Horizon review 4/15-4/23

[Sea Breeze]

:D I just got off the Horizon and would have to say the over all experience wasnt great...

 

This was my fourth cruise and there a few things I just didnt like about this ship. They did not have much to offer for food later at night, except pizza, which was pretty good. I tried to get ice cream at 9pm one night and went to the front desk and everything but I just could'nt get any. It was also a race for the chairs on deck, not enouph dack space i would have to say. The pool and hot tub were real salty, I know its like this on most cruises but its hard to enjoy a swim when all you can think about is how thirsty you are. The weight room was run down, some machines were broken and the tredmills turned off spontaniously in the middle of the run. there was also a sign up sheet for the treadmills which made you have to plan your runs. Also this is not a good ship for any teens, there is nothing to do. The disembarcation was also bad.

 

There were some really good things about this cruise too! The food was great! The Grill at the back of the ship was amazing. The waffles were the best Ive ever had at sea or on land :D . The hamburgers were also very good. The crew, for the most part, was very very friendly. Our waitor and assistant waitor were wicked nice. We were sad to leave them :( .

 

So overall I would not do a Celebrity agian, If you are considering cruising I sudjest Royal Caribbean or NCL. Thanks.

[mahdnc]

Sea Breeze,

 

We were on the Horizon two sailings before you so I read your posting with great interest. Most of the things that you didn't like involved things that we didn't do--pool, weight room, etc. However when we got off the ship at the Port of Tampa, it went very smoothly for us. Heck it may have been the best one yet for us. Now it may have had something to do with the fact that we were one of the first ones off the Horizon and that we have dealt with the larger ships in the past. But things were pretty organized and they moved quickly. We were in our cab so fast that I never even got a chance to take one last look at her before we left!

 

What took place when you got off?

[patrioticgirl]

I must concur with Mahdnc about our exit... was on the same sailing and we left the ship after 10:00 AM since we had a late afternoon flight. We walked straight to our luggage and to the taxi line without even stopping. It took us no time at all and was probably the best debarkation I've ever had. Sorry you embarkation was not as smooth. Were you departing from Tampa or from San Juan? If San Juan, I will say that debarkation from the Connie in Demeber was a little less smooth. Luggage was a bit harder to find. I had shuttle service from the pier to the airport, and we waited with the bus for nearly an hour and a half before we departed the dock area even though everyone had cleared the ship 45 minutes earlier. It was Christmas eve and a little frustrating when everyone was anxious to get home that we were hanging around the pier for no apparent reason.

[mahdnc]

Patrioticgirl,

 

good point. I presumed that this was a Tampa thing but the disembarkation may not have been there.

[Sea Breeze]

The disembarcation was in San Juan and wasnt too orderly, we had to wait in a long line at 6 am that went down the stairs stairs. We ended up leaving the line to have the sit down breakfast which was the only really bad meal we had on the cruise, long wait, hard cold toast and hard pancakes. We went back to the line and had to wait awhile. After we went to the american cup club where we waited for another half hour before being informed that our color had already been cleared for disembarcation.

[hdawson]

I was on Horizon in Oct, 10 day western. It may have been my best cruise out of 16 including 5 on Celebrity. As close to perfect as possible. Of course the food cannot be compared to the other two lines the OP mentioned. Embarkation and disembarking could not have been better either.

[Leela]

I was on this same cruise and my experience was great. This is the second Celebrity cruise I've taken (fifth overall), and the first time I'd been on Horizon.

 

This was my fourth cruise and there a few things I just didnt like about this ship. They did not have much to offer for food later at night, except pizza, which was pretty good. I tried to get ice cream at 9pm one night and went to the front desk and everything but I just could'nt get any.

 

I had late seating dinner so I was never hungry afterwards, but I did notice that there were very few sweets on the room service menu, and no ice cream at all. They had a frozen yogurt machine in the Cafe' but that was only on from noon until 6pm. No good if you're having an after-dinner craving!

 

It was also a race for the chairs on deck, not enouph dack space i would have to say.

 

I think part of the problem was the weather. There were several times that the lower pool level was completely packed, but the upper decks were empty because it was too windy. If the weather had been better people would have spread out more. My only wish related to this has to do with something that couldn't be changed: the outside deck below the lifeboats is narrow -- too narrow for the to put any deck chairs out there for people to sit on in the shade. Century is bigger and has this, and it's very peaceful for people who don't really care about the pool to sit out there and read or nap or talk.

 

The weight room was run down, some machines were broken and the tredmills turned off spontaniously in the middle of the run. there was also a sign up sheet for the treadmills which made you have to plan your runs.

 

I used the treadmills every day and only encountered one treadmill that spontaneously turned off. We couldn't get it re-started, either, but we noticed it was working again just fine by the next time we went to work out. However, one of the stair steppers was broken for the whole trip. I didn't get a look at the weights. I liked the treadmill sign-up sheet because it meant I never had to show up in the gym and stand around waiting for a machine. A lot of the time, especially on port days, people wouldn't show up for their sign up times and the machines would sit empty, so people would drop in and start using the machine, giving it up as soon as the person with the appointment showed up. People seemed to be really considerate about this. We never skipped an appointment -- knowing we had signed up was extra motivation to make sure we actually went!!

 

Also this is not a good ship for any teens, there is nothing to do.

 

There was a small bunch of teens on board, and I always saw them hanging out together. Celebrity's various age group kid's programs were also in effect, but not being a teen I have no idea if the offered activities (I did grab one or two of their schedule sheets) were actually enjoyed by the people they were intended for. It would be nice to hear a first-hand account from a teen who went as to if it were fun or not.

 

This trip had a lot of sea days, so I could see how some people could get bored with that. I usually love sea days and started getting tired of it too, especially because of all the wind that prevented us from using some of the open deck space.

 

The disembarcation was also bad.

 

I think the problem with this was that Immigration/Homeland Security was not on the ball. First off they were suposed to be on board and set up and ready to go at 6:00am. They weren't ready until about 6:30. I don't know what took so long -- were they just not able to get on board on time, or was Horizon staff slow about getting their equipment set up? To top it all off, Homeland Security decided at the last second that they wanted to see everyone's Customs Declarations at the same time as their passports, as opposed to just letting people turn in the Declarations when they leave the pier with their luggage. So, a lot of people had to run back to their rooms or re-do their Declarations.

 

Once Immigration/Homeland Security was dealt with, the debarkation was easy for us. We walked off the ship, got a porter who helped us find our bags quickly, walked out to a shared taxi van, and went straight to the airport.

 

The highlights of the trip for us included ordering smoked salmon and bagels every morning for breakfast, chilling out on deck with a cocktail special at sunset, sitting in Michael's Club after dinner, and getting hooked on bingo (I never had imagined I'd enjoy it as much as I did). Service was excellent all around, except for one of the woman who rang things up in the gift shop: each customer in front of me on line had to explain and debate their sales slip with her, and then I had to, too.

 

I have to tell you that service-wise it was a shock getting off the boat and flying home. The filght attendant for my flight from San Juan was the most ungracious person I'd met in a while. After a week of "Madame Laura, would you like another coffee?" it was "Do you need more coffee?" After a week of getting a choice of six entrees for dinner, when I asked if there was a choice the attendant (I saw other people with something different from what the attendant plopped in front of me) she replied "Yes. You can have this or not eat." Not "I'm sorry, we ran out of the chicken wraps and so the salad is all I can offer you." I was so glad to get out of that attendant's plane, and I feel sorry for the people who were going to be on her next flight leg (she told the woman sitting next to me that she was headed to London next). Yay for United Airlines. Blech.

[dc2sea]

Sea breeze, sorry your experience was disappointing. Leela, believe you put everything in context; thanks. Will continue to return to Celebrity, because again on this cruise, the line's best feature -- service -- continued to sparkle. Not flawless (nothing is perfect), but all the more remarkable when something went wrong. A small example: had ordered a liquor package which did not arrive with other deliveries on the first day. Mentioned it to our steward and guest relations, and went on our way. Stopped at Cova for a caffine/chocolate pick-me-up. The bartender noted our name on the sea pass card, and said she knew there had been a problem with our delivery order. Was everything now okay? I replied that the liquor had been delivered, but not the mix. She immediately produced mixer and snacks, asking whether we preferred to take it with us or have it delivered. Bravo! The best test to excellent service is how problems are addressed!

[Leela]

The things I didn' t like about this cruise weren't Celebrity's fault. The weather was too windy for me to enjoy the open decks, and the ports didn't thrill me.

 

In Ocho Rios Mom & I went out to Coyoba Gardens. The garden was beautiful and our guide was very knowledgable about the plants. My mom is a gardener so she just loved it. We then got to climb the falls there, with a guide. There were no souvenier shops, no people trying to sell things, it was peaceful and fun. Also the falls were lower than Dunn's River, so it wasn't exhausting either. After that we stopped at that Taj Mahal shopping center place. It was okay -- I'm getting the picture that shopping in the Caribbean is just one watch/jewelry store after another. I did my jewelry buying in St. Thomas last year, so I've had enough of that stuff. It might have been nice to browse Island Village, but since we were at the so-called "James Bond" pier, we just decided to go back to the ship and have lunch. There wasn't anything about my brief experience in Ocho Rios to make me want to come back (unlike Sint Maarten last year), but it wasn't bad either. I suppose the real way to see Jamaica, because it's so large as compared to the other islands, is to stay for a while and explore the mountains and the rain forests and the beaches and the various historic plantation houses.

 

In Aruba we took the "Natural Wonders" tour. The Aloe factory and Natural Bridge were no great shakes, but it was nice to have someone drive us around the island in air-conditioned comfort because it was so hot that day. Aruba was very dry and flat, it reminded me of parts of California. I've decided I prefer my tropical islands more hilly and lush -- like St. Thomas and of course St. Martin. Well, now I know! The Butterfly Farm on Aruba, though, was AMAZING. All kinds of butterflies fluttering around, including some very large blue ones as big as a lunch plate! Mom and I loved this part of the tour, and the guide there were also excellent. The beaches we drove by were beautiful, but I'm not a beach person so I can't say I'm compelled to go back because there didn't seem to be much else there but beaches.

 

We didn't plan a tour for Curacao, we just got off the boat and walked around. We thought Willemstad was very cute, and we enjoyed sight seeing on our own even though it was incredibly hot and humid -- our sunscreen just melted off! There is an old church in Fort Amsterdam -- the yellow fort just over the pontoon bridge. We went in there and viewed some beautiful mahogany woodwork in the alter and the governor's chair. We also learned that they hang fresh aloe plants in the rafters to keep the bats away! We shopped a litte, but in downtown Willemstad it was just more and more jewelry and watch stores. Does anyone buy or sell anything else in the Caribbean? Some street vendors had some nice looking wood carvings for sale, but the thing I really liked was going to be too difficult to get home so I didn't buy anything.

 

The real highlight of this trip was of course Horizon herself. This trip was offered at real bargain prices, so we splurged for a Suite Guarantee. We were assigned what looked like on paper to be the "worst" of the suites location-wise, but it was great! The room was quiet, and conveniently located -- it was like the forward elevators were there just for us. Our butler, Taylan, and steward, Agnelo, were excellent all around. At dinner, our waiter, Georgi (actually Vasilliy is his real name) and his assistant Rinto, were funny yet gracious and professional. Our wine steward, Lailo, was wonderful too. We have no complaints about anything at all. The food was completely excellent, especially the beef dishes. And between breakfast, lunch, tea, canapes, and dinner, we were constantly being fed. Toward the end of the cruise it got to the point where I'd groan when Taylan showed up with the tea goodies or the canapes. Oh, and all those people on other threads who said that the canapes were awful and that they ordered cheese and fruit plates instead -- well, either I have low standards (doubtful, but possible) or the canapes have improved. We had all kinds of nice nibbles: smoked salmon on mini-croissants, caviar on little garlic toasts, blue cheese mixed with wine piped into small celery cups, brie and pistachios on butter crackers...it was all very nice. We would sometimes put the canapes into the fridge to eat later as late-night snacks.

 

We really had fun just enjoying the ship. We liked sitting in the Americas Cup Club -- it was a great daytime spot to read and chat and still view the sea without getting blown away by the prevailing winds. We also loved Michael's Club, and were sad that such a beautiful spot was so under-used. We also thought the Palladium Show Lounge was pretty and comfortable, and spent way too much time and money in there playing bingo -- but it was so much fun! Bingo humor is very dry and ironic and sort of campy and corny, but we got to look forward to "Jackpot Jeff"'s calling. The spa was small but nice, I got a good cut and color job from Rebecca from Australia. Peter from Sweden gave me a hot stones massage that left me too relaxed to walk (granted, I was trying to walk in 3" heels, but still). Maxine from Jamaica's manicure was decently done, but she got a little to vigorous and tore two of my cuticles. Nothing has gotten infected, but I think between the price and working with someone I don't know I'd rather just stick to getting manicures at home. I know it's a little weird -- I'm willing to open my pocket book and trust my hair to a complete stranger, but when it comes to my nails I'm more reticent. I've just always had a "what the hell" attituded about my hair -- my last hair cut before Horizon was in Hong Kong, for instance :)

 

Cocktail prices were less than what I'm used to paying at home because we stuck to the drink specials. We had a number of two-for-one bingo special sea breezes, and various tropical delights on deck. No complaints there!

 

The condition of the Horizon was quite good considering her age and how long it's been since she was last refurbished. Yes, there were stains on some of the carpets, but it was no big deal and nothing smelled anywhere. Yes, there were some stringy bits hanging from the upolstery in one of the chairs in Michael's Club, but really if someone came around with a pair of scissors and trimmed the frayed bits no one would really even notice. That room was so pretty, with all the wood and old-style nautical instruments and the oriental rugs and the leather sofas...I think it was my favorite spot on the ship. The dining room was clean and was the only spot on the ship that wasn't really all that pretty -- it was designed and decorated in the early 90's, and so has that sort of suburban Marriott or wedding hall kind of feel. Still, the food and service were exemplary so there was nothing to complain about, and the parts of the restaurant that were not on the raised circular area near the Captain's Table are actually the nicer parts with higher ceilings and decent pictures on the walls.

 

Bottom line: if you want to go to Bermuda this summer, get yourself on Horizon before she goes away! The food and service will be wonderful, and because Horizon is small you should be docking in St. George's itself because Horizon and Zenith can fit through the cut into the harbor there. As I may have mentioned before, Mom & I enjoyed our time on the Horizon so much that we're already talking about taking Zenith to Bermuda next year before she goes away. I don't know for sure if/when she is going away, but I did ask both Don (cruise director) and Ogla (onboard sales) if Zenith would be in Bermuda in 2006, and they both told me yes.