HAL CC'ers on X-Horizon

[Linda&Vern]

It's only been two weeks since we disembarked the Maasdam, and we absolutely HAVE to get on another cruise soon! As we can't take time now for a 10-11 day on the Maasdam, has anyone here ever cruised the X-Horizon? (6-7 day cruise to Bermuda in Spring, but we don't really care where we go.) Problem I am having is there does not seem to be any balcony staterooms, or at least rooms on a deck comparable to the Lower Promenade (with public deck). I don't think I can cruise without easy access to a deck/balcony. Flying is NOT an option, so prefer going out of Norfolk. Any advice?

[luvs2beachit]

We cruised on the Horizon a year ago and we loved everything about the ship. It is smaller so getting around was simple. The service was great and the food was wonderful. Would go on this ship again in a NY minute.

[luvs2beachit]

Just reread your post and saw that you have just gotten off the Maasdam.
We are leaving on 1/27 for 10 day cruise and am interested to hear your
comments about your cruise.

Thanks, Judie

[JDee]

Linda & Vern:

You are correct, there are no balcony cabins or easy acces to an outside deck from any cabin.

Did the Horizon 11 day Carib cruise last year in what is now a Cat 4 Ocean View cabin. While only 172 sqft, it was adequate but the chairs were really awful. Bath was OK, service excellent. If I had to do over, would book what is now called Horizon Suite (HS). What is now called Concierge Class (CC) is nothing more than the old Cat 3, same size as cat 4 and other Ocean View Cabins.

While the ship is on the old side, it was well maintained. DR food ranged from Very good to a couple of excellent meals. None were losers. Service here was also excellent.

Compared to HAL Lido, Horizon is no match for variety, however, the food that was available also was very good & should satisfy most. Well maintained, adequate staff, gOOOd coffee for a change, never ran out of cups, saucers, creamers, silver, etc....Good pizza, terrible burgers (I remember that well). Nice deli counter & typical lunch desserts, no ice cream bar, but did have a soft-serve ice cream (or yogurt) machine.

Lounge entertainment was very good, group called ONYX, but they are gone. they also played island type music pool side daily & one evening. One night they had a very good pool party, very good buffet setup, lots fun.

X ships PA system is used very rarely. No bingo announcements. Had some afternoon movies in main lounge. Can't recall the other shows, but belive they were OK, typical cruise ship stuff. The show lounge seating was very good, much better than HAL seats, especially compared to Zui padded park benches....

Hope this helps.....Happy cruising.....

[Linda&Vern]

Just reread your post and saw that you have just gotten off the Maasdam. We are leaving on 1/27 for 10 day cruise and am interested to hear your comments about your cruise. Thanks, Judie

Judie: I did a copy & paste of the comments I wrote a few days after we arrived home. We had the most fabulous time!

Dec. 22 - Jan 2 Maasdam Holiday Cruise: Unfortunately we don't have time to "write a book," but we will spend a few minutes reviewing our wonderful cruise for those of you sailing soon. As already noted, because of inclement weather and rough seas during the previous sailing, the Maasdam was late arriving into Norfolk on Dec. 22 (approx 3:30pm). HAL did a good job of keeping us informed of delayed embarkation (starting with a communication on the morning of Dec. 21). Early arriving passengers at the Norfolk Pier were immediately greeted by a porter who took charge of the luggage and a HAL Rep who directed them to the Marriott (5 minute walk or free shuttle). Free shuttle tours of the city were offered. Lunch and dinner was served in a huge ballroom at the Marriott. Embarkation began at approx. 6:30pm. The ship started to sail a few minutes after midnight. We watched out the port side windows of the Crow's Nest and large trailers were unloading supplies onto the ship right up until the time we pulled out. We heard about no engine problems on the previous sailing and we know of no engine problems on our sailing. One couple told us their room had water leaking onto their carpet due to maintenance on overhead pipes in the hallway - but that it was cleaned immediately and problem resolved. Various notes received indicated some toilet problems at the beginning of the cruise - but the notes indicated (and our personal opinion is) that people do not realize that nothing except toilet tissue should be flushed.

SHIP: Loved the mid-size; it was so easy to get around. Saw many "big guys" in ports and know those are not for us. Holiday décor was beautiful, especially in The Atrium. And yes, most of those huge flower arrangements were real flowers! We didn't see the "badly worn" look that some have talked about - considering how many people a month come on and off the ship we thought it looked lovely. It is in port now for 4 days. According to some crew we spoke with it is for "deep cleaning" and replacing some carpets, etc. They said the crew will work from 8:00am to 8:00pm for the 4 days helping with the work.

CABIN: Larger than anticipated. Storage space was adequate considering how we severely over-packed! The one suitcase that would not fit under the bed closed did fit there when we realized we could leave it open and shove it under the bed!! Cabin did not have the SOE yet. No new mattress or soft fluffy towels. But then, if we hadn't read this board we wouldn't have even looked for them. We were pleased with the cabin, but after a couple of days thought maybe it could be a little cooler. One stop at the Front Office and within an hour someone had been to the room, more cool air was flowing, and all was well the rest of the trip. We were on the Lower Promenade deck and loved it. In 11 days the only person peeking into the window was DH making funny faces at DW. One time we wanted to know if the room had been made up yet, so we both pressed our noses to the window and we couldn't see in well enough to tell if the bed was made or not. Cabin steward kept the room clean. When we returned after breakfast the room had been refreshed, same when we returned from dinner. If we left a note or asked him for something extra (ice, glasses, etc.) we were immediately accommodated.

FOOD: We were pleased with the food quality and selection. There seemed to be something for everyone. We ate breakfast (typical buffet offerings with omelet station) and lunch at the Lido Buffet and dinner in the Main Dining Room. At the Lido lunch there was usually a stir fry station on one side and deli sandwich bar on the other side, in addition to the buffet selections. There was always a soup & salad bar inside, as well as the burger/dogs and taco bar out by the pool area. We can't even talk about all the desserts, in addition to the ice cream offered. Dinner selections included filet, prime rib, beef tenderloin & lobster, fish selections, pork, chicken, duck, quail, venison. Everyone was right - the cold soups are delicious! Our table steward was great and knew exactly when to bring another bread basket (we still talk about those warm rolls & bread) … and the wine steward always had our drinks ready when we sat down for dinner.

LIQUID: DH beer was $5.69 each (that included the automatic service charge). DW bought a soda card for $44 (plus 15%) and it worked out great. She could use it anywhere with no problem. Sorry, do not know the pricing on cocktails or wine. For those of you in on the past Lemonade thread - every morning from 10:30 to 11:00 Lemonade was served on the open decks. We thought the coffee was fine and DH is a very picky coffee drinker. He usually got our mugs (very good idea to take them with you) filled at the Java Café each morning.

PORTS: Well, everything can't be perfect. Because of the delayed sailing on Wednesday, we could not make it to HMC on Friday. As a gesture of goodwill, a shipboard credit of $100 per cabin was extended. Of course the port charges and any excursions already paid for were credited to the shipboard account as well. The Captain also offered free wine with dinner on our missed port day. We heard St. Thomas was fun for those shopping for jewelry or linens, but since we got bored looking at those items we took an open air bus tour which offered great views from high on the island. We aren't sure how safe it is in Dominica once you get one block from the pier. However, we do recommend Wacky Rollers tours - either the River Tubing (got rave reviews from fellow cruisers) or the 4WD open air jeep tour (not for anyone with physical problems/limitations!). We had a nice coast-to-coast tour in Barbados, but next time will take a bus to the beach. St. Kitts was fun to just do walking /site seeing, as was San Juan. As this was our first trip to the Caribbean Islands, we needed a general overview - next time we will know more!

SHOW ENTERTAINMENT: The Maasdam Cast was a talented and energetic group of young singers/dancers. Their shows were very upbeat and entertaining. Master flutist Nestor Torres even entertained DH. Juggler Charlie Brown was more comedy than technical feats - but it was a fun show. Will Allenby was a very good baritone vocalist. We did not attend violinist Martin Lass or Mark Klein's comedy, nor Victor J's comedy and music. On New Year's Eve the show lounge was the site of a celebration party with orchestra for dancing, hats, streamers, balloons, noise makers, and the free Champaign started flowing before midnight. Rather low key, but we enjoyed.

MISC. ENTERTAINMENT: There seemed to always be many things going on. We probably didn't even make it to 20% of the events: Personal enrichment lectures, onboard games, cards, spa seminars, golf putting contests, fitness seminars, movies, and of course, BINGO. The Casino isn't Vegas, and you won't win a million - but it was entertaining and we didn't lose much. We enjoyed the music in all the lounges. Younger groups probably find the Crow's Nest more entertaining.

So, all in all, we found our first cruise experience to be wonderful. We are "hooked" and can't wait to plan another trip. Was everything 100% perfect? Of course not. Even on the passenger survey there is no 10. But our cruise topped our expectations and we had a ball. Even with up to 18-ft. swells the first couple days neither of us were sea sick! Some passengers didn't look like they understood that ships "rock" - that's what they do in the water as the Captain would say. Some would get looks of disgust on their faces as we swayed back and forth - acting as if it was someone's fault things weren't smooth. Some fellow cruisers said they were bored and were going back to ships with more "fun" things to do. Some didn't like standing in line at the Lido Buffet when everyone on the ship decided to eat breakfast or lunch at the same time (don't worry - this didn't happen often). And sadly, some people probably wouldn't have had a good time no matter where they were! 1,266 passengers and 1,266 different personalities, tastes, and preferences.

Sorry we don't have time to write a more detail by detail review right now. If you have any specific questions, just ask and we'll gladly try to give our opinions of questions pertaining to events on this cruise. Thanks to all of you for your suggestions and comments over the past few months!

[venicecruiser]

Horizon is my favorite ship in the X fleet. I've done 3 cruises on her.

There is one cabin on the ship with a balcony. I believe it is 1074-concierge class. It is a "prototype" cabin which was done when Celebrity was considering a major refit/drydock for the ship. Sadly, it was decided to transfer Horizon out of the fleet after the 2005 Bermuda season rather than do the extensive renovation which would have included adding balconies.........

Claudia