato station on buffet.....but never was ready and even when it was, I didn't think it was very good. The free soft ice cream was delicious though.

MASKS: We were required to wear masks in certain places/situations. Not great but didn't want to cancel the cruise over that. But starting this week, the rules got even more strict with passengers needing to show negative Covid test before boarding.

ROOM: We had Balcony room on 9th deck and worried if there would be too much noise (see original post). There was not any noise where we were and were very happy with our choice (Midship, near mid elevator, 1 floor below Lido)

Beds/Pillows....Very comfortable. I always say I sleep better on a cruise than I do at home. 

Free waters and other perks for Platinum: Pick up on your own instead of being delivered to the room.
CARNIVAL HUB APP: Love, love, love this. I thought I'd really miss not having the FunTimes delivered each night but the APP was so much more convenient. You could check in to DR (we had YTD) when leaving your room and had a table # when you arrived. No waiting. You could check out what was happening (where and when) at your convenience for the whole cruise at any time. You could see all menus for all restaurants so you could plan your week accordingly.

DEBARKATION:

Also went very smoothly. Left our room at latest time possible (8:30am) and went to Lido for breakfast. Our number was called by 9:30am and although there were lines, it was the quickest ever I've gotten off a ship.

 

I'll try to answer all questions, as quick as possible. Have a great cruise for anyone who is waiting to sail. Horizon was a great ship!!!!

 

 

 

 

Edited by critcatny
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SNJCruisers

SNJCruisers

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6 hours ago, EngIceDave said:

What determines your boarding time?

VFIP color?

No, you need to check in 14 days prior to your embarkation date at midnight EST.  You then pick a half hour time frame for your boarding.  For the time being, Diamonds and Platinums do not have priority boarding, but they can choose their time slot 16 days prior.

As usual, wedding parties and HC parties board first, followed by everyone else.

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critcatny

critcatny

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We saw all the shows in the Liquid Lounge. They were all good and we enjoyed them all but nothing stood out as outstanding. We also saw many comedy shows which were pretty good. We watched a couple of movies on Lido which we always enjoy doing. Didn't spend any time in the Piano bar but passed it many times and it was full but no one standing so not over crowded. We were happy that they didn't sail with a full ship and nothing was super crowded other than buffet on 1st day and most days the main pool and of course the casino. But we didn't go in the pool so we always found somewhere on 11 or 12 overlooking the pool to relax and still enjoy the music. It was a very good cruise overall.

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critcatny

critcatny

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As far as the ports....Aruba we planned out a nice beach day and were planning on taking a taxi but then saw that Carnival added a beach express excursion which was just a bus from port to Eagle Beach (which was our beach choice btw) and back to ship for 19.99pp. Absolutely gorgeous beach!!!! 

We had been to all these ports before and took island tours last time so this time, we planned 1 beach day and the other ports just walked around the port for shopping. In Amber Cove there is a pool that's free to use too.

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Terab85

Terab85

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35 minutes ago, critcatny said:

We saw all the shows in the Liquid Lounge. They were all good and we enjoyed them all but nothing stood out as outstanding. We also saw many comedy shows which were pretty good. We watched a couple of movies on Lido which we always enjoy doing. Didn't spend any time in the Piano bar but passed it many times and it was full but no one standing so not over crowded. We were happy that they didn't sail with a full ship and nothing was super crowded other than buffet on 1st day and most days the main pool and of course the casino. But we didn't go in the pool so we always found somewhere on 11 or 12 overlooking the pool to relax and still enjoy the music. It was a very good cruise overall.

Do you remember how Serenity was on sea days?

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critcatny

critcatny

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3 hours ago, ejnsb said:

If you spent time in the casino, how was the drink service? Was it real smoky?

I spent some of every night in the casino. It was crowded and smoky but not as bad as previous cruises bc this ship has the smoking and non-smoking sections on 2 different sides. Of course you smell the smoke but not as bad as I remember in past.

The drink service was ok. Since they took the bar out of this casino, maybe that's why they took a little longer coming back with drinks.

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critcatny

critcatny

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3 hours ago, Terab85 said:

Do you remember how Serenity was on sea days?

To be honest, usually I spend a lot of time on Serenity. But first day we went up there and realized there was little to no shade so we never went up there again. I'm passed the laying out in the sun stage lol.  There were plenty of other places that were in the shade plus we had our own balcony to lay out on. 

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Terab85

Terab85

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10 hours ago, critcatny said:

To be honest, usually I spend a lot of time on Serenity. But first day we went up there and realized there was little to no shade so we never went up there again. I'm passed the laying out in the sun stage lol.  There were plenty of other places that were in the shade plus we had our own balcony to lay out on. 

Thanks!  I like to get the clam shells and turn it for how much (or less) sun I want.  We sit out on our balcony too. 

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surfone

surfone

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We were on this cruise also,  in our experience the casino was the worse we've ever seen on a Carnival ship.  The smoke was horrible and it was apparent that much of it was from non gamblers standing in the aisle walkway with no crew personal asking them to go to a smoking area on another deck.  The tables were almost back to back with only the middle area where the dealers stand were considered the barrier between smoking and non smoking tables,  it was basically 6 feet so of course the smoke was bad on the so called non smoking side.  Even the dealers laughed at this knowing it was not really non smoking for the most part.  We saw many people who flicked their ashes on the carpet while playing on machines instead of taking the time to locate a ashtray.  It was very crowded but this was due to not only the premier cruisers but the other cruisers who had other types of casino offers.  We ate at the MDR each night and service was very good and only one night we can say the food was below average.  Otherwise food was great.  Husband always likes the rare finds.  Havana area was our favorite even though this class ship is not our favorite but would choose to stay in the Havana area again.  Per several crew this was the highest passenger level so far.  We did not get off in the two DR ports. 

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