Carnival Horizon 14 Day B2B Southern/Eastern Caribbean Review

[jam19872016]

18 hours ago, helene109 said:

How did you know about these dining vouchers? When logged in? What type of room did you have? Did you feel the ship move everywhere? Thinking about this abc itinerary for May? We got off of the Mardi Gras Saturday!

I had an ocean view room the first week and an inside the second week both on deck 3. The ship was very rocky in the Southern Caribbean which seems to be something I've read about in a lot of reviews and seen on a lot of videos. Other than that it was smooth sailing.

 

11 hours ago, eileen11 said:

I can not seem to find the dinner vouchers.  Did you purchase them onboard?

As far as know they can only be purchased on board. There will be a table set up near the elevator banks leading out to the Lido deck on embarkation day and if you miss that you can also purchase from the hostess at any restaurant.

[jam19872016]

17 hours ago, JaniceB said:

Thanks for the LaRomona info.  My DH is the type who likes to explore local. 

You're welcome. It's been a few years so maybe things have changed, but I would not like to find out lol.

[jam19872016]

Day 7:

 

Amber Cove, DR

 

Today is our final port of call for this first leg of the cruise. This is my third time here but I wonder if I lost count somewhere because I feel like I have been here more than that.

 

Protocols for Amber Cove.

 

 

Everyone is on heightened alert for one sickness on a cruise ship but we seem to not talk much about the original cruise ship illness - GI. I won't get too graphic but I woke up today with some stomach problems. It was mild but it did have me concerned. Thankfully whatever the issue was it cleared up by the end of the day. I really want another pastrami but I worry that was what caused the problem. But who really knows what the issue was?

 

For breakfast today I ordered the oatmeal.

 

[jam19872016]

After breakfast we headed ashore to explore the Amber Cove port area.

 

Nice Aft!

 

 

 

 

The crew were doing lifeboat drills this morning.

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

Overwater cabanas. 

 

 

 

My cruise buddy M was pricing out over water cabanas for us on Royal we'll have to check it out on Carnival and see if the pricing is any more reasonable.

 

Horizon from the shopping area.

 

 

 

Dinosaurs from Jurassic Park live back there somewhere.

 

 

 

My mom did her thing, shopping. She bought me my birthday present a little early but she wanted to make sure it fit. I have trouble sleeping and she got me a Phillip Stein sleep band. I am a bit skeptical especially considering the price but we shall see.

 

Once she got her fill of shopping in we headed back to the nice air conditioned ship.

[jam19872016]

After getting cooled off for a bit we made our way up to Mongolian Wok for lunch. I grabbed a small sampling from the buffet while I waited on my food to be cooked.

 

 

 

My stir fry.

 

 

 

And some dessert.

 

 

 

Lunch was good but with my upset stomach I really ate way too much food. Actually, it was probably too much food even without an upset stomach.
 

[jam19872016]

After lunch it was another relaxing day in the room and I also spent some time in the sauna. I actually lost track of time in there and was a little late heading to dinner. I was able to see in the app when I tried to make reservations that my mom was already there, so that is a handy feature. (it says she already has plans, so it doesn't say exactly where but I knew she would not be anywhere but the dining room).

 

Tonight's dinner menu.

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

For my starter I ordered the alligator beignets.

 

 

I thought this was a new item, but this is the alligator fritter I have seen on the menu before, not really sure why it is called a beignet. It was not good and I didn't eat most of it. I really hate to waste food and rarely do, but this was just not good. Hard pass.

 

For my main I ordered the salmon which is my standby when nothing else on the menu really looks interesting.

 

 

 

This was a well cooked and delicious piece of fish.

 

For dessert I ordered the praline cake.

 

 

 

Very tasty.

 

Food was good overall tonight and service continued its trend. Seven days in and I have not seen any of the service issues reported on the early Horizon sailings. Kudos to this crew for getting their rhythm quick!
 

[jam19872016]

After dinner it was back to the room where we had our towel animal and invite to the platinum reunion party.

 

 

Not that I needed an excuse but with my tummy still bothering me a bit I relaxed in the room for the remainder of the night (I did say this would be a super chill mode cruise lol). By the time I went to bed my digestive issues had resolved itself. I grabbed a tuna sandwich despite my best efforts to skip second dinner tonight lol.

 

Next up, Fun Farewell Day at Sea.
 

[jam19872016]

Day 8:

 

Fun Farewell Day at Sea (not for me though 🙂 )

 

Today is our final sea day on our way back to Miami. It feels great to know that even though we are headed back home, my cruise is not over yet.

 

I headed to brunch and could see that my mom was still dining there on the app so I joined her table. I'm not usually a salad person but I ordered a ceaser salad with salmon.

 

 

 

As I said I'm not a salad person but when I want a light meal I order this and it did not disappoint. Very good and the salmon helps trick me into not knowing I'm eating a salad lol.

 

I also ordered a dessert, I got the banana cream pie.

 

 

This was good, and not too sweet like some cream pies tend to be.
 

[jam19872016]

With today being a sea day it was another day of fireball raffles keeping me running into the casino all afternoon. I am seriously considering not playing at all next leg just so I don't feel the pressure to be present so that I don't miss out on my name being called. Nah I'll probably still end up playing but I can tell myself otherwise in the meantime 🙂

 

Since I had only 30 minute intervals I just went up one deck for lunch at the Pig & Anchor BBQ.

 

 

 

My potato salad was good, but not that heavenly item it was that first day. Don't know what they did that day but I need them to do it again 🙂

 

My free bingo package was this afternoon which I thought I was going to have to choose between the casino drawings and the bingo but then it hit me to have my mom sit in on bingo for me. I didn't win in bingo or in the casino drawings today. Rats.

 

After the drawings ended there was a small window until the platinum party so it was nice having a room right under the theater. It has a few drawbacks but I think I love this location on Deck 3.

 

The party was similar to the old style the only thing different that I noticed was no food being served and they didn't have the guessing games. They still came around with drinks and took drink orders. 
 

[jam19872016]

It was a pretty active afternoon for me but I squeezed in a little time in the sauna before dinner. Tonight I was using my final specialty dining voucher with a return trip to Jiji's.

 

Tonight's dining room menu.

 

[jam19872016]

Compliments of the chef.

 

 

 

I'm still not sure what it is but it is good.

 

For my starter I ordered the pork belly.

 

 

 

It was a little overcooked but not too bad and it was still so so good.

 

For my main I ordered the short ribs and a side of crispy spicy potatoes.

 

 

 

 

OMG as I try new items I continue to be wowed by the food and flavors here. This was very good and another highly recommend for this dish.

 

For dessert I ordered the caramelized crepes.

 

 

 

Very tasty!

 

I've said it before, and I'll be sure to say it again, this restaurant is amazing! For $15 a meal you get an amazing dinner that is so so so good. If you are on Horizon or the three other ships with this restaurant and you plan on doing any specialty dining, make sure that try Jiji's you won't be disappointed.
 

[jam19872016]

Back in the room we had our final but not really final towel animal, the towel heart.

 

 

 

I finished up my packing for the morning since I would be moving rooms and watched a movie to round out our final evening of the first half of the B2B. Next up, turnaround day.
 

[JaniceB]

1 hour ago, jam19872016 said:

Overwater cabanas. 

 

 

 

My cruise buddy M was pricing out over water cabanas for us on Royal we'll have to check it out on Carnival and see if the pricing is any more reasonable.

 

Horizon from the shopping area.

 

 

 

Dinosaurs from Jurassic Park live back there somewhere.

 

 

 

My mom did her thing, shopping. She bought me my birthday present a little early but she wanted to make sure it fit. I have trouble sleeping and she got me a Phillip Stein sleep band. I am a bit skeptical especially considering the price but we shall see.

 

Once she got her fill of shopping in we headed back to the nice air conditioned ship.

Please let us know how the Phillip Stine sleep band works out for you. 

[bunnyette]

On 8/25/2021 at 4:45 PM, jam19872016 said:

Back in the room we had our final but not really final towel animal, the towel heart.

 

 

 

I finished up my packing for the morning since I would be moving rooms and watched a movie to round out our final evening of the first half of the B2B. Next up, turnaround day.
 

Fabulous review so far!  Can’t wait for more

[helene109]

Love your review! Just booked the abc itinerary for May on the Horizon!

[jam19872016]

On 8/25/2021 at 5:18 PM, JaniceB said:

Please let us know how the Phillip Stine sleep band works out for you. 

 

I don't find myself falling asleep much easier and that is what I have problems with. Staying asleep is not really my problem but I do find myself sleeping harder so maybe it will help people who having trouble staying asleep. It's not a total bust, but for the money, I don't think I can justify the cost.

 

22 hours ago, bunnyette said:

Fabulous review so far!  Can’t wait for more

Thank you 🙂 

[jam19872016]

3 hours ago, helene109 said:

Love your review! Just booked the abc itinerary for May on the Horizon!

Thank you! That was my original itinerary before it got swapped. That is at least the second maybe third time I have had Bonaire swapped or cancelled on me. I hope to make it there eventually to complete my ABC's 🙂 

[jam19872016]

Day 9: Miami

 

Today we are back in port in Miami for all but 50 people to leave the ship for a new group to embark on their vacations.

 

I had trouble sleeping which is normal for debarkation day, but I was hoping without the stress of the long travel home I would be ok. My body said nope, you're gonna toss and turn tonight.

 

I was up just before my alarm at 6:30 and we rolled our bags across the hall to our new room which was empty the week before. I guess it was a cancelation since I could not book it when I tried. O well.

 

We went for some breakfast and my mom tried the breakfast bowl. It sounded interesting but it's a salad with eggs. Glad I did not order it as well. I stuck with a nice omelets that I forgot to photograph.

 

B2Bers met in the theater at 7:30. With the current protocols in place we debark and get a complimentary covid test at the port. Things were a bit slow moving and honestly I feel like Carnival could do a better job with this. Testing is available on board for minors, logistically I can't see how it would be any more difficult to set up the additional testing for us. Financially I can see why they would choose not to, but that is unfortunate that they chose to cut costs here. I can also see from a PR standpoint the need to have any positive cases show up after you have debarked instead of the night before.

 

That aside, the process seemed pretty well explained so that you knew what was going on. I'm afraid people just don't pay attention and then when things don't go like you expect, it's a Carnival issue. In the grand scheme of things this was not a big deal, just different than the B2B process usually goes. Pack your patience and be flexible in these times and you will have a much better time.

 

Later in the week Carnival delivered an apology letter along with a bottle of champagne and some strawberries. Totally unnecessary but it was a lovely gesture. I hope my fellow B2Bers were respectful when voicing their complaints to guest services to prompt this apology.

[jam19872016]

Once the ship zeroed out and they got everything reset we were back on the ship to continue our adventure. We boarded about 10:30 and my mom and I were number seven and eight to board the ship. We were ushered into the Reflections dining room for a mimosa and a complimentary individual B2B photo. I rarely take a photo, but figured what the heck it would be a nice souvenir of that time I did a B2B.

 

Next we went to our new room and got our stuff unpacked then we went out for some lunch before it got busy.

 

My Mongolian Wok lunch.

 

 

 

That's the first time I've gotten the rice noodles. I think I may get those going forward.

 

My traditional embarkation cakes that I missed last week.

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

After eating we went to our muster drill to get that taken care of right away so we could relax in our room during the madness of embarkation day. They told us there were less people on board this week and I agree it seems less crowded so far this cruise. I'll work on getting an exact count this week, but we are definitely not at 90% again this week. (I later found out there were 2358 just under 60% as I reported earlier) 

 

Back in the room we received some fruit from the Hotel Director.

 

 

I love my inside room, it is smaller and we got a little spoiled with the extra room last week but I love this room so much better than the ocean view. 

 

After a little while I decided to head out and explore the outside a bit to see Miami. That was when I noticed the ship was not as crowded. 

 

An Oceania ship docked nearby.

 

 

 

Beautiful Miami.

 

 

 

I've never noticed this Farris wheel before.

 

 

 

Some touchup paint on the funnel. Hope they are not scared of heights, yikes!

 

[jam19872016]

Miami is so much prettier to look at when you didn't just spend your day traveling to get here 🙂

 

 

 

Norwegian Gem in port for NCL's first cruise from Florida.

 

 

 

I checked on the Lanai FWD situation, it is still marked crew only.

 

[jam19872016]

I'm a little rusty as I didn't know what to do for sail away. I love a forward facing view with no obstruction from wind partitions. Then I remembered, duh the secret decks! 

 

I had a coffee and a bit of internet time before I lost my signal then I went up top so I would not miss sail away this week.

 

The Gem had already started sailing.

 

 

 

 

It would have been cool to sail past her but she was already heading down the channel.

[jam19872016]

I was staring at my phone and didn't realize we had started sailing oops.

 

Sail away pics.