After 2 long years, back at sea :) Carnival Horizon March 13-19, 2022

[itching2cruiseagain]

Background: We booked this cruise for the Casino Elite event. We were two couples in 2 grand suites next to each other 7305 and 7311. We are all in our 50's and 60's. My husband and I have been on over 40 cruises and our friends have only been on a few. We all live in Broward County in South Florida, less than an hour from Port Miami. 

 

Itinerary: The original itinerary was for Western Caribbean, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. I had read that Cayman was going to open the week after our cruise, so I knew our itinerary was going to change. I was hoping for Half Moon Cay, but I was just so happy to be back on a ship, that whichever ports we stopped at were not that important to me. I knew we were going to be with good friends and we all just wanted to relax and have a good time. We found out a couple of weeks prior that the new itinerary was sea day, Amber Cove, Grand Turk, sea day and Nassau. 

 

Boarding: Our boarding time was 10-10:30 AM. We parked right away and walked right in. We had signed up with Verifly. The person checking us in said that he was not accepting Verifly and he would need our documents. He said within the next month or so the kinks should be worked out. We are cruising again in April, so I hope Verifly is working then. They did look over our documents and had us pull down our masks to verify it was us, but it didn't take long. After they approved our docs, we went through security. From there we went to the desks. They confirmed passports, credit cards and took our pictures. As we were in suites, we were sent to an area off to the side. Within about 15 minutes, they let us know we could board. We were onboard very quickly from there.

 

Muster: We dropped our carry-ons off at the room and went straight to muster to get it over and done with. I absolutely love the new muster, what a breeze. I really hope they continue with this. I remember the old muster, standing outside like sardines, ready to pass out from the heat, especially during the summer. Even when it was inside, what a waste of time standing or sitting around waiting until everyone showed up before they began the safety briefing.

 

The rooms: The grand suites are large and the Jacuzzis are nice, I just find the balconies to be too narrow. We asked our room steward to open the door between the two balconies. He had to wait until we were out to sea, then he opened them. One of the lounge chairs was up against the open door to keep it open and I found it difficult to get past it to cross into the next balcony. 

 

Food: We ate at Cucina Del Capitano on the first night. The food and the service there are always good and they did not disappoint. I cannot eat spicy foods and they use red pepper flakes in their regular red sauce, but they make a separate sauce without red pepper, sugar and salt, to accommodate for allergies, special diets, etc. I also asked them not to put black pepper on my burrata or anything else I order. I am able to eat most of their dishes with accommodations. 

The second night was the first elegant night so we ate in the main dining room. Keeping in mind, I am not comparing this to a prime steakhouse. For dining room food, the prime rib and the lobster tails were very good. The prime rib all came out as ordered. One person in our group ordered steak from the steakhouse selections and it was perfectly cooked and they enjoyed it. The only drawback from that night was that the rolls were cold and not so great. I was wondering if that had changed over the last two years. I found out later it had not. 

The third night we ate at JiJi Asian Kitchen. I cannot eat spicy foods. I let them know that my order will be separate from the rest of our table because the other three can eat spicy food even though I cannot. They brought out the complimentary appetizer. I asked if it was spicy and the server said it was not. I took one bite and let her know that it was way too hot for me. I told her that I would not be able to eat if my food was going to be spicy. The manager came over and told me she spoke with the chef and they would prepare special food for me that would not be spicy. I thought that was great, too bad they didn't follow through with that. They brought the main dish and I tasted it and thought it was good, and not spicy. Then I tried the eggplant I had ordered as a side dish. I took one bite and could not eat after that. It was so spicy my tongue felt like it was on fire. I told the other three people to finish eating their dinner and that I would eat later after my tongue had a chance to recover. The server tried to bring over a freshly made eggplant dish, supposedly not spicy this time, but it was too little too late. I looked at the app on my phone and saw that they had escargot as an appetizer on the menu in the dining room and decided I would go there after everyone else finished. They ate their dinner and skipped dessert so they would have their dessert in the dining room while I ate my dinner. I could not check in on the app because the system had me as checked in for JiJi. We got to the dining room and explained the situation. The lady at the front door said we couldn't get a table without checking in the app. My husband knew I was hungry and aggravated, so he ignored her and took me straight up to the desk. We told the staff member at the desk what had happened and they could not have been nicer from that point forward. She gave me a hug and promptly sat us at a table with an amazing staff. Our Servers were Christopher, Randy and Lady Catherine.  They brought my food and everyone else's dessert in a very timely manner. The rolls were hot, crusty and delicious. The magician came over and made us smile and laugh some more. I asked them to have a manager come over. People always tell their complaints to the manager, I also like to let them know when their staff is doing a good job. We relayed our evening from start to finish and let him know what a wonderful team they have in the dining room and how what could have left hard feelings instead made me feel happy and grateful. He apologized for what happened at JiJis and I told him it wasn't his fault. He said we are all Carnival and we all take responsibility. I really appreciate the dining room staff. 

The next night we ate at Bonsai Teppanyaki. It was wonderful. One of the appetizers is a spicy tuna. I asked for plain tuna and they accommodated me without batting an eyelash. Two in our group had steak and shrimp, one steak and lobster and I had the black cod. Everything was delicious and cooked as ordered. They also put on a great show. 

The next night we went to Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse. We have found the steakhouse on Carnival ships to be hit or miss. We have had some great meals there and sometimes not so great.  This time we enjoyed it. Two ordered filet, one a ribeye and I ordered the lamb chops. One of the filets was underdone and had to go back, but they took care of it. The only other hiccup was the risotto was ordered as a side and it came out cold and inedible. We just left it and didn't say anything. Everything else was really good. 

On the last night of the cruise we went back to Cucina and everything was great, as usual. 

We also got food from the Seafood Shack twice. Among the items: Buffalo shrimp (Not spicy, the sauce on the side is spicy), Fried clam strips, lobster rolls, and a dozen raw oysters. Everyone enjoyed the food.

Coffee: every morning we got coffee (cappuccinos and lattes) from Javablue.  Shout out to the awesome baristas. They always made great coffee with a smile!!

 

Ports: 

Amber Cove: The first stop was Amber Cove. We decided to get a cab and go to Sosua and Puerto Plata. Our driver was just ok. He took us to some sights, then he took us to a tourist trap for lunch. We told him we wanted to do some shopping. He told us not to buy in Sosua, that he would take us to a great place in Puerto Plata after lunch. He took us to the nastiest little store. I picked up a shirt and it was dirty and so old that it had a line down the crease that had faded from sitting in the sun. We told him to just take us back to the ship. The four of us still had a great time together. 

Grand Turk: A great beach day. We didn't rush off the ship. We took our time. We went to the white umbrellas and paid for four chairs and an umbrella. We were right where we wanted to be, close to the water. The weather was perfect. The water was too cold for me, but that's because I live in South Florida and keep my pool at around 90 degrees. Most water is too cold for me, except in the summer. LOL Others there were swimming, but us Floridians were able to only get in the ocean a little bit to cool off.

Nassau, Bahamas: My husband had emailed our casino host at Atlantis. He got us a great casino room rate for the four of us. We took a cab and they checked us in right away. At check-in they needed to see our Vaccine cards. We were in the Coral Towers with wrist bands, so we had access to everything overnight guests have. We ate breakfast there, walked through the aquarium, played in the casino, then we went to the beach. The sand was soft and the water was blue. Again too cold for me to get in. It was colder than in Grand Turk, but other people were swimming. After that we walked through the stores. We took a cab back and went to a few stores near the ship. I wish we had more time in the port. 

 

Around the ship: 

Havana: Grand suite guests have access to Havana and I am so glad we did. We had a great time there as we always do. We never had a problem getting lounge chairs and the atmosphere was fun, not party animal. We spoke with some really nice people and enjoyed our time there. One of the times we got food from Seafood Shack, we were waiting near the aft pool to get our food. It had a very different vibe than Havana. Lots of spring breakers and also lots of kids. For me personally, I really appreciate having use of the Havana area on the ship

Casino: I wish they did not bring smoking back. I played mostly on the non-smoking side, but it still smelled over there. There were times I played on the smoking side, but I couldn't stay too long, especially if someone lit up near me. I was not very lucky on the ship, neither was my husband. The machines we played were very tight. I did better at Atlantis.

Spa: All four of us had 2 massages each. One on embarkation day and one in the morning on the last sea day. The first massages we all had were awesome. What a great way to start off the cruise, we were so relaxed. For the second massage, the men enjoyed theirs, but both of us women did not enjoy them as much. Even though the ladies giving our massages did a great job, the rooms were way too cold and neither of us could relax. I believe the AC units were malfunctioning in the rooms.  We also used the thermal suite and really enjoyed it. The steam rooms and Thalassotherapy pool are so relaxing. Though all of us had massages, just the women used the thermal suites, the men wanted nothing to do with that. 🙂

 

Debarkation: We went to the area for Suites/Diamond/Platinum. We were waiting with others that had also checked their baggage. Those that did not check were already escorted off. They had us waiting for a bit, then a gentleman told us it was time to go. He started to walk us out, got near the elevator area and then disappeared. The women who were directing passengers to go to the left or right lines didn't know what to do with us. They only knew excursions were supposed to go to one side. Then one of them told us to get in the longer line. Many on line with us stated we could have left a half hour ago if they were just going to tell us to get in the regular line. It seemed like a long line, but it moved pretty fast. I love the new smile & go. Once we rounded up our luggage, it was really fast to get through customs. No more long lines. We were in our car with our bags heading home before 8:30 AM. 

 

All in all, it was a great cruise. I was so glad to be back at sea. Looking forward to getting back on the Horizon in 2 weeks ☺️ 

[arctickitty]

Thanks for the recap!

[PC 462]

Thanks for your info! I will be on the Horizon in September for the first time.  Did you have to reserve your specialty dining before the cruise, or onboard?

I think the Chef's table definitely needs to be reserved before embarkation, but I wonder if the other venues (like Cucina Del Capitano, Ji Ji, Bonsai Tepanyaki, and the steakhouse) fill up very quickly too?

Thanks!

[itching2cruiseagain]

On 3/29/2022 at 4:41 PM, PC 462 said:

Thanks for your info! I will be on the Horizon in September for the first time.  Did you have to reserve your specialty dining before the cruise, or onboard?

I think the Chef's table definitely needs to be reserved before embarkation, but I wonder if the other venues (like Cucina Del Capitano, Ji Ji, Bonsai Tepanyaki, and the steakhouse) fill up very quickly too?

Thanks!

We reserved all our specialty dining on board. We booked Cucina and JiJi the first day. When we wanted to book Teppenyaki and the steakhouse later on, there was no availability on the days and times we wanted. We asked the casino host for help with those reservations and magically they had openings. 

[calidreamer]

Could you please tell me , was it hard to get a cab to and from Sosua Beach? Did he wait for you there? Do you mind sharing the cost of that trip? 

Thanks!