B2B 30th Anniversary Horizon Review

[MtnSeaGirl]

Hello Cruise Critic World!  

A few musings from our first B2B cruise.  Few details on us. :We are simple, no frill people.  We like what we like and are not normally hard to please.  But, we are human from time to time and get annoyed with things like we all can.  You will see that in this review.  We are both fairly close to retirement age.  I work at a local Dept of Social Services where we have been overwhelmed with applications for benefits the past 3 yrs.  Just means I was  pretty tired going into this vaca.  DH is a pastor of a small county church. 2021 saw us losing a lot of beloved older members dueto COVID.  DH was more than ready for time away form the rest of the world....no phones...no Emergency Rooms...no funeral homes.....   

Cruising is something we have to save for and plan well.  Planning is part of the fun!  We began planning our 30th anniv cruise almost two years ago.  We had that fabulous onboard credit from a cancelled cruise during 2020.  The credit, along with rock bottom pricing, allowed us to achieve the dream of a 2 week cruise on our special day.  We explored Journey crusises, but we settle on the fun of everyone else having to set out luggage/leave the ship while we stayed for another week. We always wondered what that would feel like...I can tell you now:  pretty dang good!!!  I do believe I am spoiled for life....

Getting to Port:  This was our 8th and 9th cruise with Carnival. Our first was an 8 day back in 2008 and was a cancer celebration cruise for me and one of our church members.  We found cruising to be the ultimate disconnect for us.  We truly feel on vaca on a cruise.  No phone calls at all...we don't even check email......LOL.   We have always driven the 12 to 14 hours + stops to Florida.   This time we decided to celebrate in style and fly.  We knew to fly in a day early.  Ironically, I had read a CC review a week or so before our flight in which a few cruisers had expressed an opinion that one day is not always early enough.  Some of you disagreeded ratherly heatedly with them...after our hectic flight to Miami...I am inclined to be "onboard" with those wise cruisers who fly in two days early.  😀  I should have known the day of our flight was the day most every airport on the East Coast shut down due to severe thunderstorms. Our flight left 3 hours late.  Before we left, we knew we were missing our connecting flight as the 2.5 hour layover we had we not enough.  The young man working the counter was a God send though.  After telling me there were no more flights from our connecting airpot ( Charlotte NC ) to Miami on Sat evening or even Sun morning, this young man kept hitting refresh until he found two seats on a plane (someone had just cancelled).  I was about ready to call our son to bring me the car for a mad all night dash to Miami when we finally took off around 2 pm.  We arrived at Charlotte later than we were originally to have arrived at Miami, but we were on our way....only to have another long delay.  But...we made it to Miami at 8:30 pm.  We were so tired we forwent the free shuttle to the hotel ( such a long line with all the planes that had been stacked up waiting to land in Miami which was having ANOTHER storm as we arrived there ).   We were grateful to climb into a cab.  Our eyes spun a little when we realized we had already a $ 7.95 fare BEFORE leaving the airport proper.  But, hey, we made the decision and had no one to blame.  I think cab fare was close to $36 plus tip to Homewood Suites.  DH had snagged an online deal with them a few months earlier.  We hit the hotel around 9:30. Check in was easy... no one else waiting.  We asked about a restaurant as we had skipped dinner. The young woman told us to drop our bags and run next door to the Hilton Garden Inn who had a small restaurant open until 10 am.  We did just that.  Let me tell you, that cheeseburger and fries we split was mightly good.  The Hilton was making bank on all the folks coming in for "dinner".  They kept serving and did not close at 10.   

Musings from Day 1:  You can't plan for everything no matter how hard you try.  Be flexible and keep your ears open to those around you.   We live in a small town.  Our small airport is a great stage for people to just "talk" while waiting and worrying about their flight.  We were able to remember lots of names of people to pray for as they expressed concerns not only of their trip or their life.  None of them knew DH was a pastor.  ( hope it is OK to say that here; you can substitue "good thoughts " for "prayer" )  

Day 2 to follow in separate post. 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2023 by MtnSeaGirl

[MtnSeaGirl]

Day 2:

GOOOOOD Morning, Miiiiaammmiiii!  Nice to see ya!  What a beautiful day...a WARM day...after a very cool Virginia spring.  My arthritis is liking this weather already.  We went down for a nice breakfast in the hotel.  We don't normally eat breakfast the day we baord the ship...but...well...it looked and smelled really good.   It was!  

We then had our first ever experience with an Uber.  Remember, we live in a small town.  We don't usually uber.  But, Uber we did.  It was super easy....even for us older, country folk.  Can't believe I worried about it.  We were only 10 minutes from the cruise terminal with an arrival time of 10:00 - 10:30 for Carnival check in.  We left in more than enough time - around 9:30.  Who would have ever THUNK that there were 7 or 8 ships in port that same day???  Even the Uber driver was going nuts as the police made the drivers go all the way down, all the way back up, all the way back down again, and then up to the ship.  We thought we would be 20 minutes or so early.  We arrived a little after 10.  We felt so bad for the driver that we gave him more than double the tip. 

Note to those who have not cruised in a while from Miami:  You drop your luggage on the left side of the lanes, not the side with the ship on it. Seriouisly,  there is a porter in between lanes of traffic.  He takes your bags and puts them on a cart.  You then had to cross over to the building side to get in line.  As we were within our window of check in, we literally walked in with maybe 3  people ahead of us.  There was a separate line for folks who arrived late or earlier than their time.  They fed those people thru when the "on time" line was not busy.  We went thru slick as a button.  Got to see the Carnival Dock Doggie, gave us a good sniff, and we kept on going.  We went upstiars to wait for our boarding number of A6.  We are only one more 8 day cruise to Platinum.  Platinum boarded maybe 10 minutes before we did. They were rolling us on.  

The Horizon is the largest ship we have been on.  It is not the biggest, but it was our biggest.  We have been on the Freedom 3x, Glory 2x, Miracle and the Legend.  The Horizon was different in a good way.  I will always like the smaller ships, but this one was pretty cool.  The Serenity area seems larger.  Loved the two spas.  Later in the cruise we watched the sun set while in one spa and the full moon rise from the opposite spa.  Deck 5 is a lovely sitting area for those like myself who don't need a lot of sun but enjoy being out on the deck. So many seating areas with shade.  ( I burn super easy).  The upcharge restaurants were a nice option, especially on week 2.  The DREAMSCAPES were awesome.  I feel in love with those.  Dreamscapes replaced the main atrium bling.  It looks like a floor to ceiling martini glass that has computer generated scene changes.  They changed each day and appeared on Deck 3 in the main area as well as the casino area.  

The only real negative I had for boarding is that the slides were not open. In the past, we always did our slipping and sliding while everyone else was eating as we boarded early.  That's OK. We spent a little time in the Serenity area being totally lazy.   We stopped by Guys Pig and Anchor for a nibble of BBQ before going ot our room.  It was OK, but DH is from Texas where the BBQ is tough to beat.  

It was soon time to check out our room. Did we make a mistake booking it????? The door to the hallway is finally opened....we walk all the way to the front of the ship....we open the door to our interior room # 7201.....we GRIN!  We had booked the room on the front right of the ship.  It is a corner room, but not handicapped.  The bath is not accessible.  There is a square supporting beam next to the bed, but we love the room.  MUCH more floor space even though the lay out is different from most interiors. One less closet, but WE HAVE A WINDOW!!!!  Not bad for an interior.  DH's CPAP extension cord is there, our water/Pepsi Free has been delivered,  our luggage is outside the door,  Off to a great start!  Instead of unpacking we go out on the "Secret Deck" of which we now have a view.  WE LOVE THAT DECK.  It is perfect for doing stretches to get old arthur to going in the mornings.  Even a good place to get in a little senior yoga wihtout the rest of the ship laughing at you.  Figured the Bridge needed a good laugh.  I was game.  We had such a great time going out on that deck.  Some nights to see the stars, sunsets, just get away from people.

Cuzin' Cookie was soon on the airways telling us about the safety drills.  He is , hands down, the best CD in the business.  Anyone who can make me laugh outload is pretty dang good.  "If you see someone go overboard, yell 'Man overboard, Man overboard.....Sweet Baby Jesus, Man Overboard".  This guy had me in stitches the entire two weeks. 

The safety drill is a piece of cake.  So easy. Show up, scan your card, listen to a three minute presentation which you can actually see as they are on a stage, and you are good to go.  Relatively painless. 

After poking our heads here and there pretty much all over the ship, it is time for dinner.  We chose MTD.  We like the way the Carnival App allows you to check in when you are ready. You don't need to stand around waiting or be assigned a little  pager gizmo that alerts you when your table is ready.  You rec a message on your Carnival app that your table has been assigned.  They will hold your table 10 minutes giving you plenty of time to get there. They tell you deck 3 or deck 4 ( changes each evening  for MTD ).  You resond via app you are on your way.  You get there and bypass all those that are standing around waiting for a table as they did not use their app to check in; they are waiting to be seated.  The staff was very very very patiently teaching people to use their app.  You could see the frustration on the faces of the cruisers.  Cuzin Cookie explained all this...just saying.. 

Dinner was actually quite tasty that evening.  They always have a hard time with understanding I enjoy decaf coffee WITH my meal, not just with dessert, but they got the lime in the water part right.   The portions were nice sized.  THh one thing we noticed is that you used to be able to order a baked tater, broccoli, etc with an entree. Now, the veggies with the meal is what you get.  It was fine. The menus for each evening are on your Carnival app.  Paper menues if you insist.  I prefer not to have to keep my phone with me, but it was easy to fip thru the Carnival app to see what activities were going on, what times, what each restaurant had for lunch, dinner, etc. Pretty nice to be honest.  

As we were pretty tired from the day before and all the excitement of the day, we retired to our cabin shortly afterwards.  Met Jose our Cabin Steward.  He was THE BEST!!!!  We spent some time on the secret deck watching the sunset.  Soon it was time to return to our room and be lulled to sleep with a little movement of the ship

End of Day 2.  

[ZoeyVictoria]

I am interested in reading your review, but the font makes it impossible. It probably looks different to you, but this is what I see on an iPad Pro:

 

 

[Blessed2Cruz]

The font is really hard to read 

[MtnSeaGirl]

Day #3

Up and around by 6:30 to get a good cup of Joe and see a sunrise at sea.  Enjoyed some Serenity Deck time being lazy before Sea Day Brunch.  Sea Day Brunch had been one of our favs pre Covid.  It was a bust this time.  Always loved the steak and eggs.  I had read going into breakfast that the steak was not so good. Whoever posteded that was right on the money.  It was indeed pretty bad.  Thin, not a good taste, typical post Covid flub.  We have them everywhere lately.  That's OK.  Carnival has tons of eating venues.  Not going to let it ruin my day.  I  have those days in my own kitchen at home as well.

The day was beautiful so we spent it outside.  Two hours of sun....the rest in the shade on deck 5.  From there, you can hear the trivia game without having to go inside to play.  If that becomes an annoyance, just move on up a few more seats out of earshot.   We loved the cushions on Deck 5.  Took several naps out there durign our two weeks.  My only complaint is the plexiglass.  I LOVE the sparkling sapphire water when we get to the right ocean depth.  It is insanely beautiful . The plexiglass keeps you from seeing the true color.  You have to go up to Deck 10 or higher to see the actual water without  plexiglass. Dang the need for safety plexiglass.  But, it keeps everyone safe from falling overboard.  

We were getting hungry after a while ( What is it with the sea air? At work I skip meals. Here, I'm starving all the time ).   We roll up to the Captains Pasta Bar.  It is free for lunch on seadays.  I get the lasanga. Well, bless my britches.  It is GOOD!  At home , we make lasagna with hamburger. This is made with a chunck of beef. REAL GOOD BEEF.  Better than my lasagna, and I cook pretty well.  A tad more sauce, and I would be in heaven.  DH had the Chicken Alfredo.  Needed more garlic, but not bad. ( I know, they have to go a little bland to suit the masses ).  But, the lasagna was pure heaven. 

The afternoon was spent with DH on the skyride, playing pool (he is a shark at pool; was not always a pastor  LOL  ), making a $ 20 donation to the casino, etc etc etc. 

As it was elegant night, we gussied up a bit and strolled to the MDR later in the evening.  The filet was more like a roast; tender but not grilled like at home.  Not complaining. Just saying it was different.  The only downner we had was I lost a bracelet that night. On our cancer celebration cruise I had picked up a little cuff bracelet for something like $12.  It wasn't even sterling or anything like that.  Down in Mexico somewhere, blue inlay, white Mother of Pearl flower (probably immitation), but it was pretty and it was mine.  I only wore it on special occasions...like a cruise....  I did not realize it had slipped off my arm until later.  No one turned it in that week or the next week.  I sure did hate that. I should have been more careful.  My fault.  I just hate it just the same.  It was special to me.  

We went to the show that evening. One of the dancers got hurt. I saw one of the guys carrying her offstage during one of the songs. It happened so fast, if you had blinked you would have missed it. No idea what happened; only she was carried off much like it was part of the act, and she did not show up again until later or maybe the next week.  I forgot which.  I was able to ask about her to one of the dancers the following morning at breakfast.  He could not say anything of course, nor did I really ask.  Just said I hoped she would be OK. He said she would. 

It was then time to go out on the front of deck 7 to gaze at the cresent moon before turing in for the  night.  

Day 3 - Jamacia will be  tomorrow 

Edited May 30, 2023 by MtnSeaGirl

[MtnSeaGirl]

Ty for the font feedback.  It is in Cosmic Sands. Was able to edit day 3 but cannot edit days 1 and 2 for some reason.  Will keep trying.  

 

[MtnSeaGirl]

More than one way to skin a cat. Copied and pasted to Word, enlarged, then pasted here as could not edit font  days 1 and 2 .

Hello Cruise Critic World! 

 

A few musings from our first B2B cruise.  Few details on us. :We are simple, no frill people.  We like what we like and are not normally hard to please.  But, we are human from time to time and get annoyed with things like we all can.  You will see that in this review.  We are both fairly close to retirement age.  I work at a local Dept of Social Services where we have been overwhelmed with applications for benefits the past 3 yrs.  Just means I was  pretty tired going into this vaca.  DH is a pastor of a small county church. 2021 saw us losing a lot of beloved older members dueto COVID.  DH was more than ready for time away form the rest of the world....no phones...no Emergency Rooms...no funeral homes.....  

 

Cruising is something we have to save for and plan well.  Planning is part of the fun!  We began planning our 30th anniv cruise almost two years ago.  We had that fabulous onboard credit from a cancelled cruise during 2020.  The credit, along with rock bottom pricing, allowed us to achieve the dream of a 2 week cruise on our special day.  We explored Journey crusises, but we settle on the fun of everyone else having to set out luggage/leave the ship while we stayed for another week. We always wondered what that would feel like...I can tell you now:  pretty dang good!!!  I do believe I am spoiled for life....

 

Getting to Port:  This was our 8th and 9th cruise with Carnival. Our first was an 8 day back in 2008 and was a cancer celebration cruise for me and one of our church members.  We found cruising to be the ultimate disconnect for us.  We truly feel on vaca on a cruise.  No phone calls at all...we don't even check email......LOL.   We have always driven the 12 to 14 hours + stops to Florida.   This time we decided to celebrate in style and fly.  We knew to fly in a day early.  Ironically, I had read a CC review a week or so before our flight in which a few cruisers had expressed an opinion that one day is not always early enough.  Some of you disagreeded ratherly heatedly with them...after our hectic flight to Miami...I am inclined to be "onboard" with those wise cruisers who fly in two days early.  😀  I should have known the day of our flight was the day most every airport on the East Coast shut down due to severe thunderstorms. Our flight left 3 hours late.  Before we left, we knew we were missing our connecting flight as the 2.5 hour layover we had we not enough.  The young man working the counter was a God send though.  After telling me there were no more flights from our connecting airpot ( Charlotte NC ) to Miami on Sat evening or even Sun morning, this young man kept hitting refresh until he found two seats on a plane (someone had just cancelled).  I was about ready to call our son to bring me the car for a mad all night dash to Miami when we finally took off around 2 pm.  We arrived at Charlotte later than we were originally to have arrived at Miami, but we were on our way....only to have another long delay.  But...we made it to Miami at 8:30 pm.  We were so tired we forwent the free shuttle to the hotel ( such a long line with all the planes that had been stacked up waiting to land in Miami which was having ANOTHER storm as we arrived there ).   We were grateful to climb into a cab.  Our eyes spun a little when we realized we had already a $ 7.95 fare BEFORE leaving the airport proper.  But, hey, we made the decision and had no one to blame.  I think cab fare was close to $36 plus tip to Homewood Suites.  DH had snagged an online deal with them a few months earlier.  We hit the hotel around 9:30. Check in was easy... no one else waiting.  We asked about a restaurant as we had skipped dinner. The young woman told us to drop our bags and run next door to the Hilton Garden Inn who had a small restaurant open until 10 am.  We did just that.  Let me tell you, that cheeseburger and fries we split was mightly good.  The Hilton was making bank on all the folks coming in for "dinner".  They kept serving and did not close at 10.  

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Great start, thank you! 

 

We sail on Horizon very soon,  so we are very much looking forward to reading more! 

[MtnSeaGirl]

Day 2:

GOOOOOD Morning, Miiiiaammmiiii!  Nice to see ya!  What a beautiful day...a WARM day...after a very cool Virginia spring.  My arthritis is liking this weather already.  We went down for a nice breakfast in the hotel.  We don't normally eat breakfast the day we baord the ship...but...well...it looked and smelled really good.   It was!  

We then had our first ever experience with an Uber.  Remember, we live in a small town.  We don't usually uber.  But, Uber we did.  It was super easy....even for us older, country folk.  Can't believe I worried about it.  We were only 10 minutes from the cruise terminal with an arrival time of 10:00 - 10:30 for Carnival check in.  We left in more than enough time - around 9:30.  Who would have ever THUNK that there were 7 or 8 ships in port that same day???  Even the Uber driver was going nuts as the police made the drivers go all the way down, all the way back up, all the way back down again, and then up to the ship.  We thought we would be 20 minutes or so early.  We arrived a little after 10.  We felt so bad for the driver that we gave him more than double the tip. 

Note to those who have not cruised in a while from Miami:  You drop your luggage on the left side of the lanes, not the side with the ship on it. Seriouisly,  there is a porter in between lanes of traffic.  He takes your bags and puts them on a cart.  You then had to cross over to the building side to get in line.  As we were within our window of check in, we literally walked in with maybe 3  people ahead of us.  There was a separate line for folks who arrived late or earlier than their time.  They fed those people thru when the "on time" line was not busy.  We went thru slick as a button.  Got to see the Carnival Dock Doggie, gave us a good sniff, and we kept on going.  We went upstiars to wait for our boarding number of A6.  We are only one more 8 day cruise to Platinum.  Platinum boarded maybe 10 minutes before we did. They were rolling us on.  

The Horizon is the largest ship we have been on.  It is not the biggest, but it was our biggest.  We have been on the Freedom 3x, Glory 2x, Miracle and the Legend.  The Horizon was different in a good way.  I will always like the smaller ships, but this one was pretty cool.  The Serenity area seems larger.  Loved the two spas.  Later in the cruise we watched the sun set while in one spa and the full moon rise from the opposite spa.  Deck 5 is a lovely sitting area for those like myself who don't need a lot of sun but enjoy being out on the deck. So many seating areas with shade.  ( I burn super easy).  The upcharge restaurants were a nice option, especially on week 2.  The DREAMSCAPES were awesome.  I feel in love with those.  Dreamscapes replaced the main atrium bling.  It looks like a floor to ceiling martini glass that has computer generated scene changes.  They changed each day and appeared on Deck 3 in the main area as well as the casino area.  

The only real negative I had for boarding is that the slides were not open. In the past, we always did our slipping and sliding while everyone else was eating as we boarded early.  That's OK. We spent a little time in the Serenity area being totally lazy.   We stopped by Guys Pig and Anchor for a nibble of BBQ before going ot our room.  It was OK, but DH is from Texas where the BBQ is tough to beat.  

It was soon time to check out our room. Did we make a mistake booking it????? The door to the hallway is finally opened....we walk all the way to the front of the ship....we open the door to our interior room # 7201.....we GRIN!  We had booked the room on the front right of the ship.  It is a corner room, but not handicapped.  The bath is not accessible.  There is a square supporting beam next to the bed, but we love the room.  MUCH more floor space even though the lay out is different from most interiors. One less closet, but WE HAVE A WINDOW!!!!  Not bad for an interior.  DH's CPAP extension cord is there, our water/Pepsi Free has been delivered,  our luggage is outside the door,  Off to a great start!  Instead of unpacking we go out on the "Secret Deck" of which we now have a view.  WE LOVE THAT DECK.  It is perfect for doing stretches to get old arthur to going in the mornings.  Even a good place to get in a little senior yoga wihtout the rest of the ship laughing at you.  Figured the Bridge needed a good laugh.  I was game.  We had such a great time going out on that deck.  Some nights to see the stars, sunsets, just get away from people.

Cuzin' Cookie was soon on the airways telling us about the safety drills.  He is , hands down, the best CD in the business.  Anyone who can make me laugh outload is pretty dang good.  "If you see someone go overboard, yell 'Man overboard, Man overboard.....Sweet Baby Jesus, Man Overboard".  This guy had me in stitches the entire two weeks. 

The safety drill is a piece of cake.  So easy. Show up, scan your card, listen to a three minute presentation which you can actually see as they are on a stage, and you are good to go.  Relatively painless. 

After poking our heads here and there pretty much all over the ship, it is time for dinner.  We chose MTD.  We like the way the Carnival App allows you to check in when you are ready. You don't need to stand around waiting or be assigned a little  pager gizmo that alerts you when your table is ready.  You rec a message on your Carnival app that your table has been assigned.  They will hold your table 10 minutes giving you plenty of time to get there. They tell you deck 3 or deck 4 ( changes each evening  for MTD ).  You resond via app you are on your way.  You get there and bypass all those that are standing around waiting for a table as they did not use their app to check in; they are waiting to be seated.  The staff was very very very patiently teaching people to use their app.  You could see the frustration on the faces of the cruisers.  Cuzin Cookie explained all this...just saying.. 

Dinner was actually quite tasty that evening.  They always have a hard time with understanding I enjoy decaf coffee WITH my meal, not just with dessert, but they got the lime in the water part right.   The portions were nice sized.  THh one thing we noticed is that you used to be able to order a baked tater, broccoli, etc with an entree. Now, the veggies with the meal is what you get.  It was fine. The menus for each evening are on your Carnival app.  Paper menues if you insist.  I prefer not to have to keep my phone with me, but it was easy to fip thru the Carnival app to see what activities were going on, what times, what each restaurant had for lunch, dinner, etc. Pretty nice to be honest.  

As we were pretty tired from the day before and all the excitement of the day, we retired to our cabin shortly afterwards.  Met Jose our Cabin Steward.  He was THE BEST!!!!  We spent some time on the secret deck watching the sunset.  Soon it was time to return to our room and be lulled to sleep with a little movement of the ship

End of Day 2.  
 

[DanvilleCruiser]

Thanks for changing the font.  Love the review so far and looking forward to the rest.

[MtnSeaGirl]

Vaca Day #4, Cruise Day #3 Jamacia

Beaitiful sunrise!  Beautiful water!  Beautiful Jamaican Beach!   DH and I had read several comments concerning Jamacia.  We had been undecided about getting off the ship.  Things have a way of working out.  DH had a dental appt a week before we left:  the dentist's mom lives in Ocho Rios.  How cool is that?!!!  He gave some good tips...that we did not follow, BUT it allowed us to feel good enough about the port to get off the ship.  

The port is super easy.  The ship docks; you walk down the pier; you walk past the official gate; you turn right to go to Marguerittaville or you turn left and make a hairpin turn to walk along side the water along a small marina until you reach Ocho Rios Bay Beach.  In less than 10 minutes, you are there WITHIN full sight of the cruise ship.  Maybe it was not the Jamaican Adventure of hiking the falls, zip lining, etc that you crave, but for us, it was PERFECT.  The beach is a gated public beach that costs a whopping $ 3 pp.  Chairs/umbrella extra, but I do not recall the price. It was miminal I think.  We passed on the chairs/umbrella as we knew we wanted to play in the BEAUTIFUL baby blue water and would only be out a couple of hours.  It was a hot day, and the water felt delicious. 

The beach connects to a few resorts on the opposite side of the very small bay.  I did not walk quite all the way up to them.  We had no problem with anyone bothering us, trying to sell us anything after we put our stuff down.  One individual at the gate asked if we wanted to buy some weed.  We politely declined and kept walking.  No one even came near our stuff on the beach. We kept an eye out, and there were other cruisers on the beach as well.  The water was very calm and great for the kids/families there.  

We stayed a couple hours as planned and went to do a little shopping.  We first went to some of the shops outside the tourist area.  Not a big fan.  Lots of tradiation touristy stuff and several people asking you about taking their shore excursion. We did get to try Jamacian coffee, but it was not the famous Blue Mountain coffee and not that good.  We decided to retreat back behind the fence to the vendors who set tents up with their wares.  It was hot by that time, I was hungry, and I needed to pick up a few treats for the gals on my team at work.  They love when we cruise.  We found wooden turtles that were painted in Jamacian colors.  $ 20 a  piece.  Nope, keep walking.  Price kept going down.  One vendor was a little rude.  I don't do rude.  I walked past several more vendors.  This guy was willing to deal.  We made a deal that was pretty dang good. He was happy, he even carved the name of each coworker on the belly of the turtle.  I got all 8 with names on them for less than 2 turtles.  I was so thrilled I tipped him. I must be insane, but he was great to carve the names on them ( his idea, not mine to carve the names ).  And, I knew COVID was hard on the vendors. I felt he actually charged less than he should have. 

We went aboard the ship for lunch, played in the pool, enjoyed the ship. 

Dinner that evening after sail away was at Ji Jis. It is $18 pp and worth it.  I highly recommend checking it out.  Then it was time to settle down for a nice movie under the stars...not....let me regress a little.

A lot of the passengers preferred to hug the shade during the day and hug the pool at night. It was easy during the six day cruise to find a lounger...at the pool...in the middle of the day.  However, the pool was packed at night, and the pool noise was pretty loud.  Not complaining as they got to do their thing just like I got to do my thing.   Black Adam was the movie that evening.  We are huge Dwayne "THE ROCK" Johnson fans.   Even he could not get above the noise.  But, hey, no problem as the movie was on again next week and we were able to finish it. 

One thing about the Horizon.  I did not upload pics.  Another poster does such an amazing job that it would be pointless  Jam man 54 I believe is his handle.  His wife took tons of pics in 2021 or 2022 on the Horizon.  I would encourage you to pull his reviews.  I looked at the pics tons of times so by the time I hit the ship, I felt we were old friends.    Cruise Ship Deck Plans also helps you orient to what is where before you board.  I like to know where I'm going.    I will say the nice Beach theme was refreshing from the typical orange everywhere.  The slatted wood around the doors seem a nice touch in the cabin hallways.  I do not understand the  70s tile public baths though.  I realize they were trying for a beach theme, but every time I popped into a blue tile, greeen tile, or yellow tile bath I had visions of the 70s.  

Next time: We went to Hell and Back... in Grand Cayman.  

[MtnSeaGirl]

Cruise Day #4  Hell and Back 

One thing I left out about Day 3.  There was not a cloud in the sky the evening.  We sat on the bench at the front of the ship on the "Secret Deck" for over 2 hours watching the sunset that just would not quit. Talk about peace and quiet.  Not a soul came out the entire time.  Just us and a light breeze.  INCREDIBLE.  We popped out on the deck again around midnight to see a pretty awesome display of stars as there was no light around except very dim light from the Bridge.  It was hard to go back inside with that view.

Grand Cayman - This was our third trip to Cayman.  The first one rained  buckets.  The second was a delightful trip to Stingray City.  This time we took a bus to hell....literally.  

The wait to tender was not so bad as we were ready to hit the stairs early.  We waited so we did not make the naughty list, but as soon as they let us go, we were gone.  Didn't know I could move that fast. Super easy as we moved behind some nice folks from FL ( formerly NH ) who had their scuba gear clearing the way.  I don't particularly like tender ports.  Love the  boat ride; dislike things out of my control.  But tender we did.

The ride was smooth, the exit out of the port seemless, straight down the street, hook a right at hit the local bus stop.  For the low, low price of $ 2.50 we were able to take the local bus to Hell.  The bus is actually a modified 14 passenger van.  The modification allows for a shorter bench seat and one side seat so people can get on and off easier. Most of the riders were daily riders in which the driver knew them by name and where he needed to stop.  I do want to shout out a huge THANK YOU to the sweet cruisers from KY who helped me get on the right bus.  Surely helps to get on the right bus when going to Hell, whether in a handbasket or not.  

Hell is a pure tourist trap for sure. Yet, we enjoyed it.  We bought the obligatory post cards even mailing some back home.  I loved the one I sent to work "  I'd rather be in HELL than at work...Hell, Grand Cayman".   You have to have a wicked sense of humor and a lot of guts to mail that one.  Gotta watch us quiet people.

We were greated by the Devil, himself, who turned out to be a rather nice grandfatherly  man.  He and his former wife started the little gift shop years ago.  It just happens to be an official post office with the actual name of the town being Hell.  Who else can say they went to Hell and Back and survived the trip????!!!

We caught another local bus for the low fare of $ 2.50 to Seven Mile Beach.  It was a short ride away.  The beach we had read about and the KY couple also thought was good was Public Beach. There are facilities, chairs, umbrellas, and a lot of food trucks.  Most of you already know how the storms has hit 7 Mile really hard.  They are trying to rebuild.  The sand was great, the water beautiful, and some type of meat/cheese turnover thing was outstanding.  So was the Mahi Mahi.  No shame in my game. I'll eat off a food truck.  They are trying to make a buck.  Long lines, and when the locals are also in line, I'm Ok to be right there with them. 

All too soon it was time to return to the  ship.   Another local "bus" actually backed back from the stop he had left to pick us up.  He could have kept going as we clearly were not there yet.  He chose not to and waited for us.  WOW.  Tendering back was no problem. We were onboard an hour or so before we had to return so no stress.  

Coming next is Cozumel
 

 

[Mycykfamilytime]

Loving this review!  I love your positive outlook and you and your husband seem to have such a lovely relationship.  I knew I would like you when you said you wanted to hit the Waterslides! 

[pcvtmom]

I'm thoroughly enjoying your review! I've been on the Horizon once, January 2022, and will be on her again in a week and a half (EEK!), with my adult kids, their spouses, my husband, and all 4 of our grandchildren (ages 7, 6, and two 2's!). We, too, are from rural Virginia (the Shenandoah Valley, to be exact). Your trip report is getting me pumped!

[jeblack1]

15 hours ago, pcvtmom said:

I'm thoroughly enjoying your review! I've been on the Horizon once, January 2022, and will be on her again in a week and a half (EEK!), with my adult kids, their spouses, my husband, and all 4 of our grandchildren (ages 7, 6, and two 2's!). We, too, are from rural Virginia (the Shenandoah Valley, to be exact). Your trip report is getting me pumped!

Week and a half?   You must be on the same cruise we are!   Also enjoying the review!

[MtnSeaGirl]

On 5/30/2023 at 7:53 PM, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

Great start, thank you! 

 

We sail on Horizon very soon,  so we are very much looking forward to reading more! 

Thank you!  We enjoyed our cruise.  The Horizon is a little hard to get used to at first.  A bit choppy like many ships are now.  You have to go up or down to get anywhere.  Yet, she did a great job getting us where we wanted to go.  

[MtnSeaGirl]

23 hours ago, Mycykfamilytime said:

Loving this review!  I love your positive outlook and you and your husband seem to have such a lovely relationship.  I knew I would like you when you said you wanted to hit the Waterslides! 

Hey, no shame in my  game.  We board the ships ready to have fun. DH has his swim trunks on with a cool Tee.  I'm rocking my old lady swim dress with a cover.  Grab a chair, hit the slides if they are open, and generally begin relaxing while everyone else is boarding, eating, etc. It's Day #1. Not going to waste a moment.  

[MtnSeaGirl]

21 hours ago, pcvtmom said:

I'm thoroughly enjoying your review! I've been on the Horizon once, January 2022, and will be on her again in a week and a half (EEK!), with my adult kids, their spouses, my husband, and all 4 of our grandchildren (ages 7, 6, and two 2's!). We, too, are from rural Virginia (the Shenandoah Valley, to be exact). Your trip report is getting me pumped!

Howdy, Neighbor!  We often hit Lexington and cruise up Hwy 11 for a day outing.  Beautiful country over that way.  

[MtnSeaGirl]

Cruise Day #5   Down in Ole Mexico

We woke to beautiful skies, but a pretty stiff wind.  The "secret deck" had been closed the evening before due to wind.  And yes, we found our cabin a little noisy when the waves hit the ship.  We did not think the waves were that high, but that wind...

We had made day reservations at Nachi Cocom which is our go to in Cozumel.  However, one look at that wind kicking up sand on the shores made us rethink that plan.  Rather lose the $24 deposit than sink additional in for a day that may not be what we want. So, we did the tourist walk around the port picking up odd and ends....searching for my favorite vanilla for baking.  Finally found it along with a couple of $1 hand held fans that woud be cute for a friend.  

DH said he read where it was only a 15 minute walk from the port to downtown Cozumel.  I need to find the person who said that. He/she and I need to have a little discussion.  Maybe it is a 15 jog, a 15 minute scooter ride....it is NOt a 15 minute walk.  And that wind??  Why, I could not have found a breath of air if I had tried.  It is actually funny as I write this. I always say that if it can go wrong, it will, and to me...my picture is surely in Websters under Murphy's Law  LOL  So, we walked and we walked and we walked until we arrived.  Just so you know, there was a family who  got off a RC Ship who walked with a little boy. We were about the same speed.  I think they passed us....

We finally made it.  Stuck our heads in a few shops we hit the first Cozumel trip.  Reminised a little as our youngest was only 8 that year...he graduated college last year....  

DH was hungry.  I was tired and HOT.  We found an open air restaurnat that looked good. Las Palmeras.  We were directed to a table.  We order bottled water to begin as our water ran out on the walk.  I rummaged thru our bags to find one of the $1 fans I had bought earlier and betgan to fan.  We must have looked like a hot mess as two waiters came over, asked us to stand up, they MOVED our table a few feet under one of their ceiling fans, brought over a hat rack to hang our hats and bags on.  I guess they were afraid we would pass out or something, but we found it incredibly sweet of them.  The food there was REALLY REALLY good.  We ordered a plate for 2 to share. It was more like a plate for 4.  Way too much food for us to eat for the eqivalent of $39 US including with one drink, two glass bottled waters, tax/tip.  It was worth every penny and then some.  We decided to take a taxi back after hitting some of the tent vendors.

Maybe we made a bad decision to miss Nachi Cocom, but I have to admit the food we had was outstanding, and we had a cute story to tell the boys when we got home.  Can't leave parents on their own....is what they are probably saying.     

 

[MtnSeaGirl]

Cruise Day #6  Sailing The Clear Blue Sea

What a wonderful day we had just chilling. The best part is that we did not have to pack our bags!  We were staying in the same cabin.  DH had turned down several upgrades ( not free ) so we could remain in one cabin for both weeks.  

We tried Guys Pig and Anchor that evening. We had not been keen on them for sea day lunch.  So glad we tried them again as they have a killer brisket.  Texan approved!!!  The mashed taters with gravy was pretty tasty also.  They called it red eye gravy. For you country folks like myself, it was not made with ham drippings and coffee.  This was more like a very tasty brown gravy.  Call it whatever they want.  It was good.   A guy playing guitar was OK, not great.  But, as I can't sing, I can't complain.  

After dinner we found the 3 violin players near the main Dreamscape.  It is not Celestrial Strings; I forgot their name. It is a young guy and gal with a bit older gent.  They are FANTASTIC.  They can play classical, 70s and 80s rock, as well as country.  I wish they had been in the theater.  People were just standing on all three decks where the music wafts up.  There were not enough seats available in the sitting areas to hold those wanting to listen to these guys.  I think this was the 3rd time we heard them. Each evening was a different gendra of music.  Each evening was flawless.  The younger guy often walked out among the cruisers playing.  The violins are electric.  The sound is amazing.  

Which brings me back to a few last things of the six day cruise.

The entertainment - the violin folks need a promotion. They are the real deal.  The performers in the shows, not so much. I will freely admit I miss the days of Carnival shows like the one in which was like a dozen or more singers/dancers telling a musical story using Beetles Music.  The other one that same cruise was  New Orleans theme. Those were both outstanding.  Shows were not like those several years before the PHE.  We actually walked out of the second show.  Did not wish to be rude; the one voice was so high pitched and so loud, it hurt.  The show was dragging.  And, I LOVE shows. If I walk, it is bad.  The shows were poorly attended each night.  Maybe less than half full on the six day.  

Food - MDR was good on the first week.  One miss but mostly good as ever.  They just rush you.  If you order two appetizers, they bring both at eh same time sitting them on this tiny table for two. Barely finish or maybe don't quite finish and the entree is being placed in front of you.  I am not a fan of 2 or more hour dinners, but please let me finish that yummy West Indian Pumpkin Soup.  It is not like you needed the table. The MDR was only half full as well.  The upcharge restaurants really good.  The Pasta Bar and Ji Jis were good for lunch which is free; you pay at night.  It was a nice break from Lido. Lido lunches became the same over and over and over.  Of course they were not identicial each day but how many ways can you serve rice?  Rice was always the first dish in the line up.  We had fond memories of the Lido before the PHE.  You had one line of maybe 10 - 12 things related to the country of the day.  You had three other buffet lines, two of which were identical and one other foods.  You had the salad bar line, the dessert bar, etc.  This time, you had four small lines of maybe 7 - 9 items each - the first day the lines had diff food ( one was comfort food, one something else ) by the end of the week, it was pretty much both the same.  , two SMALL salad bar lines, a handful of desserts.   This is where Guys, Blue Iguana, and the Deli came in handy.  The Deli always had a LONG line.  They have a killer Cuban.  I think I missed the bigger salad bar the most. Still, I did not get up and make any of the food, and I did not have to wash any of the dishes.  I call that a win win. 

Ice Cream - they even had strawberry a couple days.  Who can argue with that?  Cup or cone, your choice.  

Yes, there were some changes since we last cruised.  I wish there were not as I love my memories, and I love things "the old way".  Unfortunately, nothing stays the same anywhere.  We went out on deck, found the moon, and were thankful we get to stay onboard another week.  Life is good.  

Next up:  Cruise #2 

 

[MtnSeaGirl]

Cruise #2, Day 1 Staying on Board

What a cool experience it was.  As we were remaining in our same cabin, we did not have to do anything except show up in the Reflections Dining Room at 8:30 with our old sail and sign card.  They had coffee, juice, and assorted pasteries.  After the 88 of us gathered, they began to go by each table and "check us out" which means to swipe your old card.  Then, we were given new cards.  After this was done, all 88 of us were taken off the ship, sasheyed by Customs ( not stopping, just wave ), and swipe to get back on with new picture taken.  That's IT! You basically walk down one gangway and back up the other some 100 feet or so apart.    Yes, we had to stay out of our cabin until 1:30  ( not sure what diamond and platinum got to do ).  So, we hit the Serenity Deck for an hour or so of utter peace and quiet.  Got in a little spa time there. 

You DO have to do the second week safety drill, but again, it is swipe your card, smile at the teammember giving you the 3 minute safety briefing.  Decided on a Guys Burger for lunch.  Lounged in the shade a bit on deck 5.  Listened with a smile at all the new folks onboard talking about this or that...like we did last week.   🙂

When we could get back in the cabin, we that way and caught an in room movie...free.  We don't normally watch movies in the room. We are out doing our thing. But, I flipped the TV on just being nosey and they had a lot of free movies to pick from. Some were pay per view, but a dozen or more were free. AC, movie, nap.  Life is really grand.

Decided to try Bonzi Sushi that evening.  Neither of us like Sushi so we can't comment on that, but the food we ordered was GOOD.  I also fell in love that night......with a Tokyo Sangria.  Wish I had eaten there last week.  That is the thing about some of the drinks on the Horizon.  Some are only available at certain restaurants/bars.  That's OK.  I found out you can stop by any time they are open and simply order your drink.  They will happily take your card.  Yes, all drinks and upchare food comes with the standard 18% tax/tip.  You can choose to tip extra or not.  

Next up: More Sea Days...Oh, what to do.  

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

I can't wait until July 8!!!! You're killing me. Now I'm sad we're not doing a b2b.

 

Did you try the Fresh Creations salad bar in Serenity? 

[MtnSeaGirl]

18 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

I can't wait until July 8!!!! You're killing me. Now I'm sad we're not doing a b2b.

 

Did you try the Fresh Creations salad bar in Serenity? 

Enjoy your July 8th sailing adventure!!   Sailing any amount of time is a treat.

Fresh Creations - Yes, we remembered to try it Week 2.  The salad is very good there.  Lots of choices.  There is a large bottle/ container filled with ice water that has orange slices in it which is nice as well.  There is also a bar there.  I would love to tell you I remembered it was there week 1, but I seemed to have lost my brain onboard.  I disconnected so entirely, I think I almost disconnected from the ship.  Just teasing....The Serenity area is very nice.  As we really like seeing the water without plexiglass, we hung out on deck 11 a lot.  There is an area of the sides of Deck 11 that has the old fashioned cables for the railing instead of plexiglass.  Loungers are already there.  As I am truly fascinated with the color of the water when the sun hits it, that seemed to have been "our place" until lunch.  We always seemed to end up on Lido for lunch often forgeting about Fresh Creations on Deck 15, opposite end of the ship.  That is one of the things I would have done differently: more Fresh Creations.  

[MtnSeaGirl]

Week #2, Day 2

Sailing, take me away.... Happy Anniv to us....just a wonderful day on the Carnival Horizon.  Very hot, I mean VERY hot in the sun.  Boy, were the chair hogs out in full force.  Every lounger seemed to be reserved with a towel by 8:30. Good thing we are early risers to see the sun begin the day.  The 8 day cruise seemed to have a totally different type of cruisers.  Pools and chairs solidly packed.  As it was so hot, we gave our loungers away before lunch and enjoyed the day on Deck 5 in the shade.  

The afternoon drifted away with being utterly lazy reading a great book.  What an indulgence to sit and read.  ( exciting people, right???)  We both love to read.  We seem to be in constant motion at home so actually beginning a book and ending a book in a few days is a treat for us.

We ate dinner at Guys Pig and Anchor again that evening.  For $ 20 you get something like an  9 x 12 or larger pan of Brisket, Sausage, Smoked Chicken, pulled pork, corn on the cob.  We ordered a couple veggie sides as well.  Don't forget the 18% tacked on, but to be honest, it was worth it.  

There didn't seem to be anyplace to dance on the Horizon.  I guess that is not a thing on ships anymore.  So, we went out on the secret deck and danced under the stars.  The Bridge had to think ' what is with these old people???  Do you think they hear music in their head?'  I guess after 30 years if you still want to slow dance, it is a good thing.  

 

[MtnSeaGirl]

Week 2, Day 3

Another glorious sea day.  This one began magical for those who got up early.  The towel animals had appeared on LIDO!!!!!!  They were everywhere. It was simply one of the coolest things.  Each cruise week had over 1,000 kiddos on board.  It never really felt that way.  They were not a bother, and we rarely saw a kiddo. We just heard the stats.  Week #1 , the when the towel animals made their appearance, people left them alone for a while. Sure, you may have seen a few blue or yellow Carnival towels draped over a lounger, but no one bothered the towel animals until later in the morning when a lot of the kids had seen them.  It was really cool to stand there and watch the parents/grands bring the kiddos out and see them all grinning ear to ear.  Animals were on the loungers, the bars, along the pool, large animals were greeting you as you  came thru the sliding doors.  I think we enjoyed it as much as the children.  I felt sorry for the kids on Week #2.  People were moving animals off loungers, even walking around with some of the smaller ones ( taking them back to their room maybe?) well before 8:30 am.  But, hey, it is their cruise also, and I'm not the cruise police.  I did shake my head though. It was rather sad after seeing the joy of the kiddos last week.  

We were able to snag two loungers on Deck #11 to "hang out" for a while.  Met some really nice folks.  The chairs were packed super tight that moring.  Maybe 2 to 3 inches apart at best.  I went to get up, and my foot caught. I'm short.  It was hard to get to the end of the chair and then try to stand instead of haivng room to stand from the side.  It was not Carnival's fault, but this chick hit the deck.  Time seems to really slow down when you know you are falling but there is not a thing you can do but hope no one is watching.....I tried to sit up quickly...I looked around...several concerned people are looking my way....so I did the only thing I could think to do.  I quip "Just think; I can do this stunt drinking nothing but ice water."  Everyone laughed and the moment was over.  DH helps me up, he helps me slink off into oblivion where I am super grateful I am a little fluffy. Sure helped cushion that hip. My hip was not my friend for a few days, but it got over it, and life moved on as usual.  

Which brings me to another thought.  We seemed to have been some of the few that actually paid for the cruise.  I think most every one we talked to was on a free cruise.  Don't get me wrong, we were blessed and received good rates. But, I was curious as to HOW so many received free cruises.  Being the person I am, when one particularty friendly and talkative woman was sharing a sunrise with us telling us about her free cruise, her son's free cruise, this was the ( insert number ) cruise she was on this year, I asked her how did she snag those deals.  I was not mean in any way.  I just wanted to know how she did it. Maybe I wanted in on the secret.  She proceeds to tell me that if you throw down $1K in the casino each cruise, they will send you an offer for a free cruise.  She asked if I had spent more than $1K on our cruise and if so, maybe I should consider using the casino to have $1K of fun and get a cruise in return.  She made sense to be honest.  But, I have to admit that I am too scared to try it.  I seem to be the Murphy's Law kind of gal.  I had visions of shelling out $1K and getting  nothing but a nice Carnival Credit Card bill in the mail next month.  For those of you brave souls who can do it, rock on.  I simply don't have that kind of money to play with. I don't resent those who do.  The woman was super super nice. She said sometimes her hubby wins; sometimes he loses.  They get a cruise either way. I hope to see her again on another cruise one day.  

Next time:  Hello, Aruba.  Good to see ya again.