Comin’ at you LIVE from Horizon 3/7-3/15

[Organized Chaos]

We’ve just been advised not to go outside because of high winds. We’re rockin & rollin again. Finished dinner a bit ago. Was in the aft (Meridian) MDR watching out the window. It’s enough to knock some glasses off the table and knock over some small things.  Ride ‘em cowboy!!

[jbethel11]

On 3/6/2020 at 5:28 PM, Organized Chaos said:

I thought I’d put this out there again. I enjoyed doing it a few months ago. This won’t be as in-depth of a live thread as others, I only do it in my spare time and our cruise comes first, but if anyone has any questions or comments about the Horizon, I’ll be checking in now & again.

 

After a very long drive that began yesterday morning (stopped overnight last night), we arrived at our Miami hotel this afternoon. Traffic in Atlanta yesterday was a nightmare as usual, made even worse by two accidents. South FL wasn’t any better...30-45 min. to drive 10 miles. Getting ready to have some pizza delivered soon, then we’re just relaxing after that drive. Some of my wife’s family are on the cruise too, but they’re in a different hotel.

 

Our hotel shuttle leaves for the port at 10am. We do have FTTF, so at least we won’t have to wait in the early/late line, but we’ll probably have to wait a while in the waiting area. That’s ok, we don’t mind waiting when there’s a cruise at the other end of the line.

 

This is our first time on the Horizon. In fact, our first time on a Vista class. We weren’t sure how we’d feel about this size ship, but wanted to experience it for ourselves. When it’s all said & done, at least we’ll know...and knowing is half the battle (obscure 80’s cartoon reference for those who caught that 😉).

 

Let’s get this party started! Well, after a good night’s sleep first. 😁

Didn't realize you were making a live thread! I'm here, albeit a few days late! How is the family?

[Organized Chaos]

Just now, jbethel11 said:

Didn't realize you were making a live thread! I'm here, albeit a few days late! How is the family?

 

We’re all having a great time. Getting ready to watch Love & Marriage. Donkey’s making it pretty dirty. LOL Thanks for stopping in.

[lensonlife]

6 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

Had lunch at the Pasta Bar. First of all, you can hear all the basketballs bouncing directly overhead, which seems to be a bad design decision. The food was good. A bit bland, really could’ve use some salt, but by no means bad. I had the Caesar salad, linguini noodles with meat sauce, and chicken strips. Even the strips were kinda bland. I tried the bread, too. Not my favorite, but it wasn’t bad.

 

I’ve been looking forward to this pasta ever since following @Gettys84 live review last April. Judging by his photos, the salads have shrunk.

 

Here’s the photo Gettys84 posted back then...

And here is the current serving. Not much less, but noticeable.

We’ll definitely go back. I tried a bite of my wife’s Alfredo. Again, needed salt, but good enough that I want that next time.

 

And here’s the bread...

 

We sailed the Horizon 8 day last summer and really enjoyed our vacation. And while we never did make it for lunch, we did eat dinner at Cucina Del Capitano and it was very good! I also agree with everyone about the caesar dressing. I don’t like fish, and I like caesar salad a lot. I know they are making an authentic dressing- but I can see those fish bits and taste them and it just turns me off. I can’t eat it. I normally don’t have an issue. It’s my problem- not theirs. 

[jbethel11]

8 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

We’re all having a great time. Getting ready to watch Love & Marriage. Donkey’s making it pretty dirty. LOL Thanks for stopping in.

That's great! Enjoy the rest of your night!

[beshears]

So your getting ready to go watch Love and Marriage?  I always enjoy watching that show, as long as I am NOT on the stage! 🙂 I will tell you, I have been texting to the other 6 people what you have been saying, as I am trying to keep them in tune of what is going on with you all.  I should have NEVER have said anything about the waves, as I'm sure that will scare them.  I have done what you mentioned, and even more, years ago.  I remember the bathroom door swinging back/forth, the dresser drawers going in/out, and before we went to bed, while trying to eat in the MDR, as we were getting ready to put a bit into our mouth, the ship would start rocking, so I know exactly what you are talking about!!!  As the expression goes, been there, done that, but I'm sure it is a new experience for those that have never been through it!

[PhillyFan33579]

22 minutes ago, beshears said:

So your getting ready to go watch Love and Marriage?  I always enjoy watching that show, as long as I am NOT on the stage! 🙂 

 
My wife and I used to never miss the Love and Marriage show, but over our last half-dozen or so Carnival cruises we stopped going to it. The CDs have been asking the same questions for years and years and it got to the point that the show became pretty boring. After attending 25 or so of these shows, it got to the point for us that every show seemed like a repeat of a previous show. It’s a shame because it would be very easy for Carnival to change the questions every year or so. But this goes back to their current focus on newer cruisers who haven’t seen the show before or who have only seen it 1 or 2 times. 

[Organized Chaos]

The R rated comic was very raunchy tonight. I’m no prude and I don’t get offended by that kinda thing, but I appreciate good comedy and you don’t need to be filthy to achieve it. He’s psaid he’ll be even worse on Tues. night when he has what he claims is the dirtiest comedy show Carnival’s ever approved. I didn’t find him funny so I doubt I find out.

Here’s the 80’s rock & glow party. A lot of people dressed up. Fun to people watch. 



And an 80’s Donkey...



Sorry about the quality.

[grandmarnnurse]

7 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

The R rated comic was very raunchy tonight. I’m no prude and I don’t get offended by that kinda thing, but I appreciate good comedy and you don’t need to be filthy to achieve it. He’s psaid he’ll be even worse on Tues. night when he has what he claims is the dirtiest comedy show Carnival’s ever approved. I didn’t find him funny so I doubt I find out.

Here’s the 80’s rock & glow party. A lot of people dressed up. Fun to people watch. 



And an 80’s Donkey...



Sorry about the quality.

I just got a new iPhone 11 for my next cruise coming up that has that nighttime feature. I’m hoping my night pictures up on deck will be better. That is, if I can figure out how to do it! Lol! You know what they say about senior citizens with tech! My grandchildren (college age) recently joked when we were all together and I was taking pics, to please notice that it was our grandmother that had the best and newest iPhone in the family! 

[Organized Chaos]

14 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 
My wife and I used to never miss the Love and Marriage show, but over our last half-dozen or so Carnival cruises we stopped going to it. The CDs have been asking the same questions for years and years and it got to the point that the show became pretty boring. After attending 25 or so of these shows, it got to the point for us that every show seemed like a repeat of a previous show. It’s a shame because it would be very easy for Carnival to change the questions every year or so. But this goes back to their current focus on newer cruisers who haven’t seen the show before or who have only seen it 1 or 2 times. 

 

I think you know how I feel about the theory that Carnival only focuses on newer cruisers. Every company needs to attract new customers or they won’t last long. That doesn’t mean they only care about the new ones. They also need to keep the ones they have. I don’t think the redundancy of Love & Marriage is an indication of that at all. Carnival is full of redundancy within their entertainment, and elsewhere. The same trivia categories, the same games, Playlist Production shows, same food venue menus, & so much more. To say one redundancy is a sign they only focus on new cruisers is to say they all are, and I just don’t believe that. I’ll agree that they need to change things up and keep it fresh. With that said, for things like Love & Marriage, even though the questions are the same, the countless string of contestants chosen from the audience makes each show that much different. 

[PhillyFan33579]

11 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

I think you know how I feel about the theory that Carnival only focuses on newer cruisers. Every company needs to attract new customers or they won’t last long. That doesn’t mean they only care about the new ones. They also need to keep the ones they have. I don’t think the redundancy of Love & Marriage is an indication of that at all. Carnival is full of redundancy within their entertainment, and elsewhere. The same trivia categories, the same games, Playlist Production shows, same food venue menus, & so much more. To say one redundancy is a sign they only focus on new cruisers is to say they all are, and I just don’t believe that. I’ll agree that they need to change things up and keep it fresh. With that said, for things like Love & Marriage, even though the questions are the same, the countless string of contestants chosen from the audience makes each show that much different. 

I used to agree with your last comment about the contestants making each show unique, which is why I attended a lot of these shows. The problem, at least from my perspective, is a lot of the questions are multiple choice (i.e what does your husband look like after a shower, what holiday was last night like, nun/hooker on an island, etc.). There are only so many ways contestants can answer these questions without hearing similar comments again and again. I guess another possibility could be the contestants just weren’t that good/funny the last few shows we attended. 

[Organized Chaos]

A few thoughts on the Horizon itself, while they’re fresh in my mind. The designer of this ship really likes pillars and likes to put them in the worst spots. They put two giant pillars in front of the stage. Who thought it’d be a good decision to put something on the front of a stage that seriously blocks line of sight? Surely there were methods of construction that could’ve prevented that. At the comedy club the other night, we ended up with a pillar between us and where the comedian stood most of the time. And he did several bits where seeing him was key. In the Liquid Lounge, we sat next to a pillar. Love & Marriage is done right on the front of the stage, so the pillar wasn’t in our way, but for other shows it would’ve been. The moral of this story...too many pillars that block views that I feel like could’ve been prevented. It doesn’t seem to be this bad on other classes.

 

Elevators: The elevator system was terribly slow on embarkation day, but that’s to be expected. When the ship was in port, I felt the elevators were quite fast. Then again, the old system is too since there’s fewer people onboard using them. Today’s a sea day and I don’t feel like they’re terrible. It feels like you wait a little longer for your proper car to open, but that could just be perception. The biggest problem comes from people who don’t know how to use them. No matter how much I use them right, people who don’t have an impact on the experience. I’m getting stopped at a lot of decks I shouldn’t be because those people call them, then get on a different car. So I get there and no one’s there. One complaint I have is the response time of the screen. If I have more then one person, I hit the deck I want and the system takes too long to tell me the deck and get back to the deck choice so I can repeat for others with me. I wish it asked for a deck first then asked for the number of people going instead of having to hit it multiple times. Overall, I don’t hate it and don’t think it’s a terrible system, but it’s obviously hard for some to figure out. If everyone did it right, I think it’d actually be quite nice. 

[Organized Chaos]

It’s been another rough day at sea, the worst yet. Watching the bridge cam this morning, we saw a couple rogue waves just about reach the bridge window. The decks are covered in salt from the sea spray all the way up to 15. 

 

Serenity has been closed all day because of the winds. Does anyone know if they move the salad bar somewhere else for times when serenity is closed?

[Organized Chaos]

I forgot to mention last night, the pizza line check at 10:30 pm was about a 5 minute wait. What’s nice about Horizon is that they have more crew making pizzas at night. There’s been 3-4 each night so far. We’re used to there only being one and he’d get swamped.

 

Sorry for the lack of photos, y’all. I know people like them. Honestly, I haven’t taken very many. There was once a time during our vacations when I spent way too much time looking through the lens of a camera and it began to feel like I wasn’t living in the moment. So I eventually made it a point to put the camera down and take in things with my own eyes. Since then, I don’t take nearly as many photos as I used to. I’ll try to take/post some, but can’t make any promises.

[Organized Chaos]

9 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

I just got a new iPhone 11 for my next cruise coming up that has that nighttime feature. I’m hoping my night pictures up on deck will be better. That is, if I can figure out how to do it! Lol! You know what they say about senior citizens with tech! My grandchildren (college age) recently joked when we were all together and I was taking pics, to please notice that it was our grandmother that had the best and newest iPhone in the family! 

 

My iPhone 6 is going on six years old now, but in the world of cell phone tech, it’s practically a dinosaur. It still gets the job done. I have a nice DSLR (an actual camera) but hate bringing it on cruises because it’s bulky. Oh well, my phone gets the job done good enough. Not that it matters much, considering I’m not taking many photos. 🤨

[Sagittarius traveler]

Elevators always slow on embarkation day I usually try to bring one luggage and do the stairs and excercise my way to the buffet 😂🤣

 

Got to balance it out some how lol.

[jbethel11]

50 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

I forgot to mention last night, the pizza line check at 10:30 pm was about a 5 minute wait. What’s nice about Horizon is that they have more crew making pizzas at night. There’s been 3-4 each night so far. We’re used to there only being one and he’d get swamped.

That's pretty interesting to notice. On the Valor (which you've also been on) I noticed that there was rarely a line to get pizza, and the times that there were, it moved rapidly. Contrarily, on the Horizon, I would wait upwards of 10 minutes just to get a pizza, though I guess I frequented Pizzeria Del Capitano during the daytime rush (mid-afternoon snack).

[jbethel11]

Just now, Sagittarius traveler said:

Elevators always slow on embarkation day I usually try to bring one luggage and do the stairs and excercise my way to the buffet 😂🤣

 

Got to balance it out some how lol.

Haha! It always balances itself out in the end; or does it? 🤨

[jbethel11]

2 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

The designer of this ship really likes pillars and likes to put them in the worst spots. They put two giant pillars in front of the stage.

I agree. The Liquid Lounge is probably the most horribly designed main showrooms on any ship!

[Sagittarius traveler]

Only on the first day I excercise my way to food ...other days uhmm elevator lol.

 

5 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

Haha! It always balances itself out in the end; or does it? 🤨

 

[mnp75]

Have they been keeping everything clean? I'll be getting on the ship Sunday. 

[beshears]

The Love & Marriage show may be the SAME questions, but that is alright with us. 🙂 When seeing "different" people on the stage all the time, you never know what is going to come out of their mouths! 🙂

 

The pictures of the 80's dance, is that the same as the White party," or is it something different?  I just received an email from Carnival about the "wearing white" party.

 

Sorry to read that you are still having those bad waves.  Hopefully they will be calm when we are on there next week.

[Organized Chaos]

I agree. The Liquid Lounge is probably the most horribly designed main showrooms on any ship!

I forgot to mention the two pillars I was talking about are the ones in the comedy club (Limelight Lounge). Right at the 10:00 & 2:00 positions. Seriously, it’s a stage and performers perform on it. Audiences need to see those performers. Why put pillars there!!??

I definitely miss the comedy clubs on the Conquest class. A bunch of the semicircle booths, several tables for two. So much seating on those.

But hey, they gotta squeeze more cabins in, so why not sacrifice two of the most frequented venues on the ship. Makes sense, right? Uhh right?

[Organized Chaos]

Have they been keeping everything clean? I'll be getting on the ship Sunday. 

I’d say they have. The hand sanitizer pushers haven’t been as strict today as day 1 & 2, but the dispensers are still around. They’re still serving everyone at the buffet, including at the ice cream machines.

[Organized Chaos]

The pictures of the 80's dance, is that the same as the White party," or is it something different?  I just received an email from Carnival about the "wearing white" party.
 
Sorry to read that you are still having those bad waves.  Hopefully they will be calm when we are on there next week.

The 80’s Rock & Glow party is separate. Normally they do that one out on deck by the Lido pool, but since the weather was crappy, they had to do it in the Lobby. There were more people dressed up for it than we’ve ever seen. Lots of typical 80’s garb, a couple guys dressed as Run DMC (famous rap group), and even a Richard Simmons, sweatin’ to the oldies guy. LOL I told my wife I should’ve looked for a good Hulk Hogan costume, with the padded muscle suit. He was big in the 80’s.

I’m not sure when the White Party is, but that’ll be in the Lobby no matter what.

We were still rockin today and still are as I write this. We went to sea day brunch and there were broken water glasses & coffee mugs on the floor. As we were leaving, the Maitre D made the announcement that no glasses or mugs were to be set up on tables. I heard that the gift shop was sold out of Dramamine.