chicail16

Thank you! Hope you enjoyed your day, too!

https://www.saintgregtravel.com/punchliner-comedy-schedule/

I've only been solo to the steakhouse! Enjoy yourself!

On 7/15/2023 at 12:55 PM, TxTeach79 said:

Completely forgot buying myself a jar of cookies in advance. What a surprise. Thanks, me. 
 

I do the same thing and write a nice message to myself! Enjoying your review:)

Thanks - great and informative review!

Thanks, I received the same purple bracelet months after my sailing and didn't know what to do with it!

Hi @3starfishkids!  Thanks for the great review!  What about lunch and dinner buffet?  Was is typically the same hamburgers, pizzas, hotdogs throughout the whole cruise?  No change in food selection.

Also, during breakfast buffet, was there eggs benedict?

Thanks again.

Thanks for the review. Good to know that you enjoyed the buffet food!

Thanks. Sounds like you both enjoyed it!  Never tried MSC so this was a great help!

Enjoyed your review!  Thanks!

Hi,

Can nose clips, goggles, watershoes, and swim tee-shirts be worn on the waterslides at Perfect Day at Coco Cay?

Thanks for all your help!

Hi,

Just curious as Oasis and Odyssey will be in together when I sail later this month. Wondering if it will be hard to get food (long lines) and beach chairs?  Plan is to be mostly on the Chill (free side) of the island.

Thanks

Hi,

Adult over 5' tall, but not a swimmer is interested in riding the waterslides.  Is it safe to do so or should you know how to swim?

Thanks for your help!

Thanks for your review!

Thanks for your review! Quick and enjoyable!😀

Thanks weezal!  Very kind to post recent Mardi Gras fun-times, menus, etc.!😀

Thanks - really enjoyed your review and pics!  Glad you had a great time.😃 Great company helps, too! 

Thanks for your review!  Looking forward to my cruise.😀

Great photo!  Congrats!  Hope you enjoyed the meal.

Thanks all!  I will try calling to make reservations.

Just tried to make dining reservations on app but only a few restaurants were listed.  Is it possible to make reservations onboard?

Thanks.

Agreed.  Totally not worth it on Mardi Gras - too small, too many people socializing in a tight space.  Had a spa room so couldn't get refund.  I usually went early in the morning.  Maybe, the older ships have better and more peaceful spa areas.

4 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

Summary:

 

Dining:

 

Breakfast in the dining room was very good and I really enjoy Carnival's breakfast menu. I have never really considered myself a breakfast person so this was no easy task for Carnival to achieve. Brunch was also good although it does seem like a lot of the dishes have an ingredient in them that I don't care for. For example the ham in the brunch spaghetti.

 

The dinner menu in the MDR has changed slightly. Most of it is subtle. There are a few new items and unfortunately several items that are missing. Many of the dishes are prepared in a different way. For example onions in the carbonara (blek), a tomato sauce in the vegetarian mushrooms dish, and a sweet sauce for dipping the spring rolls in (yum!). There were others but that are a few examples.

 

Most of the items are noticeably smaller in portion. Overall I think the quality of food has declined since the restart.

 

The buffet continues to be Carnival's weak point. My advice is to skip it all together in favor of the wide variety of other options available. Some nice additions in the buffet on Horizon include a free gelato stand with toppings, and an empenada station. And the lunch cakes are amazing. Other than that, steer clear of the buffet.

 

Among the free lunchtime choices are Guy's Burger, Blue Iguana (which has supply issues), the Deli, Guy's BBQ. 

 

Sit down options above the buffet include the Pasta Bar and Mongolian Wok. Both were very good and with lower capacity they had much quicker turn around times on the food than I remember from my first trip on Horizon.

 

Basically there is no shortage of free lunch options to help you avoid the buffet which is just not very good.

 

There is also seafood shack and bonsai as options for pay lunches. Both were good but I don't feel like there is a lot of value to either option and would not pay to eat there if you are happy with the included choices.

 

For dinner the only specialty I dined at was Jiji's. The food here was amazing and at only $15 is a great bargain. I am sad to see that it is not being included on their new ships any more.

 

Public Spaces and Cabin:

 

The first week I had an ocean view cabin on deck 3. The second week an interior on deck 3. The ocean view was quite large with plenty of space to spread out in. The inside was much smaller but I still liked it better because it did not let any light in. The bathroom door was squeaky in the interior but a little WD40 fixed that right up. The TV frequently had to be turned off and back on to work in both cabins. Many others reported the same issue.

 

Both cabins and the ship itself were spotless. Everywhere you went there were people constantly cleaning high traffic areas. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was they used some kind of sanitizer that left a sticky residue on the stair railings. I was extra careful to just not touch it but whenever I did it was a yucky surprise.

 

Entertainment:

 

Their was no shortage of things to do on this ship. I wish I had tried the Imax and the Skyride but I didn't do either. Their was always music going on all over the ship. The playlist performers were okay. They were about standard for what I expect on Carnival. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

I've seen the comments about CD Donkey. He has been a CD with Carnival for many years, in fact he is probably one of the most senior having been a CD since 2011 I believe he said. He used to be CD on Liberty and I had him a couple times while doing the weekend Bahamas runs on that ship. I was surprised when I heard he was going to be CD on Horizon. I think he is a perfect fit for a smaller ship but perhaps not for one of their most prominent ships. He was not a bad CD by any means and I enjoyed him and his personality he just isn't the most high energy super CD that Carnival is known for. 

 

The Quest was no longer being done. He was asked about it in a Q&A session and he said it was Covid protocol related but he also said he did not like doing it because he got too many complaints and probably would not be bringing it back. He was unclear if he meant he won't be bringing it back (as I understand it is at a CD's discretion) or if Carnival would not be bringing it back.

 

Service:

 

Service was outstanding. I rarely rank something a 10 out of 10 when filling out surveys. To me a 10 is perfect and there is almost never anything that is truly perfect. The service on this ship was absolutely a 10 out of 10. Everyone was so gracious that we were back on board and went out of their way to make sure we were having a fantastic experience.

 

 

Overall this was a great cruise. Literally the only thing negative I can say about it is the food quality. I am hopeful that in time that will improve and in the meantime I am so glad to be back on a ship that I can cut them a little slack while they work to get their operations full steam ahead again.

 

Thanks again for reading along everybody.

Really enjoyed your review.  Thank you!

Thanks for all the input.  I'm on the Star.  I located some soft ear buds for sleeping and noise cancellation.  I will download some soft music and hopefully this will do the trick while someone is sleeping and the other wants to watch television.