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2 hours ago, blueskadoo said:

Hey everybody! So we're leaving in a few days to go on the 8 night Horizon trip. We've not planned much because we weren't sure until the last minute we'd actually be able to go, so now I'm trying to figure out what we can do in the different ports. In Grand Turk, we don't seem to be there that long (7-2), but I would like to try to visit the Bohio resort for some beach time based on reviews that I read. My fear is that with the time frame, its pretty much pointless and not relaxing. We'd prefer to get away from the crowds and just have some quiet, which doesn't sound like the usual Jack's Shack/Margaritaville route.  The place I wanted to go in Aruba is sold out, the DH isn't excited about Curcao, and we don't know if we'll get off the boat in La Romana...so I'm just striking out all around. Opinions are welcome and requested. Thank you

Ps: I scoured the Grand Turk board but its very quiet and time is flying by on me. 

We did the 8 night Horizon trip last year.  The ship is awesome!  Hopefully you have a Havana Cabana!

We did not get off in La Romana so I won't comment on that piece, however...

• Grand Turk - I always like to swim in the ocean so we made this a beach day.  Couple of options...
  • Use the beach right off the ship.  Yes, it may be a bit crowded but on this particular trip we weren't planning on speding ALL day at the beach, just an hour or two, so we dropped our towels along the waters edge so we could keep an eye on them and hit the water.  Once we were done, headed back to the ship that was right there.
  • Jack Shack - I have been to Jack Shack a few times and have NEVER seen it crowded.  Most people don't want to walk that far (as was our case this trip) and therefore stop before they make it down that far.  Water there is actually better than right off the pier as there are almost no rocks to contend with.
  • Governor's Beach - I've never been here as the other two options always worked for me, but you can head here which appears to rarely have people.
• Curacao - This stop was fantastic for walking around and seeing the city.  There are no annoying vendors right off the ship trying to sell you crap.  Everyone was just as friendly as can be.  We did this in two trip.  First, we got off during the day and walked around the city looking in shop, taking in sights, and having a few of the local beers at a restaurant.  Second, we had dinner on the ship, then went out to see the city at night.  The floating bridge is all lit up as are a lot of other sights and it made from some great pictures.  I have heard that Curacao has some great snorkeling so next trip I will do that.  
  • As a side note, we stopped in one shop to browse their selection of Curacao (alcohol) and the wonderful young lady in there gave us a full tasting of all the flavors so we were able to buy the ones we liked.
• Aruba - I highly, HIGHLY recommend Trikes Aruba!!  You have to book this independantly as they don't have an excursion through the ship, but OMG was this a fantastic trip!!  You get to drive/ride the trike over the ENTIRE island and get to see some beautiful sights!  Both my wife and I thought this was one of the best excursions we have ever done and I can't say enough about it.  Just do a search for Trikes Aruba and you will find them.  They pick you up right outside the port and will make sure you are back to the ship on time.  I'm pretty sure we had 4 couples from our ship that booked them and every single person absolutely loved it.  My wife took a ton of videos of us riding around the island.

Hopefully that helps you a little but you will enjoy this cruise.  I plan on booking it again in the near future.

On 1/19/2020 at 5:59 PM, a4ofspades said:

What a great review!!! Thanks so much for taking the time for so many details and pics. I too will be experiencing the smart elevators for the first time so that video was most helpful. I am wondering though about wheelchair use. Hubby sometimes needs on and we will be bringing his for the first time mostly for use in port. I wonder if there is a way to let the elevator know there will be a wheelchair as well. Anyway, something to research and I love to do research. 🙂 Again, thanks so much for your review!!

From what I remember, there was not an option to indicate wheelchair.  We did see several people using them on the ship and did not notice any issues.

Some of it depends on the ship and/or itinerary you are looking at.  Ships like Horizon, Panorama, Mardi Gras will sell out much faster.  You can always book at one of their $50 deposit promotions and if you can't take that cruise, just cancel and move your deposit to another sailing.

I have also read that when you view online, not all the open rooms show.  However, I'm not sure if that is 100% accurate information.

I am still waiting for the refund...haven't seen it hit the card yet.

3 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

Sorry you just got wind of this. This news is two weeks old.😎

I figured so and did a quick search of the forums but didn't see anything about it.  So looks like I was one of the people they referenced in the notice that didn't get the notification until today.  Ugh.

Mardi Gras Notice.pdf

I just got notice from Carnival that the Mardi Gras is officially delayed and they have cancelled all sailings prior to the November 14, 2020 sailing out of Port Canaveral.  I was scheduled to sail the maiden voyage out of Copenhagen so they canceled that one, the trans-Atlantic sailing and the sailings out of NY.  This sucks.

I've attached the noticed sent to me by Carnival, and have confirmed on the website that my booking is gone.

Mardi Gras Notice.pdf

I had all the craft beers (except the IPA) on the Horizon a few weeks ago.  The wheat, smoked porter, and Thirsty Frog red are all good.

2 hours ago, ober134 said:

Thanks for opinions. The difference is I'm sailing with a newbie since DH can't get off work for this "last minute" booking. Friend is concerned leaving luggage outside the ship with porters. I've tried to reassure her that we've never had any issues, but of course there is not a 100% guarantee. So in an effort to ease her peace of mind, I did purchase it so we can have immediate access to cabin. I'm just trying to coordinate ground transportation to the port; since I've never done FTTF wondering what time to arrange.

I just got back 2 weeks ago from a cruise out of Miami.  I got a Lyft from the hotel at 9am and was at the port with our luggage dropped off about 9:30.  They opened the terminal to start letting guests in for check in, security, etc. at about 10am.  Boarding was started about 10:30am and as FTTF we were on board by about 10:50.  This was on the Horizon.

In response to dropping luggage off with the porters...I've never understood why people would want to drag their luggage around with them when boarding, however, there are a lot of people that do that.  Just like you, we have never had an issue with luggage with the porters, but to each their own.

On 11/4/2019 at 1:10 PM, MzOhioLady said:

Thank You So Much for posting the Video on how to use the Smart Elevators. That was very helpful. Myself and my DH are cruising on the Horizon next year along with our best friends who are Cruise Newbies!! Now I think we should be well versed on the Elevators.

Just hope the rest of the passengers are as well!  

15 hours ago, smp1953@msn.com said:

We are booked on Carnival's Freedom for next April and wondering how could we reserve a main dining room for two. 

You can email the matre'd for your ship ahead of time and make the request. 

5 hours ago, Cookie2boys said:

Horizon deck plans show stairs in the far aft.  Can these be used by passengers to get to the lido deck or will we have to walk forward to the elevator/stairs?

The aft stairs near the Havana area go all the way up to deck 11.  Anyone can use them.

5 hours ago, thesmiths said:

Thank you,

 

Next 3 cruises are on the Horizon, Havana.

 

Have the Trikes reserved as well for the May Trip.

Can't wait.

 

 

 

 

Dang.  3 cruises in a row on the Horizon?  That's awesome!  I would like to do a B2B on the Horizon...the 8 day followed by the 6 day.

You are gonna love the trikes!

6 minutes ago, reeinaz said:

Are there instructions on the elevator? I will admit that I wouldn't know to indicate the number of people going to my floor. But even if there was a sign, I probably wouldn't read it. Who doesn't know how to operate an elevator??  But at that point, it would be my fault for not reading the sign.

4 hours ago, purplephenom said:

 

In the meantime, at least for the first day or 2, I wish Carnival had the manpower to have someone by the elevators at peak times to make sure things go smoothly.  People aren't stupid for not knowing how to use the elevators, but maybe they're not thinking you need to press the button for each person- you don't do that on regular elevators.  Or maybe any unfamiliar technology makes some people nervous and they don't really think about what they're doing. 

 

I understand it's not really Carnival's "job" to teach people how to use elevators, but it would make for less frustrating experience for a lot of people.  Not everyone reads here and knows what to do. 

Maybe they could post someone there, however there are two LCD televisions mounted at the elevators with the instructions on how to use the elevator.  I did my research ahead of time on how to use the elevators, but I know everyone won't do that.  I stand by my statement that I think the better way would be selecting the floor, then the number of people.

For anyone interested, here is a great video on how to use the elevators:  

On 11/2/2019 at 4:24 PM, TonyinMD said:

  Great review. 

 

I just got off the Horizon today and I agree with everything you said about the elevators.  I hate using the word stupid for people who use them wrong,  I think Carnival should make a software change that requires people to confirm the number of people in their party before giving them a car letter, but yes,  that was incredibly frustrating for me.  During sea days lunchtime I 100% avoided the mid and aft elevators at the Lido...way too often when riding up,  the car you called is completely packed.  When riding down,  you see people with a big group obviously only press their floor button once.

 

Can't lie,  the first day or 2 I absolutely gave up a couple times, or just didn't bother getting in the elevator I called because it was completely packed...and I started using the elevators quite a bit.

 

I think at this point,  Carnival sees the complaints.   I think the system is actually a really good idea and if people are using it right,  it's much faster.   To me,  this should be an easy fix...enter your floor,  and then confirm the number in your party,  then you get the car letter.

I think you are correct.  A better way for the elevator to work would be for someone to press the floor they want, then enter the number of people in the party before it calls the elevator.  This would be much better than having to hit the floor number multiple times and will actually force people to enter the correct number of people before the elevator is called.

15 minutes ago, JaniceB said:

I have never stayed in on either so we shall see if I miss the natural light.   I would rather spend my money on the specialty restaurants and drink package this time.  

I did an inside cabin once, on my last cruise, I hated it, therefore I will never stay in an inside cabin again if I have a choice.

We didn't do the specialty restaurants, but I talked to some people who did the steakhouse, and they all raved about it. 

That about wraps up my review.  I am going to end it with some elevator tips to try and help people before they board, and a few random pics from the ship.

Using the smart elevators:

• You choose your floor outside the elevator
• Choose the floor you want x the number of people in your party.  If there are 4 of you going to Lido, choose the 10th floor FOUR TIMES.  This lets the elevator know how many people are getting on in order to calculate space.
• Please don't:
  • Choose the floor once and then have 5 people hop on
  • Not choose a floor and just hop on any elevator that arrives 
  • Call an elevator then walk away
• All of those don'ts are going to cause massive elevator delays and frustrate you for the entire cruise.  

Thankfully we only had to use an elevator rarely as we just used the stairs to go to the restaurant and most things we did were within 2 floors of our cabin.

Please feel free to ask any specific questions about the ship or ports.  

Thank you all for following along!  This was my first long review and hopefully it was helpful!

They did do a Halloween costume contest on this ship and these two girls had the best costume!  (in my opinion)

We did stop at this restaurant after the tour for some lunch.  It was across the street from the pier.  The blackened grouper tacos were fantastic!  I also tried the local beer...tasted a lot like a Heineken.

More Aruba pics from our Trike tour

Now time for Aruba...

We LOVED Aruba!  We did our only excursion here, but I arranged it outside of Carnival.  I HIGHLY recommend Trikes Aruba if you want to see the island.  I ride motorcycle so this was right up my alley, but most of those who did the tour had no experience riding.  It didn't really matter as the trikes are almost impossible to tip over.  We basically saw 95% of the island and weren't stuck on a hot, stuffy bus while seeing it.  They took us to some amazing spots and didn't stick to just highways.  Went went through some of the little towns, neighborhoods, and even through a ritzier housing development.  Amazing views!

Everyone on Aruba was super friendly and they were happy to talk about their culture and island.  This is one island I would go back to outside of cruising. 

42 minutes ago, JaniceB said:

Great review.  I cruised in a Havana on this ship in May.  It is a very different cruising experience.  I mainly stayed on deck 5 and below, rarely visited the Lido.  It was a more intimate cruise experience.  I have decided to try a Havana inside on my next Horizon cruise.  We rarely used the cabana area because we could always find a seat in the pool area.  I absolutely loved it.

That seems to be the general concensus of those who stay in Havana...stay on deck 5.  I don't know if I would do an inside cabin, even Havana.  While I see your point, I hate not having a window and natural light in the cabin.  I did spend some time on the porch swing just relaxing and reading, so I did utilize it.

5 minutes ago, purplephenom said:

Do you know anymore about the Curacao Cocktail Tour?  I have it booked, but Curacao might be my favorite place ever, so I go back and forth between keeping it and canceling it and having more time to explore on my own.  

I know you will have time for both.  The tour doesn't meet till like 6-6:30pm and we docked just after 1pm.  I know we had time to go out into town, walk around and explore, then get back to the ship with plenty of time to shower before our 6pm dinner, so if the tour starts then you can do both.

Funny side note...there was a drunk dude who was was in line to get back on the ship...waited the 30-45 minutes to reboard, got the security, and they told him he was trying to get on the wrong ship!!!  He had to run back down the pier so he didn't miss his ship which was parked behind us lol.  His friends suck!

Here are a few shots of Curacao at night.  I've also included one of the people waiting to reboard the ship.

One more thing on Curacao, if you are a beer drinker, try their local brew.  It comes in golden and red.  The golden was light and refreshing and was perfect as it was a hot day there.  I didn't try the red but from the description it is much more bitter.