Review of Horizon

[crisstyd]

We just returned Saturday from Horizon and had a great time. It was just my husband and me. We flew to MIA and stayed the night before at Embassy Suites at the airport. It was very nice, but very busy. I won't go into too much detail since we didn't do much of the shows or activities and we didn't get off the ship. I thought I would just give an opinion of the ship and maybe a few pointers for those who are interested. I know most of you won't agree, so please be kind. It is just my opinion 😊

Staff: Horizon is beautiful and the staff is extremely kind and helpful. They go out of their way to make sure you are having a great vacation and if you need something they will do whatever they can to get it for you. I went to get coffee and there was no cream. Just then three "white shirts" as my husband calls them walked up and saw me walk away with two cups in hand without filling. Let me say you could see the smoke coming out of their ears because I was walking to another station! I didn't think it was a big deal, but they sure did!
 

Elevators: The new elevators make getting around so much easier. Select your deck and it will light up to tell you which one is yours. I figured out on the 4th day that there are little ⬆️➡️ next to the A, B, C, D to let you know if your elevator is behind you or beside you. This keeps you from spinning around with your head in the air looking for the letter to your elevator. I am sure it has been mentioned here before, I just never read it. Also, the new technology kept the number of people on in the elevator down to a minimum. Most of the time it was just us except during dinner time. 

 

Restrooms: They are VERY hard to find. Make sure you scope them out before you have one too many drinks because then it is too late. I think who ever designed this ship had a thing against urinating in public.

 

Masks: People did wear them about 99.5% of the time on the elevators, and about 97% of the time otherwise. The only time they didn't was when they were outside or eating. 

 

Ports: We didn't go into any of the ports... sorry I can't give any info on those. I can say that Amber Cover was beautiful from the ship.

 

Food: The food was average. We have been on many ships and have had much better food on some of the smaller, older ships. The food in the MDR was comparable to hospital cafeteria food (this is my opinion.. I know most won't agree).  We ate there only once because service took over 1 1/2 hours and there was only about 20% of the dining room filled. The Pig and Anchor was excellent! Steakhouse was ok. The food on the Lido buffet was average. They didn't have much of a selection. It may be due to cutbacks, or maybe because I think they said we only had around 2,400 - 2,500 people on the ship.

 

Casino: The slots are very, very, very tight. Don't expect to win. I play a lot and this casino had the tightest slots I think of all the ships I have been on. Usually I can go play a little at lunch time then walk out up a little and take that to play after dinner, but not this trip. They took out the bar so there are only slots and tables. It makes it feel strange. It's like they don't want you to socialize only give them money.

 

Carnival app: You can highlight activities in the app two or three days in advance to help schedule your days out. The cruise director is not very good at "directing" the cruise with announcements throughout the day.

Suite: The room itself was very nice, but the air in the room and on the ship overall was very bad. It seemed as if they had turned it down a few degrees everywhere. I realize it is hot out, but we were sweating in the shops, restaurants, and even in our own room. I had to keep the door shut and curtains closed just so the sun couldn't show through and make it any hotter. There were a few times when it was a little cooler, but mostly it was "sticky".

 

Overall: The Horizon is a great ship, has a wonderful staff, and fun atmosphere. For us though, we will probably stick with other ships except our next trips are Mardi Gras 2x. I am hoping it is better!

I hope this helps!
Christina

 

 

[JaniceB]

Thanks for sharing.  Did you go to any shows or comedy?  Were they crowded?  How were the pools, any chair hogs?

[helene109]

We are just off the Mardi Gras and thought it was missing something! Glad it wasn’t full capacity. Going to try the Horizon next year!

[EngIceDave]

13 hours ago, crisstyd said:

Carnival app: You can highlight activities in the app two or three days in advance to help schedule your days out. The cruise director is not very good at "directing" the cruise with announcements throughout the day.

Does it remind you of things you highlight?

[Terab85]

15 hours ago, crisstyd said:

We just returned Saturday from Horizon and had a great time. It was just my husband and me. We flew to MIA and stayed the night before at Embassy Suites at the airport. It was very nice, but very busy. I won't go into too much detail since we didn't do much of the shows or activities and we didn't get off the ship. I thought I would just give an opinion of the ship and maybe a few pointers for those who are interested. I know most of you won't agree, so please be kind. It is just my opinion 😊

Staff: Horizon is beautiful and the staff is extremely kind and helpful. They go out of their way to make sure you are having a great vacation and if you need something they will do whatever they can to get it for you. I went to get coffee and there was no cream. Just then three "white shirts" as my husband calls them walked up and saw me walk away with two cups in hand without filling. Let me say you could see the smoke coming out of their ears because I was walking to another station! I didn't think it was a big deal, but they sure did!
 

Elevators: The new elevators make getting around so much easier. Select your deck and it will light up to tell you which one is yours. I figured out on the 4th day that there are little ⬆️➡️ next to the A, B, C, D to let you know if your elevator is behind you or beside you. This keeps you from spinning around with your head in the air looking for the letter to your elevator. I am sure it has been mentioned here before, I just never read it. Also, the new technology kept the number of people on in the elevator down to a minimum. Most of the time it was just us except during dinner time. 

 

Restrooms: They are VERY hard to find. Make sure you scope them out before you have one too many drinks because then it is too late. I think who ever designed this ship had a thing against urinating in public.

 

Masks: People did wear them about 99.5% of the time on the elevators, and about 97% of the time otherwise. The only time they didn't was when they were outside or eating. 

 

Ports: We didn't go into any of the ports... sorry I can't give any info on those. I can say that Amber Cover was beautiful from the ship.

 

Food: The food was average. We have been on many ships and have had much better food on some of the smaller, older ships. The food in the MDR was comparable to hospital cafeteria food (this is my opinion.. I know most won't agree).  We ate there only once because service took over 1 1/2 hours and there was only about 20% of the dining room filled. The Pig and Anchor was excellent! Steakhouse was ok. The food on the Lido buffet was average. They didn't have much of a selection. It may be due to cutbacks, or maybe because I think they said we only had around 2,400 - 2,500 people on the ship.

 

Casino: The slots are very, very, very tight. Don't expect to win. I play a lot and this casino had the tightest slots I think of all the ships I have been on. Usually I can go play a little at lunch time then walk out up a little and take that to play after dinner, but not this trip. They took out the bar so there are only slots and tables. It makes it feel strange. It's like they don't want you to socialize only give them money.

 

Carnival app: You can highlight activities in the app two or three days in advance to help schedule your days out. The cruise director is not very good at "directing" the cruise with announcements throughout the day.

Suite: The room itself was very nice, but the air in the room and on the ship overall was very bad. It seemed as if they had turned it down a few degrees everywhere. I realize it is hot out, but we were sweating in the shops, restaurants, and even in our own room. I had to keep the door shut and curtains closed just so the sun couldn't show through and make it any hotter. There were a few times when it was a little cooler, but mostly it was "sticky".

 

Overall: The Horizon is a great ship, has a wonderful staff, and fun atmosphere. For us though, we will probably stick with other ships except our next trips are Mardi Gras 2x. I am hoping it is better!

I hope this helps!
Christina

 

 

How was the embarkation?  What time did you get and how long did it take you to get inside?  I'm hearing the lines are long outside and people waiting in the heat.

[SNJCruisers]

4 hours ago, helene109 said:

We are just off the Mardi Gras and thought it was missing something! Glad it wasn’t full capacity. Going to try the Horizon next year!

On the Horizon,  I would highly recommend the Havana area.  What was missing on the MG?

[BlerkOne]

I appreciated the lack of PA announcements on Horizon - I find them quite annoying.

 

Some if the public areas could be a little warm, but we had no trouble keeping the cabin temperature in the 60s. Of course you do have to keep the balcony door closed (it usually cuts off the AC if you don't, and the curtains shut.

[helene109]

8 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

On the Horizon,  I would highly recommend the Havana area.  What was missing on the MG?

Something else to do? I can’t imagine it at full capacity! Maybe a theater. Other venues were too small and We couldn’t get in, punchlines,piano bar etc

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for sharing, nice reviewe.  

[Frank12]

Thanks for your input.  We will be sailing Horizon soon.

[crisstyd]

15 hours ago, Terab85 said:

How was the embarkation?  What time did you get and how long did it take you to get inside?  I'm hearing the lines are long outside and people waiting in the heat.

Embarkation and debarkation we both very easy. Each took about 20 mins. We arrived at 11:30 and basically moved right through.

[crisstyd]

18 hours ago, JaniceB said:

Thanks for sharing.  Did you go to any shows or comedy?  Were they crowded?  How were the pools, any chair hogs?

Shows we a bit crowded due to the heat but the pools were extremely crowded. I didnt see many chair hogs. 

[crisstyd]

17 hours ago, EngIceDave said:

Does it remind you of things you highlight?

Yes, it shows you the things you highlight the next day

[helene109]

We’re both of the theaters working? Thanks 

[SNJCruisers]

5 hours ago, helene109 said:

Something else to do? I can’t imagine it at full capacity! Maybe a theater. Other venues were too small and We couldn’t get in, punchlines,piano bar etc

Maybe post Pandemic as the occupancy percentage increases Carnival will have to revert to doing a similar procedure like RCI does on their Oasis and similar Class ships and what NCL does on their Breakaway and Breakaway Plus Class ships.  Reservations. Should be needed for comedy shows and main shows at the Punchliner and main showrooms.

Don't know how to alleviate the crowds at the Piano Bar.  Some of the pianists have groupies that follow them and basically hang out for the 6 days they are working.   Back in 2013 we sailed on the Breeze with Ron Pass and his loyal contingent took over 80-90% of the venue each night.

[helene109]

2 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Maybe post Pandemic as the occupancy percentage increases Carnival will have to revert to doing a similar procedure like RCI does on their Oasis and similar Class ships and what NCL does on their Breakaway and Breakaway Plus Class ships.  Reservations. Should be needed for comedy shows and main shows at the Punchliner and main showrooms.

Don't know how to alleviate the crowds at the Piano Bar.  Some of the pianists have groupies that follow them and basically hang out for the 6 days they are working.   Back in 2013 we sailed on the Breeze with Ron Pass and his loyal contingent took over 80-90% of the venue each night.

You are right! There were long lines every night for both of those places!

[SNJCruisers]

7 minutes ago, helene109 said:

You are right! There were long lines every night for both of those places!

And as we know people will complain in their post cruise follow up survey.  And of course with higher occupancy it'll only get worse.  Reservations will have to be set up and they will probably have a stand by line for reservation no shows to fill in the gaps 10 minutes before showtime. That is the procedure on NCL and from what I have read on RCI as well.

[crisstyd]

4 hours ago, helene109 said:

We’re both of the theaters working? Thanks 

Not sure. I do know the main IMAX was. We watched a movie there.

[EngIceDave]

19 minutes ago, crisstyd said:

Not sure. I do know the main IMAX was. We watched a movie there.

Speaking of which, what were the movie choices?

How much is IMAX?

[crisstyd]

On 8/24/2021 at 6:22 PM, EngIceDave said:

Speaking of which, what were the movie choices?

How much is IMAX?

It cost 22 for 2ppl. Free guy and Reminiscence

Edited August 30, 2021 by crisstyd