Back from Horizon to ABC Islands

[PC 462]

This is my first review after my 9th Carnival cruise.  Well, really less of a review and more some observations and opinions.

The Havana area is well worth the money.  There is no way I would go on a crowded ship like Horizon without being in Havana.  The pool and hot tubs were great and seldom crowded.

The air conditioning definitely needs work.  Many areas were warm and humid.  Even when my cabin was cool, it was often humid.

The Chef's Table was the best I've experienced.  It was really in a class by itself.

The music from the theater forward to the Havana Bar aft was painfully loud everywhere.   This includes the dining room, which certainly spoils the dining experience.

The internet was down for a day.  Even the casino machines stopped working!  The cabin phones went down for almost the entire cruise.

Food was uniformly good wherever we ate.  Most of the crew was warm and friendly as usual, but many seemed overworked.

I can't say enough how unpleasant the boarding experience was in Miami.  It was a chaotic bedlam!  We were on time for our 12-12:30 time.  It was hot and humid inside the terminal, as we waited in the back and forth, long snaking line, elbow to elbow with everyone.  The noise and shouting was incredible.  What a start!  Then, we got on board and found our cabin would not be ready for an hour and a half.  So we schlepped our carry-ons around for lunch.

Lunch at the Pig and Anchor buffet was great on embarkation day.

Our Chef's Table and Steakhouse reservations did not show in the Carnival Hub app and the staff had trouble finding them. The joys of nonfunctioning tech!

 

A word about Horizon.  The ship seems designed to focus inward and cut off the passenger from the sea.  Most of the outside areas are bounded by 6-8 feet of plexiglass.  I missed having a balcony.  While our Havana Cabana was spacious, it could have been a patio just about anywhere because of the plexiglass wall. The experience of being close to the sea was just not there.

 

I love cruising on Carnival.  This latest experience was a little hit or miss.  I'm not sure I will like the future of very large Carnival ships.

Thanks for reading!

 

[ninjacat123]

Thanks for your review!!  I have never cruised on Horizon or been in a Havana Cabana, so it's nice to get some insight.  I like seeing the ocean as well, so I could see how this could dampen your experience.  Thanks again!

[bikerjohn1]

Do you know anything about the Italian specialty restaurant?  I made reservations for the steak house but I am wondering what is on the menu at the Italian.

[firefly333]

2 minutes ago, bikerjohn1 said:

Do you know anything about the Italian specialty restaurant?  I made reservations for the steak house but I am wondering what is on the menu at the Italian.

There are a few people here with menu links. I dont eat italian so to me italian place is the tomahawk pork chop and the potatoes lol. It's a good value even if you dont eat pasta. JiJis on horizon the op was on is my favorite. 

[georgiacat]

We did the ABC islands cruise on the Horizon in Sept.  The best Havana aft cabin was 9473.  Cabin was good size, but balcony was great!  That was my favorite spot with aft view of wake.  It was fully covered, but did get breezes.  Comments and pictures are on the CCL cabin board.

 

The only bad things:  there was a very large step up into the bathroom (seemed common with our table mates) and it was a long walk from places.  Only 1 floor up to the lido marketplace, though.

 

Did not hear any disturbing noises.  AC worked very well; we kept curtains closed when we were not looking out to help AC.

 

If you want sun, we stayed on deck 6, Havana aft balcony on Vista a few years back.  That balcony was HUGE, but full sun all the time.