Using the Elevators on Horizon and Vista

Kids can still push every button on the elevator. They just do it outside the elevator now and send it to every floor. Same game, new format.

 

Higher risk of being seen, and I suspect there are a limited number of floors a given elevator will stop before another elevator is assigned. Some will probably try.

 

I think the biggest source of delay might be people trying to thwart the programming of the elevators. They may discover they aren't smarter than the average elevator.

Vista does not have the elevators that the Horizon has. We were just off Vista a couple weeks ago.

 

I've been in several office complexes with these new type elevators and they are really quick and convenient. Hopefully they are the norm on all Carnival new builds going forward.

How does this work if someone is using a big mobility scooter/wheelchair? Do you still press x1 per person, or give an extra push because extra room is needed? I guess the same question applies if one is 'fluffy'.

We simply don’t take elevators that are going in the opposite direction we want to. One DING for up, two DINGS for down. Listen for the one you want to always get on one headed in the right direction.

With the majority of the ships in the fleet, if I am on deck 3 and want to go to deck 9 and many people are congregating doing the same thing, the smart thing to do is to hop on an elevator that is going down if there is plenty of room on it because after going down to deck 1 or 2, it will be going back up and your butt is guaranteed a spot on it. You're not guaranteed a spot if the next elevator going up from deck 3 is on the opposite side of the hallway and there's 20 people hovering for position.

Don't know about you, but I learned this trick many years ago. It obviously will not work with the new system on the Horizon.

With the majority of the ships in the fleet, if I am on deck 3 and want to go to deck 9 and many people are congregating doing the same thing, the smart thing to do is to hop on an elevator that is going down if there is plenty of room on it because after going down to deck 1 or 2, it will be going back up and your butt is guaranteed a spot on it. You're not guaranteed a spot if the next elevator going up from deck 3 is on the opposite side of the hallway and there's 20 people hovering for position.

Don't know about you, but I learned this trick many years ago. It obviously will not work with the new system on the Horizon.

First, you called it "nonsense." Then you said it's the "smart thing." Which is it?

 

You used the example of being on deck 3 going up. The thing is, from deck 3, there's only two other decks it can go down to before going back up. The odds are greater that someone's going to start higher than that, which means more possible stops going down (to get up), taking a lot longer to get back up. Also, other than embarkation/debarkation and maybe at the beginning & end of port days, 20 people hovering for an elevator is quite an exaggeration. Out of all the times I've waited for one going my direction, I can count the number of times that one arrived too full on one hand. Even when there were four of us last month, it wasn't a problem.

It's nonsense that you have to do it, but the smart thing if you know what you're doing. I realize that it's not needed all of the time, but it is certainly needed after muster drill and a few other high occupancy times during the course of the week.

But, it's all a moot point for us since our next two Carnival sailings are on the Horizon and their elevators will not allow this trick to be done.

How does this work if someone is using a big mobility scooter/wheelchair? Do you still press x1 per person, or give an extra push because extra room is needed? I guess the same question applies if one is 'fluffy'.

 

Anyone have any experience with this? This is a very good post and would love to know how the scooter options work here....

It's actually very common in large buildings in big cities these days. You see it all the time in downtown Chicago, for example.

 

Yep, you can find the Otis Compass elevators in many places now. The ones at the St. Regis Bal Harbour are nice and the elevators at the New York Marriott Marquis work fine.

Yep, you can find the Otis Compass elevators in many places now. The ones at the St. Regis Bal Harbour are nice and the elevators at the New York Marriott Marquis work fine.

 

 

 

Works fine until your family with small kids gets positioned to go to different elevators. That was our experience at the Marriott Marquis.

I hate disembarking! It's always a mad house. Is is just as crazy if you self disembark with your own baggage?

if you do self assist you need to be able to handle your own luggage!! that means stairs and escalators and taking it through crowded hallways. elevators are always a problem on first and last days because they are taking luggage and everyone is trying to get to the same places. no different with new elevators except you can't do the i-am-more-important move of going up when you really want to go down so you get the elevator before others

Anyone have any experience with this? This is a very good post and would love to know how the scooter options work here....

 

There was a handicap button on the elevator floor section pole. I didn't see anyone use it but my guess is that when you use it you get your own elevator or one with just a few people in it.

Kids can still push every button on the elevator. They just do it outside the elevator now and send it to every floor. Same game, new format.

 

Not really.

I hate disembarking! It's always a mad house. Is is just as crazy if you self disembark with your own baggage?

 

Always has been because cruisers are incapable of, or refuse to, follow simple instructions. No elevator system can mitigate that.

Just off 8 day Horizon cruise.

 

Have read and then also heard a lot of complaining about the new elevator system on board the Vista and Horizon. My take is that If used correctly it works Fine.

 

The very best example was when we did self disembarking at the end of the cruise. In the past when we have tried to get off the ship with our luggage it had been a nightmare to get elevator to fit ourselves and our luggage. With this system we waited a bit but when elevator arrived it had room for all of us and our luggage instead of being full of people already and took us right to the floor we needed.

 

How to Use:

When you walk up to the elevator choose the floor you are wanting to go to. Tap the button once for each person in the group that needs to get on elevator. In other words if there are 4 of you on Deck 3 and you want to go to deck 9, tap the screen toactivate it, then tap floor 9 option 4 times. A letter will appear each time to tell you Which elevator to board.

*be patient. Since you are not able to see where the elevators are you have no sense of how long until your designated elevator arrives. This adds to sense of longer waiting time but when it arrives it will take you to where you want to go. If it is a really busy time your wait will be longer. Just like any other ship.

*do not get impatient and just hop on the next elevator to arrive if it’s not the letter you were directed to. This is one reason why the elevators are full sometimes when they stop to pick people up, and the system then doesn’t work correctly.

*again push the button for each person in the group. That is the only way the elevator knows there could be 7 people all waiting for same floor. If you punch it just once an elevator may stop that doesnt have room for all.

 

It’s not perfect but it does work.

 

Actually.. it is perfect. People are the problem here, not the tech... as is usually the case.

Or, you could never use the elevators and use the stairs only. Can that be challenging? yes, especially if you are on a lower deck but it sure helps to work off all of the warm chocolate melting cake.

Or, you could never use the elevators and use the stairs only. Can that be challenging? yes, especially if you are on a lower deck but it sure helps to work off all of the warm chocolate melting cake.

 

You must be able-bodied.

Our rule of thumb for stairs on cruises is Two up, Three down. But generally, we prefer stairs whenever possible. They're good for us and perhaps leaves a little room for those who are unable to use them.

Oops. Newbie error on this forum thingie.

There was a handicap button on the elevator floor section pole. I didn't see anyone use it but my guess is that when you use it you get your own elevator or one with just a few people in it.

 

Thank you.

What about the adults that push all of the buttons? I think i've seen it 50/50 between them and kids...

Yes ... adults are a big part of the problem. What I saw/heard on the Horizon a couple weeks ago

• Family shows up with Mom, 3 walking kids and one in a stroller. Dad shows up a minute later and asks one of the kids if she pushed the elevator button 6 times ( Mom + Dad + 4 kids = 6). The kid says "No ... Mom said to push it only once". I guess Mom didn't want the kids "playing" with the buttons.
  
• Our elevator was stuffed full and stopped at another floor. The 2 people there could not get on and had to start all over. There were several groups in the elevator and I'm guessing some did not enter the number of people. OR - the elevator says it holds 18 people and the system believes that 18 adults can fit ... NO WAY.
  
• A lot of times there was no one for the elevator when it stopped on a floor. The people probably decided to walk. These were not busy times so they didn't wait more than a few minutes. If you are going to walk if you don't get an immediate elevator .... then just walk.
  
• AND ... on day 3 or 4 there were still people asked "going up?" when we were getting into an elevator. Answer: Yes .. we are going up. Whether or not we are stopping at your floor is another question.
  

Quite a thread resurrection here!

 

Are the new on-demand elevator systems currently in use on any Carnival ship? Were they reinstated on the Vista since last fall?

Quite a thread resurrection here!

 

Are the new on-demand elevator systems currently in use on any Carnival ship? Were they reinstated on the Vista since last fall?

The thread is only 13 weeks old from late June, no where near a thread resurrection. If you read any of the previous posts you would know that the system is in place throughout the Horizon on it's 16 elevators. The problem is that people have not been properly educated on how to use the elevators and because of this there are complications on board at times, especially on embarkation and disembarkation days.

Maybe it was just the way it was explained that seemed complicated.

Ehh, not really. It's not as easy as push a button and wait, but still pretty simple. I asked my 8 year old if he inderstood and he answered Duhhh, so yeah, he got it too