"Good Things on the Horizon" a cruisin USA "Long and Lengthy" Cruise Novella

[cruisin USA]

.....As we came out to the atrium, the Alchemy Bar is right there.....

[cruisin USA]

....We made it to the atrium. We checked out the ships shops. 2 Carnival Logo Stores, A Victoria’s Secret shop, A Duty Free Store, A Jewelry store. Funny that I didn’t see any sundries…….More later.....

[cruisin USA]

....We stopped to watch the orchestral strings in the Atrium. I didn’t think I would enjoy 3 violin players, but they were playing with a drum soundtrack. It was GREAT how they would let one violist solo while the other 2 played their violins percussively. Pretty cool. I thought that if you just added a guy actually doing the percussion, that this would be a great Renaisance Festival act. We listened to them play a few songs. We recognized someone from our roll call. It was Donny! Donny had been an active member, and had got into town a couple days early. He paved the trail for the rest of us. He was traveling alone. We talked for a bit, and bid our adieus. Mary Ann wanted to see check out the rest of the stores. After a quick walkthrough, we worked our way to the casino bar for a smoke break. Being that the weather was on the cool side, the casino was HOPPIN!! We be back to play eventually, but right now, that Havana area Jacuzzi sounded GREAT!!....

[cruisin USA]

...Headed back to the cabin to change. When we got back, we found our Platinum perk, the chocolate covered strawberries had been left for us. Just had to munch one! YUM! Put on our wristbands and down 1 floor to the Havana exclusive area.....

[cruisin USA]

....Never saw many people using the Havana area that much. The jaccuzis were popular though. There was a worker there. Most of the time, he just stared off to the wake of the boat. “Best job on board” I thought to myself. The Jacuzzi was warm. Felt good!! Unfortunately, we didn’t bring enough drinks, and I had to go back to the cabin for more. BRRRRR! We were pretty “pruney” when we got out Had to get a quick look at the Havana Cabanas....

[cruisin USA]

.....Had to take a shot of our BEAUTIFUL balcony before heading up....

[cruisin USA]

. ....Back to the cabin to change into some warm, dry clothes! Felt great!! Grabbed a couple of cocktails and hung out on the balcony. A few of the people were still in the Jacuzzi. Darkness fell. We would have to start getting ready for tonight activities. We decided we would have dinner first, then go to see Jimmy Carroll in the Comedy lounge at 8:30, followed by the playlist production “Soulbound” at 9:30 Lots to do on elegant night....

 

 

....to be continued....

[oumagic]

ourmagic.  The Havana area is open to all guests 12 and above. Sorry about any misunderstanding. It's a pretty far way from the waterpark though. For the record, we didnt see anyone even close to teenage there. More later

 

Thanks for the info and review. We booked 3 cabana rooms this morning for Panorama spring break 2020. Grandma and grandpa ,(age 70+)  me and wife (45+) and two kids (14 and 16). Super excited even if it is a year away and living your info and review on the Horizon.

[crewsweeper]

19 hours ago, oumagic said:

I just started reading your review and it is very informative. I do have one question about this:

I guess the biggest “first” besides just being on a new ship was being in the specially designated Havana suites. 65 Cabins that share a private pool/Jacuzzi/bar area. No children allowed. Really looked forward to having that area till 7pm every night. More later.

 

We are going to book Panorama for March 2020 and the Havana rooms we are looking at say ages 12 and up. Is that what you mean by no children (no small children) or are you saying that kids can stay in the room but you have to be 18 and up to  use the Havana pool area?

 On our Horizon cruise, 2 weeks before Cruizin USA, we had 1 teen (part of a wedding party) on the Havana deck, who never wandered out to the  pool areas.  One night I saw a family with 2 young children enjoying the pool for a short time. Otherwise, the lanais are quiet and while the clamshells fill quickly, the seating area and the loungers were always available along the pool/spa area. 

[JaniceB]

Great pictures of the ship and my soon to be Havana Cabana.

 

[cruisin USA]

We got dressed and headed to deck 5  for our seating assignment. Took a few pictures along the way.

[cruisin USA]

Went to the dining room, got seated, and were surprised to find that our Seaday Brunch server would also take care of us for dinner. We knew it was going to be a better night than last for sure!!

[cruisin USA]

For dinner tonight? Shrimp Cocktail, Roasted Wild Mushroom Bisque, Romaine Caeser Salad, and Prime Rib. Mary Ann went with Shrimp Cocktail, Baby Spinach salad, and she also went with the Prime Rib. Unusual for her, but she was having Lobster in the Teppanyaki restaurant tomorrow night. The food was Great, and it was soooo nice to have an attentive server!! Dessert menus passed out, we BOTH ordered coffee and Crème Brulee. YUM! YUM! Before we got our dessert, the matre d’ comes on the PA. He asks how we are enjoying our dinner? Big Yells! He asks if the waitstaff is doing a good job? Big Yells. He makes some short announcements, and we hear those magical words being whispered. “It’s Showtime” We are asked to get those napkins up in the air!! Next thing you know “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang is being pumped out of the PA. We didn’t have a very good vantagepoint, but we could see the waiters doing their dance in the aisles. Lots of energy in those napkins being waived. Everyone enjoyed the song.

[cruisin USA]

Eventually, we got our Crème brulee. Savored every bite!!!

[cruisin USA]

Bid our server adieu, and off we went back to the cabin for supplies before we headed out to the comedy show. Got back to the cabin. Hey, we got a towel elephant! At least he remembered. Also, on the bed were our Platinum gifts. A “Choose Fun” fleece. Very Nice, and soooooo soft. A keeper!! Also on the bed was a $50.00 gift certificate!! Wow!! What did I do? Was it because I was a John Heald top fan? We had gotten gift certificates before, but they were usually for the spa, for Mary Ann’s birthday. This card had no restrictions listed. What goodies was I going to get with it? We’d go to the shops tomorrow to check it out. In the meantime, we had a comedy show to catch.

[cruisin USA]

[cruisin USA]

....We also got our copy of Fun Times for the next day....

[cruisin USA]

We headed down 1 floor to the Promenade, and right into the Limelight comedy club. Big room. Lots of seating in the front, and plenty of seating along the back walls. I’d guess a capacity of 300 or so. We came to find out that they also used this lounge as the disco after the comedy shows(more later). It was pretty full by the time we got there, but we found some seats along the inner rail of the room. Straight back. Really, it doesn’t matter where you sit at a comedy show as long as you can hear, and have a clear sightline, which every seat here did. Jim came out. He’s just a regular guy, and plays off his audience quite a bit. Jim was funny, and the time flew by. Next thing you know, he’s saying his goodnight's (although he has another show later on). We are out by 9:00. Just enough time to go and get supplies before heading to the showroom for “Soulbound”

[cruisin USA]

We stopped off at the casino bar on the way. We saw Kathy from our roll call. She was very nice. Came and gave us a hug. We had to bid our quick adieus though. Else we’d be late for the show. There was quite a crowd already. We were lucky to find our usual seats. There was a VERY “Cirque” vibe going on for a preshow. The lights were dimmed. There was theatrical smoke wafting in the air. Etheral Music was playing, and cast members were walking mysteriously through the shomoreoom, stopping here and there. Eventually the show begins. The first song? “Superstion”. The show ended up being entirely of “spooky” songs. “I Put a Spell on You” "Born Under a Bad Sign" etc. I leaned over to Mary Ann. “This is a Halloween show” I thought the timing was off being that we were only a couple weeks till Dec 25^th. “Nightmare before Christmas” Mary Ann replied. It all made sense now….hehe.

[cruisin USA]

. The show was good, and over much too quick. We headed back to the casino. We sat at the bar for a bit. Pretty soon, we see a young lady walking over to us. It’s Christine. She recognizes us from the roll call. We both confirm what a good time we’re having, and what a great ship the Horizon is. She had someone to meet, and heads off. Shortly I see another person I recognize from the roll call. It’s Patricia, who also recognizes us, and steps on over with her group. She introduces us to Gabriel and another couple that they are traveling with. They stopped for a quick hello, and off they went.   Mary Ann was ready to call it a day. I wasn’t. I dropped her back at the cabin, and went back to try my luck at the casino. Unfortunately, no one was playing craps. Some ELITE cruise.......hmmm. I settled down on a blackjack table. Got $100 in chips. I bet the $6 minimum, and proceeded to lose $60 without winning 1 hand. That dealer was REALLY lucky. It’s not the first time I’ve been chased off the blackjack table on the first night by a “too lucky” dealer. Anyone else had this happen?? Fortunately, some people were playing dice by this time, and I recouped most of my blackjack losses. We closed down the craps table by 1am. It was time to go to bed.....

[cruisin USA]

Day 3-Cozumel

 

 

Woke up, my chocolate milk was there. Walked out onto the balcony. We were parked at the pier at Cozumel. The Vista was right next to us, with the Paradise on the other side of the Vista. It was still coolish, and partly cloudy. We just didn’t feel like going to the beach in weather like this. We just let our Mr. Sanchos $5 reservation fee each go. Mary Ann thought we were obligated,  but was relieved when she found out it was only a $5 loss We would just go and check out the shops and bars in the pier village. First, it was time for breakfast. Headed down to lido, and filled my plate with my standard lido breakfast. Scrambled eggs, Ham, Bacon, Breakfast potatoes, fruit, and a double helping of chocolate milk.

 

[cruisin USA]

Also went to the machine to get some orange juice, which is now labled orange drink….sigh. Fortunately, it did taste like orange juice, so I wasn’t so disappointed. We sat by a window,n looking out toward the ocean side. Beautiful. After a hearty breakfast, we headed upfront, and down to deck 0 to get off the ship.

[JaniceB]

I have had the lucky blackjack dealer while my husband was playing craps ad winning.  I think I need to learn a new game.  Enjoying your review and pictures.

[CheckersMidwest]

Enjoying your review ! We sail on the Horizon in May and in a Havana Cabana. Thanks for all the details !

[James4me]

Thank you for your great review.  We will be on the Panorama in an aft wrap balcony.  How did you feel about it?  Your view is seeing the Havana retreat.  Did you enjoy the ocean views  and also how did you like your stateroom?  We have never stayed in an aft balcony, I’m glad we got the aft wrap on deck 6🤗