Pre scheduling Horizon shows

[Caribbean Drifters]

Hi friends, in our tour of the new big ships we just booked Horizon. it's our first big new ship with Carnival, and had some preconceived notions. I'm trying to schedule our evenings, but all I can do schedule specialty timing. our experience with RCI, and NCL, is that close to sailings (we are 78 days out) you could book the headliner shows, comedy shows,  and schedule things around you seating time in the MDR or a speciality restaurant. Does Carnival really not operate this way? Do I have to wait til we are closer? Are all those things just first come first serve? Do you have to mad dash to schedule when you get onboard?

[bury me at sea]

There is no reservation system for entertainment.  Some events are scheduled twice each evening to accommodate early and late dining times.  The comedy club generally has two shows each evening, early family friendly and late for 18 and older.

 

Check each day's Fun Time and then just show up prior to start time for the things that interest you.

 

Welcome to Carnival!

[DGP1111]

7 minutes ago, Caribbean Drifters said:

 . . .  Does Carnival really not operate this way? Do I have to wait til we are closer? Are all those things just first come first serve? Do you have to mad dash to schedule when you get onboard?

 

No, Carnival doesn't operate the same way.  

 

You'll just show up for the events (main theatre, comedy, etc.) on the nights they are offered.  No 'mad dash' at embarkation, as it's not even offered then. I hope you'll enjoy your cruise. 😊😊

 

.

[Caribbean Drifters]

There is no reservation system for entertainment.  Some events are scheduled twice each evening to accommodate early and late dining times.  The comedy club generally has two shows each evening, early family friendly and late for 18 and older.
 
Check each day's Fun Time and then just show up prior to start time for the things that interest you.
 
Welcome to Carnival!

Multiple showings is a nice touch, the last thing I would want to do it have to reschedule dinner after I get on the ship to be able to see the nightly entertainment. Any link on where a Fun Times for Horizon is? Thanks for the help


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[bury me at sea]

1 hour ago, Caribbean Drifters said:

Multiple showings is a nice touch, the last thing I would want to do it have to reschedule dinner after I get on the ship to be able to see the nightly entertainment. Any link on where a Fun Times for Horizon is? Thanks for the help


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Fun Times is left in your cabin each evening and lists events, times, location, and price of all activities for the following day.  It is specific to each sailing.

 

It's a go with the flow vacation on a Fun Ship.  

 

 

[trummy]

3 hours ago, Caribbean Drifters said:

Hi friends, in our tour of the new big ships we just booked Horizon. it's our first big new ship with Carnival, and had some preconceived notions. I'm trying to schedule our evenings, but all I can do schedule specialty timing. our experience with RCI, and NCL, is that close to sailings (we are 78 days out) you could book the headliner shows, comedy shows,  and schedule things around you seating time in the MDR or a speciality restaurant. Does Carnival really not operate this way? Do I have to wait til we are closer? Are all those things just first come first serve? Do you have to mad dash to schedule when you get onboard?

You don't have to schedule any of that. Carnival truly is free style.

[trummy]

3 hours ago, Caribbean Drifters said:

Multiple showings is a nice touch, the last thing I would want to do it have to reschedule dinner after I get on the ship to be able to see the nightly entertainment. Any link on where a Fun Times for Horizon is? Thanks for the help


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

You don't even have to have a preset MDR time. We do "your time dining" so we can eat when we please. We don't like schedules on vacation. If we are having a great conversation with newfound friends or have just discovered a great musician, we might not want to leave just because we have a scheduled meal. But, that's us. You do you and enjoy.

 

https://cruiseradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CARNIVAL-HORIZON-FUN-TIMES.pdf

 

Edited April 24, 2020 by trummy

[Caribbean Drifters]

I mean, every cruise line has 'my time dining' and gives you a brochure the night before for the next day, but all the other lines LET you also book whatever you want before sailing. The worse thing to a lot of people would be to have to reschedule your specialty dining reservation you booked 4 months ago because you found out at 8PM the night before it conflicts with the headlining show the following night. Why not offer both like everyone else? I'm not trying to complain, just a bit taken aback.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Caribbean Drifters

[rebeccac]

5 hours ago, Caribbean Drifters said:

I mean, every cruise line has 'my time dining' and gives you a brochure the night before for the next day, but all the other lines LET you also book whatever you want before sailing. The worse thing to a lot of people would be to have to reschedule your specialty dining reservation you booked 4 months ago because you found out at 8PM the night before it conflicts with the headlining show the following night. Why not offer both like everyone else? I'm not trying to complain, just a bit taken aback.

 

Actually, ONLY RCI and NCL let you pre-book entertainment (unless there is an upcharge dinner theater thing) and even then it is only for the big shows such as Broadway, ice skating and water shows.  So even on those lines, if they don't have those types of shows on your specific ship, there won't be any pre-booking.  You can't pre-book entertainment on Celebrity, Disney, Princess, Holland.  

[PhillyFan33579]

6 hours ago, Caribbean Drifters said:

I mean, every cruise line has 'my time dining' and gives you a brochure the night before for the next day, but all the other lines LET you also book whatever you want before sailing. The worse thing to a lot of people would be to have to reschedule your specialty dining reservation you booked 4 months ago because you found out at 8PM the night before it conflicts with the headlining show the following night. Why not offer both like everyone else? I'm not trying to complain, just a bit taken aback.

I don’t understand why you would book a cruise on Carnival if you don’t like their lack of a reservation system. Carnival has been very successful without implementing a reservation system and I don’t see that changing in the future. On the majority of Carnival ships, you can literally walk into a theater shortly before a comedy or production show starts and find seats most of the time. The one big exception to this is Vista class ships, which includes Horizon. The theaters (called lounges) on these ships are very small. From my experience if you don’t show up 30 minutes before a show you risk not being able to find a seat. 
 

While you can’t plan your entire cruise ahead of time like you can on RCI (that is the only other cruise line I am very familiar with and that only applies to their larger ships) if you use Carnival’s app on the ship, you will have access to the schedule for every day of the cruise once you board the ship. 

Edited April 24, 2020 by PhillyFan33579

[JaxsMama]

9 hours ago, Caribbean Drifters said:

I mean, every cruise line has 'my time dining' and gives you a brochure the night before for the next day, but all the other lines LET you also book whatever you want before sailing. The worse thing to a lot of people would be to have to reschedule your specialty dining reservation you booked 4 months ago because you found out at 8PM the night before it conflicts with the headlining show the following night. Why not offer both like everyone else? I'm not trying to complain, just a bit taken aback.

If you google Horizon funtimes you should be able to get an idea of times.  I eat early so I make my specialty reservations at 6 and we are usually done by the time evening activities are starting.  The hibachi books up quickly so if you're interested make those reservations now. Other than that it's usually not hard to get into a restaurant.  When you get on board the hub app should show you the schedule for the week as well as dinner menus. I'd check those out and then make reservations for the week accordingly.  Hope you enjoy Carnival and have a great cruise! 

[evandbob]

On some Carnival cruises it might be good to arrive at least a half hour early for the comedy shows as well.  The aft club room fills up quickly and coming 5 or 10 minutes before a show starts may be SRO.

 

Recently on the Symphony of the Seas where we pre-booked our entertainment.  Worked well except for one night at the theater.  While we entered 15 minutes early, those already seated were saving empty seats for their friends/family on the "will call" line. Seat saving was forbidden, but no staff around to enforce.  Rather than cause a commotion, we left.

 

We found NCL's system of pre-booking  shows quite simple.  Whatever system is used, we adjust to it.

[Caribbean Drifters]

20 hours ago, rebeccac said:

 

Actually, ONLY RCI and NCL let you pre-book entertainment (unless there is an upcharge dinner theater thing) and even then it is only for the big shows such as Broadway, ice skating and water shows.  So even on those lines, if they don't have those types of shows on your specific ship, there won't be any pre-booking.  You can't pre-book entertainment on Celebrity, Disney, Princess, Holland. 

HAL and Princess are Carnival, Celebrity is RCI, and doesn't have any ships this size that would warrant a need they way Vista class ships do. You can prebook on Disney. RCI, NCL, and Carnival make up The Big 3, it's basically industry standard at this point, and has made life on bigger ships much more streamlined.

 

[Caribbean Drifters]

19 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I don’t understand why you would book a cruise on Carnival if you don’t like their lack of a reservation system. Carnival has been very successful without implementing a reservation system and I don’t see that changing in the future. On the majority of Carnival ships, you can literally walk into a theater shortly before a comedy or production show starts and find seats most of the time. The one big exception to this is Vista class ships, which includes Horizon. The theaters (called lounges) on these ships are very small. From my experience if you don’t show up 30 minutes before a show you risk not being able to find a seat. 
 

While you can’t plan your entire cruise ahead of time like you can on RCI (that is the only other cruise line I am very familiar with and that only applies to their larger ships) if you use Carnival’s app on the ship, you will have access to the schedule for every day of the cruise once you board the ship. 

I dont understand why you would think one oversight would preclude someone from not booking a certain cruise line, especially when I prefaced that we were touring the new big ships. I guess it is hard to turn a big ship around.

[cruizergal70]

I think it's great that shows aren't prescheduled. What if folks preschedule, the show fills up on paper, but then half the people change their mind at the last minute? 

 

One of the benefits of Carnival, my time dining,  etc is that you aren't obligated to a schedule while on vacation. 

[PhillyFan33579]

5 hours ago, Caribbean Drifters said:

I dont understand why you would think one oversight would preclude someone from not booking a certain cruise line, especially when I prefaced that we were touring the new big ships. I guess it is hard to turn a big ship around.

The fact that you posted a comment about this issue implied it was a big deal, at least the way I read it. However, I understand your point about not booking a cruise over one issue, especially if it’s not that important to you. Also, you keep calling Horizon a big ship. While it may be a big ship for Carnival, I don’t consider it a big ship. It would be one of RCI’s smaller ships, for example.   

[Caribbean Drifters]

6 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

The fact that you posted a comment about this issue implied it was a big deal, at least the way I read it. However, I understand your point about not booking a cruise over one issue, especially if it’s not that important to you. Also, you keep calling Horizon a big ship. While it may be a big ship for Carnival, I don’t consider it a big ship. It would be one of RCI’s smaller ships, for example.   

It's clear carnival is not yet up with the times, but I do love the brand. It would take a ton of infrastructure to make the big technology changes necessary to get up to speed with the other 2 of the big 3, but it will happen as they keep making big ships. Not sure why your perception of ship sizes is skewed from reality, but here are some facts, that dispel opinions.

Horizon: 6,680 passenger. length: 1,060 feet long
Allure: 6,780 passangers. Length: 1,187 feet long

here is an average ship:
Spirit: 2,1324 passangers. Length: 963 feet long
Enchantment: 2,730 passangers. Length: 989 feet long

 

I hope this helps.

[Caribbean Drifters]

Here is where some personal OPINION comes in. It's all a money thing. You can prebook Dr. Suess, and Teppanyaki, and Water bottles months in advance. This is so they can hold as much money in their coffers as possible, and I dont really blame them for that, its smart business. But they are unwilling or at least not focused on implementing the same thing for NON PAID things on the ships. If You take a look at the whole picture, the chief complaint of cruisers on this class ship is that is packed and there are lines everywhere. Bringing the entertainment that already has set times up for the availability of booking would alleviate those traffic jams, and allow the cruiser for both experiences, either unscheduled freedom, or the ability to plan accordingly. My opinion is that is what birthed such operations on the other 2 of the big 3 from listening to what their clients main complaint.

[BlerkOne]

Carnival knows what they are doing is why not. Royal is out to make the ship the destination and keep you and your money on the ship. In these trying times, Carnival is in far better financial shape than Royal or NCL. It is impossible for Carnival to please everyone, but they certainly please enough.

[BlerkOne]

6 minutes ago, Caribbean Drifters said:

Here is where some personal OPINION comes in. It's all a money thing. You can prebook Dr. Suess, and Teppanyaki, and Water bottles months in advance. This is so they can hold as much money in their coffers as possible, and I dont really blame them for that, its smart business. But they are unwilling or at least not focused on implementing the same thing for NON PAID things on the ships. If You take a look at the whole picture, the chief complaint of cruisers on this class ship is that is packed and there are lines everywhere. Bringing the entertainment that already has set times up for the availability of booking would alleviate those traffic jams, and allow the cruiser for both experiences, either unscheduled freedom, or the ability to plan accordingly. My opinion is that is what birthed such operations on the other 2 of the big 3 from listening to what their clients main complaint.

 

Why in the world would Carnival focus on things that don't generate revenue? They are a business, not a charity.

 

The "chief complaint"? Based on what scientific evidence? A lot of people like freedom to choose once on the ship and not be forced to make plans in advance. A lot of people like Carnival because it isn't NCL or RCL.

[TNcruising02]

One of the best perks for me with Carnival is that I don't have to pre-book shows.  I don't like to schedule my vacation days in advance.  If I want to see a show one day, I like to just arrive 30 minutes early and find a good seat.  Some people like to schedule things and others don't.  To me, it's so much easier to cruise when I can decide each day what I feel like doing that night.  Getting good seats just means arriving early, which isn't a problem for my husband and me.  We always arrive early whenever we go places.

The larger the ship, the harder it is to get good seats if you arrive at the last minute.  Since they always have more than one show, it's easier to work it into a dinner reservation.

[PhillyFan33579]

43 minutes ago, Caribbean Drifters said:

It's clear carnival is not yet up with the times, but I do love the brand. It would take a ton of infrastructure to make the big technology changes necessary to get up to speed with the other 2 of the big 3, but it will happen as they keep making big ships. Not sure why your perception of ship sizes is skewed from reality, but here are some facts, that dispel opinions.

Horizon: 6,680 passenger. length: 1,060 feet long
Allure: 6,780 passangers. Length: 1,187 feet long

here is an average ship:
Spirit: 2,1324 passangers. Length: 963 feet long
Enchantment: 2,730 passangers. Length: 989 feet long

 

I hope this helps.

 

The length of a ship by itself doesn’t tell you much without considering the beam (width). The beam of Allure is significantly wider, which is why the gross tonnage of Allure is 225,000, considerably more than Horizon’s gross tonnage of 133,500. 
 

Even without these numbers which are facts, I assume you have never been on an Oasis class ship like Allure. Even Carnival’s biggest fans (I have 34 cruises on Carnival so I am far from anti-Carnival) knows Oasis class ships are significantly bigger than Vista class ships. The passenger numbers you mentioned is a big reason why I have never felt crowded on an Oasis class ship, while Vista and Horizon are the two most crowded ships I have cruised on. 
 

Interesting that you mentioned Spirit. Spirit class ships are Carnival’s best designed ships in my opinion. They also have the best Serenity areas on any Carnival ship and are the only ships that compare to RCI’s Solarium area in my book. 

[N7786W Flyer]

1 hour ago, Caribbean Drifters said:

It's clear carnival is not yet up with the times, but I do love the brand. It would take a ton of infrastructure to make the big technology changes necessary to get up to speed with the other 2 of the big 3, but it will happen as they keep making big ships. Not sure why your perception of ship sizes is skewed from reality, but here are some facts, that dispel opinions.

Horizon: 6,680 passenger. length: 1,060 feet long
Allure: 6,780 passangers. Length: 1,187 feet long

here is an average ship:
Spirit: 2,1324 passangers. Length: 963 feet long
Enchantment: 2,730 passangers. Length: 989 feet long

 

I hope this helps.

 

Where did you find that the Horizon carried 6,680 passengers??  Even from Carnival's website, the passenger capacity is far lower...even counting the crew, it doesn't approach 6,000 passengers.

 

https://www.carnival.com/cruise-ships/carnival-horizon.aspx

 

Garnett

[bury me at sea]

I think it's great there are cruise lines that cater to people who want to pre-plan each day of their vacation.

 

I think it's great that Carnival allows choices for those of us who prefer not to vacation with a daily preset schedule.

 

Choose the line that suits your preference.

 

 

[Trueblueky]

3 hours ago, Caribbean Drifters said:

It's clear carnival is not yet up with the times, but I do love the brand. It would take a ton of infrastructure to make the big technology changes necessary to get up to speed with the other 2 of the big 3, but it will happen as they keep making big ships. Not sure why your perception of ship sizes is skewed from reality, but here are some facts, that dispel opinions.

Horizon: 6,680 passenger. length: 1,060 feet long
Allure: 6,780 passangers. Length: 1,187 feet long

here is an average ship:
Spirit: 2,1324 passangers. Length: 963 feet long
Enchantment: 2,730 passangers. Length: 989 feet long

 

I hope this helps.

If "up with the times" means I need to prebook entertainment months ahead of time, I hope Carnival is never that modern.