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

[cruisin USA]

I think I figured it out. The answer lies in deck 3. Directly below the showroom. 50 cabins. 22 Inner. 28 Ocean View, The inner cabins could hold up to 3 people. I did some quick math, and figured almost 80K (at capacity)for these cabins on a 6 day cruise. I bet those sub woofers went right through to all those cabins!! Yow!!!! Carnival, in it’s infinite wisdom(and knowing that social media would maul these cabins like lions), decided to just have shows in the theater(that usually are over by 11pm), to keep the “quiet" value in these cabins. Too bad. All that engineering, just to find out they might lose 400K a month due to those rooms having bad publicity. I can just hear my PVP.. “Yeah, we do have a few cabins left. They are under the showroom, and it might be a little THUMPY till about 4 am”……er……no. Mystery solved. Let's get to the party......

Edited June 7, 2020 by cruisin USA

[cruisin USA]

Walked through the doors of the theater, handed them our invites. Still enjoy them saying “Welcome Back”. The lower level had quite a few people already seated. Nobody in the upper area. Waiters were carrying around trays of assorted drinks. YEAH! Others were carrying trays of appetizers…Meh! Found a couple of seats more centered than we usually do, but that’s what was available. We picked a couple of fruity looking drinks off one of the waiters. We accepted the appetizers to be polite, but we’re on a ship where we can constantly eat for free. If I had a beard, I would suggest that Carnival could let these go as a cost cutting means. We’d been well fed over the last 6 days. They are playing a couple of party games as usual. On the side screens they were suggesting we play some games. “Guess the Epaulette”???… We’ve never been in the military, so we never had even heard the word before, let alone know what it meant. We didn't even try guessing. Another game was guess the crew member from their childhood photo. Fun stuff, but we were just hanging out, mingling, and enjoying our free cocktails.

[cruisin USA]

The guitarist was up on the stage doing his thing. All these Carnival performers are good. Great background music for a party. Not too loud, and we knew his songs, except one, that Mike coaxed out of him, was an original.

[cruisin USA]

I knew he’d be leaving shortly, as he was scheduled to play in the atrium at 5:30. He finished up. Mike came onto the stage microphone in hand, asking about that last song, with the guitarist  humbly admitting it was an original.  Mike came out in this OUTRAGEOUS “Union Jack” Suit Coat. A “Union Jacket” some might call it. He starts by basically thanking us for our return business. It lets him know they’re doing their jobs right. Cut to the contests. Cute, but we didn’t have a horse in the race

[cruisin USA]

Then it’s time for the show of ships. All the Carnival ships pictures came scrolling up. It was a chronological pictorial, with oldest ships first scrolling down the screen 3 by 3. Mike would announce ALL the ships, and you were supposed to cheer if you any ship you sailed on was mentioned. We got to cheer for the Ecstasy, the Imagination, the Paradise, the Destiny, the Miracle, the Glory, the Splendor, the Breeze, and now the Horizon. Being the newest ship, it was the last one called. That got a BIG cheer from ALL of us in the audience!!!

[cruisin USA]

Mike then goes on to start introducing the people behind the scenes helping to make our cruise so FUN!! The executive chef, head of housekeeping, entertainment director, a couple of others. Last, but not least, Mike introduces the captain of the ship. The head man himself!!

[cruisin USA]

Mike lets the Captain talk to us for a bit. The ship's officers are all Italian. (I remember when all our cruise directors were British. John Heald came out of this era . It's different now with CD's, and that's ok). Our last few cruises the captain has come on the P.A. during the cruise directors muster speech. It's ALWAYS hard to understand what they are saying, Considering that English is their second language, they try, but I think most Americans will tell you the same. This Captain was much better than any I've heard(aside from the Captain that mentioned that someone out on deck asked who was driving the ship?, to which he replied, "Don't Worry, the monkey's doing fine...lol). Just another thank you to all of us and the crew that puts it together each  cruise.

 

[cruisin USA]

Captains finished. Mike finishes up reminding us that tonight the comedy would be here in the theater instead of the Limelight lounge. There would be dancing in the Limelight tonight.....wink. The party is over(too quickly). We understood. Early seating would be starting soon. We left, passing the casino for supplies and stopped up on the smoking deck for a smoke break. It was almost dark. I could see that the Carnival Ship(think it was the Glory) was still off to our starboard. Headed back to the cabin. Soon enough, it would be time for dinner. We had packing to do.....................................................sigh

[cruisin USA]

Headed back to the cabin. The way was practically instinctual by now. Aft elevators down to Deck 6. We still got a chuckle over the way the elevator pronounces the word “Upper(with a long "U") when it announces "6th Floor, UUUpper" when the elevator doors open If you’ve ever sailed Carnival, you’ve heard it. Starboard side and all the way back. Quick wave of the key over the door, and we were in. Time to start packing…..YUK!! When you’re packing for the trip, everything is fresh. You’ve picked out your clothes(no easy task). Add you’re toiletries, and you’re pretty good to go. Carefull placing your clothes in your bags so that they won’t wrinkle.

 

On the way home it's a little different...sigh. A SURE signal that vacation is coming to an end (and soon…. double sigh). Got our suitcases out from under the bed and got it all packed within a half an hour or so. Showered and changed into our night clothes. We would be sure to leave tomorrows clothes out too. I packed the worlds most traveled beach towel, and our matching sign we always have hanging on the balcony door with suction cups. We were pretty quiet. It’s so sad to realize that this trip was almost over. We put the bags of to the side knowing that we'd place them out when we came back after dinner.

 

[cruisin USA]

We had to empty our cooler so we could dry it out before we could pack it. We placed what little we had left in the refrigerator. As it was we had made the Jager last the whole trip. We had a couple extra Red Bulls. I had made sure I would have my Pepsi for our last dinner. We would be buying our drinks from the bartenders for the rest of tbe cruise. We showered, changed into our night clothes and headed to the Blue Java one last time for our seating assignment. Headed to the podium, and we were seated quickly. Rizzulini again!! He was a GREAT waiter. Always a smile, and a GREAT attitude!

 

Edited June 10, 2020 by cruisin USA

[cruisin USA]

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[cruisin USA]

 

We were seated halfway into the dining room. I recognize someone from our page was sitting right next to us. It was Mark who asked if there were any Elite cruisers in our group? That’s what led me to google it. I introduced Mary Ann and myself. He was sitting with a young lady that he introduced as Brooke. Although they got along ok. I got the impression that they weren’t boyfriend/girlfriend. As it turned out she lived pretty far from him. They were both very nice. He was telling us that he was on his limit for his free drinks(15?? Wow!!). Hey, if you got a free Cheers package, you might as well use them up.

 

The conversation turned to me mentioning that I thought I was going to see a LOT of high rollers this trip. He told me that most of the players he met from the Elite group were older, and mostly playing in the morning. I said I’d been at the craps table for the most part. He said although he played a little of everything, he noticed that most Elite’s were slot players(makes sense). Dinner came, and we started eating, enjoying our last night’s dinner. We knew that it was going to be Baked Alaska for dessert. We were just finishing up our Prime Rib when the Matre D’ came over the microphone. He asked once again if everyone was enjoying their dinner? Big Cheers!! He then said that he had a special announcement. He said that one of our waiters was going to be going home tomorrow, because his wife just had a baby!! It’s Rizzulini!!! He continues…. “We’re going to miss Rizzulini. He’s been onboard with us now for 10 month’s now”…lol. Levity over, the waitstaff all starts coming out carrying Baked Alaska. I know its coming. Always have to fight back a tear or two when they sing the “Leaving a Funship” song, They flame up the Alaska, and finish up with a Happy Tune. Finiculi Finicula!! We had our dessert, Thanked and Congratulated Rizzulini and we were off. Had to get our last Jager Bombs that we were going to take to the comedy show.

 

[teacher34]

Hello, I am enjoying reading your review ! I have read a couple of others and enjoy them, too. You put a lot of work into these and I really appreciate it. I was wondering , in your list of cruise reviews, some say not posted on cc. Where could I find them ? You give such great information about the ships. Also, I love your positive attitude !! Thanks.

[cruisin USA]

I poured out our last of the Jager and split a Red Bull between the 2 glasses. Mary Ann poured the last of her White Zin into a wine glass and off we went.  We made a short stop at the Casino bar for a smoke break before the show. Mary Ann sure does miss being able to smoke on our balcony….sigh. At least there are still smoking areas that are close. The “bar guys” were sitting there in their usual spots. Can you reserved the bar seats? (Cliff and Norm) There was a spot open right next to them that we could fit in to order our drinks. Ordered a Corona for me and a new White Zin for Mary Ann(to go along with our Jager Bombs we had carried). Shared a slightly remorseful moment with the guys, sharing that we weren’t ready to leave yet. They didn’t want to leave either. Time flew, we already were late. We bid our farewells, and headed off to the show. It was pretty packed…… We had to sit a little farther back. No worries. As long as I hear.

 

[wardwhitty]

Thank you for posting your review.  It is great to follow along with your trip.  We hopefully will be sailing on the Horizon 9/19/20 but who knows if that will actually sail.  Keeping fingers crossed !!!!!!

 

[teacher34]

Cruisin  USA, 

I really enjoyed your review. I looked in your expanded signature to see another review and a few say posted not on cc. Where did you post those reviews,I would like to read them, also.

[cruisin USA]

Back to finish this up……Now…Where was I?

 

Once again, the warm up guy comes out, goes through his usual disclaimer, and get’s the crowd to shout in unison..”Get The F..k Out!” Too funny! Worth the price of admission right there….lol

 

This is the first ship we’d ever been on with a bar right in back of the showroom. We made our way over to check it out. The bartenders were moving! Parked ourselves here for the rest of the show. Jimmy and Roman both killed it. Never ceases to amaze me how these comedians keep coming up with fresh material the entire cruise. 
 

As always, it’s over to soon.

 

 

[cruisin USA]

We filed out with the rest of the showroom. The atrium was filling up by the time we got to our usual observation spot. 

[cruisin USA]

It was an 80’s party. The music was pumping, people were dancing throughout the atrium. I spot Mike Pack. He’s standing on the bar in an outlandish 80’s get up, complete with orange leg warmers….lol. Very entertaining. Of course, I DO remember people dressing like that…hehe. Mike get’s on the mic and starts hosting. We stayed for awhile. We still had some cruise left!

[cruisin USA]

We made our way back to the casino. There were people still playing. We decided to play a slot machine near the front of the casino. The one with the super bright led’s. Mary Ann wanted to play off what she had accumulated. It wasn’t much.

 

The thing was.. We played and kept on winning. Not much but it took quite awhile to wear it down. Not too many people left in the casino when we finished. 
 

We made our way back to the cabin. I left Mary Ann off. I wanted that one last slice of pizza. One last time up to lido…sigh Back to the cabin to have my pizza on the balcony. It was pretty late. Had a big day tomorrow.

 

 

Edited September 7, 2022 by cruisin USA

[cruisin USA]

Got up early. We had number 2 luggage tags, so we’d be one of the first off. They called our number pretty quickly. We made our way down to the debarkation area. There was a line to get off the ship. We were almost off when I spot the comedy MC. “I know, I know. GTFO” I said. He replies…”No, today it’s only safe travels”. Nice.
 

With that we were off the ship. Down the escalators to go find our luggage and then through customs. Easy-Peasy

 

Now we had to find the “Best of Miami” bus. Last year, for the South Beach tour they had us scrambling to find our bus. This time they had a small booth outside of the terminal that could point you in the right direction. Found our bus. Loaded our luggage. Stepped aboard and waited for the bus to fill.
 

 

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, cruisin USA said:

Back to finish this up……Now…Where was I?

 

Once again, the warm up guy comes out, goes through his usual disclaimer, and get’s the crowd to shout in unison..”Get The F..k Out!” Too funny! Worth the price of admission right there….lol

 

This is the first ship we’d ever been on with a bar right in back of the showroom. We made our way over to check it out. The bartenders were moving! Parked ourselves here for the rest of the show. Jimmy and Roman both killed it. Never ceases to amaze me how these comedians keep coming up with fresh material the entire cruise. 
 

As always, it’s over to soon.

 

 

Better late than never! 😁

[cruisin USA]

We just sat there. We were one of the first on. People are starting to file in. We see an older gentleman climb aboard. He had a name tag on. He must be our guide. His name was Ignacio. He got on the microphone mentioning that we’d be leaving just as soon as the rest boarded. He spoke in a mildly broken English. 
 

Loaded up, the bus started out of the parking spot. Ignacio introduced himself. Turns out he was of Cuban decent. As we would come to find out, he was a eloquent and impassioned speaker. Very good throughout our ride. We pulled out of the Port of Miami and started heading past Bayside Mall. 

[cruisin USA]

Ignacio explained that we would be heading to the South beach area first. We started crossing the bridge over to South Beach. I remember when we did this in an open top bus once. It was a wind tunnel!

 

We could look across and see the Horizon across the channel.

 

 

 

 

[cruisin USA]

We made our way over to the South Beach area. Looking left, was “Millionaires Row” Ignacio said this view was used on Miami Vice. Lots of nice houses and boats on the channel.