Saint Greg's Carnival Horizon ABC - Live - April 27, 2024

[detroitavant]

We did an AC and RCL skipped B for CocoCay.  We'll be back someday and include B.  Aruba we took the bus the beach and the feedback about the return bus was right, every one was packed and not picking up any passengers.  We ended up finding a van headed back to the port for a couple of bucks.  Glad to see that your Curacao trip includes the flamingos.

 

Around here, recovering the deductible from the other driver is called minitort.  It's an option to have it on your policy to automatically get it, otherwise you have to file for it yourself (small claims).

[TeresaJ]

This is one of my favorite itineraries and ships! Enjoy!

[Jamman54]

Of course we're along for the ride! Be prepared for the heat in the ABC's! 😁

[Harleydidi]

So glad I found this before it was a million pages in!  Have a great cruise and thanks for letting us follow along. 

[LatinaInTexas]

Ready to follow along and see what I missed since I cancelled this ship and itinerary 2 years ago. Happy for this distraction since time seems to be passing in sloth mode. 

[Utenaleina]

This trip is going to be epic! Thank you for letting us follow you along on your adventures. I hope to do the southern Caribbean sometime in the future. 

[lesters]

This is my #1 most favourite cruise of all time - same ship & itinerary a  couple years ago. 

looking forward to reliving it - although we did completely different activities lol

 

Aruba - Eagle Beach morning, lunch, casino visits in Aruba, sunset catamaran 

Bonaire - DH scubaed, then local lunch and walked around

Curaçao - rainy day - walked around on our own and a cab over to an AI we’ve considered booking.  
 

So many amazing things to do and see

[Saint Greg]

2 minutes ago, lesters said:

Aruba - Eagle Beach morning, lunch, casino visits in Aruba, sunset catamaran 

Bonaire - DH scubaed, then local lunch and walked around

Curaçao - rainy day - walked around on our own and a cab over to an AI we’ve considered booking.  
 

So many amazing things to do and see

I may still make it to Eagle Beach. But no scuba, catamarans, or AIs.

[dlphn501]

3 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

Booking

I have been trying to book this itinerary for five years. Back in early 2019 on Carnival Vista I remember Cruise Director Matt Mitchem saying ABC was his favorite. Ever since then I’ve been keeping an eye out for it.

 

Prices on this cruise were typically high. I tried to book it for December 2021 but they wanted about $2,300 just for a basic upper/lower interior. I ended up booking a Western Caribbean cruise on Vista instead.

 

When Carnival had their Spring Sale of 2022, this was the first itinerary I looked for. I ended up booking three cruises during that sale including this one. I was able to get a 4J (interior with a picture window) on deck 9 above the bridge for under $1,000.

 

At the time of booking, I wasn’t looking at the times we were in port. But knowing what I know now I probably would. I’m very happy to be in Aruba and Bonaire from 8am-10pm. We are in Curacao from 8am-5pm.

 

During my research I come across other cruisers who don’t arrive in Aruba until 1:30 or who leave at 3pm. Both of those itineraries would make Aruba more challenging than what I have.

 

Airfare

One thing I like about cruising out of Miami is I know I have two airport options for my favorite airline, Spirit. In this case I’m flying into Fort Lauderdale and out of Miami.

 

Since I’m flying in on the day of the cruise, I wanted the earliest flight possible. That’s a 5am flight from Dallas-Fort Worth that gets me into Fort Lauderdale at 9am. I have a 10:30am arrival time at the port so by the time I collect my bag and catch an Uber/Lyft, it should be about that time. 

 

Frequently with Spirit the flights area early morning and late afternoon. On the return I usually have to wait for a 2 or 3pm flight. This time I was able to get an 11:30am flight out of Miami that will get me back to Dallas at 2pm.

 

The base cost of these flights were $30 and $80. It was a total of $150 after taxes and fees. I always check a bag. Normally I pay $35 each way for that. Now it’s up to $50. That brought my total up to $250.

 

I always do seat upgrades to at least an exit row aisle seat, if not a big front seat. The exit row aisle was $20 one way and $30 the other. That brought my cost up to $300.

 

As usually happens I start looking at that big front seat, which is really a first class seat without the service, and I end up booking it since it’s only another $50 each way. With that I get myself a window seat in the front row of the plane and a big, comfortable seat with an armrest big enough that I don’t have to worry about anyone touching me.

 

That brought my total ticket cost up to $400. But that $400 is for the best seat on the plane with a checked bag. On a higher cost airline that would’ve been the cost of just a basic seat.

 

Onboard Purchases

I loaded this cruise up back in the spring of 2022. I believe that was when they had the 10% spa code that worked for everything. That’s when I added Cheers and Wifi to this cruise.

 

Just before the specialty dinner increase of 2022, I purchased three nights at JiJi and one night in the steakhouse.  I know that’s a lot of JiJi but it is one of my favorite restaurants on Carnival and they only have it on Vista class ships. The last time I had JiJi was December 2021 on Vista. The JiJi dinners cost me $18 each and the steakhouse was $38. I saved about $10 paying with 10% off gift cards. Since then there have been two price increases on specialty dining so JiJi would be $25 and the steakhouse would be $49. 

 

Ports

Aruba

In Aruba I was looking at excursions. There were no excursions that covered everything I wanted to do. One of them did one side. Another did the other side with them overlapping at the lighthouse only.

 

I looked into public transportation. The bus seems to be a decent option. You can buy one way passes or a full day pass. I was considering the full day pass but then I read a review that mentioned they had to wait so long for the city bus that they ended up taking their version of collectivos. Those are vans with “autobus” on them that apparently come around more frequent than the buses but aren’t included in the day pass. I’m a big of the collectivos in Mexico.

 

When I looked deeper into the public transportation it seemed like I was going to have a hard time getting to some of the sites I wanted to see with them. At this point I was considering doing an excursion to one side of the island and public transportation to the other.

 

When my Bonaire planning led me to renting a car, I decided to look into it for Aruba as well. I found a lot of good reviews for Jay’s Car Rental. The prices are about the same as Hertz and while it didn’t show up on the map search, they have a location at the port. I went ahead and reserved with them. $60 for a compact + $10 insurance, but then I got an email from them saying they were sold out.

 

I ended up reserving at the Hertz Renaissance Ocean Suites location which looks to be about a mile from the port. A compact with them was $58 for the day.

 

Bonaire

In Bonaire I decided not to book an excursion. Golf cart rentals are popular there and start at $100-125 for the day. If you want to book one, I recommend doing so at least 6-8 weeks out. That’s how far they are sold out.

 

I started looking into car rentals. There are some local car rental companies right outside of the port. Those started around $70. I ended up booking a compact with Hertz for $50. I booked with the Hertz Divi Flamingo Resort location which is just a five minute walk from the port. Most of the car rental places including another Hertz location are at the airport which is quite a bit further.

 

Curacao

In Curacao there’s a free walking tour that comes highly recommended. I have it booked for 9:30am. The ship sells a walking tour for $35 but I’d rather just give it all to the tour guide. That takes us to noon. At 12:30 I have the Best of the West ship excursion that will get me over to the west side of the island. That tour cost $55. I used onboard credit for it. We should get back to the port at 4pm and back on board is 5pm.

I am doing this sailing on Horizon in August 2025 in a havana cabana!  I just got off Horizon from my first time on her, and I am super excited for that VIP space in the havana pool area!  I already have that walking tour booked in Curacao as well!  I am following along to see how that goes!

We were only in Aruba from 7a-3p this past sailing on Horizon, and we had a 7:30am excursion.  We were also in the worst parking spot at the pier, so when we got back to the ship, we were wayyy too tired to do that walk back down the pier (the Carnival excursion operator on the bus said they would stop at the ship, then drive anyone down the pier that wanted to explore/shop).  I am happy to have 14 hours next time!

[dctravel]

I'm in for following along. It will give me a cruise fix until my next one this summer!

 

On a side note, I got banned from a FB group for sharing a link to your website with the Jubilee menus. Apparently, I missed the part where you aren't allowed to share links to outside sites. Too bad too. Those confused folks could use your website and all of the great information you provide!

[Theosprey247]

We considered this itinerary for our June cruise, but 8 days and only 3 ports was too many sea days for my wife, so we booked AB + 2 stops in DR.  Will be following along. 

[dlphn501]

Just now, Theosprey247 said:

We considered this itinerary for our June cruise, but 8 days and only 3 ports was too many sea days for my wife, so we booked AB + 2 stops in DR.  Will be following along. 

That is the itinerary we just came off earlier in the month.  It was a LOT having 4 back-to-back port days, even though La Romana was a relaxation/port pool day.

[cellfree]

Doing the ABCs in September on Horizon, just booked Curaçao’s “free” Walking Tour, ty @Saint Greg.

[Saint Greg]

30 minutes ago, dctravel said:

On a side note, I got banned from a FB group for sharing a link to your website with the Jubilee menus. Apparently, I missed the part where you aren't allowed to share links to outside sites. Too bad too. Those confused folks could use your website and all of the great information you provide!

Sorry hear that. It may depend on who runs that group and if they have an agenda of their own. Ever since someone stole my comedy schedule I’ve been noticing when I see that particular site posted. There seem to be a slew of accounts that do nothing but post links to that website in a bunch of groups. It’s quite funny.

[mamiamjo]

4 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

This is my 27th cruise, 25th with Carnival, first on Horizon, third time out of Miami, and first time to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao.

 

 

Looking forward to your Live Report! We're on the same itinerary but on the Celebration next month, can't wait!

[Frank12]

Cool! We board Mardi Gras to Mexico and Honduras on the 27th.  This live will give me something to read! 🤣

[BohJang]

Hey Greg - I’m here following. We are doing the ABC’s on Celebrity at the end of June. Looking forward to your suggestions. Have a blast. 

[mamiamjo]

4 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

Booking

I have been trying to book this itinerary for five years. Back in early 2019 on Carnival Vista I remember Cruise Director Matt Mitchem saying ABC was his favorite. Ever since then I’ve been keeping an eye out for it.

 

Prices on this cruise were typically high. I tried to book it for December 2021 but they wanted about $2,300 just for a basic upper/lower interior. I ended up booking a Western Caribbean cruise on Vista instead.

 

When Carnival had their Spring Sale of 2022, this was the first itinerary I looked for. I ended up booking three cruises during that sale including this one. I was able to get a 4J (interior with a picture window) on deck 9 above the bridge for under $1,000.

 

At the time of booking, I wasn’t looking at the times we were in port. But knowing what I know now I probably would. I’m very happy to be in Aruba and Bonaire from 8am-10pm. We are in Curacao from 8am-5pm.

 

During my research I come across other cruisers who don’t arrive in Aruba until 1:30 or who leave at 3pm. Both of those itineraries would make Aruba more challenging than what I have.

 

Airfare

One thing I like about cruising out of Miami is I know I have two airport options for my favorite airline, Spirit. In this case I’m flying into Fort Lauderdale and out of Miami.

 

Since I’m flying in on the day of the cruise, I wanted the earliest flight possible. That’s a 5am flight from Dallas-Fort Worth that gets me into Fort Lauderdale at 9am. I have a 10:30am arrival time at the port so by the time I collect my bag and catch an Uber/Lyft, it should be about that time. 

 

Frequently with Spirit the flights area early morning and late afternoon. On the return I usually have to wait for a 2 or 3pm flight. This time I was able to get an 11:30am flight out of Miami that will get me back to Dallas at 2pm.

 

The base cost of these flights were $30 and $80. It was a total of $150 after taxes and fees. I always check a bag. Normally I pay $35 each way for that. Now it’s up to $50. That brought my total up to $250.

 

I always do seat upgrades to at least an exit row aisle seat, if not a big front seat. The exit row aisle was $20 one way and $30 the other. That brought my cost up to $300.

 

As usually happens I start looking at that big front seat, which is really a first class seat without the service, and I end up booking it since it’s only another $50 each way. With that I get myself a window seat in the front row of the plane and a big, comfortable seat with an armrest big enough that I don’t have to worry about anyone touching me.

 

That brought my total ticket cost up to $400. But that $400 is for the best seat on the plane with a checked bag. On a higher cost airline that would’ve been the cost of just a basic seat.

 

Onboard Purchases

I loaded this cruise up back in the spring of 2022. I believe that was when they had the 10% spa code that worked for everything. That’s when I added Cheers and Wifi to this cruise.

 

Just before the specialty dinner increase of 2022, I purchased three nights at JiJi and one night in the steakhouse.  I know that’s a lot of JiJi but it is one of my favorite restaurants on Carnival and they only have it on Vista class ships. The last time I had JiJi was December 2021 on Vista. The JiJi dinners cost me $18 each and the steakhouse was $38. I saved about $10 paying with 10% off gift cards. Since then there have been two price increases on specialty dining so JiJi would be $25 and the steakhouse would be $49. 

 

Ports

Aruba

In Aruba I was looking at excursions. There were no excursions that covered everything I wanted to do. One of them did one side. Another did the other side with them overlapping at the lighthouse only.

 

I looked into public transportation. The bus seems to be a decent option. You can buy one way passes or a full day pass. I was considering the full day pass but then I read a review that mentioned they had to wait so long for the city bus that they ended up taking their version of collectivos. Those are vans with “autobus” on them that apparently come around more frequent than the buses but aren’t included in the day pass. I’m a big of the collectivos in Mexico.

 

When I looked deeper into the public transportation it seemed like I was going to have a hard time getting to some of the sites I wanted to see with them. At this point I was considering doing an excursion to one side of the island and public transportation to the other.

 

When my Bonaire planning led me to renting a car, I decided to look into it for Aruba as well. I found a lot of good reviews for Jay’s Car Rental. The prices are about the same as Hertz and while it didn’t show up on the map search, they have a location at the port. I went ahead and reserved with them. $60 for a compact + $10 insurance, but then I got an email from them saying they were sold out.

 

I ended up reserving at the Hertz Renaissance Ocean Suites location which looks to be about a mile from the port. A compact with them was $58 for the day.

 

Bonaire

In Bonaire I decided not to book an excursion. Golf cart rentals are popular there and start at $100-125 for the day. If you want to book one, I recommend doing so at least 6-8 weeks out. That’s how far they are sold out.

 

I started looking into car rentals. There are some local car rental companies right outside of the port. Those started around $70. I ended up booking a compact with Hertz for $50. I booked with the Hertz Divi Flamingo Resort location which is just a five minute walk from the port. Most of the car rental places including another Hertz location are at the airport which is quite a bit further.

 

Curacao

In Curacao there’s a free walking tour that comes highly recommended. I have it booked for 9:30am. The ship sells a walking tour for $35 but I’d rather just give it all to the tour guide. That takes us to noon. At 12:30 I have the Best of the West ship excursion that will get me over to the west side of the island. That tour cost $55. I used onboard credit for it. We should get back to the port at 4pm and back on board is 5pm.

Good deal on the cabin and the airfare! We paid about $375 just for Economy seats close to the bathroom (That does include checked bags and assigned seats at least) 🙂

 

Looking forward to your excursions I'm still struggling a bit with ours. We have resort day passes reserved for Aruba and Curacao, nothing yet for Bonaire. We were going to do the golf cart rentals but your are right they book up early. I checked two companies about 6 weeks out and both were sold out (even with just the one ship in port). So we're going to wing it!

[Saint Greg]

3 minutes ago, mamiamjo said:

I checked two companies about 6 weeks out and both were sold out (even with just the one ship in port). So we're going to wing it!

Exactly. I think we’re the only ship in Bonaire and they were all sold out.

[dlphn501]

30 minutes ago, mamiamjo said:

Good deal on the cabin and the airfare! We paid about $375 just for Economy seats close to the bathroom (That does include checked bags and assigned seats at least) 🙂

 

Looking forward to your excursions I'm still struggling a bit with ours. We have resort day passes reserved for Aruba and Curacao, nothing yet for Bonaire. We were going to do the golf cart rentals but your are right they book up early. I checked two companies about 6 weeks out and both were sold out (even with just the one ship in port). So we're going to wing it!

In Bonaire, check out Lady Bellais.  It's the same company that owns the golf carts (Bonaire Cruisers).  This is a rather new excursion for them, but it's snorkeling on their schooner.  They are running on word of mouth/reviews only I believe.  I read about them in a Facebook group.  They have a rope swing they bring out for the 2nd half of the excursion.  They even help the littles that can't quite reach the swing and touch the boat.  Everyone was so professional and helpful!  The boat was so clean!  They were always cleaning up!!  Includes local lunch cooked by captain and his wife, all snorkel equipment if needed, full instructions and tips/tricks, and open bar.  There was even a large group jumping off the top deck of the boat (before they let out the rope swing...no one was allowed to jump off when the rope swing was in action). There was a dance party on the way back with the macarena I think and some other line dances. Everyone from 8-88 had a blast!  At one point I misplaced/lost one of my Carnival beach towels, and told the tour operator about it, and after everyone got off the boat, he brought me my missing towel!  I snorkeled for about 10 mins and then was over it, but I still had a blast. Some folks never even got in the water.

Not a Carnival excursion, but they are very reputable and will get you back on time.  I had a lot of emails back and forth with them before I booked, and they schedule their different excursions based off the ships schedules. Sometimes they have a morning only excursion, sometimes a lunch time one, sometimes they do several.  Ours was at 2pm, but we were in port from 8a-10p.  I think it was less than $200 for 3 of us.  Very easy to find once outside the port area, and that's coming from someone that gets lost walking across the street with a gps.

I didn't come close to 15 drinks that day 😉

[tha sista]

12 minutes ago, dlphn501 said:

In Bonaire, check out Lady Bellais.  It's the same company that owns the golf carts (Bonaire Cruisers).  This is a rather new excursion for them, but it's snorkeling on their schooner.  They are running on word of mouth/reviews only I believe.  I read about them in a Facebook group.  They have a rope swing they bring out for the 2nd half of the excursion.  They even help the littles that can't quite reach the swing and touch the boat.  Everyone was so professional and helpful!  The boat was so clean!  They were always cleaning up!!  Includes local lunch cooked by captain and his wife, all snorkel equipment if needed, full instructions and tips/tricks, and open bar.  There was even a large group jumping off the top deck of the boat (before they let out the rope swing...no one was allowed to jump off when the rope swing was in action). There was a dance party on the way back with the macarena I think and some other line dances. Everyone from 8-88 had a blast!  At one point I misplaced/lost one of my Carnival beach towels, and told the tour operator about it, and after everyone got off the boat, he brought me my missing towel!  I snorkeled for about 10 mins and then was over it, but I still had a blast. Some folks never even got in the water.

Not a Carnival excursion, but they are very reputable and will get you back on time.  I had a lot of emails back and forth with them before I booked, and they schedule their different excursions based off the ships schedules. Sometimes they have a morning only excursion, sometimes a lunch time one, sometimes they do several.  Ours was at 2pm, but we were in port from 8a-10p.  I think it was less than $200 for 3 of us.  Very easy to find once outside the port area, and that's coming from someone that gets lost walking across the street with a gps.

I didn't come close to 15 drinks that day 😉

This sounds awesome!.  I have this itinerary on two different cruises for 2025 and this excursion will be on the shortlist!

[DebOinKC]

Following along! We are are the same ship/itinerary in October. We were on the Horizon last year and went to Aruba and Curacao, and loved both stops. Now looking forward to Bonaire. 

[Jim and Monika]

Looking forward to another Great review Greg

[deladane]

Looking forward to reading your review!  I loved my ABC cruise on Celebrity back in 2018!

[ggooglyboogly]

Following! Thanks for doing this