Horizon 3/4/05 review

[Joby]

The trip started out a bit rocky, but we did have a WONDERFUL time!

 

It was only our 2nd cruise, the last being on the Century in October (which we loved). Our group consisted of my sister and myself, both 40 somethings, and our 75 year old Mom. Mom has not been in good health the last year, so we are VERY fortunate to be able to travel with her at all.

 

I researched before the cruise and we did all private excursions on our own.

 

We were on the Horizon sailing 3/4/05--3/14/05. It was the 10 day Caribbean itinerary (Grand Cayman,-- Limon, Costa Rica--, Colon, Panama--,Roatan, Honduras--, Cozumel, Mexico.

 

As soon as we got on the ship, I was wondering around and came upon an unconscious woman. I asked if I could help and they said she had fallen and hit her head. She was so disoriented when she finally came to. I asked some questions and she didn't even know her name. She had an awful knot and bruise on her temple. As soon as the nurse came, I gave her the scoop and left. I later found out she was OK and able to stay on the ship.

 

Then at dinner on the first evening, Mom choked on prime rib! She couldn't talk or breathe!!! It was really bad and so scary. She finally expelled it herself. We took her to the Dr. office and they had to give her oxygen and she was vomiting. We were there for over an hour and they said she should be fine after she rested.

 

Mom was really congested and coughing for the next few days. We took her to the Dr. office again. The Dr. gave her an antibiotic. She was better in a few days.

 

On to the second night of the cruise--someone stole my purse! My purse only had $1, my $5 watch and 2 lipsticks, but the purse had been Mom's from 40 years ago. I just wanted the purse back. I checked every day with guest relations--but the purse never showed back up!

 

Regardless of the rocky start to the trip, we did have a great time!

 

We went to the Cayman Islands first. We went on the Buccaneer with Capt. Bryan's (www.grandcaymanexcursions.com) to swim with the stingrays and snorkel. The stingrays were AWESOME!!!! They were huge--1 was at least 4 ft. across. They are really soft and so gentle. I got my sister in the water for about 5 minutes and took her picture standing on a sandbar in the open ocean touching a stingray! She was done after that, but I stayed in the water for the whole 45 minutes we were there. Mom had fun watching us. My sister did snorkel the other 2 reefs. The 2 reefs we snorkeled at were nice. Saw a nurse shark and 2 big eels.

 

Next stop was Costa Rica. It was beyond awesome! We had a private driver for the whole day. We used Miki Travel ( www.mikitravel.net --ask for Christian). We went to the Tortugueros Canals, a banana plantation, Puerto Viejo and Cahuita National Park.

 

The canals are Costa Rica's rain forest area. We went on a 2 hr. private boat ride with a wonderful, knowledgeable eagle-eyed guide. We saw so many birds and monkeys and sloths and reptiles. Mom loved it, especially the monkeys.

 

The banana plantations were neat to see, bananas everywhere. Our guide stopped at his house and gave us organic bananas to eat--they were the best bananas we have ever eaten!

 

Puerto Viejo was a neat town. Very "hippyfied". Mostly young European surfers. We ate lunch there and our guide lives there, so he knew everyone. He gave us some cocoa beans and he cut down a fruit (I can't remember the name right now) to eat. It was good. We bought some neat handmade jewelry from a local boy.

 

Cahuita National Park was beautiful. The water and beach were a nature lovers dream. We had howler monkeys above us, lizards running around, and colorful birds.

 

Panama was our next port. Mom was so excited to see the Panama Canal. It was the reason for going on this trip. We had a private driver for the whole day again. We used Panoramic Panama(www.panoramicpanama.com).

 

We first went to the Gatun locks. It was so cool to see a 104 ft wide ship go through a 108 ft wide lock! The ships going through were huge. Our driver that day doubles as a guide for the Canal too, so he gave Mom all of the inside scoop on the canal.

 

Then we went on to Panama City. It was really neat to see too. So divided--the American side looked just like South Florida and the "old" side looked just like the French Quarter in New Orleans. Our driver was like a book of knowledge on Panama. He was born in Panama and raised in Miami, Florida, came back to Panama for a couple of years to make some money as a guide and is going back to Florida to work with young kids in trouble with the law. He has a Master's in Criminal Psychology.

 

Next port was Roatan. We went to Sante Wellness Center (www.santewellnesscenter.com), a day spa there. The day spa house was enormous and beautiful. The massages were great. My sister and I snorkeled a bit and Mom relaxed. We also had a good lunch of grilled shrimp at the spa.

 

The people of Roatan are very poor overall. Some people (98Charlie-- Gwynn and Diane) on our cruise were taking supplies to the CSI orphanage there. We brought some school supplies to give to the kids. A small way we could do something to help the kids.

 

Last stop was Cozumel. We rented a car there. I drove and my passengers prayed. It really wasn't that bad. My immediate family and I have gone to Cozumel for the last 3 years to dive. So, I have driven there before. It's just that Cozumelenos have their own agenda when driving and the gringos have to be very watchful. The gringos are the only ones who pay attention to stop signs, speed limits, etc.

 

I have a friend there who owns Eagleray Divers (www.eagleraydivers.com), so we set up a trip where my sister could snorkel, I could dive and Mom could ride along on the boat. It was great. We saw turtles and the hugest barracuda I have ever seen! The coral was lovely and so colorful. It's truly God's world down there in 80 ft. of water!

 

As soon as I came up out of the water from my dive, my sister yelled out, " Hey, Kim, I didn't even have to hold any body's hand!". She had held my hand for ALL of our snorkels previously. She was very proud of herself!

 

After the boat time, I took Mom and my sister on an island tour. We went to the East side-- it's so beautiful, through town, the grocery store and we even hit the helados joint (ice cream). It was a really fun day.

 

As usual, we 3 made our own good time laughing at ourselves. Sea days were filled with sleeping for Mom and nibbing around for Puff and me. We love to people watch and we found some good ones on this cruise! We even laughed at Mom's choking, my purse theft and the old men in speedo's at the ship's pool area.

 

We had superb food and the service was outstanding! Our dinner table mates were from Canada. They were: a 91 yr. old Mom, an 89 yr. old Dad, 2 sons and a daughter-in-law. The Dad called our Mom "Grandma" all the time.They were wonderful, even after we scared them to death after Mom's choking.

 

Our waiter, Mennino and his asst., Aston were OUTSTANDING! Our room steward, Vasio, was also wonderful! We were in room #5061 (a handicapped room). We found all of the staff to attend to any needs/wants that we had. The 2 Doctors, both from Columbia, that we saw were great too. Very comforting and professional.

 

A smile and a friendly "hello" from passengers to the staff and a good attitude goes a long way in making for a good trip.

 

The ship is showing it's age, but we found the staff and food to more than compensate for any stained carpeting or dated dacor! The ports and amount of time in all of the ports were great! It was nice to have a sea day interspersed between a port or two.

 

It was well worth the price we paid for the 10 day trip. We had a wonderful time and made so many unforgetable memories!

[Jamara]

Sorry to hear about your rocky start but sounds like a good time was had by all and your Mum did well to recover so quickly.

 

Thanks for the review it was a great insight and easy read.

[Gypsea]

Joby,

 

I am sorry you lost your vintage bag. And what a sport you were about it too. Why do people have to be like that? I always say, I don't care if I get any new things but I sure like to hold on to the ones I have. Somehow they are always more important to me as I am sure this purse was to you.

 

Anyway, thanks for that great review (if a bit dated now). The Horizon was my first Celeb cruise so I check the reviews when time allows.