kaseyj79

My husband and 19 year old son want to take a Western Caribbean cruise that will include a port where we can visit the Mayan ruins. My husband and I have already been to Cozumel and didn't the tour there. Which port has the best excursions? We would like to be able to actually walk up the steps of some of the ruins if possible? 

You guys have really give me so many good ideas. We did book a southern Caribbean cruise for Sept of this year, but we are also looking to take 2 cruises in 2020. One we definitely want to stay in the Caribbean since we will be taking our teenage sons on their first cruise. The second cruise we are looking at places outside of our comfort zone. Has anyone done an Alaskan cruise? We were also looking at the Mexican Riviera. I'm not sure why, but I have zero interest in Hawaii. Eventually we want to hit Europe, but I think that will be a couple of years at this point. 

Since my husband I took our first cruise in Sept we can't wait to get on another ship. We are planning to take our next cruise in Sept 2019, and we have a cruise picked out, but we aren't sure if we should keep looking? What is everyone's favorite port and/or cruise itinerary? We are looking at an 8 day cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale on the Carnival Magic going to Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, and Curacao. I'd like to know what you guys think of the Southern Caribbean or if there are better places we should be looking at? We are open to just about anywhere. Our cruise this past Sept was on the Horizon to Ocho Rios, Grand Caymen, and Cozumel so we would like to not repeat those again especially Ocho Rios. Any ideas for other ports? We want to stick w/ 7-9 days. 

9 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Horizon and Magic same features????

Off the top of my head....Havana area, Imax theater, Teppanyaki, Guy's Smokehouse and the Sky Bike ride.  Have been on each of the classes in the fleet and my two favorites were the Horizon and the Breeze.

Once we started looking for our second cruise I began wondering if we picked the wrong ship for our first cruise? Nothing seems to compare to the Horizon. I really want to be on a ship w the Havana area, but I think there are only 2 ships? The Sky Bike was shut down on our cruise so I'd like to be able to that, but again only 2 ships have that feature. I think I'm also in the minority as far as liking the elevator system. It took some time to get used to, but after the first day it was great.

On 10/18/2018 at 9:05 AM, laumicmah said:

Random ship pics...

Little friend who wasn't shy and hopped right up on my friend's arm and across that food she was eating (WAS)

Pay extra sushi place was to die for (but not good for my diet...as was much of what I consumed and I gained 5 pounds...boo)

Free Mongolian wok place for lunch (also yummy and also terrible for the diet)

Didn't include any that had our friends' faces showing. Not sure how they'd feel about it so I skipped adding them.
 

I never saw the Mongolian wok place?  I would have tried it for sure had I known it was there. 

On 10/18/2018 at 12:27 PM, laumicmah said:

Want to add...the MDR had a lot of empty tables the 3 nights we went. My friend and I, just us 2 ladies, went to MDR later one night for just dessert (after eating at sushi place). It was empty then too. And the pay places were hard to get resies for. That's why we did the sushi place twice as they were walk up only. We could not get resies for Japanese steakhouse place and had a hard time getting the Asian place. Wasn't even really able to get the Italian. Didn't try the steakhouse because I made that resie before getting on the ship. So if folks really want to try those places, maybe book before cruise or immediately (on Hub) when you get on the ship.

I didn't care much for the MDR. I wish we'd ate more specialty dining. We only did the steakhouse the last night. We are going on the Magic in Sept next year and I already told my husband we are doing the sushi place this time.

We just got back from our first cruise, and one of the first things I did before we left home was check into cell service. I called my cell phone company to let them know I was traveling and they told me in great detail what I would be charged for on the ship as well as in each port. It was a simple 10 min conversation, but I also don't understand why anyone would think it wouldn't cost extra to use a cell phone on a ship in the middle of the ocean?

12 hours ago, CruizCuz said:

I usually tip $1 per drink when I purchase Cheers.  I realize that is on top of 15% already.  But when I receive good or great service in a restaurant, I usually tip 18-20%, so I do the same here.  I also put $15 each am in my wallet.  That's how I know where I am in my Cheers drink count.  I simply count my one's and know how many drinks I've had and how many are left.   I figure out on day 1, who the good bartenders are, and who are just so-so.  I return time and again to the ones who go above and beyond for me.  

I love this idea! We definitely regretted not taking a stack of $1 bills like others suggested. 

7 hours ago, laumicmah said:

Just off the Horizon too. Although it was my 10th cruise it was our first with the drink package. I too felt weird not tipping extra so every time DH and I got drinks (usually together) we tipped $1. DH was doing 50 cents and wanted me to do 50 cents but I felt that was absurd so I said I'd put $1 and suggested he put 0. Took him a while to listen to me so for 1st few days they got $1.50 on our 2 drinks. We were with friends and they brought a wad of ones and would tip a $1 bill each time. That was smart. But the weird feeling about tips and realizing, with the already paid 15%, we were tipping way more for bar service than we would if we were just paying for our drinks (we usually do 15% at most for bar drinks)....we won't get the drink package again. And it was too much drinking for me. There were a few days I didn't want any drinks but felt I had to get my money's worth. And it makes us hesitant to buy drinks off the boat in ports. Will go back to paying OOP. Cancelled drink package we had bought for our Jan Royal Carib cruise.

 

How did you like the cruise though? What were your negatives and positives? 

With it being our first cruise I had nothing to compare it to, but we did end up falling in love w/ cruising! We are now planning our next cruise for Sept to the Southern Caribbean on the Carnival Magic. We were going to try Royal Caribbean, but decided against it because we would have to fly into Puerto Rico. Plus we were so overwhelmed on the Horizon we want to go w/ something we are familiar with.

I really don't have many negatives. Most of my issues were with food. I wish the salad place on the serenity deck had been open on port days, and it would have been nice if at least one pool or hot tub could  be open past midnight. I also think the picture prices were ridiculous. I paid $76 for 4 digital photos and 2 prints. Aside from the bartenders always looking bored to death I loved Alchemy bar. It's the only place that has made a martini the way they did for me, and there were 2 other drinks that were absolutely amazing! We never felt bored or ran out of things to do. We enjoyed being on the ship more than the ports at times.

What did you think of the Horizon compared to other ships? Have you been on the Magic and if so how do they compare? I know its older and a little bit smaller, but it appears to have the same features for the most part.

As for the Cheer's package I'm going back and forth about doing it again. I enjoyed being able to order whatever I wanted w/ out worrying about the cost in the end, but I did feel the need to drink on days I didn't really feel like it. I also hate the 5 min rule. It is ridiculous especially when I wanted to float some extra rum on top of my Pina Coladas. It was also nice being able to order as many non alcoholic drinks as we wanted. I love sparkling water and coconut water so I had several each day as well as San Pellegrino with dinner. At least we have a little bit of time to decide for sure on the next one.

My husband and I just got back from our first cruise on the Horizon and tipping left us fairly confused. Even though we pay 15% on top when we buy the package we felt very uncomfortable not tipping when we would our receipts w/ $0 on them. We ended up adding $1-$5 on each drink and that added up on top of already spending $719 for just the drink package. I have to ask how everyone else handles this situation? Do you add more or leave it blank?

Another thing that bugged me about the drink package was the bartenders always seemed so unhappy like they absolutely hate their jobs. It was quite annoying at times. Did anyone else notice this on their cruises? Its like they knew people pre-paid their tips so why bother? 

I just got back from the Horizon on Oct 6. Yes there are self serve laundry facilities. I did not use the washer or dryer, but there were always people in there that were. I only went in a couple of times to iron our clothes for formal nights. The iron was actually free. It was on a timer, but someone broke the steam button off so it didn't work as well as I would have liked. Someone left a spray bottle for everyone to use which helped a little bit. 

Does anyone know where I could find the menu for the horizon sailing leaving Sept 30? I thought I read somewhere that they release them a week in advance?

Hello all! When I booked my cruise I told my rep I do not want the vacation protection plan. I am set to sail next week and when I went to pay for my gratuities it looks like the protection plan was indeed added and I paid for it when I made my final payment. Does anyone know if there is anyway to get reimbursed for this or to use it towards my gratuities. This isn't a matter of me changing my mind its that I never wanted it from the beginning when we booked back in March. Yes I probably should have paid more attention, but its our first cruise and everything has been so confusing. I also thought my rep would have honored my wishes and not included something I did not want.

I was able to confirm with Carnival a copy of my husbands birth certificate will work. Thank God I made one before mailing the original to Charleston.

The passport customer service line told me we can go to Chicago and get one right then and there, but with our work schedules we can’t drive 7 hrs one way between now and next Fri.

We are just going to have to go w the flow at this point. At least we know we don’t have to cancel because of it.

Any chance the birth certificate can be returned right away?

I won’t know anything until the processing center opens back up and from what we were told on Sat that may not be until the end of the week. If they aren’t back before Fri this only gives them 4 business days to get us anything. You’d think in 2018 they would be able to help us electronically from another agency. If we can’t go because of this it will be horrible.

We are in KY and we haven't reached that deadline yet. That's another reason I decided to go w/ passports for both of us. The passport center said it might be another week before they are open again. This is a disaster.

The passport office has his birth certificate. I only have a copy that I made before mailing it. They said they had to have to original.

When we first booked I was told by my Carnival agent that we didn't need passports, but then people kept telling me we did need them. I decided to play it safe, and my husband and I applied for the books. I have mine, but there was an issue with his. We leave town on Sept 29 and the passport center is closed due to hurricane Florence. If my husband ends up not getting his in time will he be ok to travel? We will be sailing on the Horizon Sept 30 going to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. This is a first cruise for both of us, so I feel like we are very clueless. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm due to set sale on my first cruise on Sept 30, and the Horizon reviews are starting to worry me. Does anyone have any advice on what to expect? Also is it really that bad? It's a brand new ship so I am shocked to see so many things this early on.

It's so funny that you mentioned this place because the Beachcomber is the hotel I was talking about. We absolutely love it there! I'm just so worried about transportation. I don't mind renting a car, but since we would be picking the car up at the Ft Lauderdale hotel and dropping it off in Miami the price is crazy! If we drop it off at the same pick up location its only like $30 but then how would we get to Miami?

We are sailing Sept 30 on our first cruise through Carnival Cruise line. We will be flying in to Ft Lauderdale the day before and will need a hotel. My husband and I would really like to stay in a hotel on the beach, but transportation is a concern. We have a hotel we love from a past visit to Ft. Lauderdale, but with it being 45 min away we are concerned about transportation. Should be stay in Miami and if so where?

My husband and I will taking our first cruise out of Miami on Sept 30. We are flying into Ft. Lauderdale the day before and are having trouble deciding on a hotel. We want to be on the beach, but we also don't want to have to rent a car. There is a hotel in Ft Lauderdale we love, but with it being 45 min away we won't be able to get transportation. Are there any beachfront hotels near port of Miami that provide transportation?