ksmcdonald

We have 5 sea days on our upcoming 8 day. Which we were kind of looking forward too just relaxing, could care less about the ports this time. Sounds like I might have to be the bad guy and move some towels. Did the area itself seem crowded?

We might not of thought it was crowded but we had our previous sailing in the Havana on the Vista to compare it to. Adding those 18 cabins seems to of made a difference. Or it could of just been more sunbathers on this cruise out of NYC.

We are not port people either. One of our ports were cancelled this trip and we were fine with that. I have to say the pool in the Havana area was never crowded, just the chairs. But not crowded enough to make us not go again! There was only two days we couldn't find a chair, and those were sea days.

Checking back in on this now that the Horizon has been in the Caribbean for a bit. Any reports on how crowded vs in crowded the Havana area is during the day?

We just got off the Horizon June 15th with our room being in Havana section. We found that it was much more crowded than when we sailed the Havana section last year on the Vista. It was very easy for us to compare the two ships Havana area as we sailed Vista the same week in June as we sailed the Horizon this year. Two sea days we could not find a chair/lounger out on the pool deck. Maybe it was just a different crowd this time. We sailed out of NYC (last year we sailed out of Miami).

With that said, we still enjoyed the area! Up on the main pool deck it was total chaos! We walked the Serenity area to check it out and every seat was taken there as well. Same for the aft pool. We were able to get chairs on all the other days, just the two sea days was it difficult. Chair hogs are in full force in the Havana area, same as the main pool!

We did notice that the bartender/waiters were not as attentive as they were on the Vista. Never once did a waiter come and ask if we wanted a drink. We had to go to the bar in order to get anything to drink. Also, on the Vista, the deck guys always called us by name and were very personable, not so much on the Horizon. In some cases, the bartender was down right rude.

We would definitely pay the extra to stay in this area again though.

That's why we're doing the Havana balcony. If chair hogs prevail, we have our swing and lounger. But I would assume, based on Serenity Deck experience, that those big circular loungers are prime chair hog territory. Grab it at 6:30AM and then show up at 3PM for an hour.

Yes, we did use our patio/lanai quite a bit this cruise. Only bad thing is, depending what side of the ship the sun is on, you either get all sun or all shade! And yes, we did get the circular loungers twice, but it was on a port day. When the masses came back on the ship at 3:00 pm, the people who usually had these loungers in the Havana area walked by and looked at us like we were taking their private lounger. It was the same three families that hogged these loungers everyday. (Three loungers in a row. They had to come down early to always get three in a row). They actually got one of the loungers and dragged sitting chairs around their one lounger. We could hear them talking about how they should of saved them all before they went to shore, that way, at 3:00 pm they would have them saved when they got back on board.

Does anyone know how long it takes to eat in the diningroom for dinner time wise? Thanks

We just cruised on Horizon June 5.

The first night it was almost three hours in the dining room. The waiter we had that night was doing everything himself, taking orders, serving drinks, bringing rolls, bringing the entree, doing everything himself.

The next day we got another section and had a serving team of three people that worked together. That dinner only took 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Obviously, with three people, things got done quicker. I did feel sorry for the waiter the first night that was all by himself. Every night there after we got in and out in a timely fashion, but we made sure we requested the same section.

As usual, it would all depend if you had early, late or anytime and how experienced your servers are. As a general rule of thumb, you can also get out quicker depending upon the size of your party. An hour and a half could be the norm, but YMMV.

Very true - party size plays a big part.

For the record, when someone dies on board a ship they bring the body to the last port since there's nothing that can be done. They have "storage facilities" for that. It's much cheaper and a lot less red tape than flying it home, especially from a foreign port. And they wouldn't use the resources of the coast guard unless it was a bona fide emergency.

That is just what people were telling us why we had to turn around. A post above has indicated it was a medical emergency. I know a 93 year old did have a stroke and pass away in her sleep. She fell in the casino, people came and helped her up. She sat in a chair for a bit and then her family took her back to her room. She passed away in her sleep during the night. It was assumed she had a stroke. This happened the same night they announced we had to turn around and head back towards Florida. I thought it was strange that they would fly a body out with a helicopter (at that point it is not an emergency). We were not aware of the 33 year old having appendicitis the same day. Regardless, the turning around caused us to miss our Grand Turk port.

Really disappointing to hear about the crowding of the Havana area on Horizon. There was a lot of speculation that this would be the case with the added cabins. Hopefully its not to bad when we sail in August

It was only on sea days, but that is when we really just wanted to hang out in the Havana area. I know the Horizon did add more cabins to the Havana area than the Vista had. I believe the Vista now added the additional cabins as well. It was mostly the "chair hog" scenario, most of the comfortable big circular loungers just had towels and books on them with no people. And with this area so small, it is very easy to tell if the people are just in the pool. Pool was empty, hot tubs were empty but chairs were all taken with towels. We never had this problem last year on the Vista, always somewhere to sit. This trip we did sit on our private patio more due to the chair situation.

Mudslides consist of Irish cream, Kahlua, vodka, ice cream mix, ice, blended together and put in a chocolate laced glass with optional whipped cream on top. If any bartender gave me something that had fruit in it, I would politely ask to have a discussion with their boss and if there was push back, I would get her name and go to guest services and ask to speak to the head of bar services. Situations like that is what makes the auto gratuity frustrating.

You are correct, I should of pushed it. Looking back, I definitely should of ask to talk to someone else. I had the Cheers so I just thought I would order another mudslide somewhere else. But the more I think about it, I should not of thrown in the towel and given up so fast. I'm normally not a confrontational person.

The menu link is showing prices, are you saying those prices would be N/C if ordered for lunch but a cost for dinner? Seems odd that it would be completely free during the afternoon (but sounds great if it is). Or is a lunch menu more limited?

Lunch is not ordered in the restaurant. Pig and Anchor has a free buffet set up outside the restaurant from noon to 2:30. It doesn’t have everything on the buffet that is on the menu. The buffet has Brisket, pulled pork, chicken, sausage with baked beans, Mac & cheese and coleslaw and potato salad. We did take our plate back in the restaurant and sat at a table. They also have tables outside to sit at. During the evening you order off the menu with a much larger selection.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lunch is free only on sea days? How about embarking day?

Just got off Horizon this morning. It was open on embarking day, that was our first lunch! Yummy!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't get why it's a "state law" thing for Carnival and not NCL. As others have stated, a drink package was good from the minute you board an NCL ship in NYC. (you do pay tax on drinks while in port)

There's got to be more to this.

Horizon is a fabulous ship.

I’ve heard that Carnival is not willing to risk penalty using the loophole that NCL does. NCL did have us pay tax on all drinks while in NY port. Carnival just thinks it is easier to start it the next day.

We just got off the Horizon with the drink package and our first night we had a $99 Bar bill, trying to be very conservative on ordering drinks until day two!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We just got off the Horizon this morning as well. I agree that the service was hit or miss. Our cabin steward was fabulous! Our first night at Any Time Dining we were seated at 6:30 (after waiting 20 minutes on Deck 5 to get our table assignment). We didn’t leave the dining room until almost 9:30. Three hour dinner was not acceptable. The next day we decided to go right when it opened at 5:30 and we were seated in a different section. Excellent service the second night. So we just requested Jose in that section every evening for the rest of the cruise and were beyond happy with our main dining experience.

We stayed in a Havana Cabana (same as last year on the Vista). We did have trouble finding a chairs on two of the sea days. The Vista Havana deck was not as crowded as Horizon. I ordered a mudslide and got some other frozen drink. No big deal, I just say “whoops, sorry I requested a mudslide”. Bartender told me “that is a mudslide.” I said “I thought they were white with chocolate syrup (I’ve ordered them many times). She said “that’s a mudslide “. The drink was yellow with chunks of pineapple visible and no chocolate! Bartender then said, “I’ll add chocolate syrup it you want”. I said, “no I want a mudslide”. I tasted it and it was pineapple something. She would not waver in giving me a mudslide! First time for me.

We loved the new elevator system. So nice not having it stop on every floor. I agree it took a little longer while waiting. Bet never over crowded and only stops at one or two different floors. (Vista definitely did not have these new elevators last June).

Food was great and we loved the choices for lunch. But the lines were terrible! Never got a deli sandwich the whole 8 days due to very long line. Same with pizza, especially later at night. One man a talked to waiting 1 1/2 hours for a slice of pizza! Their pizza is not that good! Pig and Anchor was very good! Teppanyaki was the best hibachi we’ve ever had, outstanding!

Missed Grand Turk to to someone with a medical emergency. I believe they passed away and we had to go towards shore so a helicopter could fly out to get the body. We were still close enough to Florida.

Comedy was pretty good!

With that said, we will definitely book this ship again.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I think your 99% base figure is way off.

 

Comparing Liberty OTS with Breeze out Galveston, essentially same itinerary, base price is cheaper for every cabin category with RCCL and this holds true throughout the summer. I did a screen shot of one week for reference. And on the site a was looking at they also include tips, a specialty dinner for two if the cabin price is more than $1000pp.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Yes, you will occasionally find better Royal deals, but more times than not, Carnival is typically cheaper.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Carnival doesn't do the never ending sales and special pricing that Royal does. So while the base price is often cheaper on Carnival, if you book a certain deal for Royal, it can oftentimes be much cheaper, even for the base price without extras.

 

For example, because of kids sail free, my Allure trip in October is cheaper than the same cabin type on Glory for the same week. But next year, Magic was quite a bit cheaper than any of the Oasis class ships for the week we are sailing and we decided to give Magic a shot, especially since it's an 8 day, too!

True, so many factors go into cruise pricing! How old the ship is, if you want drink package, if you have kids sailing with you, what time of year, what specials different lines are offering etc. Sounds like you shop around just like me, trying to get the best deal for your own situation. I'm not loyal to just one cruise line, I'm loyal to my wallet! Happy cruising!

Carnival is certainly not always less expensive. As of next week I will have taken 3 cruises out of Port Canaveral over the course of a year. I had been wanting to make one of them Carnival, but Royal and NCL were always cheaper and that's what always wins me over. Would Carnival have provided the better cruise? That of course is debatable, when it comes down to dollars and cents, Carnival was not cheaper (for me). And not just the fare, but the add-ons as well. RC unlimited drink package (no 15 drink limit) was $45/day, Carnival was $52/day and NCL was FREE.

 

At the end of the day, it's all about supply and demand. There is not one cruise line that is consistently, across the board cheaper. They all have pluses and minuses and they ALL fluctuate based on demand.

I agree things are different when you add in extras. We have been sailing NCL lately due to the FREE drink package and specialty dining. It does come out less expensive than Carnival when factoring in the extras. In my earlier comment, I was really only comparing Carnival and Royal's prices, as that is the subject of this thread. 99% of time, if you check the price for the same week, same port you will find Carnival's base price is cheaper. Some people don't want the extras so Carnival is the best deal for them. Things get more complicated when you start adding extras. Also, Royal doesn't require both adults in a cabin to purchase the drink package, which could save a couple $300-$400. So yes, depending on what you want out of a cruise, Carnival may not always be cheaper (Just most of the time while comparing apples to apples). You can get hundreds off any cruise that sails during hurricane season, or pay hundreds of dollars more for a cruise booked during summer months. With that said, we leave in 12 days on the Horizon and I do know that with that being a new ship, and we have to pay for the drink package, it is more than our NCL Breakaway cruise we took this past spring.

Based on my recent experience "always" is a fluid term:D.

 

April 2019

Pride balcony- $2270

Anthem balcony- $1776

Point taken! I use that word "Always" a little too freely. How about "most of the time". LOL

Just to test your theory, I selected similar dates, 5 night itineraries, out of Tampa, one on Royal’s Brilliance of the Seas and one on the Carnival Paradise. These are the fares before taxes:

 

Oceanview stateroom:

- Carnival: $319

- Royal Caribbean: $448

 

Balcony stateroom:

- Carnival: N/A

- Royal Caribbean: $568

 

Junior Suite:

- Carnival: $537

- Royal Caribbean: $1094

 

Grand Suite:

- Carnival: $797

- Royal Caribbean: $1289

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thank you for taking the time to price compare. Now we are are comparing "apples to apples"! Carnival is always less expensive, hands down!

 

Wellllll, on Monday, I am going on the Carnival Paradise for a friend's 40th. It's so funny but I always hear how cheap Carnival is, and was looking forward to a "cheap" vacation. Holy cow!! This will be my most expensive cruise. To compare, I am staying in a Junior Suite and it is costing $917 for 5 nights (before any taxes, gratuities, etc.), so works out to be $183/night. The ship is going to Key West and Cozumel. Not ones I would call show stoppers, like Cuba for example, that warrants a higher price. I am already booked on Freedom of the Seas for August, which is a 7 night cruise, also staying in a Junior Suite. That one is costing $1,062 for 7 nights (before any taxes, gratuities, etc.) or $152/night.

You are not doing a fair comparision when you take the price of the RCL cruise, which is during the off season and during Hurricane season, and compare it to a cruise during the summer. Summer cruises are always way higher on any line, RCL, Carnival or NCL. If you compare the Jr. Suites the same week of the summer, you will find RCL higher.

But if I am on airplane mode and connect to the free wifi say at Margarittaville, will Sprint charge me anything?

You should not be charged if you are on Airplane mode. But just to be sure, turn your data off on your phone as well.

On my last cruise, the casino comped me a steakhouse selection steak in the MDR so I tried it. I did not think it was as good as the steaks I've purchased in the steakhouses. Consider though when you pay $35 at the steakhouse that also includes your sides and dessert.

How are you notified of these "comps"? Does the pit boss tell you personally? or do you know before you even board what your comps will be for that cruise.

The only alternative I have at this point is to sail on the newest ships available, and that is why my next 4 are on the Horizon twice, the Bliss and the Edge.

I totally agree! We will only sail the big ships now. We've been on the Vista and Breakaway, and will be on the Horizon in three weeks. We also want to book the Escape and Bliss in the future. We would love a cruise to nowhere, unfortunately, they don't offer those. The ports really don't do anything for us.

At least on the Horizon and Vista, the Mongolian Wok is located in Ji Ji's for lunch (free at lunch) and you sit down and order your selections. Much nicer than standing in that 30 minute line!

That is not true. The gate that prevents them from going further is at the beginning of the cabins....i.e. Nobody can walk past the cabins. I am not sure of the gate is open after 7 as we never tried it.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

This is what I know to be true as well. When we were on the Vista, the locked door on Deck 5 separated the public deck from Cabana cabins. This locked door wouldn’t let the public in the Havana area. Only Havana guest with white key card could open that door. Even after 7:00, non-Havana guest could walk by our patio, but only by entering through the Havana bar inside, they were not able to enter lanai walkway by outside deck and locked door.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not crowded at pool but on the walkway that passes the line of adjacent patios of the cabins the stream of looky loos and their interrupting my nap or our personal conversations was annoying. The patio felt more like a public space and offered no privacy.

Are you saying this Deck 5 patio lanai walkway is open to the public? Or are you just talking about Havana Cabana guest walking back to their cabins/patios? There are only 14 patios on each side of the Havana Deck 5 area. This walkway should not be open to public before 7:00 pm.

I just have to say that in 1988, we went on the Carnival Holiday in a balcony for a 7 day cruise out of Miami. We paid $700 per person for that cruise. This was 30 years ago and I really don't think the prices are that much more today. It might seem like cutback and nickel diming but really, what other industry still charges basically the same price for something 30 years later. Just factoring in inflation you would think prices would be much higher. They have just found other ways to make a profit, like now offering specialty dining etc.