Horizon cruisers..... really that bad??

[dcruisers]

We are considering a cruise on the Horizon because of the itinerary.  We are well seasoned cruisers  ( over 30 cruises) having cruised on a variety of cruise lines including Carnival.

After  checking reviews I am wondering...... from service to food....is it really that terrible?   

We have  enjoyed our previous Carnival cruises but this is giving us second thoughts about booking the Horizon.

We would  appreciate hearing from Horizon cruisers..... should we stay away from this ship?

TIA!

[Cruise4YourLife]

My group of five just got off of the Horizon today.  Unfortunately, I've only cruised one other time, on the Glory, so my experience is limited.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the crew and the service, as well as most of the food.  Our frustrations came from not being able to use the overcrowded pools and rarely finding seats for all of us together (except for in the main dining room and deck 5).  

 

Can I ask what the itinerary is?  We just finished the Southern and LOVED all of the ports, minus La Romana (it was too hot to get out and explore with my 70+ co-cruisers).  

 

If I'm totally honest, I liked the accessibility of the Glory better, but I found the amenities of the Horizon to be better.  

 

If you have any questions about the Horizon, I just debarked today and am happy to answer anything on your mind 🙂

[SNJCruisers]

The only downside I found on the Horizon was the sight lines in the main showroom.  Other than that, we had a fabulous time.  Of course this was enhanced by staying in the Havana area.  Anytime we stay on a Vista Class ship in the future, it will be in a Havana inside.  We're back doing the southern route this August.  Havana area is great, with plenty of room in the pool and no kids in the hot tubs.

[crewsweeper]

Second SNJCruisers' comments.  We had a lanai and enjoyed it.  But also spent time out by the pool and hot tubs..

The locations is very convenient to lots of things.  Rarely visited the Lido. Only went to Serenity deck for the salad bar on a sea day. If you do My Time Dining or sea brunch, the MDR is a short elevator, 2 flights of stairs down.

[PhillyFan33579]

The biggest negative for Horizon (Vista too) is the two theaters are way too small for the size of the ship.  The sight lines are also poor in a lot of seats as mentioned by the previous poster.  If you aren’t a fan of production and comedy shows, that eliminates a big negative. 

 

Another big negative is how crowded the pools get on Horizon. If you search this sight, including this thread, you will read countless posts recommending the Havana area, which allows guests to avoid the crowds associated with the main pools on the ship. However, if you don’t spend all day lounging by a pool, this eliminates another big negative. 

 

Personally I prefer Dream, Conquest and Spirit class ships, but I would still cruise on Horizon or Vista again if the price was right.   

[nycruise3]

I thought the Horizon was amazing- possibly even my favorite ship. I do not think there were any major problems.

[VolzCruiser]

I thought the Horizon was wonderful. Had great service in the MDR. I really like this ship. 

[samiam0403]

I sailed on Horizon last November, and was blown away by how much I loved the ship and crew. After 20+ Carnival cruises, it easily is my favorite Carnival ship (after the old no-longer-owned-by-Carnival Holiday, of course). 

[mdin]

I had a great time on Horizon. One of my favorite ships.

[CruzCrazy]

We were on Horizon in December, and we enjoyed it very much.  The main show theater does have some issues with its design, but we are usually early for everything, so we always got a good seat. 

 

People complain about the elevators, but it's more an issue of people not understanding how they work, only one person selecting the floor on the screen when there are multiple passengers in their group, getting frustrated and just jumping on any elevator that stops, etc. 

 

I love the way they redesigned (finally) the lido buffet area with multiple "stations."  It's much more convenient.

 

The atrium is much less opulent, but it was fine.  They've added other venues like the Havana Bar and the Pig and Anchor.  I loved the digital format for the photos. 

 

Getting prime lounge chairs on lido was never a problem for us, but we are early risers.

 

The only negative on our 8-day cruise was the steakhouse.  We had subpar service, and one of the waiters spilled scalding-hot soup on my husband's foot.  We had a group of 12, and at the end they messed the checks up and took forever to get it corrected. 

 

We would cruise the Horizon again.

[mets07]

Just got off Horizon yesterday.  It was our first Carnival cruise. We loved it. Especially liked all the complimentary food options, variety of bars, and quality of live music. 

 

We did not go in the pools or hot tubs. Seemed underwhelming vs. # of passengers.  Theater strangely designed, but not a big deal to us. Public restrooms in our opinion should be bigger and easier to locate. 

 

Whatever you decide, enjoy! 

[JaniceB]

I'll let you know when I get off my cruise on June 1.  I do have a Havana cabin so hoping I don't have pool issues.  We have reservations at 4 specialty restaurants and dining twice in the main dining room so hopefully I can answer some questions.

[SNJCruisers]

14 minutes ago, JaniceB said:

I'll let you know when I get off my cruise on June 1.  I do have a Havana cabin so hoping I don't have pool issues.  We have reservations at 4 specialty restaurants and dining twice in the main dining room so hopefully I can answer some questions.

Pool issues in the Havana area are non existent.  Enjoy your meals at Jiji's, Cucina del Capitano, Fahrenheit Steakhouse and Teppanyaki.  Would highly recommend the Tomahawk Pork Chop and the Horizon only pasta.

[JaniceB]

Thanks SNJCruiser!

[Joebucks]

I've yet to sail the Horizon. I'm fairly sure it will be my next cruise. I have read a bunch of Horizon reviews though. They all seem to fall into two camps, no in between:

 

1.) Had an amazing time. There is so much to do on the ship. The itinerary was a blast. Amazing vacation

 

2.) It was crowded by the pool and in the theaters. Liquid lounge sucks. Elevators suck. For these reasons, I hate Horizon.

 

I have a feeling I would be in the #1 crowd.

[cruizergal70]

I've sailed on the Horizon.

 

1. I'm not a pool person.

2. The elevators were fine. Just have to understand how they work. Don't get frustrated and angry because it's a new way of doing things.

3. For the theater shows, just show up early and get any seat you like.

[dcruisers]

12 hours ago, Cruise4YourLife said:

My group of five just got off of the Horizon today.  Unfortunately, I've only cruised one other time, on the Glory, so my experience is limited.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the crew and the service, as well as most of the food.  Our frustrations came from not being able to use the overcrowded pools and rarely finding seats for all of us together (except for in the main dining room and deck 5).  

 

Can I ask what the itinerary is?  We just finished the Southern and LOVED all of the ports, minus La Romana (it was too hot to get out and explore with my 70+ co-cruisers).  

 

If I'm totally honest, I liked the accessibility of the Glory better, but I found the amenities of the Horizon to be better.  

 

If you have any questions about the Horizon, I just debarked today and am happy to answer anything on your mind 🙂

We are interested in the 8 day with Aruba, Curaçao etc- we’ve been to all the ports before but not in a few years.

What is the deal with the elevators that many have mentioned?  

Thanks for the info!

[dcruisers]

Thank you all for the information and mostly very positive comments!  I do feel better.

the last Carnival ship we sailed was the Magic.  My husband had appendicitis and the drs on board were fantastic!   We liked the size but are willing to try a larger ship.

[thanna]

Our problems with the Horizon stem from the design. They increased the cabin/ passenger count, but made the public areas smaller. Not surprisingly that leads to crowding.

The food options were great and the service was ok. It gets old though never being able to get seat at the Alchemy or piano bar or the casino or ….. You get the point.

[mets07]

9 minutes ago, dcruisers said:

We are interested in the 8 day with Aruba, Curaçao etc- we’ve been to all the ports before but not in a few years.

What is the deal with the elevators that many have mentioned?  

Thanks for the info!

You go to a screen outside the elevators and click on the deck you want to go to.  It tells you which elevator to take e.g. Elevator A, B, C, D, etc.  Then on that same screen you click the deck you are going to again for each person in your party. It really is easy. I think people just don't like that it is different. There are no buttons inside the elevators to click deck numbers. 

 

 

[SNJCruisers]

6 minutes ago, thanna said:

It gets old though never being able to get seat at the Alchemy or piano bar or the casino or ….. You get the point.

Your experience was the exact opposite of ours during our 8 nights last August out of NYC.  The Alchemy and Piano Bars were our nightly hangouts with the exception of a few comedy shows we went to.  We were able to get a seat at Alchemy the majority of the time and never had a problem sitting in the Piano Bar, getting a seat at the Piano more often than not.

[SNJCruisers]

The main problem with the elevators are that many people only hit the screen once for their party of 4 instead of the required 4 times.  The system then assumes that 1 person is getting on instead of 4.  If two parties do this, the system is assuming 2 people when in fact it's eight and the elevator is now full.

Edited May 13, 2019 by SNJCruisers

[dcruisers]

We usually travel with 3 other couples. so I can see where it would be  confusing making sure you tap the screen 8 times- not sure if everyone in our group would always remember to to that😜

what time are the shows in the theater? Most of the recent cruises we have been  on (Celebrity most recently) the shows are 7 and 9

Edited May 13, 2019 by dcruisers

[tiazzi]

5 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I've yet to sail the Horizon. I'm fairly sure it will be my next cruise. I have read a bunch of Horizon reviews though. They all seem to fall into two camps, no in between:

 

1.) Had an amazing time. There is so much to do on the ship. The itinerary was a blast. Amazing vacation

 

2.) It was crowded by the pool and in the theaters. Liquid lounge sucks. Elevators suck. For these reasons, I hate Horizon.

 

I have a feeling I would be in the #1 crowd.

I have seen the same thing. I look forward to my August sailing. I think cruising is what you make it. I have never been on a cruise and had a bad time.

 

3 hours ago, mets07 said:

You go to a screen outside the elevators and click on the deck you want to go to.  It tells you which elevator to take e.g. Elevator A, B, C, D, etc.  Then on that same screen you click the deck you are going to again for each person in your party. It really is easy. I think people just don't like that it is different. There are no buttons inside the elevators to click deck numbers. 

 

 

Oh I keep seeing those elevators pop up everywhere. It's kind of like if you don't know you would step into the elevator and see no buttons. And then you have to go to correct elevator not just the first one that opens up.

[PhillyFan33579]

3 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

The main problem with the elevators are that many people only hit the screen once for their party of 4 instead of the required 4 times.  The system then assumes that 1 person is getting on instead of 4.  If two parties do this, the system is assuming 2 people when in fact it's eight and the elevator is now full.

 

I think there should be instructions by every elevator touchpad explaining how to request an elevator. The elevator system isn’t difficult to use, but it’s not intuitive either. The biggest problem is people don’t push the button enough times to correspond to the number of people in their party. I did an 8 day cruise on Horizon less than 2 months ago and groups of people were still pushing the deck level they wanted to go to only one time on the last day of the cruise. All these people aren’t stupid, they just never learned how to use the elevator correctly for one reason or another.