Horizon 6-day Bimini, HMC, AC 8/29/21!

[imluvncruzn]

We were on the Horizon 6-day to Bimini, Half Moon Cay, and Amber Cove.  If these are your ports (in that order) you will have two elegant nights on Monday (Bimini) and Wednesday (Sea Day).  We stayed in Fort Lauderdale and SAS Transportation picked us up at our hotel and shuttled us to the port Sunday Morning.  We've used them a dozen or more times but this time they were 45 minutes late for pick up which was annoying.  We considering using Uber XL since there were 4 of us which would've cost the same as SAS ($60 for 4) but decided to wait because we weren't sure if our luggage would fit in the Uber XL vehicle.  So we arrived at the port at 10:40am.  The line was around the building but moved very quickly.  Once inside there were about a dozen stations set up where they checked your documents, vaccine record, and negative test results.  I'm from NY and we have the Excelsior pass which shows the vaccine manufacturer,  lot numbers of vaccine, dates, and who administered the vaccine.  That was accepted no problem.  I also showed a snapshot of my negative covid test from my emailed results.  She looked for name, date, and result.  That also was accepted no problem.  The process was so quick.  I was onboard at 11:02.  We never had to sit down and wait in the lobby.  In 31 cruises this was the best embarkation (and disembarkation) I've ever experienced.  

 

According to Donkey (CD) this cruise sailed at 2,200 passengers.  It was surreal.  No lines anywhere all week.  The pools weren't crowded, no waits for drinks, no problems getting seats for shows.  It was heavenly.  We did have to wear masks inside.  Not so much walking through hallways but inside venues yes.  Casino it was basically up to you.  I didn't wear mine while seated at slot because I was drinking and no one said a word.  Casino waiters were amazing.  I felt like someone was coming by every 5 minutes or so asking if I was ready for another drink.  Now I guess it was because the capacity was at less than 50% but the service nonetheless was amazing.

 

Bimini:  We rented a golf cart for $60 for the day.  There were 4 of us.  We walked to end of the pier past the security shack and the golf carts were on your right hand side.  Sue and Joy's were printed on the front of each golf cart.  Can't miss them and there are dozens to choose from.  She took our $60 and off we went.  No ID, no contract, no nothing.  There is a cable with lock to use on the steering wheel when we stopped somewhere.  The key to the ignition also opened the lock so that was convenient.  We drove as far as we could south.  Very poor and not a lot to see that way.  There is a small outdoor market that sells tshirts, beach bags, etc.  We saw the ferry that goes to South Bimini Island.  There is also a beautiful overlook and beach area at the southern most point.  We saw lots of jellyfish, a sting ray, and some crabs.  Not far from there we hit Radio beach.  You can see the ship from this beach.  What a gem this beach was!  The sand was soft, water extremely clear, but tons of jellyfish.  I had done some research beforehand and knew that Bimini is known for a "moon jellyfish" and they did not sting.  So we were all a little nervous to swim so I decided to test it out and picked one of the jellyfish up with my hands and sure enough they were harmless.  They are clear and have what looks like a flower pattern in the middle.  We left there because a storm was rolling in.  We got drenched driving back North towards the ship.  We went past the port area and proceeded to the Northern end of the island.  This part of the island was wealthier and more developed.  This is where the Hilton and Beach 360 is located.  We followed the Carnival Tram into a huge parking lot and parked with a bunch of other golf carts.  There is a sign that says "Private Property" at the entrance to the beach bar.  I walked right through and down to the beach.  There is also a path way (down a slight hill) that you can walk down to get to the beach.  If you want a chair and umbrella then Carnival sells this for $40pp as an excursion.  If you just want to check it out and sit on your towel, you can do what we did for free.  There is really not a lot to see in Bimini.  We were back onboard by 12:15 but enjoyed our time exploring with the golf cart and would probably do that again if we go back.  

 

Half Moon Cay:  Rented the Private Oasis with friends.  I've been to HMC several times.  Always a great beach day.  There was a 3-4' barracuda that hung out all day by the Private Oasis.  He mostly stays under that huge floating mat that is anchored there but came out several times throughout the day and circled around.  The life guard did a great job of keeping us aware of where he was.  Private chef made us filet mignon and mahi mahi for lunch.  It was delicious!  They did not have any of the beer/seltzers we drink so they ended up having to send someone back to the ship to get what we wanted.  

 

Amber Cove:  Rented a pool cabana.  We've also rented one of these a few times before and love them and the location.  Service was great.  No one wore masks in or around the pool area.  They did however, wear masks in all of the shops.  There was an employee stationed at the entrance to the shop with hand sanitizer and checking that everyone had masks on.  

 

Havana area:  We are spoiled now and will only book these rooms if it is a ship that has a Havana section.  So worth the money.  Excellent service, private bar area, tons of loungers and round day beds available, and pool and hot tubs were never crowded!  One complaint was that our hair straighteners and curling irons wouldn't heat up in 5205 or 5229.  They sent an electrician to our room and he told us that this is a common complaint and not something he could fix. Also, the band plays in the Havana area every night and they are right behind 5229.  It was very loud.  We didn't hear anything in 5205.  

 

We ate at Teppenyaki, Cucina, and the steakhouse.  All three were fantastic.  (We were able to make our Teppenyaki reservations as soon as we boarded at 11am).  The Thrill theater is not in operation due to Covid protocols and because it is such a small venue.  The IMAX was operating.  Popcorn on lido is $3.54 LOL.  They are not currently doing the Quest show either.  Eden in the piano bar is absolutely amazing.  What a blast!  They did not adhere to check in times whatsoever!   The earliest check in time for this cruise was 11:00-11:30am.  There were people on our FB page that were on board by 10:00am (I saw the pics!).  Disembarkation was a breeze.  They started letting people off at 7am.  We waited and went down with our luggage at 8:15am.  The new facial recognition system is amazing.  So if you use a passport to board then you just look into this screen.  If it recognizes your face then it'll turn green and you are free to go.  No more lines or customs forms to fill out.  My friend did not use a passport and had to meet with a customs agent but that was very quick too with no line.  SAS picked us up at 8:30am and we were at the Fort Lauderdale airport and through security by 9:10am and waiting for our 11:00am flight.  Overall this was one of our favorite cruises of all time.

 

Feel free to ask questions!  

 

 

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

imluvncruzn ~ thanks for such an informative report. I look forward to doing this cruise in Nov & will look for those moon jellyfish now I know they're not harmful.

 

Have a nice day & stay safe.

 

~ Jo ~😊

 

 

[phoneman69]

doing this same itinerary in 5 days on the 12th. Was looking to book the steak house once onboard i see you ate there. did you make a reservation onboard or ahead of time? Also you did not mention Pixels can i still get the photo package once on board. Yes have 600 OBC that i need to spend down. So looking forward to sailing. Hope our cruise has limited capacity as well.  

[imluvncruzn]

23 minutes ago, retiring soon said:

Hi all!

 

imluvncruzn ~ thanks for such an informative report. I look forward to doing this cruise in Nov & will look for those moon jellyfish now I know they're not harmful.

 

Have a nice day & stay safe.

 

~ Jo ~😊

 

 

 

[imluvncruzn]

8 minutes ago, phoneman69 said:

doing this same itinerary in 5 days on the 12th. Was looking to book the steak house once onboard i see you ate there. did you make a reservation onboard or ahead of time? Also you did not mention Pixels can i still get the photo package once on board. Yes have 600 OBC that i need to spend down. So looking forward to sailing. Hope our cruise has limited capacity as well.  

 We did not buy or pose for any pics this cruise so I dont have any info about pixels.  We did book all three specialty dining times once onboard (steakhouse, Teppenyaki, and Cucina).

[JaniceB]

Thanks for the report.  So much information and disembarkation info is what I am looking for.  Sounds like if ship is on time no problem getting to airport early.

[phoneman69]

thanks for the info

[JaniceB]

Do you have any pictures of 5205?  I just realized that is the cabin I have booked and it is shaped different than the others.  Disappointed to hear that my curling iron may not work.  Did you use the hairdryer in the room?  Was it any good?

[imluvncruzn]

1 hour ago, JaniceB said:

Do you have any pictures of 5205?  I just realized that is the cabin I have booked and it is shaped different than the others.  Disappointed to hear that my curling iron may not work.  Did you use the hairdryer in the room?  Was it any good?

The hairdryer worked fine.  It was the kind that you have to keep the button pressed to stay on.  The curling iron didn't work all week in mine or my sister's cabin.  This wasn't my favorite cabin but was very quiet.  There's only two closets.  One has extra bedding in the bottom so couldn't use it for my shoes.  One has hangers and the other has three shelves and three drawers.  One of the shelves had a safe on it.  The vanity area doesn't have any drawers to store stuff either.  Here is a video of 5205.  

 

[JaniceB]

Thank you.  I think I will ask the cabin steward to get rid of the extra bedding.  I wonder if there is a drop down bunk or something for the extra bedding.  I doubt it will be my favorite either but the price was right and figured we didn't need a balcony with the access to the Havana area.

[jsglow]

Thanks for the info about golf carts in Bimini.  Last trip we did the tram to 360.  I'm assuming you didn't have any reservation, simply walked down the pier, past the gate and saw the vendor near what I recall to be the water treatment plant.

[imluvncruzn]

38 minutes ago, jsglow said:

Thanks for the info about golf carts in Bimini.  Last trip we did the tram to 360.  I'm assuming you didn't have any reservation, simply walked down the pier, past the gate and saw the vendor near what I recall to be the water treatment plant.

Yes that's exactly what we did.  You can see them from the guard shack at the end of the pier.  Apparently there's another place rentbmb.com that rents them and you need to reserve ahead of time.  Those are $90 day.  These were $60 for the day and included gas.  

[jsglow]

15 minutes ago, imluvncruzn said:

Yes that's exactly what we did.  You can see them from the guard shack at the end of the pier.  Apparently there's another place rentbmb.com that rents them and you need to reserve ahead of time.  Those are $90 day.  These were $60 for the day and included gas.  

Yeah, reserving ahead of time these days seems imprudent.  Flexibility with everything.

[retiring soon]

Hi again,

 

imluvncruzn ~ thanks so much for posting the picture of the Jellyfish. I hope to see a bunch of them since they're not dangerous.