Carnival Horizon 7/3-7/11/18: An Accidential Havana Cabin and Lots of Creme Brulee

[nybumpkin]

Day 2: The Havana Experience, among other things

 

The Cruise Critic meet and greet was scheduled for this morning in the comedy club. We had about 30 people attend, and crew in attendance included Chris the CD, the Entertainment Director, and (I think) the Hotel Director. There was coffee, tea, juice, and pastries. A fun way to spend a half hour.

 

067 July 4 Drreamscape by baxted, on Flickr

July 4 Dreamscape. There were several July activities, including trivia and a deck party.

 

 

We followed the meet and greet with specialty coffee and cards, which is a regular sea day routine for us. We decided to take advantage of our Havana wristbands and play cards in the Havana area. There are lots of loungers in the sun and seats with coffee tables in the shade, and the pools and hot tubs were never crowded during the day. We set up our card game at one of the tables in the shade, right by the bar, and spent an enjoyable hour or so with our coffee and cards.

 

059 Havan hot tub by baxted, on Flickr

Havana, viewed from our balcony.

 

Instead of the Red Frog Pub, Horizon has Guy’s Pig &Anchor Smokehouse, with its onboard brewery There are four craft brews available. DH opted to order the sampler – smaller glasses of all four. I optedfor their IPA. DH thought all four were good but especially liked the Amber. From the “it’s a small world” files, we sat at the bar with a couple who lives less than 20 miles from us.

 

 

071 Pig and Anchor by baxted, on Flickr

Guy's Smokehouse

 

 

057 Parched Pig Sampler by baxted, on Flickr

Sampler

 

Horizon has a number of options available for lunch – Guy’s Burgers, Blue Iguana, Lido buffet, the Smokehouse barbeque, the pasta bar (in Cucina del Capitano), and Mongolian wok (in JiJi’s). We decided to try JiJi’s.You are given a menu form that allows you to choose a noodle type, protein,vegetables, and sauce (mild, medium or hot). Fried wontons and/or a salad are available as an appetizer. Once you fill out your form, they cook your lunch to order. It doesn’t take long. And the fried wontons are to die for.

 

061 JiJi Lunch fried won tons and beer by baxted, on Flickr

Wontons and Singha beer from Thailand

 

After lunch we decided to hit the Havana pool. A note of caution if you’re short as I am: the pool sign says "maximum depth 4’4”, but when I stood against the wall closest to the aft of the ship my 5’2” frame could barely stay out of the water. It’s shallower toward the pool bar. But what a great pool time: not crowded, nice temperature, and it was fun lounging in the pool and watching the wake.

 

This was the first elegant night, aka lobster night aka tablecloth night. We didn’t do photos – we’ve accumulated enough over the years, although we did purchase a couple of table photos. Our wait staff outdid themselves – the three of us who ordered lobster had two lobster tails. And dessert was crème brulee night – my favorite. When I commented to Darma that it was my favorite, he said “I will have it for you every night.” That may have been a bit too much (there were four servings for us every night!) but it was appreciated.

 

After dinner DH and the boys went to see “Solo” at the Imax theater. Not my thing, though. They had a practically empty theater and enjoyed the show. As for me, I opted for Jason Blanchard’s 18+ comedy show. It was funny and not all that adult – just a few extra f-bombs.

 

 

082 Toweel Animals by baxted, on Flickr

Day 1 and 2 towel animals

[JaniceB]

Nice start to your review, looking forward to hearing more about your cruise

 

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[RHilla619]

Awesome start! Can't wait for the rest as I am on the August 8th sailing, thank you for taking the time to do this!!

[sb4ever]

Nice review so far. We are on the 8/8 sailing. I had no idea you could get those wontons at lunch. I know where my daughter will be!

[Hogladyrider]

Following, so enjoy your reviews!

 

Susan

[SenatorsFan]

I'm enjoying your review and pictures so far. I'm sailing on Oct. 6th. :)

Heather

[MzShae]

Following, off to a great start!

[nybumpkin]

Day 3: Another sea day

 

This was another day of breakfast on Lido, cards and coffee in the Havana area, and lunch on Lido. Today my lunch choice was the Seafood Shack’s fried clams. You place your order and they give you a beeper to let you know when your food is ready. The clams were very good. The older son (the picky one) tried a few and liked them so much he ordered his own a few days later. Lunch was followed by another visit to the Havana pool. I don’t think we’ve spent this much time in a ship’s pool before. After dinner we saw Jeff Wayne’s“explicit” comedy show. Again, it wasn’t very offensive and was very funny.

 

Some photos from around the ship....

 

068 Casino Dreamscape by baxted, on Flickr

Casino Dreamscape

 

078 Ship bell by baxted, on Flickr

Ship's bell

 

064 Lido by baxted, on Flickr

Lido looking forward. We really didn't spend much time on Lido this cruise since we had Havana.

 

 

062 Basketball court by baxted, on Flickr

Basketball court on the sports deck. Older son spent a lot of time playing basketball.

 

069 Bonsai Sushi by baxted, on Flickr

Bonsai Sushi

[nybumpkin]

Day 4: Grand Turk. Port time: 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

 

This was an early morning, but we had no intention of being off the ship early since we were staying close to the port. It rained early, and we were rewarded with a rainbow.

 

064 Grand Turk Rainbow by baxted, on Flickr

Grand Turk Rainbow

 

063 Kathy on Balcony by baxted, on Flickr

Arriving in Grand Turk

 

 

I forget – Was this our fifth or sixth time visiting Grand Turk? I think fifth…. Anyway – yes, we’ve been here before. The first time we visited we stayed at the beach by the cruise port and didn’t like it – it was crowded and the water was rocky and murky. Since then, we’ve walked down to Jack’s Shack. It’s a 10-15 minute walk past the cruise port beach area. Since we first started going to Jack’s, we’ve seen a growth in the number of other vendors who have set up shop along the beach with beach chairs and refreshments. We’ve stayed with Jack’s. Beach chairs are free, umbrellas are $10. We asked for two chairs and one umbrella – you’ll never find all four of us planted in beach chairs at the same time. DH ordered some beverages (Turk’s Head for himself and the younger son, a gin and tonic for me, and Coke for the older son) and we took to the water. We love the beach and the water here – much less crowded than Margaritaville and the water is clearer, with fewer rocks.

 

099 Jacks Shack by baxted, on Flickr

Jack's Shack

 

100 Jacks Shack by baxted, on Flickr

Jack's Shack

 

102 Jacks Shack by baxted, on Flickr

DH and me with beverages of choice

 

110 Grnd Turk Beach by baxted, on Flickr

View from Jack's Shack

[nybumpkin]

As many Jack’s Shack visitors will attest, another draw is Jack and Janet’s two dogs, Topher (a Goldendoodle) and Calypso (I think a Labradoodle). These dogs have their own FB fan page and I think they’re the most photographed dogs in the Caribbean. When we arrived they were nowhere to be seen – but after a while a murmur went up from the crowd: “They’re Here!” Yes, the dogs arrived and were immediately swarmed by adoring fans. Topher has the public relations end down pat – he knows how to schmooze with the crowd and be photogenic. Calypso is still learning – when we visited, she seemed to be more interested in mooching food.

 

108 Topher and Calypso by baxted, on Flickr

Topher and Calypso

 

094 Steve and Topher by baxted, on Flickr

Steve with Topher

 

090 Topher by baxted, on Flickr

Topher

 

A little after noon we packed up to head back. Another “small world” experience: another family that was packing up saw youngest son’s tee shirt from his high school, and they were from the next town. Their son just graduated from high school as well, and the two lads knew a fair number of people in common.

 

112 Turks Head Brew by baxted, on Flickr

Turk's Head

 

114 Jacks Shack by baxted, on Flickr

DH at Jack's

 

Back at the port, I had one purchase to make: Bambarra Reserve Rum. It’s a product of the Turks and Caicos and as near as I can tell isn’t available in the States. Purchase made, we headed back aboard the ship for yet another afternoon at Havana.

[SailingRNC]

Enjoying your review ;o)

[Baby_Bear]

Really enjoying your review and pictures! We are on the Horizon in August and am looking forward to it! Was also laughing about the Verrazzano spelling - have spelled it that way my whole life, not sure why the legislators needed to step in :)

 

Thanks for the tip about the forward portion of the decks for sailaway. We are on 7 midship and may walk forward. We were earlier thinking of going to the top deck but were concerned that it might be crazy crowded so this could work. This is our first time sailing out of New York and i definitely want the best views. :')

[SNJCruisers]

Where do you recommend is the best place for sailaway? Hoping to get good pictures of Freedom Tower, Statute of Liberty, etc.

 

While we weren't able to get Verrazzano pictures on this trip due to early dining, most people recommend going up as high as possible to sail under the bridge, where it looks as if the funnel just makes it under.

Here is a YouTube link to a secret deck up on deck 14 forward.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1bQlB066z8

[SNJCruisers]

Great review so far Kathy.....will be in the Havana area in an inside cabin on the 8/28 sailing. A few questions...1) Do you know if Mike Pack will be back from vacation by then? 2) Is it true that the "late night" comedy in the comedy club is at 830 and 930 the majority of the week, while the main showroom shows on nights 1 and 5 (for the second pair of comedians) are at 1100? 3) Am I correct in saying that the Smokehouse BBQ is only open for "free" lunch on embarkation and sea days, and is a la carte for dinner each evening? Thanks.

[nybumpkin]

Really enjoying your review and pictures! We are on the Horizon in August and am looking forward to it! Was also laughing about the Verrazzano spelling - have spelled it that way my whole life, not sure why the legislators needed to step in :)

 

Thanks for the tip about the forward portion of the decks for sailaway. We are on 7 midship and may walk forward. We were earlier thinking of going to the top deck but were concerned that it might be crazy crowded so this could work. This is our first time sailing out of New York and i definitely want the best views. :')

On the bridge - I think they needed an excuse to replace the existing bridge signs. And don't get me started about the Tappan Zee....;)

 

Sailaway - I lurked on the webcam to see where people were during sailaway for the cruises before ours and noticed that the forward decks weren't crowded at all.

[nybumpkin]

Great review so far Kathy.....will be in the Havana area in an inside cabin on the 8/28 sailing. A few questions...1) Do you know if Mike Pack will be back from vacation by then? 2) Is it true that the "late night" comedy in the comedy club is at 830 and 930 the majority of the week, while the main showroom shows on nights 1 and 5 (for the second pair of comedians) are at 1100? 3) Am I correct in saying that the Smokehouse BBQ is only open for "free" lunch on embarkation and sea days, and is a la carte for dinner each evening? Thanks.

(1) Chris Williams is scheduled to move to Vista this week while Matt Mitcham is on vacation, so Mike should be back.

 

(2) The comedians' schedule was one of my few complaints. The PG shows were 5:30 and 7:30, which didn't work well with 6:00 early dining. The adult shows were 8:30 and 10:00. All of the comedy shows were in the Limelight Lounge - never saw them in the main lounge. There was no problem getting into the early shows - one time when we finished dinner around 7:20 we walked right in for the 7:30 show and had no problem getting seats. That was never the case for the 8:30 show - you had to line up early to get a decent seat for that one.

 

(3) You are correct - the lunch BBQ was open on embarkation day and sea days and there is an a la carte menu for dinner.

[nybumpkin]

Day 5: San Juan. Port time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 

Sorry for the break - the garden needed harvesting! Thank you to all for following.

 

This was our second visit to San Juan. Last time we visited Castillo San Cristobal, a short (if uphill) walk from the pier.

 

129 San Cristobal by baxted, on Flickr

San Cristobal

 

This time we decided to walk to Castillo San Felipe del Morro, the fortress you see at the entrance to San Juan. And we were going to walk the Paseo del Morro, the bayside walk that takes you to El Morro. To get there you walk the Paseo de la Princesa to the San Juan Gate, the main entrance to Old San Juan. From what I can figure, the total walk to El Morro from the pier was about 2 miles. Bring water, if you opt for this.

 

133 San Juan Gate by baxted, on Flickr

San Juan Gate. The gate dates from 1635 and was the main entrance into the city for foreign dignitaries.

 

089 Boys, Paseo del Morro by baxted, on Flickr

Entrance, Paseo del Morro.

 

093 San Juan Gate by baxted, on Flickr

Starting down the Paseo del Morro from San Juan Gate

 

097 Paseo del Morro by baxted, on Flickr

Walking the Paseo del Morro

 

099 Lizard by baxted, on Flickr

A lizard encounter along the Paseo del Morro

[nybumpkin]

When you reach El Morro, you will see a broad lawn with Old San Juan below. There are lots of kite flyers on the lawn – it’s perfect for kite flying. The fort itself is a great tour, and a bargain at $7 per person. And that also gives you admission to San Cristobal, if you're so inclined.

 

104 Steve, El Morro Wall by baxted, on Flickr

Steve, El Morro Wall.

 

146 El Morro by baxted, on Flickr

El Morro

 

143 San Juan Waterfront by baxted, on Flickr

View of Old San Juan from El Morro

 

After the fort, we walked down to Old San Juan and looked for lunch. We found El Patio de Sam, 102 Calle San Sebastian. Good food, and I liked the frozen margaritas.

 

010 Frozen Margarita by baxted, on Flickr

Frozen Margarita.

 

We then walked back to the ship. One sight for us: an ambulance was coming down the street, but a car would not get out of its way. The driver seemed completely confused. Finally, the driver turned onto a one-way street – the wrong way.

 

105 San Juan Square by baxted, on Flickr

Walking back to the port

 

151 San Juan Street by baxted, on Flickr

Old Ssan Juan Street

 

Although we were several hours before back on board time, there was a line at the pier – and lots of people trying to jump the line. Ugh.

[nybumpkin]

Back on board, we headed for Havana to take in the pool, then were on deck for sailaway.

 

132 Paseo de la Princesa by baxted, on Flickr

Old San Juan at sailaway

 

175 San Juan Gate by baxted, on Flickr

Sailaway. View of Old San Juan and San Juan Gate.

 

126 Paeo dl Morro by baxted, on Flickr

A view of Paseo del Morro. Yes, we walked it!

 

180 San Felipe del Morro by baxted, on Flickr

A view of El Morro

 

193 Old San Juan Waterfront by baxted, on Flickr

San Juan Waterfront

 

147 San Juan aterfront by baxted, on Flickr

El Morro and San Juan Waterfront

 

Our only night activity was Emma Jude’s acoustic guitar in Ocean Plaza. It was an early night – we had to be up early in Amber Cove.

[kdunn6]

We are cruising June 2019 for my grandsons graduation gift. He has cruised 2 other times at 12 and 15. He made a lot of friends on those 2 cruises, but he is concerned because of being to old for the kids club, there will be nothing for him to do or meet anyone.

Did your sons meet a lot of other kids their age?

[nybumpkin]

We are cruising June 2019 for my grandsons graduation gift. He has cruised 2 other times at 12 and 15. He made a lot of friends on those 2 cruises, but he is concerned because of being to old for the kids club, there will be nothing for him to do or meet anyone.

Did your sons meet a lot of other kids their age?

Our sons spent time on the sports deck where they met people. They also met people in the sports bar (neither son drinks, although the older is of age) and in the arcade. It wasn't an issue for either of them.

[watermelonqueen99]

After we dropped off our belongings, we headed to Lido for lunch. My choice was a Guy’s Burger and a Funship Special.

 

And in 2 sentences, I have found my spirit CC member. LOL Loving your review!

[nybumpkin]

And in 2 sentences, I have found my spirit CC member. LOL Loving your review!

:D:D:DNot something I'd do everyday, though.

[nybumpkin]

Day 6: Amber Cove. Port Time: 7:30-2:30.

 

I’m not a fan of the cruise lines’ “artificial” ports, where you get off the ship and stay at a pool or cabanas. It does supply employment for the locals, but you really don’t get to experience the area. Before sailing, I had decided that I wanted to ride the Teleferico – a cable car between Mount Isabel, 2500 feet up, and the port city of Puerto Plata. Carnival did not offer a cable car tour, so I looked elsewhere. I saw a couple of promising tours, but none were being offered online for our cruise since we were in port on a Sunday. Then I found Amber Cove Adventures, which offered a drive up Mount Isabel, then a cable car ride down, followed by a Puerto Plata tour. It sounded perfect for us.

 

199 Arriving Amber Cove - Copy by baxted, on Flickr

Arriving at Amber Cove

 

202 Amber Cove - Copy by baxted, on Flickr

Arriving at Amber Cove

 

203 Amber Cove - Copy by baxted, on Flickr

Amber Cove Cruise Port

 

 

204 Amber Cove - Copy by baxted, on Flickr

Close-up of the port area

 

The Amber Cove port does not make it easy for those of you who wish to do a tour that involves an independent operator. First, you have to exit the cruise port area to the tour/taxi embarkation area, then walk out of the port to the main road. From the main gate you turn left and walk a few hundred feet along the highway to the meeting point. It’s about a 15-minute walk from the ship. However, for those of you who want to do a small group excursion it’s worth the walk!

[nybumpkin]

We had a group of seven – the four of us, a couple from Michigan and a woman from New Jersey on a 16-passenger bus, so we could spread out. Our tour guide was Milton, and he gave us an excellent presentation of Dominican Republic history, economy and life. We drove thorough Puerto Plata and up Mount Isabel.

 

 

005 Mount Isabel by baxted, on Flickr

Mount Isabel

 

006 View from Mount Isabel by baxted, on Flickr

View from Mount Isabel

 

010 Puerto Plata from Mount Isabel by baxted, on Flickr

Puerto Plata from Mount Isabel

 

208 Mount Isabel - Copy by baxted, on Flickr

Atop Mount Isabel

 

221 Puerto Plata From Mountaintop - Copy by baxted, on Flickr

Looking east of Puerto Plata.

 

223 Puerto Plata City Seal - Copy by baxted, on Flickr

City crest.