Willdra’s Hyperactive Carnival Horizon April 15-22 Cruise

Florence/Pisa

 

 

Our excursion left a little later that day, which gave us an opportunity to actually taste our food. I also had time to run down to the Blue Iguana to get arepas and huevos ranchos (with no huevos). My mouth was ecstatic with those choices.

 

I never thought of doing this, might have to try it on our next cruise. I don't like "dippy eggs" but do like a fried egg where the yolk is mixed into the white but fried like an over easy vs. scrambled. I can't seem to communicate that to the egg cooks, so I might try your method.

Re covered shoulders: I think it is a modesty issue in certain cultures. My children attend a Christian school and dress code requires covered shoulders also. I think if you were to visit an Islamic mosque (and possibly for Hebrew temple) you would need to cover your head as well. Do you remember if knees had to be covered? I thought I'd read that before on articles about European travel that some of the religious buildings required that.

Loving your review and pictures. I will probably not make it back to Europe soI am living vicariously through you.

Loving your review and pictures. I will probably not make it back to Europe soI am living vicariously through you.

LOL thank you [emoji2]! I will say a prayer before I fall asleep tonight that you get to go again.[emoji6]

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Marseilles/Last Day

I initially woke up at 9, and then for real at 10. The crew was having their safety drill so it would be impossible to sleep through, even with earplugs, since they sound the alarms really loud. Incidentally, these were the only announcements that we heard in the cabin all week. We were ok with it tho, since we needed to get up anyway.We didn't book an excursion for the day, and our plan was to eat breakfast then take the Carnival Shuttle into port. Simple.

We handled our hygiene, then went down to Guest Services to ask about the shuttle. It was $17 per person round trip, and you pay with your Sail and Sign card outside at the bus. I don't think they advertise this ahead of time, I read about it in a previous CC review, that's how we knew to ask. We met A and Z on Deck 10, in order for us to debark together. We exited quickly, and we saw many buses parked out front. Crew members were out taking folio numbers and giving directions, which made it easy to navigate. We signed up, got our tickets, then jumped on our bus to ride out of the port. It’s about a 15 min ride to downtown.

Once we got off the bus, we turned left and started walking. We ran right into the Le Petit Train Station, and we took that as a sign to get on. Tickets were 8 Euros per Adult, and they take credit cards. We waited a few minutes for the next train to Notre Dame de la Garde. The trains don’t hold many passengers, and they fill up fast. It gets cramped in the little waiting area too, so patience is a necessity. I was glad that this happened mid day, as that is when I have the most patience (it refills overnight, plus coffee helps too). No coffee=No talky.

The train takes you on a scenic tour through Marseilles. At certain points of interest, there is narration in several languages. It takes about 15-20 minutes depending on traffic, to get up to Notre Dame de la Garde. It is at the top of a very steep hill, which is the highest point of Marseilles. When the train begins the steepest part, it kinda groans a little, and seems hesitant, but it makes it. I could almost hear the little train asking the conductor: "You want me to go where??". We were glad that we didn't follow Google Maps' suggestion to take the short 30 minute walk up. I don't know what it was referring to, because that would've been a 60 minute death march! Uh no thanks.

When you arrive at the top, you may get off, tour the area at your leisure, then get back on another train to go back down. Trains show up every 10 minutes, and we saw more than one train waiting for passengers. The cathedral was open for visitors when we got there, and we took our time appreciating the beautiful scenery and all of the amazing art.

After we were done touring, we took a train back down the hill. We were hungry, so we stopped at one of the cafés on the street. I must admit, it felt familiar to be in France again. Until I ordered limonade and got Sprite. I asked our server if maybe he misunderstood me. He said “No, that’s limonade”.

Me: Blank stare. “Oh ok my bad, I’ll keep it”. Then he asked if we have that type limonade in America. I replied “Yep, but we call this Sprite”. Server: Blank stare. Walks away. You gotta love the French!

Our food was simply amazing! I had the Bouillabaisse, W had Mussels (these are now his jam), A had the Soupe de Poissons, and Z had Chicken. The food was very hot, and we had to let it cool before we could eat it.

When we were done with our food, we went and bought soap. The handmade soaps in Marseilles smell so fresh and delicious! A and Z have a friend who brought them some once, and they loved it. When they saw the Savonnerie, they insisted that we go. I was happy cuz it was a nice place to buy gifts. If we didn't have to worry about weight (suitcase, not people) we would've bought more!

Next, I wanted gelato, but Z needed to buy and mail postcards for his parents. We found the postcards, and after a bunch of walking around, I found tiramisu gelato. It was a perfect day!

Once our missions were accomplished, we walked back up to the bus stop. There was a sign on a pole telling us where to find the bus. The buses were lined up already too, which meant no wait. Easy peasy.

Back at the port, we passed through port security, then Carnival security again on the ship. The lines were long, but we were back at 1209 quickly. When we got there, the Carnival Horizon book was on our bed along with a card saying that it was our gift for sailing. That was awesome, cuz I’d planned on asking Frank for it.

I went to go get the pictures that I ordered from Pixels, cuz I figured the line wouldn't be too bad then. It wasn't crowded up there, but it was a mess. They sent me down the hall past Flavortown to the Dreams Studio Desk to pick up my pictures. I went down there, picked up my packet, then asked for my Shutterfly coupons. To get those, they sent me back to the Pixels desk. Big sigh and Eye Roll. I bought the 3 pictures specifically so that I could get the free luggage tag and the free photo book. The luggage tags and photo books make great gifts, I was not leaving without them. I walked back down to the Pixels desk, they took my card, then brought me back the coupons. Once that was done I went back to start packing.

The packing cubes were all ready to go, and I just needed to put them in the suitcase. I left my small suitcase in the cabin, because it was easier to just throw the stuff that I still needed to use in there. We didn't have to worry about packing for the airport right then, cuz we were staying in Barcelona for a few days. I was so excited to really see Barcelona. It was a huge part of our decision to take this cruise. This also helped to ease the sadness of leaving the Carnival Horizon.

After we packed up everything that we did not need, we showered and went to dinner. This was not a popular night for dinner it seemed. Many peeps were missing, including AC and V. W and I had our big table pretty much to ourselves. Service was super fast tho. I had the Peach Soup, Bouillabaisse (again), Bacon Mac N Cheese, and Prime Rib. W had the Flatbread, Bouillabaisse, and Prime Rib. We didn't order dessert. W didn't even get Baked Alaska, which is one of his faves. #Shocker! I think both of us were just too exhausted.

When we finished thedepressing dinner, (they sang that hateful "Leaving Our Funship"song) I went to the gift shop to get a Horizon t shirt. The selection wasn'treally that great, but I found one that I could live with.

Next, I went back tothe cabin and rested for a minute. The ship was moving slow and it was kindarocking me to sleep.

We didn't leave thecabin anymore that evening. We also went to bed at a reasonable time, since thenext day would be early and long.

Before I fell asleep,I asked God to please accept my Instagram request. I need to be able to sendHim DMs from time to time when there is an emergency, and the prayer line isbacked up!

Willdra, willdra...where are you?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Willdra I am so enjoying this cruise review as I have all your other reviews. You have a wonderful, engaging style of writing. I am concerned though, because you have never stopped in the middle of a review as far as I can remember. I hope you and your husband and family are all alright. I am just worried about you all.

Willdra, willdra...where are you?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Willdra I am so enjoying this cruise review as I have all your other reviews. You have a wonderful, engaging style of writing. I am concerned though, because you have never stopped in the middle of a review as far as I can remember. I hope you and your husband and family are all alright. I am just worried about you all.

Thanks for checking on me! I'm good, just got sidetracked by life! ;p

I understand about life ! I am glad you all are ok, and I hope things will settle down for you so you can get back to writing. This looks like it was an amazing g trip for you. I would never be able to do all the walking you did, so I will experience it through you. Thanks.

Debarkation/Funtimes

Our alarms went off at 6:30. Since we'd packed up everything that we didn't need, we were ready to go by 7:11. A and Z met us at our cabin, and we all walked off the ship together. We were sitting in a cab at 7:25. Debarkation was very fast! It was so weird when we got to the Main Lobby, and no one was standing around in the way. The entire area was clear, and it took no time for them to kick us off. Sadness.

Even tho this was not our typical cruise, and we didn't do many of the things that we usually do, we loved our time on the Horizon. I am seriously considering sailing on her again in October, cuz she's our new Boo!

Here are the Funtimes from the week:

Sunday/Embarkation Page 1

Sunday/Embarkation Page 2

Monday/Sea Day Page 1

Monday/Sea Day Page 2

Tuesday/Cagliari/Sardinia Page 1

Tuesday/Cagliari/Sardinia Page 2

Wednesday/Naples/Page 1

Wednesday/Naples/Page 2

Thursday/Rome/Page 1

Thursday/Rome/Part 2

Friday/Livorno/Page 1

Friday/Livorno/Page 2

Saturday/Marseilles/Page 1

Saturday/Marseilles/Page 2

Do you know anybody who tried bonsai teppenyaki? The menu looks great! Esp for 20 bucks. And what did the midnight buffet feature? And... think it's time to go make my dinner.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Forums mobile app

Do you know anybody who tried bonsai teppenyaki? The menu looks great! Esp for 20 bucks. And what did the midnight buffet feature? And... think it's time to go make my dinner.

 

Sent from my SM-G930P using Forums mobile app

LOL!:D There were a few members from the MTG group who went to the Teppanyaki, and they loved it. We didn't eat at the midnight buffet, but when we passed through, it looked like a mixture of random stuff.

Do you know anybody who tried bonsai teppenyaki? The menu looks great! Esp for 20 bucks. And what did the midnight buffet feature? And... think it's time to go make my dinner.

 

Sent from my SM-G930P using Forums mobile app

The Teppanyaki is actually $25-30.