Just off The Horizon Today

[cruisin from vegas]

I’m not going to write a day by day review (although I really appreciate those who do)

First this sailing was 4600 according to CD, well over 100% capacity…. And it showed.  Very long lines everywhere…. Close to 2 hour line for pizza after 11 pm.    Could never get in a comedy show

 

Thoughts/Observations 

The fabulous:

the crew, everyone of them

the CD, Donkey- I usually don’t care

My room steward K

jijis (my favorite)

The MDR (I loved everything they had)

The ship (Vista class is my favorite)

Serenity (surprisingly not over crowded)  

my cabin and the temp in my cabin only

   (Inside, deck 11..  free casino deal)

embarkation (10 mins total from shuttle to deck) used VeriFLY 

drink service on lido deck

Ports;  Aruba, Bonaire, La Romana and Amber Cove- loved them all, beautiful on their own way 

 

Good

Debarkation - no problems, just took a little longer due to crowds

shows - the ones I saw were good

casino atmosphere/variety of machines

Most room service items

Behavior of the many kids (no problems that I saw)

Casino drink servers 

shops- pretty weak selection actually 

 

im going to jump to horrible 

 

buffet- the worst on my 20+ cruises, and not just the fact there were no seats available..  ever.  The food was nearly inedible.  Desserts were great, Icecream and gelato great…. But that’s it.  
 

guys burgers-  just not good anymore.  Dry cold buns, cheese not melted, no mushrooms..  smaller.  Fries terrible, just not the same sadly. 
 

The behavior of many adults on this trip. Rude, disrespectful, selfish, treated the crew like dirt, the longest line I’ve ever seen to remove gratuities, ignoring all elevator etiquette (purposely and willfully), pushing and shoving…. Seriously, the worst I’ve ever seen and I’m a past Carnival crew member.  Entitled jack as..s.

 

lastly, the temperature throughout the public areas…. Hot hot hot hot..  stifling, suffocating.  The elevators were unreal, even if no one else was on it.

 

I would definitely do this ship and itinerary again, but not this time of year.  The kids were fine…. The parents not so much.

 

I did not exact in the steak house or blue iguana, or see any comedy shows.  I did not go to the spa.  

 

any questions..  just ask

 

 

 

Edited July 31, 2022 by cruisin from vegas

[cruisin from vegas]

Oh forgot to add.  Virtually no food after 11.  Deli closed.  No late night eats.  1-2 hour line for pizza.  Room service has a cost, if you can get through to order and stay awake long enough to get it.  All a factor of way over booked

[Hoosierpop]

8 minutes ago, cruisin from vegas said:

Oh forgot to add.  Virtually no food after 11.  Deli closed.  No late night eats.  1-2 hour line for pizza.  Room service has a cost, if you can get through to order and stay awake long enough to get it.  All a factor of way over booked

We were on this week also. We stayed primarily in the casino and Havana area so didn’t see the unruly passengers all that much.

 

But we did do room service twice late at night. And yes, you pay for it but it was easy to order through the Hub App.

[cruisemiluv28]

I'm doing this same itinerary August 6th. I'm really hoping for the best.  Thank you for the review.  Was Cucina del Capitano opened for dinner?

[tallnthensome]

18 minutes ago, cruisin from vegas said:

 

 

buffet- the worst on my 20+ cruises, and not just the fact there were no seats available..  ever.  The food was nearly inedible.  Desserts were great, Icecream and gelato great…. But that’s it.   
 

The behavior of many adults on this trip. Rude, disrespectful, selfish, treated the crew like dirt, the longest line I’ve ever seen to remove gratuities

 

 

 

That's sounds pretty normal to me especially the tip removal line . Some things never change. Buffet always sucks but ......

[cruisin from vegas]

7 minutes ago, cruisemiluv28 said:

I'm doing this same itinerary August 6th. I'm really hoping for the best.  Thank you for the review.  Was Cucina del Capitano opened for dinner?

No , just pasta at lunch…. However, I just heard they are going to be open for dinner again very soon

[ober134]

We sailed Horizon last November. One of the best cruises we've had... But there were just 2600 ppl aboard. We are on her again in  November this year. I'm keeping fingers crossed. We thought the buffet was decent, so I'm wondering if we aren't choosey or if offerings have gone downhill. May I asked what you did in Bonaire...

[Colorado Beach Bum]

We were on this same sailing.  The ship’s temperature throughout was horrible - hot in most every public area.  Fortunately, our room was freezing cold.  Agree with your fabulous section.  Service was great throughout ship.  We didn’t experience the horrible you did. We never enjoy the buffet at all and it was about the same as always. We noticed one or two rude people but overall thought people were very friendly and nice.  On five cruises since restart Guy’s burger has been inconsistent for sure.  I actually enjoyed the fries this week and the buns were great early but the last days were not great, never cold just not great. Seems like supply issues is creating inconsistencies across all the ships. 

[cruisin from vegas]

11 minutes ago, ober134 said:

We sailed Horizon last November. One of the best cruises we've had... But there were just 2600 ppl aboard. We are on her again in  November this year. I'm keeping fingers crossed. We thought the buffet was decent, so I'm wondering if we aren't choosey or if offerings have gone downhill. May I asked what you did in Bonaire...

I took the Carnival “Best of Bonaire” excursion, and it was a great.  Very informative, saw flamingos in the wild..  and donkeys..  lots of historical sights…. I really enjoyed it.

[mz-s]

I only cruise when school is in session - not necessarily for the kids. Because the adults that can't cruise when their kids are in school!

 

I haven't had a really good Guy's burger since the restart either, sadly. I'm not ready to write them off but I don't look forward to them like I used to.

[Hoosierpop]

I’m not trying to argue and say others experience in terms of temperature is wrong, but I didn’t not feel it was hot in the MDR, casino, comedy, piano bar, or specialty restaurants. It was warm in areas like the lido near where you go outside. But I never say there. 

[Colorado Beach Bum]

32 minutes ago, Hoosierpop said:

I’m not trying to argue and say others experience in terms of temperature is wrong, but I didn’t not feel it was hot in the MDR, casino, comedy, piano bar, or specialty restaurants. It was warm in areas like the lido near where you go outside. But I never say there. 

Ok, so speciality restaurants were comfortable but where we were in the casino was super hot.  There were a few cool spots but overall temps were hot.  Definitely the worst overall temperatures we’ve experienced in five cruises since restart. 

[rrraydon]

3 hours ago, cruisin from vegas said:

 

The behavior of many adults on this trip. Rude, disrespectful, selfish, treated the crew like dirt, the longest line I’ve ever seen to remove gratuities, ignoring all elevator etiquette (purposely and willfully), pushing and shoving…. Seriously, the worst I’ve ever seen and I’m a past Carnival crew member.  Entitled jack as..s.

 

 

 

 

There is a designated tip removal line? 😲

[CrusinCyndi]

19 hours ago, cruisin from vegas said:

I’m not going to write a day by day review (although I really appreciate those who do)

First this sailing was 4600 according to CD, well over 100% capacity…. And it showed.  Very long lines everywhere…. Close to 2 hour line for pizza after 11 pm.    Could never get in a comedy show

 

Thoughts/Observations 

The fabulous:

the crew, everyone of them

the CD, Donkey- I usually don’t care

My room steward K

jijis (my favorite)

The MDR (I loved everything they had)

The ship (Vista class is my favorite)

Serenity (surprisingly not over crowded)  

my cabin and the temp in my cabin only

   (Inside, deck 11..  free casino deal)

embarkation (10 mins total from shuttle to deck) used VeriFLY 

drink service on lido deck

Ports;  Aruba, Bonaire, La Romana and Amber Cove- loved them all, beautiful on their own way 

 

Good

Debarkation - no problems, just took a little longer due to crowds

shows - the ones I saw were good

casino atmosphere/variety of machines

Most room service items

Behavior of the many kids (no problems that I saw)

Casino drink servers 

shops- pretty weak selection actually 

 

im going to jump to horrible 

 

buffet- the worst on my 20+ cruises, and not just the fact there were no seats available..  ever.  The food was nearly inedible.  Desserts were great, Icecream and gelato great…. But that’s it.  
 

guys burgers-  just not good anymore.  Dry cold buns, cheese not melted, no mushrooms..  smaller.  Fries terrible, just not the same sadly. 
 

The behavior of many adults on this trip. Rude, disrespectful, selfish, treated the crew like dirt, the longest line I’ve ever seen to remove gratuities, ignoring all elevator etiquette (purposely and willfully), pushing and shoving…. Seriously, the worst I’ve ever seen and I’m a past Carnival crew member.  Entitled jack as..s.

 

lastly, the temperature throughout the public areas…. Hot hot hot hot..  stifling, suffocating.  The elevators were unreal, even if no one else was on it.

 

I would definitely do this ship and itinerary again, but not this time of year.  The kids were fine…. The parents not so much.

 

I did not exact in the steak house or blue iguana, or see any comedy shows.  I did not go to the spa.  

 

any questions..  just ask

 

 

 

May I ask what time you chose for embarking ?

[pjhootch]

16 hours ago, rrraydon said:

There is a designated tip removal line? 😲

 

Technically "no".  But if you go near guest services in the 24 hours before disembarking, you will see extremely long lines of cranky looking people.  They aren't standing there to get luggage tags.

[2wheelin]

32 minutes ago, pjhootch said:

 

Technically "no".  But if you go near guest services in the 24 hours before disembarking, you will see extremely long lines of cranky looking people.  They aren't standing there to get luggage tags.

Well, there are many reasons to be in that line and just standing there will make on ‘cranky looking” whatever that is.  I have been there myself to have erroneous charges removed. Some people are registering an early flight to get priority disembarkation, lost items. People just want to assume the worst so they can perceive themselves as better.

[dmarie1623]

2 hours ago, pjhootch said:

 

Technically "no".  But if you go near guest services in the 24 hours before disembarking, you will see extremely long lines of cranky looking people.  They aren't standing there to get luggage tags.

Maybe I’m a rarity but I was actually in line the night before to get additional luggage tags. I did notice 1 cranky person only because he was loud, otherwise I couldn’t tell why others were in line. 

[Colorado Beach Bum]

22 minutes ago, dmarie1623 said:

Maybe I’m a rarity but I was actually in line the night before to get additional luggage tags. I did notice 1 cranky person only because he was loud, otherwise I couldn’t tell why others were in line. 

I’ve seen many people paying off their account with cash or a different card than what the had used at check in. 

[mz-s]

Maybe they were increasing their automatic grats? Plenty of reasons to go to guest services, especially the last night of the cruise.

[Craxe77]

Thanks for posting. I sail over Halloween on the Horizon and my first with Carnival. I got a Havana room so I could be less crowded in the Havana only area. I always hear how friendly Carnival cruisers are compared to other cruise lines (On average). 

Edited August 1, 2022 by Craxe77

[jamie717]

20 hours ago, mz-s said:

I haven't had a really good Guy's burger since the restart either, sadly. I'm not ready to write them off but I don't look forward to them like I used to.

My thoughts exactly! Guys used to be an every day lunch choice for me and on our last cruise of 8 days I only ate there twice and both times it was just alright.  I found myself repeatedly using the phrase "It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't too good either!"  The food, as a whole, seems to be "just okay."  Never before, in all my 18 cruises, have I opted for Lucky Charms for breakfast 3 out of 8 mornings until being on the Spirit to Alaska two weeks ago.

[cruisin from vegas]

4 hours ago, CrusinCyndi said:

May I ask what time you chose for embarking ?

10:30….  However the Carnival shuttle at the airport was a big mess and I didn’t get there until after 11.  Walked right on

[cruisin from vegas]

In addition….  The FB group I belong to has been posting positive Covid tests all day….and now  I did too.  I masked, carried around sanitizer, avoided very crowded elevators when I could…. But it still got me.  Good news is I’m vaccinated  and double boosted so I’m not sick at all..  I’m still glad I went

[pc_load_letter]

On 7/31/2022 at 12:55 PM, tallnthensome said:

That's sounds pretty normal to me especially the tip removal line . Some things never change. Buffet always sucks but ......

 

Off topic of Horizon but, I found the buffet on Miracle to be superior to that of the newly renovated Radiance. I love the "station" setup on Miracle. Felt like the food was easier to get to and not everyone bunched up.

 

I thought the food was good too. We loved some of the asian and Indian dishes they had on board.

Edited August 1, 2022 by pc_load_letter

[CrusinCyndi]

1 hour ago, cruisin from vegas said:

10:30….  However the Carnival shuttle at the airport was a big mess and I didn’t get there until after 11.  Walked right on

Thanks !  I was not sure what time to choose.