Carnival Horizon Cruise: 8-day Southern Caribbean from Port of Miami

February 2020, Interior picture window cabin 9203

Carnival Horizon from shore excursion in Aruba.

Arrival and VIP check-in ~ Port of Miami

This was our first time out of the port of Miami since Carnival started setting boarding appointment times. I had hoped this process would make VIP boarding easier, and it did somewhat. In 2013, the check-in process was a breeze; however, it had been difficult to get to the boarding area, even though we were being led by a Carnival representative, because we had to navigate through throngs of people between the VIP room and the boarding entrance across the room. The VIP room in Miami is now gone. We checked in at a kiosk before going through security, and then we sat in the assigned Platinum VIP boarding area near the escalator entrance. Water and lemonade was available.

The boarding order remained the same: groups, Diamond, Platinum, guests with suites, then Faster to the Fun guests. The group that boarded first was led through the waiting VIP guests, like we had been during the mess in 2013; however, since there were no non-VIP guests in the area, this was not as crowded, and it was easy for them to get through. After this, the situation turned mildly chaotic. An announcement was made for Diamond guests to board, and almost all of the Platinum guests stood up, too (Diamond guests were seated in a separate area closer to the escalator). When we did not stand up, a couple of people standing near us asked what had been said, and we told them. After a brief pause, they all decided to go join the closer huddle of standing Platinum guests, and then the rest of the Platinum and suite guests stood to walk toward the boarding entrance, as well. Carnival representatives ended up shrugging their shoulders and throwing their hands up in the air. We got in line after this happened and were on board before noon. We had arrived at the terminal about an hour earlier.

Sunrise from inside cabin 9203 on Carnival Horizon

Interior cabin with picture window 9203, category 4J

We have previously stayed in interior cabins near the front of the ship with easy access to the front deck; however, this was our first cruise with an interior picture window cabin. I was excited, although I also wondered how crowded or noisy the front deck might be since there was an overwhelming amount of online chatter about the "secret decks" out front. Interior picture window cabins have a window, which looks out onto the front public deck area. That means people can walk right by your window. The window is mirrored glass, so you can only see inside the room when it is dark out, and the inside lights are on. Usually, this area is quiet because not many guests know about or use the front deck areas. The front deck is accessible on most levels of the Horizon (5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 14), so we hoped our deck would be quiet. Activity did not turn out to be a problem, and we loved this cabin! We even spent a couple of afternoons out front in loungers outside our cabin window. You can find more photos of this cabin, and the cruise in the Carnival Horizon Facebook album.

Carnival Horizon cabin 9203.

The cabin itself is specious; however, the room only contained one chair, and one vanity stool. The single closet contained only one small rod with plenty of hangers, and a row of shelves. A safe was located in the shelf area. This sufficed for us, although I am sure many people would complain about the lack of storage. The mini fridge was excellent; it was the coldest fridge we have ever had on a Carnival cruise.

Carnival Horizon cabin 9203 looking out at the loungers where we sat.

Our cabin was ready when we boarded, and our room steward was fabulous. He introduced himself right away, and made a point of cleaning our room while we were at dinner, after he learned we had early dining.

Partial Signature Tower from the brunch menu.

Food & Beverages

Breakfast and brunch

• Dining room: excellent service and delicious breakfast. We did not have enough days on board to try everything we wanted.
• Sea Day Brunch: also excellent and delicious, although I wish I could receive the Signature Tower as listed on the menu. I have ordered the Signature Tower on previous cruises, and after another two attempts on this cruise, I finally realized what it is supposed to look like. The menu showing the description of this item is in my Carnival Sunshine blog post. Since there are three tray spots on the tower, I imagine it should arrive with the tomatoes, cukes, and bagel on one plate (I never received this unless I asked for it again after receiving just the plates without the tower), and the two choices from the menu should be in the other two spots. The foods I received were always good; however, my expectation had been for the entire tower. I was able to get the Salmon Super Food Salad this cruise (my attempt was unsuccessful on our last cruise), which was amazing!

Salmon Super Food Salad from Sea Day brunch menu.

Between the three of us, we tried the following for lunch and/or snacks

• Guy's Pig & Anchor Smokehouse: We all enjoyed eating here! Great meats, mac 'n cheese, and slaw.
• Ji Ji Asian Kitchen: The food was good; however, it took us an hour and a half to have lunch. No one explained to us what to expect, so we asked our table mates after we had been seated over 10 minutes. After you fill out the paper, someone [eventually] picks it up and takes it to the counter. That person also serves your food, and beverages, if you get a chance to request something to drink. The patron seated next to me got up to get his own water from the server stand, and we did not receive refills after our glasses were empty. We observed another patron, who had been seated when we arrived, wait over 40 minutes for his food! No one stopped to say anything to him the entire time he waited. Nor, did anyone acknowledge us while we waited and wondered what to expect. We visited on a port day, and had expected it to be less busy. I much prefer the process when we were on the Sunshine, which went much smoother.
• Cucina del Capitano: Again, the food was good; however, we had another service issue. When our son's dish was served, the pasta was quite hard--I eat el dente pasta frequently, and his was almost crunchy. He had me try it after he tasted it. When we asked about reordering, the chef came out to talk with us. He said something about it being cooked el dente. He then said he could prepare it cooked longer, so we agreed without disagreeing about the current non-doneness of the dish. Thirty minutes later, our son had not received a new dish, and no one had stopped to talk with us. We finally stopped someone, and then found out nothing had even been started for him! Unbelievable. My assumption is that after the chef came to our table, someone was supposed to submit another slip, although I do not know.
• Blue Iguana Cantina: Excellent service! I loved the fish tacos, and my husband liked the burritos.
• Guy's Burger Joint: my husband and son both loved the burgers and fries.
• Deli: I always like the deli, and the wait is not too bad, as long as you choose a time when there is less than 5 people in line. My favorite item is the arugula pretzel bun sandwich.
• Pizzeria: Excellent pizza, although there was a wait both times we visited. No one told us this when we ordered, and it was a bit unclear what was happening or where to wait after ordering.
• Cooking demonstration in Atrium lobby: This is listed in the Fun Times, and was kind of like the Taste Bar. There are a couple of photos of the items we got to taste in the Facebook album.

Steakhouse

Dinner

• Steakhouse: We ate at the steakhouse the first evening when a complimentary bottle of wine is included. We sat outside, which was comfortable. The steak my husband had was excellent, although it was also much too large a portion. My lobster was excellent; however, the filet mignon was cold inside, and cool on the outside (I had ordered it medium). There are food photos and more details in my Facebook photo album. We were double charged for the meal, and had to go to guest services to get it straightened out the next day. The service was also a bit lacking after the start. Other than the start of our meal, no one ever stopped to say anything to us while we were waiting for long periods of time between courses. Our meal lasted 2½ hours.
• Dining room: The food and service in the dining room was very good. On our last cruise, the dinner portion sizes had been smaller, which we liked, because we like to try different things. On this cruise, most of the portion sizes were huge, and we felt like we wasted a lot of food. Our table experience was a bit odd. We had chosen early assigned dining at 6:00 PM. We were seated at a table by ourselves, and when we left, we stopped to ask if there was another table of guests we could join for the rest of the week. We were told that someone else had asked the same thing, and that we would receive details in our room. That evening, we received a slip with a table number in the other dining room (anytime dining) and a dinner time of 5:30 PM. It was unclear if we were supposed to return to this same table at the same time after the first time, since we observed other guests checking in. We did return to the same table the rest of the week, and it would have been nice if someone had asked us if the time change would be okay, and if someone had explained things. 

Pig & Anchor Bloody Mary mason jar special.

We found the following Happy Hour or discounted specials on our 8-day cruise:

Great value beer sampler at Pig & Anchor.

• Casino Bar: discounts on debarkation day from noon until 2:00 PM, I assume. The time was not posted on the sign, and specials were no longer being offered when we returned around 2:30 PM.
• Havana Bar: different daily deal, which was sometimes $1 off the regular price.
• Pig & Anchor: the Bloody Mary mason jar for $22.95 can be refilled for $16.95, which is a better deal than purchasing two beverages. This jar can also be refilled with beer. Some things were not available during our cruise. They were out of IPA and Pig & Anchor growlers, and the brewer was not on board, so we were unable to take the brewery tour. If you look at the Fun Times in my Facebook album, you may notice that this event was still listed more than once. We were not the only disappointed guests!
• Blue Iguana Tequila Bar: delicious margarita pitchers were $2 off more than one day. This was listed in the Fun Times.

Other specials were also listed in the Fun Times, such as the daily special, and complimentary champagne at certain times and locations. 

There was usually a wait for service in all of the bars. There were only two areas where it was never difficult to get a beverage because there were many servers circulating the room: Liquid Lounge and Limelight Lounge. We only observed a server circulating Ocean Plaza once, and one time in the Horizon Atrium Bar a bartender walked through the room for orders. Given that, and the food service issues we encountered, we got the impression that food and beverage staff has been drastically reduced. A portion of income for these staff members comes from tips, so I do not understand the cutbacks. It is not like the cost of taking a cruise has decreased.

Liquid Lounge showroom.

Entertainment, activities, shopping

Our favorite musician was Guitar sounds with Brian Harris. There were four comedians on our cruise, and we saw a show by each one except Paul Lyons. It was more difficult to get a seat later in the week, than it had been at the start of our cruise. We loved the comedians we saw: Percy Crews 2, Merl Hobbs, and Lenny Schmidt. The shows in Liquid Lounge were all good, and seating comfort was decent.

Prices in the Fun Shops were good, and there was a promotion every sea day. Alcohol was delivered to staterooms on the last evening.

Pool and outside areas

The Sky Ride was fun; however, the information we had been given about proper attire was incorrect, so we had to go change our shoes. There is no posted sign, other than the height and weight requirements. Someone had posted online that you also need to wear closed toe shoes, which made no sense to me, so I asked John Heald before our cruise. I have sturdy hiking open toe water shoes that strap on my feet, and are safer than my ballerina type slip on shoes. There is no danger of stubbing your toes on this ride, and my slip on shoes could easily fall off! When I asked online if the shoes had to be closed toe, if they strap on (i.e not flip-flops), I was told no. Fortunately, the line was not long when we went and then had to wait twice.

Serenity deck before a party one evening.

It was difficult to get a lounge chair or shaded seat on Serenity deck. The whirlpool tubs, and the bar are a good size. We never sat in the Beach or Tides pool areas, although they looked crowded. If you do not care whether you are near the pool, there is a fabulous peaceful sitting area with cushioned loungers and seats outside Cherry on Top on deck 5. This should be called the secret deck!

The track, Sky Course, Sports Square, mini golf, and Seaside Theater were the same as other Carnival ships we have been on. There is also an inside room on the sky deck with a large pool table game (think along the lines of large chess pieces), and ping pong. We did not visit the IMAX Theater (no good unseen movies for us the week of our cruise) or Thrill Theater. We did not hear any noise from the IMAX Theater, which we had read was an issue before we traveled.

VIP guest party invitation

Platinum perks and past guest party

We received the same luggage tag VIP gifts we had received on our last cruise. The past guest party was very nice. This was the first time we ever received two invitations, and both said we could bring a guest. We brought our son with us. This was a nice surprise, because he has Gold status, and used to be able to attend past guest parties before the VIFP perks were changed. The party was the last evening in the forward lounge at 5:15 PM. We walked to the area about 5 minutes early, and the doors were already open with many guests inside. Our dinner request change had moved us to the aft dining room at 5:30 PM, so we did not make it to that seating.

Debarkation

Debarkation was smooth and very quick. Even though we took our time, and disembarked after the initial VIP call, we arrived at our airport hotel before 9:30 AM.

Stairwell mural on Carnival Horizon.

Misc. and overall

The murals in the stairwells are ports of call, and they are beautiful! My photo above does not do them justice. We liked this ship, and most times it did not feel overcrowded. I think the main complaints about not enough room have to do with securing a lounger on sea days. It is too bad the Havana area is no longer open to all in the evening, because we would have liked to visit the pool and tub there. I imagine this change occurred because of the number of people that had been sneaking non-Havana guests in. Before our cruise, I read posts by people who snuck others in, and I read complaints about this from paying guests. If I had paid for a room in this area, I would be upset if it was overrun with non-paying guests. There were never many guests outside on Havana deck any time we walked around on the decks above with a clear view. If non-paying guests had not abused the area, Carnival may not have changed the evening policy.

The elevators are easy to use; however, most people did not use them properly. When you press the button for the floor you want to go to, there is no option to choose the number of people, so you need to do this for each person (e.g., we had to press the button to choose the deck 3 times, if we were all together). Since many people only did this once, and then more than 1 person got on the elevator, the elevator would often stop to pick up more guests after it was already full.

Let me know if you have any questions. I will cover ports of call in my next post.