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sunshower9: Concerning our bad experience in the MDR and the hot area we were assigned to, we were going to approach the maitre d' and request to be moved to another area but our group decided just to wing it for the rest of the cruise and try other food venues which we did. I love the ABC island itinerary also. On our last cruise, our late day was in Curacao instead of Aruba and it was great getting off the ship after dinner and exploring the fort and waterfront. The Queen Emma pontoon bridge is beautifully lit up at night with colored arches and canopy of lights.

cruiselover**, I agree about the shops. I have a Victoria's Secret at the mall near my home, why would I purchase items from this store on the ship?? Where is the large store with Carnival branded items for sale? I want to purchase Carnival branded pens, key chains, magnets, emery boards, etc. The selection on the Horizon was terrible. Thank you, atxlady, for responding. I'm glad someone else experienced the same hot temperature on the ship. I know I didn't imagine it because the family members in our group had the same experience. We did not experience this when we sailed on the Horizon last November.

When you return from your cruise, if you have a minute, write and let me know how your cruise was. I read two other cruiser's comments who were on our sailing and one said she experienced the same warm temperature that I did but another cruiser said she did not notice that the interior venues were too warm. When I entered the Lido Marketplace from the mid-ship pool area and walked straight back to the aft pool area, I could feel the temperature change from cool to very warm. Hopefully, it was just a fluke on this sailing?? My cool stateroom did became more of a refuge for me on this cruise because I was uncomfortable in the interior spaces. Have a great time on your cruise!!!

We sailed on the Horizon from Miami on April 30th. I thought I would write some comments regarding our cruise while they are still fresh in my mind. Our Horizon cruise was 8 nights to the southern Caribbean...Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao were the port stops. I am Diamond on Carnival and sailed on the Horizon in November 2021 when the ship was sailing at 50% capacity. The April cruise was at full capacity and made a big difference in our cruise experience, lines were long everywhere, loungers on sea days were at a premium, etc. Our check-in time was between 10:00-10:30 a.m. but the usually 1/2 hour drive from our home to the Port of Miami turned into a 1-1/2 hour drive on I95 because we got stuck in traffic approaching Miami and it became a big parking lot. We arrived at the port and checked in around 11:00 a.m. and they had already called the cruisers in our time slot. Check-in and boarding was very quick and we were on the ship 10 minutes after we arrived. We went to our staterooms and dropped any carry-on suitcases off and proceeded to the Lido Marketplace for lunch. I headed straight to the Deli and ordered a Cuban sandwich and two pieces of Funfetti Cheesecake Cake, OMG. There are different cake selections in the buffet every day for lunch but this cake is only available on embarkation day. The Deli would be my "go to" dining venue for the rest of the week. The interior common areas and venues were hot all week. This is my observation and experiences only. I kept moving around in the casino to find a cool spot, in line waiting to eat at JiJi's was hot and by the time we sat down, the sweat was pouring down my face. I ate lunch one day at Cucina and it was hot in there also. We went to see the comedy show one night and walked right back out....well, you get the idea, everywhere we went, (with the exception of our stateroom) was hot. This was not our experience when we sailed on the Horizon last November. FOOD and FOOD VENUES: Again, these are my observations only and comments reflect only the food venues I ate at during the week JiJi's: except for the sweat pouring down my face, the lunch food was delicious, Grade A Cucina del Capitano: over rated and comparable to an Olive Garden, Grade D Pizza - terrible on this ship, what happened? Grade D Main Dining Room: hot in our area, short staffed, ordered food that never came, never received our desserts or coffee, food that was supposed to be hot was cold (entree) and food that was supposed to be cold was hot (shrimp cocktail) , we ate there two nights and just stopped going, terrible experience in MDR, worse than any other Carnival ship I have sailed on. Grade D for service, food quality and quantity. Guy's Pig & Anchor for lunch: mediocre at best and in the evening, service was terrible, food was cold, Grade C Bonsai Sushi: delicious and service was great, Grade A Lido Marketplace: room temperature was hot, especially in the aft buffet area which was the only area open for dinner. It was so crowded, hot and long lines that we grabbed food from the deli or had to wait for the stampede of people to die down. Some of the food offered was inedible, goopy sauces smothering a few pieces of mystery meat, roast turkey that tasted like it had been brined and was very salty and mashed potatos nowhere to be found. The casseroles on the buffet looked like something my mother used to make during the Great Depression to feed 7 people, lots of vegetables or pasta and very little protein. Even the sliced bread was hard and dry. If you had any digestive problems or dietary restrictions, I don't know what you ate on this cruise. As mentioned earlier, I ate more food from the deli all week than ever before on a Carnival cruise. The only food I really enjoyed in the Lido Marketplace was the over easy fresh eggs in the morning and the croissants. They ran out of chocolate milk on the third day of the cruise and when I asked for chocolate milk, they brought out a pitcher of chocolate milk from the galley...don't know where they got it from but it was awful. Grade C Cherry On Top: I love ice cream but don't like the soft serve and the gelato in the Lido Marketplace had the same flavors three days in a row, mango and coffee. There is a small ice cream shop in Cherry On Top on the Horizon similar to a Cold Stone Creamery that is fantastic. There was an extra charge for the ice cream but well worth it...yum, real ice cream with any toppings you want folded in, delicious and worth the minimal extra fee. Grade A+ ENTERTAINMENT: We attended the first show in the Liquid Lounge and they made an announcement that the show that was listed would not be presented because of inclement weather, HUH?? The curtain was closed and out walked 5 or 6 entertainment staff members who proceeded to sit on wooden bar stools that were placed in front of the curtain and they started to sing their renditions of classics and were TERRIBLE. After two minutes, the mass exodus started and we were part of the crowd walking out of the theater. The live entertainers in the Pig & Anchor were an embarrassment, the gentleman in the piano bar was awful, and the three violinists in the Atrium were talented but I actually saw people with their heads back and snoring. Where was the lively band or DJ? The best entertainment in the Atrium was a flamboyant couple who dressed and danced with an artistic flair and was the best entertainment on the ship, sad to say. ARUBA: We took a taxi to Palm Beach for a few hours, beach is clean but very windy so I don't know if I got a sunburn or was sand blasted. BONAIRE: We were planning to take the ferry to Klein Bonaire to snorkel but quite a few members of our group were not feeling well (something they ate perhaps?) so we walked around the little area of town right near the dock...believe me, there isn't much there. This is one port, I believe, where you have to get into or on the water because it is beautiful. The rest of the day was spent on the Serenity Deck working on my sand blasted tan and spending time with my friend, Sam Adams. CURACAO: Beautiful, as always. We took a shared taxi to Mambo Beach, rented loungers, ate some snacks and drank some beer. We like to walk through the RIF Fort at night but on this cruise, the ship left at 3:00 p.m. so we had to hustle back. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time on our cruise because we had a fun family group with us and we made our own good times. We didn't go to the IMAX theater on this cruise because there really wasn't anything we wanted to see, however, the IMAX theater is great. We're not spa people so can't comment on that experience...no small children in our group so we didn't spend much time on the water slides. We tried to play trivia one day in the Ocean Plaza and waited an hour in a packed, hot area for the Carnival team member to show up and they never did...people were not happy. Debarkation was quick, however, the suitcases that were supposed to be in Group 1 on the carousel, were in Group 3's carousel, etc., etc. We were waiting and waiting and waiting just watching the same suitcases going around and around so we went on a quest to find our suitcases which were finally found between carousel #3 and #4, OMG. People were freaking out because they couldn't find their luggage, the suitcases were spread out helter skelter all over instead of being at the area designated by your luggage tag. Thank God for the Porters, they tried to calm people down and helped them search for their luggage. Again, these are my observations and experiences. We are sailing again in November on the Horizon, I hope they fix whatever problem there was with the air conditioning. Also, hope the staffing issues and food shortages are back to normal.

mz-s....I'm with you, I always got in the cake line before anything else....they also had a coconut creme cheesecake cake that was good and carrot cake and raspberry champagne and peanut butter, red velvet, hummingbird cake, OMG, my mouth is watering.. I have to wait until my next cruise in November to try the cakes, hope they still have them available. Now, if Carnival would also offer a pie selection that would be good (not the yucky pie served in the MDR).

If you like cake and cheesecake, try the Funfetti Cheesecake Cake at lunch which is only available on embarkation day, delicious!!! I always get two pieces and bring one back to my stateroom for later. Sometimes the second piece accidentally finds its way into my stomach and I have to get a third piece for later. I have tried most of the cakes offered at lunch only and enjoyed most of them. Also, I like the Deli and salad bar but love ordering over easy fresh eggs for breakfast with a couple of yummy croissants and cinnamon pastries washed down with chocolate milk.

I'm with you on serving rice with roast turkey....where is the mashed potatos and gravy? Also, on this cruise, the turkey tasted like it had been brined. I know a lot of people like a brined turkey but it was very salty and didn't taste anything like turkey....it could have been chicken or pork or a mystery meat. It looked like turkey and it carved like turkey but the flavor had no resemblance to what a natural roasted turkey should taste like (just my opinion). All the warmer places on the ship seemed to be in the aft...the aft buffet, Cucina and JiJi's are both located aft, Ocean Plaza is located aft?? I wonder if the aft staterooms were hot also? If someone has stayed in an aft stateroom on the Horizon recently, please let me know.

I forgot to also agree with other posters regarding the food quality in the Lido Marketplace. When we sailed on the Horizon in November 2021, the food quality was far better than our recent April sailing. I noticed more people getting food from the other food venues, i.e., Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana Cantina, pizza, and the deli. After a couple of days of mediocre, at best, buffet food, I also joined the people eating at other venues. Breakfast at the buffet, for me, was the best option of the day because I always had freshly made omelettes or fresh eggs. I drink chocolate milk and noticed that a staff member would come out and open a refrigerator under the milk display and take out two or three cartons at a time and put them out for consumption but they ran out of cartons of chocolate milk mid-cruise and were serving people chocolate milk from a pitcher?? I'm a bread lover but the rolls on this trip served in the buffet were hard as rocks and must have been standing out for a long time, the bread was so dry and had formed a hard crust and shattered when I took a bite. I noticed a lot more "casserole type" dishes on this trip...food that my Mom would make to stretch a meal to feed our family, lots of mystery vegetables and goopy sauce to hide the lack of protein. We ate dinner in the MDR the first two nights but never went back because it was so hot in our area, we only had the head waiter who was frantically trying to take care of all the tables in our area. No one ever came around taking beverage orders even tho we asked, we had to ask for butter and rolls, the food that was supposed to be hot was cold and the food that was supposed to be cold, was warm. We ordered dessert that never came and never served the coffee we ordered. After the second night, we ate elsewhere. I believe the service was a direct result of staff shortages. The entertainment venues were also lacking on this cruise. The piano bar entertainer was terrible, the live entertainers in the Pig & Anchor were awful, they cancelled the first show in the Liquid Lounge because of rough weather?? and a few singers came out and sat on stools in front of the closed curtain and sang songs, people were leaving the theater after 5 minutes, including our family, we waited in Ocean Plaza for over an hour for a Carnival employee to show up to conduct scheduled trivia games, they had the violin trio playing in the Atrium every night....people were sitting in chairs nodding off. Where is the lively band that will energize people and make them feel good so they will purchase alcoholic beverages? The girls playing the violins were very talented and nice to listen to during the day but at night, you want to get people dancing and drinking. These are my takeaways only. We still enjoyed the ship and had a good time but there certainly were issues that affected our cruise negatively. I'm booked on the Horizon again in November, hope the issues we had on our April trip are fixed by then.

acsfl...We sailed on the Horizon a few weeks ago in April and I totally agree with you, the interior common areas were hot every day and every night. We ate lunch at Cucina and JiJi's (sweat was pouring down my face into my eyes), the Lido Marketplace area, especially in the aft, was unbearably warm and that is the buffet area that is open at night for dinner. It was a little cooler in the first buffet area that you encounter when you enter from the mid-ship pool but not much. The casino had warm and cool spots and I kept moving around until I found a cooler one. We ate at the Pig & Anchor one night and it was warm in there also. The Ocean Plaza area was very warm and we had to leave and sit outside where there was a nice breeze. We ate in the MDR the first two nights and never went back because it was so uncomfortably hot. My stateroom was on Deck 10 forward and was always nice and cool. I also spent more time in my stateroom than I usually do on this trip just to cool down. I am Diamond on Carnival and have sailed on all classes of Carnival ships and have never experienced this before. I sailed on the Horizon in November 2021 and did not experience any hot areas on the ship at that time.

O.K., 1kaper, I've got that beat. A few years ago we sailed on the Triumph and booked a balcony room. We counted 20 staterooms in our area, both interior and balcony, that were booked by the same church group. This was a huge group who took over the entertainment venues every night (I know because they all wore shirts with the church's name onthem). In addition to that, two of the inhabitants of staterooms surrounding ours, brought boom boxes, pulled out the stool in the room and moved them to the hallway and put the boom boxes on the stools. They blasted music all day and night, left all their doors open and danced, drank and sang in the hallway morning, noon and into the wee hours of the morning. We called Guest Services numerous times, A Carnival employee would come up and tell them to shut their doors and shut off the boom boxes and they would comply but as soon as the employee left, they brought them back out again. We begged to be moved to another stateroom but were told that the ship was at full capacity. This group figured it out that we were the ones calling Guest Services and they would bang on our door late at night and scream obscenities through the door. This was the worst cruise experience of my life.

Thank you sunshower9....they were in the Atrium every evening dancing. The first night I noticed them, Jeff was wearing a pink suit with matching pink shoes. They appeared to be ex Arthur Murray dance teachers and drew quite a crowd whenever they were in the Atrium dancing. I believe they created more interest than the "tepid" entertainment offered on the ship.

I live in south Florida and booked an appointment online at Walgreens for the Rapid NAAT Test two days prior to sail date, drove thru the drive-up, performed the test, got results 1/2 hour later, printed them out, easy peasy. We sailed on the Horizon on April 30th., the Rapid NAAT test is one that is approved by Carnival.

If you sailed on the April 30th 8 day cruise on the Horizon and know who that elderly couple were that dressed up every night and danced in the Atrium, please let me know.

Count me in the group of cruisers who cannot tolerate door slammers. There is no reason for slamming the door to your balcony or the stateroom door. When you leave your room, hold the door with your hand until it closes softly. When you go in or out of the balcony, hold the door by the handle and close it softly. It only takes a few seconds longer than if you just let it go and it slams shut. We just returned from a cruise on the Horizon and splurged for a balcony room since we haven't traveled for over two years, never again. We were surrounded on all sides and above and below by slammers. The couple next to us were the worst, one person would come out onto the balcony and slam the door then the other person would come out and slam the door then one would go back into the room and slam the door followed by the other person who would slam the door. Whenever I returned to my stateroom during the day, this would be their ritual. I sat on my balcony twice during the entire 8 day cruise. Forget about having a peaceful cocktail in our room while showering and getting ready for dinner. It's bad enough when you have no control over your children and allow them to slam the doors constantly but if you are a grownup, please, please, be more considerate of your fellow passengers.