Horizon review - Aug 16-20 to Bermuda

[ArmchairQB]

Just some key thoughts that may not be covered elsewhere....

 

- Don't rely on your GPS if staying in or driving through midtown. MY GPS went haywire on the way in to our midtown hotel, likely because of the building heights. One wrong turn and we added 1 hour to our trip.

- Parking at the terminal is really easy. Only one way in and one way out. Remember which pier you are directed to park at. We were directed to pier 86 and the ship was at 88. When we arrived we were on the lower level and were disoriented for a few minutes when we went to the parking level.

- In NY they have an Early Arrival line. Please don't flame me, but we arrived an hour or so earlier and we breezed through security. There was an issue with our passports being read by the scanner so we had to wait in a line past security. Even with that wait we were on the ship less than an hour after we arrived and right at the time we were to check in. We boarded and ate at Blue Iguana (no lines) on Deck 10 mid ship. By about 1PM lines were forming at Guy's, Iguana and in the Lido Buffet. Seating was becoming scarce around the same time.

- The refrigerator cabinet has a vent so I am not sure the towel trick to open the cabinet door is necessary any longer. I can say that the vent and fan in the bottom middle of the back of the fridge cannot be blocked or the fridge won't cool. It worked well otherwise.

- We were at muster when the ship pushed back and we were already down the Hudson some by the time we got back to our cabin. A bit disappointing. We were at muster 5 minutes early and were disappointed to be kept waiting for 30-45 min while the CD made a number of announcements. (as in, "I can see you on the Promenade, get to your muster")

- Never felt crowded anywhere on the ship, except after muster when everyone was stuck in the same hallways.

- We did not ride the elevators much. Being on deck 8 we were central enough that stairs were preferred. When we did ride the elevators we only had 2 concerns. First, it takes too long to select the number of passengers. A few times lines formed to select the car because of this. Some of the floors have TV screens that identify which floor(s) a car is going to. But no where is the current position of the elevator shown. A few times we waited and decided it was quicker to take the stairs - but we really didn't know for sure. This leads to elevators being called to floors unnecessarily.

- Starboard side view of the Statute of Liberty and the V. Narrows Bridge on the outbound trip was amazing. We went up to Serenity for this. Starboard side view of Wall Street on the inbound trip (very very early in the AM) was even better.

- Definitely get the Skyride, Ropes course and Waterslides out of the way early. On such a short itinerary the risk of these being closed is high. We did the sky ride (the attendant was not only from the same country as us, but also from the same city!!!!) on the first sea day but everything was closed on the 2nd sea day.

- The seas on the 2nd sea day were rough. I though we were Ok in our deck 8 room and managed Ok even up on decks 10-12. I heard some people on deck 2 were subjected to constant banging.

- Debarking to Bermuda was very easy. We were amongst the first off the ship at 8:30 and we were settled in at Horseshoe Bay beach by 9:30. No need to walk to the mini-bus zone as they will be lined up on the walkway right next to the ship.

- Put your hangars on the closet floor after you pack up on the last night. Otherwise they will bang together all night.

 

That's all I can think of for now.

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for the review. I wonder when the idiots that skip muster will get it. It only delays the entire ship. They need to find a way to punish them instead of everybody else.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[pascalburns]

enjoyed the review.

[nealstuber]

- Put your hangars on the closet floor after you pack up on the last night. Otherwise they will bang together all night..

 

 

You review was loaded with great tips, but this one is my favorite!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[matt082600]

Just some key thoughts that may not be covered elsewhere....

 

- Don't rely on your GPS if staying in or driving through midtown. MY GPS went haywire on the way in to our midtown hotel, likely because of the building heights. One wrong turn and we added 1 hour to our trip.

- Parking at the terminal is really easy. Only one way in and one way out. Remember which pier you are directed to park at. We were directed to pier 86 and the ship was at 88. When we arrived we were on the lower level and were disoriented for a few minutes when we went to the parking level.

- In NY they have an Early Arrival line. Please don't flame me, but we arrived an hour or so earlier and we breezed through security. There was an issue with our passports being read by the scanner so we had to wait in a line past security. Even with that wait we were on the ship less than an hour after we arrived and right at the time we were to check in. We boarded and ate at Blue Iguana (no lines) on Deck 10 mid ship. By about 1PM lines were forming at Guy's, Iguana and in the Lido Buffet. Seating was becoming scarce around the same time.

- The refrigerator cabinet has a vent so I am not sure the towel trick to open the cabinet door is necessary any longer. I can say that the vent and fan in the bottom middle of the back of the fridge cannot be blocked or the fridge won't cool. It worked well otherwise.

- We were at muster when the ship pushed back and we were already down the Hudson some by the time we got back to our cabin. A bit disappointing. We were at muster 5 minutes early and were disappointed to be kept waiting for 30-45 min while the CD made a number of announcements. (as in, "I can see you on the Promenade, get to your muster")

- Never felt crowded anywhere on the ship, except after muster when everyone was stuck in the same hallways.

- We did not ride the elevators much. Being on deck 8 we were central enough that stairs were preferred. When we did ride the elevators we only had 2 concerns. First, it takes too long to select the number of passengers. A few times lines formed to select the car because of this. Some of the floors have TV screens that identify which floor(s) a car is going to. But no where is the current position of the elevator shown. A few times we waited and decided it was quicker to take the stairs - but we really didn't know for sure. This leads to elevators being called to floors unnecessarily.

- Starboard side view of the Statute of Liberty and the V. Narrows Bridge on the outbound trip was amazing. We went up to Serenity for this. Starboard side view of Wall Street on the inbound trip (very very early in the AM) was even better.

- Definitely get the Skyride, Ropes course and Waterslides out of the way early. On such a short itinerary the risk of these being closed is high. We did the sky ride (the attendant was not only from the same country as us, but also from the same city!!!!) on the first sea day but everything was closed on the 2nd sea day.

- The seas on the 2nd sea day were rough. I though we were Ok in our deck 8 room and managed Ok even up on decks 10-12. I heard some people on deck 2 were subjected to constant banging.

- Debarking to Bermuda was very easy. We were amongst the first off the ship at 8:30 and we were settled in at Horseshoe Bay beach by 9:30. No need to walk to the mini-bus zone as they will be lined up on the walkway right next to the ship.

- Put your hangars on the closet floor after you pack up on the last night. Otherwise they will bang together all night.

 

That's all I can think of for now.

 

Thanks for your review arm chair.