snowdogsmm

A little background to start with. This was supposed to be a cruise for our 25th anniversary in June of 2021 which was cancelled so rescheduled for August of this year. My husband and I are both in our early 50’s and we hadn’t cruised since 2016. This was our second cruise with Carnival and I chose the Horizon specifically for the Havana area. We had a Havana Extended Aft Balcony on deck 8. We are from Oregon so it is a hike to get to Florida for the Caribbean cruises we prefer. On Friday we left home at 3:45 am for our 5:00 am flight to Seattle. We only had a 45 minute layover in Seattle which was cutting it close. We had a medical emergency on board which ended up getting us to SeaTac early and thankfully the passenger with the medical emergency was able to walk off the plane themselves. By the time we reached our gate for our connecting flight to Miami we walked right on and we were set for the 6+ hour flight. Flight was uneventful and we arrived on time including our luggage! I am a platinum member with Marriott so we stayed on points at the JW Marriott Marquis in downtown Miami. The hotel has a ton of things to do on-site including a full-size, indoor basketball court, bowling, ping pong, golf simulator, and one of the best concierge lounges with views of the water. After a couple of cocktails and appetizers in the concierge lounge we took an Uber to the Bayside Marketplace. We had dinner at the Black Market which had a great outdoor/covered patio where we watched the tour boats as the sun set. We wondered through the shops and purchased t-shirts at Hard Rock Café to add to our collection then made our way back to the hotel.

yes they do.

stayed in an Havana extended aft balcony on Horizon last month and loved it. Deck 8.

I paid for our whole cruise with gift cards (both e-cards and printed cards) through Allstate which are 10% discounts. I also took some with me and added them to our sign & sail account at one of the kiosks on-board. You can pay for just about anything with the gift cards (different than cruise cash)

Just did the Horizon last month (should have my review finished soon) loved the ship. We stopped in Aruba, Bonaire, La Romana and Amber Cove. Loved Aruba, Bonaire was my fav. Would love to visit Curacao next time!

I purchased Kokua Suncare on Amazon and just used it in Aruba and Bonaire. It is pretty thick but you can work it in so you don't have a visible layer of sunscreen. We only used it in the ocean since it's spendy and used regular sunscreen at the pool. It worked well. We also wore rash guard's while snorkeling so we didn;t have to worry about burning.

I would eat a hot pastrami from Katz Deli for all 3 meals if I could. enjoy!

I'm just off the Horizon yesterday. also the southern route. We purchased the value plan and had no trouble checking email or going online. We were also able to send and receive text messages with no issues.

are nice men's golf shorts acceptable in the steakhouse?

We have to fly to ports so normally I wouldn't even consider a 3 or 4-day cruise but we will be flying to LA in November for a concert so are tacking on a 3-day cruise on the Radiance. Timing was right and the price was to good to pass up. Next up though is the Horizon in 24 days!

Thanks everyone. Sounds like it will work as I want it to if my husband ends up not being able to go.

Can’t wait.I am on Horizon in 30 days!!!!

My husband and I are going to be LA in November and I want to add a short cruise to the end of our visit. My husband doesn't know if he wants to go yet. Pricing is almost the same for 1 person as it is for two so my question is can I keep the reservation for both us and then if he decides not to go he would be a no show? I'm thinking the port fees and taxes would be refunded for him making it possibly cheaper than reserving as a solo. Has anyone done that before?

In Mazatlan our favorite is spending the day at Stone Island at Lety's. Great food, cheap drinks, and they will set up lounge chairs and umbrella's for you as well as activity rentals. Safe to do by yourself too.

Can you clarify the trick to using the kiosk please?

Using the box for a folding table AS a table.....next level.

We have a later flight out of Miami after our cruise and are looking for a hotel preferably on South beach to hang out for the day. Anyone have success in renting a room for the day?