Horizon dry dock, any ideas of what will be done?

[MSUSigmaK]

Any possibility that the European version of the CC newsletter article could be posted?

[Guest]

MSU,

 

the entire article including its title is repeated word for word in the other thread.

 

Jubilee 1991 Solar Eclipse

Century FO 1996 E Carib

Mercury FO 1998 W Carib

Galaxy SS 2000 Alaska IP

Infinity FV 2002 S Carib

Horizon HS 3/05 W Carib

 

[excitedofharpenden]

I've rung Captains Club here in the UK to ask if they have an e-mailable version they can send me. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

Phil

 

Mercury Western Caribbean November 2002

Galaxy Eastern Caribbean November 2003

 

<BR

 

Until Galaxy Panama Canal Out Of Galveston

13th November 2004

 

 

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[MSUSigmaK]

Mahdnc, I wasn't sure if that was the entire article Phil had quoted.

 

Thank you both! And Phil, keep us posted, appears you may be getting information in your newsletter that we are missing here in the states!

[Joanandjoe]

Hi, Mary. After our wonderful cruise with you and other CC people on the Horizon, we, too, are curious about the revisions. We're not sure that verandas would be an improvement on the suites we had. I guess that's "progress".

 

We can't find the thread to which Mahdnc is referring. What is it called? Is there more to the article than what was quated above by "Excited..."?

[excitedofharpenden]

Joanandjoe

 

Here is all of it word for word:

 

"New horizons - Horizon and Zenith get a makeover

 

I suppose the natural reaction would be - did they really need upgrading? Surely they were luxurious enough to start with. Well, yes, that's true, but this is more about enhancing what was already there.

 

For instance, Horizon will be getting new balconies and staterooms, and an extended spa and a brand new alternative restaurant. The America's Cup Club observation lounge will be expanded, new shops will be added and all public areas will be completely redecorated. And whilst we were at it, we thought we might as well give our existing staterooms new decor, furniture and bathrooms. Zenith will get a similar pampering. So you see, they'll still be the same Horizon and Zenith you've come to love, just better than before."

 

 

As I said, I'll try and get a version of this newsletter posted here, providing Captains Club can get it to me.

 

As for an improvement? I say yes, without a doubt, providing they don't ruin the lines of the ship. I loved having a balcony and that is probably the only thing keeping me from Horizon or Zenith.

 

Cheers.

 

Phil

 

Mercury Western Caribbean November 2002

Galaxy Eastern Caribbean November 2003

 

<BR

 

Until Galaxy Panama Canal Out Of Galveston

13th November 2004

 

 

<center>

<a href="http://www.escati.com/counter98/free_time_codes.htm">

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[MSUSigmaK]

Phil, thank you for the post! I wonder how long it will take Celebrity to do all of these changes. Hopefully they will not be cancelling November cruises to do so. A balcony will be nice but it could never come close to the fantastic aft cabin balconies on the M class ships. If you have the opportunity, book one of these cabins. Only problem with booking early with Celebrity, you never know if the cruise will happen! Again, thank you. So good to hear from our friends in the UK!

 

And, hello to Joe and Joan! Have you decided on a cruise for this year?

[Joanandjoe]

Hi again, Mary. We'd love to pick a cruise for November; but Joe's Father is very ill. Until the situation resolves itself one way or the other, we can't finalize any plans for anything. Thanks for thinking of us.

[Guest]

Now the issue will become even more confused. Below is a link to a news item on Cruise Critic's newsletter stating that Royal Caribbean has officially announced that balconies will be placed in a major renovation of the Sovereign of the Seas. No mention of Zenith or Horizon.

 

Also, if you go into the press release by Royal Caribbean, these renovations are scheduled for November. If the same renovations are to be made to Horizon during its drydock in Novemeber, it would seem logical that Royal Caribbean would issue a press release at any time. Still don't think they can do everything they have been rumored to do in 12 days.

 

Don

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1109

 

[This message was edited by dkjretired on 05-12-04 at 07:01 PM.]

[Guest]

Don,

 

You are right in pointing out in your past posts that many rumors about Celebrity plans tend to be wrong (I am still "waiting" for the Century to be stretched). But this rumor has alot more legs to it. Although this does not prove anything, let us not forget that the converse is usually true--virtually all of the major Celebrity announcements have been rumored correctly in advance on this board (ship redeployment, market expansion, mechanical problems, rebranding, Xpedition, etc).

 

Back to your last post, in some ways I think that the refurb issue is less confusing now that some time has passed by. Originally the debate was around fundamental issues like whether this could really be done at all from the standpoint of economics, regulations/certification, currency exchange, amount of time/effort it would take, etc etc. Back then we had multiple crew/officer/captain stories to work with. But since then these stories seem to be corroborated by hard visual evidence--test balcony, test refurb cabin, and now a European released Capt Club newsletter.

 

Now our debate has drilled down to explaining finer details like the lack of any Hori-Zen information in a RCCL news release and a drydock schedule that could be changed.

 

To me the confusion used to be "whether it will be done" and now it seems to have narrowed itself to "when it will be done".

 

I guess I'll say it: "I believe".

 

Jubilee 1991 Solar Eclipse

Century FO 1996 E Carib

Mercury FO 1998 W Carib

Galaxy SS 2000 Alaska IP

Infinity FV 2002 S Carib

Horizon HS 3/05 W Carib

[Guest]

Mah:

 

I think the next couple of weeks will tell, thats why I pointed out the time frame with the Sovereign being done in November and the news release now. If Horizon is going to be done in November, then news release should be soon.

 

I am not a believer yet.

 

Don

[jsea]

I still believe that Celebrity is holding out on an official press release until final payments are due for the entire summer season.

[wwwmarge]

Just booked Horizon for Nov 19th ... anyone want to go and help them get their work done so they don't cancel us? The dates as of yesterday for dry dock was Nov 2-11th.

 

 

Celebrity Mercury Dec 2003

RCCL Splendour May 2003,

NCL Dream Sept 2002

NCL Wind March 2002

Carnival Ecstasy Dec 2001

RCCL Viking Serenade

Carnival Tropicale, NCL Sea

Renaissance, Carnival Jubliee

NCL Crown Odyssey

Commodore Caribe Honeymoon Dec 1986

[Joanandjoe]

Good choice, Marge. We were with MSU and other CC people on that itinerary last year, and it was great! There were some glitches because we were the first on this itinerary, but everything should be smooth for you.

 

Be sure to do all of the following: 1) sign up for the cruise critic party; 2) start or join a roll call on the roll call board; and 3) look at the port of call boards for suggestions on what to do in each port. Based on the port of call boards, we took the ship's tour (ferry ride) only in Panama. We did the Sante Wellness Centre day spa in Roatan (I think MSU went fishing), took a local tour from the dock in Puerto Limon, went to Stingray City with Nativeway in Grand Cayman, and shopped and bummed around in Cozumel (with a stop at Minigolf Sally's lovely minigolf course). Other people went to beaches in Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

[MSUSigmaK]

Marge, you will love this itinerary! The ship is perfect for getting to know fellow cruisers and the crew. The ports are fantastic and you have sea days evenly spaced.

Roatan looks a bit sad when you come into port. We took a cab to the other side of the island. My husband fished and I snorkled right from shore.

Puerto Limon is not at all developed for tourism. Town is interesting, including the market with meat out for sale. There is a shopping area right at the pier for wood products, crafts, Cuban cigars, etc.

Colon, my husband again went fishing for peacock bass and later we took a tour of what had been the military base. Shopping is good at Colon 2000.

If you have any questions, please ask! And, we would love to have you post from the ship so we know all about the refurbishment of the Horizon before we head down to Florida!

[wwwmarge]

Great to hear from you sounds like it would be nice to have you on this cruise with us.

Will post our impressions of Horizon's 'new' look. We get back to Tampa on the Nov 29th when will you be in Fl?

[img]http://www.animatedgif.net/animals/wateranimals/whales_e0.gif[/img]

Celebrity Horizon Nov 2004
Celebrity Mercury Dec 2003
RCCL Splendour May 2003,
NCL Dream Sept 2002
NCL Wind March 2002
Carnival Ecstasy Dec 2001
RCCL Viking Serenade
Carnival Tropicale, NCL Sea
Renaissance, Carnival Jubliee
NCL Crown Odyssey
Commodore Caribe Honeymoon Dec 1986

[MSUSigmaK]

I am on the 11/29 cruise. Had been on the Constellation for the 11/27 cruise but, it was chartered. So my family was one of many who had a cruise cancelled this year. Seems as if the topic of cancelled cruises is extremely popular lately. A few threads seem to be generating short fuses...but when so much of that is happening it's hard not to ask questions.

What type of cabin have you booked on the Horizon? We are again on deck 10. It's quiet and convenient to the pool areas. We were in 1017 last year. Nice cabins with 270 square feet and a nice sized window. Only negative would be the walk to the dining room but then again that may be a plus!

I can't wait to see what they do to the Horizon in drydock. I'm amazed that they do so much to a ship in such short time. Just having new curtains, bedspreads, etc will be a great improvement. Would like a balcony but it isn't necessary. We had an aft cabin on the Millenium so that really spoiled us. The balcony is huge, easily had 3 lounge chairs, a table and chairs and we used it often. The one Horizon balcony that I have seen on these boards appears to be quite small so don't think that if I had one, it would be used as often.

On my prior post, I just missed yours stating you have done this itinerary before. You will love Grand Cayman. Georgetown has some great stores and the beaches are very nice. Kirk's for china and crystal, and hopefully you won't be there on a Sunday as they are closed. We hired a cab on one visit and went all over the island. There are housing developments that are beautiful.

Mary

[CaribbeanBound]

My wife would use the balcony a lot --- no matter how small. We are really hopful the drydock will include balconies for the entire Atlantic deck.