B2B 30th Anniversary Horizon Review

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

I thought they had the nightclub in the Limelight lounge?

 

Also, we're always those people who get up and dance with the servers in the MDR during SHOWTIME. So, there's that.

 

Our 8 day is Aruba, Curacao, La Romana and Amber Cove.  Looking forward to hearing about Aruba!

 

 

[MtnSeaGirl]

10 minutes ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

I thought they had the nightclub in the Limelight lounge?

 

Also, we're always those people who get up and dance with the servers in the MDR during SHOWTIME. So, there's that.

 

Our 8 day is Aruba, Curacao, La Romana and Amber Cove.  Looking forward to hearing about Aruba!

 

 

You very well may be right about the Limelight Lounge.  We walked by several times looking in.   Maybe we hit the wrong times???  Possible.

[MtnSeaGirl]

Week 2, Aruba -

We were in Aruba almost a decade ago, courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line...our preferred taxi to the islands.  I celebrated my 50th BD parasailing for the first time that trip.

This time, we decided to do an island tour before hitting the beach as we were there from morning until close to 11 pm.  We booked a little tour taking us here and yonder.  The tour was OK, but I would not do it again. Aruba is truly a desert.  Unless you are on the beach, Aruba is not a very pretty country, bless it's heart.  The beaches are wonderful.  The countryside, not so much.  DUSTY.  Maybe it was the timing of our tour.  We booked an independent who always seemed to be following groups on ATVs.  Those ATVs kicked up a lot of dust.  ( not their fault ).  Just bad timing.  It was so dusty once stop, I asked DH to brave the outside to snap a few pics of a stone building. He is a good DH.   He got a couple pics before retreating back inside the small bus.   We did see a natural bridge that collasped and a few other sites, but I would not do this tour again.  This is largely as no matter how many reviews you read, you never know exactly what you are getting.  Our 3.5 hour tour stretched close to 5 hours.  The cruise pier was the first pick up.  Pick ups #2 and #3 were at hotels so we spent time loading and unloading.  It's all good.  I naievely thought the guy probably had two diff buses and ran one for cruise passengers and one for hotel guests.  I should have asked.  Not his fault for making a living.  

We went back to the ship after being dropped off to snag a lite lunch.  The heat was pretty intense for those of use who are use to cool weather.  So, we decided to enjoy the pool on the ship instead of taking the local bus or a taxi to Eagle Beach.  It was already past mid afternoon, we were tired, we made the best decision for us. 

Now, as for our first trip to Aruba, we simply got off the ship, walked over to the bus office, bought bus tickets and road with the locals over to Palm Beach.  Sand like Myrtle Beach.  Great water.  Lots of water toys.  Facilities galore.  Hotels all around ya if you wanted a fancier lunch than what you found nearby.  Love the way they did the parasailing then. Not sure how they do it now.  There is zero chance of the wind blowing you into a building like you hear about here in the states.  They took us out on one boat.  We transferred to another boat in the middle of the ocean whose sole job was to ride parallel to the shore some mile or more away launching the  parasailers and reeling them back in.  Finish your ride, transfer back to the boat to return to the shore who has now fetched a new set of adventerous hearts ready to soar.  Our youngest was with us that trip.  We went tandem surprising him that Mom went twice instead of him.  After all, it was MY BD that year.  🤣

This trip, we knew there was two more beach days ahead so we decided to take it easy.  We had truly wanted to go to Eagle Beach via local bus.  We had read tons of reviews on this site and it was our desire. 

Speaking of helpful reviews.  I want to give a shout out to all those who are SO VERY HELPFUL wihtout judgment when people ask questions.  We are all seeking knowledge to make our trip the best we can.  Some of you are legends.  We depend on you. I, in no way, have much to offer but I will say that we travel with clothes pins and plastic racks that have those pinchers on them like you use for pants.  Every shower we wash out the day's swimsuit, easy to dry shirts, and hang them on the line in the bath to dry.  The clothes pins keep the racks from colliding into each other.  We don't get free laundry so we manage the best we can without breaking the bank while staying clean and fresh.

We washed a load of clothes the second week.  The washer works great.  The dryer takes at least two spins...three spins....lay the clothes on the bed while you  leave to finish drying.  We take several swim suits which we seem to live in onboard.  This works for us.   

I was dared this trip to make the two weeks in nothing but a carry on, one backpack as my personal flight item.  I did it with creative outfits that roll up, forgoing the fancy dresses for formal night that we had done before, etc.  I still had more than enough.  I did cheat a little. We checked one bag for sun screen that is more than the 3 ounce restriction for carry on luggage, hangers, beach shoes, and a pair of flip flops.  I will not comment on what DH took on the trip.  He was not dared.  I was proud of myself.  Our first cruise, I took two long dresses, made DH take a suit with two dress shirts, wayyyy more shorts and shirts than Carter has liver pills.  I felt bad for the porters.  I have learned since then to pair nice tops with black or white  pants / shirts.  You change out the pants / skirt as soon as dinner is over unless you want pics.  We did pics several times and enjoyed them. many times.  As we have gotten older, we prefer to travel lighter as someone has to drag that bag around before the porter gets it.  

By this time in the second week, we noticed that the food in the MDR had changed. It was the same items, but the taste was just not there.  Everyone seemed a little more stressed from the waiters down to the room stewards.  They never commented and always smiled, but you can't work with people day in and day out and not know when something is amiss.  Simple things at first like finding trash on the deck early mornings that had not been there last week when we got up to see the sun rise.  Maybe they were all grieving Cuzn Cookie leaving at the end of the voyage.  Sometimes, it only takes one person in your life to make a different.  We hope Cookie is just on a well deserved vaca and not retiring.  He was talking about handing it over to his replacement who was with him that week.  Cookie is super cool.  Surely, he is too young to retire.  I choose to belive he is on vaca.  I hope to hear him again over the Carnival Airways telling us "Just one more thing.  In case no one has told you today, I love you, and there is nothing you can do about it."  What a positive person he is.  

So, the food began to tank in the MDR, yet, we saw the opposite on the Lido deck for lunch.  I will not say it was like the good ole days, but it was  better than the week before.

Crowds - both cruises had within a couple hundered of people onboard.  It felt a lot more crowded the second cruise. After having 6 days of a half empty MDR, easy to snag pool chairs, etc the second week seemed a lot different.  Still, there were always chairs on Deck 5, just not loungers.  

Where are the Violin players?  They were so great and performed almost every evening the first week. They were harder to find the second week.  Instead of doing several sets each evening at diff times, they did one set some of the evenings.  Who knows?  I just liked them. Some one else could have an opposite opinion.  

Piano Bar - Oh, My, that young man can tickle those ivories.  I should have remembered his name, but if you see him, you will recognize him. Young, LONG dark hair down to his waist while sitting, amazing talent.  Just wish those who felt inclined to sing along, offkey, highly intoxicated would not have ruined it.  This cat was amazing, and those six buddies who insisted on googling the lyrics and sing were really bad.  But as far as entertainment value  LOL  LOL  LOL

DH is looking into the refrig. Better find dinner and fast.  Tomorrow is Bonaire.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

In Cozumel, the town of San Miguel is a 15 minute CAR RIDE from the Carnival terminal. I looked up the restaurant you went to, and it does look fantastic.  It's 3 miles from the Carnival pier!  Good job walking!

[MtnSeaGirl]

2 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

In Cozumel, the town of San Miguel is a 15 minute CAR RIDE from the Carnival terminal. I looked up the restaurant you went to, and it does look fantastic.  It's 3 miles from the Carnival pier!  Good job walking!

No wonder I felt tired....LOL.  Yes, the restaurant was indeed very good.  DH, being from the great state of Texas, loves GOOD Mexican food.  It was worth the walk although I think I will take a cab next time.  We took a cab back the the port.  Rates are supposed to be std; however, we noticed the driver said it was $4 more than the board stated for up to 4.  We just smiled and gave him what he wanted.  We would have given him the $4 in a tip anyway.   

[MtnSeaGirl]

Week #2, Bonaire...A very BIASED review.

OK, you got me, Bonaire.  I fell in love with you.  Bonaire has NO snakes.  NONE.  Not a one.  Aruba has 3 types of snakes.  One poisionous, one non poisonsus and someone smuggled in a boa...and turned said boa loose.  I'm guessing more than one as the island now has a boa issue.  Aruba, keep your snakes to yourself.  LOL

Bonaire has no traffic lights.  They use traffic circles.  The port town is very easy to navigate, and the island has not had a hurricane.

Add all that to some of the most beautiful water and blue skies, AND the fact that they will let you buy a home there.

We took a tour that went both to the east part of the island which had the salt flats but also to the north part which has the dive sites.  The east part was first.  We booked the tour solely to see the salt flats.  The water was not as pink as in some of the pictures; however, it was probably that we were there in the morning.  The water is not actually pink.  It is combo of algea, bacteria, and salt that makes the water have a pink hue.  The flamingos were out, mostly at a distance.  The slave huts were bittersweet of course.  Interesting as they are very small and within steps of the ocean.  Sad for what they represent.  The  HUGE piles of salt looked like pyramids.  We even stopped by a place where you can take home small chunks of salt.  They put those chunks in a wooden box for your taking.

The water and beaches on the east side is where I could just sit and be.  Such long stretches of beach.  No facilities but peace and few  people as the beach areas are long  but narrow spots.  There was lots of space avail in the morning. Lots of people rented golf carts and utilized the east side beaches.  I will do that next time.  Lots of housing going up on the East side.  So, we shall see what happens to the peace out there.  

The north side saw such mind blowing water.  The waves were more powerful. The clarity of the water insane.  We were told it is a divers paradise. Sure looked like it could be although we have no experience in it.  

We then were taken to a section of the island which has no electricity.  People live there today.  They live simply.  There was a small home there that had become a museum. The walls super thick.  Windows designed for max airflow.  It was really cool to walk thru this small home with furnishings from that time period.  Such a contrast from the mansion we walked thru on St Thomas years ago.  It was like you could close your eyes and see the smells of cooking and hear voices of children running around.  

Then it wast time to return to the port where we returned to the ship for a cooling off period before venturing back outside.  The port area has a few historic buildings. Being an old building fanatic, I loved walking around the area.  PLEASE be very careful on the streets. You have this incredible water on your left side; history on your right side.  The sidewalks are a bit uneven. We were saddened to see a woman in the street that had been thrown from her motorized chair.  She was face down and not moving.  An ambulance was there.  It was sadder even to see the face of what appeared to be her male companion, also in a motorized scooter, as he could not physically help her.  Imagine being in a foreign country, hurt.  What it appeared is that the two may have been attemmpting the see the sights side by side. The sidewalks on the road side constantly dip up and down if it joins a road.  She probably was trying to turn a little as the walkway curved and the angle was just enough to tip her over.  EASY to do when you are mesmerized by the view.  Being an old volunteer of the rescue squad, I grabbed DH's hand and kept walking. The last thing they needed was a coupel of gawkers.  We can think positive thoughts/pray for them as we walk.  They had professional help with them already.  

The local craft market in the town square was a blast.  You could find most anything there.  Jewelry, lotions, food, more jewelry, painted glass, and salt items.  I bought a garlic/sea salt seasoning and a aloe foot scrub.  Both were about the size of a sand bag you would use playing cornhole.  The packaging is clear, wrapped tight, and had a sticker on it as to what it was and where it was from.  We laughed when we got home as those two items got me pulled in security at the Miami airport. For $9 of sea salt, you too, can stand in the airport while they run your packs of sea salt thru some machine, sprinkle some liquid something on it, wipe it down, hold it up again in front of some computer thingy, sprinkle some more stuff on it, and wipe it down again. Where is the drug sniffing dog when you need one.  Still, it makes for an interesting story to tell at work and church. I could just see the headlines:  "Local DSS employee and pastor's wife is caught smuggling $9 worth of foot scrub and spice into the US".  I appreciate the diligence of airport security. Not being scarcastic at all.  They are paid to do their job.  I had it in my backpack; I meant to pull it out and put it in the one of those round things you put your keys in and totally forgot about it. We were in line a long time waiting to get to the security scanners, and it slipped my mind.  Bet it won't next time.  

Next Up: Curacao

 

[MtnSeaGirl]

Week #2 Curacao

The prev day in Bonaire ended in standing on the secret deck watching the lights of the port area come on.  The ship was there until around 11 so we had a lot of time to enjoy the lights and the beauty of the sunset on the other side of the ship. By this time, other passengers had found out little spot of paradise on the ship.  We met some great people.  

Curacao was another beautiful day.  In fact, in the two weeks we were onboard, the weather was just amazing.  We had read on Cruise Critic that Avila Beach Resort was $10 pp for the day.  THANK YOU for that tip.  We had made reservations before we left.  The resort is a small resort and one we would actually return and stay in.  It is not all glass and glitz.  More laid back feel.  The beach area was small and the resort is small, yet, it suited our needs well.  We had a nice palm tree for shade, loungers, facilities.  What more do you really want?  We enjoyed the space around groupings of loungers also.  It was not wall to wall people and actually less than 1/2 occuiped.  We met a nice couple from TX who was staying there for the week.  The beach area has a grouping of rocks that keeps the pounding waves at bay so you can enjoy playing in the calm water. The water that hits the rock area resulted in small crabs scurring about that was really cool to watch from a walkway.  The resort had a family vibe. It did have a restaurant / bar on the short pier, but it did not open until that evening.  There was a bar near the pool. The pool was included in your day pass. We did not utilize the pool.  After a few hours, we had the front desk call a cab to carry us back to the shopping area before you cross the Queen's Bridge. We had walked to Avila stopping along the way to gawk at some of the older buildings. It way maybe 30 minutes only due to our constant stopping. 

We walked thru some shops, across the Queen's Bridge, stuck our heads into more shops there before returning to the ship.  Goodbye, Curacao. It was good to see you again.  

Next Up:   Last Sea Days and Last Thoughts 

[MtnSeaGirl]

Week #2 Last Sea Days and Last Thoughts On the Horizon

We had two sea days in the beginning of the 8 day leg of our trip; we had two sea days at the end. DH and I enjoy the sea days.  It is our chance to slow our world down.  We love to go to Utah/Arizona. When we do that, we are going each moment of every day as we try to cram in as much as we can.  On the ship, we try to do the opposite. We book cruises with extra sea days which forces us to chill.  

It was a bit sad to realize our time on the Horizon was coming to an end.  We would walk the decks, hang out in our fav spots, sneak in one more this or that. Chair hogs were insane on the day after Curacao.  The last sea day, they were no where to be found. 

Thoughts on the Horizon:  She is one big ship but no where the largest Carnival has to offer.  We loved that there were multiple places to chill both in sun or shade.  We loved the extra places to eat even though I could live off the Blue Iguana bowls.  We caught 2 Imax shows. Would not do that again.  Seemed to be more about saving the planet than actually what they were showing.  The Havana area was a puzzle to me. They have this great pool and deck area at the back of the ship exclusively for those who have Havana cabins. That is great.  The down side is if you had booked a non-Havana aft cabin to see the churning water out your balcony, your balcony was not overlooking the water.  It was overlooking the Havana area. Maybe all the aft cabins were Havana?  Not sure.  Just check it out before you book.  The elevator system - it is not hard people.  Read the directions; listen to Cuzn Cookie.  You use the screen located where you would nornally push the button for an elevator. You select the floor you want to go to and hit it again for a second, third, person, etc.  There are no elevator buttons INSIDE the elevator.  You are standing outside telling the elevator how many people are going to what deck.  The screen tells you what elevator you need to enter.  When that elevator arrives, step in, the door closes.  You are whisked to your floor.  Sometimes, the smart elevator will stop at more than your floor as it knows Susie needs to get off on deck 6, you need to get off on deck 7.  What you don't do is just jump on an elevator.  Doesn't work that way.  I admit it was different the first time, but it actually made sense after that.  I will say we rarely used the elevators.  We did the steps as much as we could. One day we literally intended to go up and down the stairs from deck 1 to deck 11 looking at all the cool pictures on the landings. This is great exercise for being a lazy deck bum the rest of the time.  

We loved the Dreamscapes but did not care for the arrangement of the shops.  Instead of being on one floor, they were on multiple floors in a circle around the main Dreamscape.  Made it hard to say 
"I'm ducking into the jewelry store, catch me in Cherry on Top".  The casino  - you can't avoid going thru it without going up or down a flight.  I grew up in a smoking household.  My daddy raised tobacco a couple years.  But, my asthma does not particulary enjoy cig smoke.  This is the biggest thing I wish Carnival would do.  Arrange the Casino on the ships in a self contained space.  But, I'm big enough for my wants not to hurt me.  Besides, the stairs is good for me.  

Shows - entertainment, like food, is subjective.  For us, the violin players and the piano gets solid 10s.  As a gal who loves a musical, this is saying something if shows are not in the top. Yet, maybe you were on the same cruise and loved them.  I suggest future cruisers poke their heads in and try them out.

Cabins - We loved our little front corner of paradise.  There was one night we heard a lot of loud slamming like noise.  Again, the water was not particularly rough but I would prob avoid that area in hurrican season.  We are not balcony snobs as our budget does not allow us to be.  We have been blessed with great sales occas to get a balcony or OV and loved them.  Most of the time we sail inside cabin.  This one just came with a window.  It was still listed as an inside cabin and you paid a little more for it.  We chose this one cause we wanted to try it out.  Would do it again and again and again. You my not like it as well. Or, you might.

Crew - Love Cookie and Jose.  They were wonderful.  MDR staff was trying.  Lido clean up crew had their act together getting tables clean as soon as you got up.  

Food - Blue Iguana, Guys Burgers, Bonzi Sushi, Ji Ji's, Captain's Pasta Bar Lasagna were all top notch.  Yes, the burger bun has changed, but as DH is a diabetic and likes ice cream, you have to sacrific carbs to get the cream, so you just smile and politely say "no bun please".  Pizza place was good. Had a strange experience there.  The Carnival app says they have lasagna.  We loved the one from the Pasta Bar that we stopped by one day for dinner ( skipped MRD that evening ). We were told they only  have lasagna during in lunch. We stopped by at lunch; they only serve lasagna at night. OK. Whatever you say, can I have a slice of pepperoni? One sea day the pizza place was just off on the second week.  It was 12:15 pm.  You kinda have to know you are going to get slammed on a sea day. There was no pizza ready, none in the oven, several only partly made, and folks behind the counter just standing around.  Not sure what was up that day.  The real disappointment of the trip was the upcharge I paid for Fish and Chips.  It was greasy, not really good, and I did not eat it after two bites.  I tried one hot and again a few minutes later hoping it would get better.  MDR - hit or miss second week; good first week.  Lido - not really good first week; pretty good second week.

Getting off the ship was a zoo - We were carrying all our stuff off.  Normally, this means you are out of there fast.  Not this time.  We stood on deck 4 I think, around the Dreamscape and watched what appeared to be around 1k people get off. They were diamond, platinum, and more wheelchairs, scooters, and walkers than we saw the entire time we were on the ship.  Guess the ship is just that big.  It was fair and not complaining, just diferent from what we had experienced before.  Once out, there was a short line for a taxi.

The Horizon is a solid ship. There are positives and negatives about any ship or trip.  We had one great cruise on the Glory only to have another one not so geat two years later.  We chose to focus on the positives.  I admit there were things I wish were different, but there was a lot of things that were just fine.  I don't think anything is like it was pre COVID.  It is not here at home so I should not expect it elsewhere, but sometimes, I do.  

I admit that when Carnival ignored our anniv that was a little hard and very selfish on my part.  We double checked to make sure it was on our reservation.  Last time, we got a little cake at dinner courtesy of Carnival.  This time, the phone rang in our cabin at 4:30 on the very last day of our cruise advising we had a $50pp credit for our anniv at the SPA. We already had evening plans.  It is what it is.  There were  probably a lot of people celebrating BD, anniv, etc.  Just wish they had given me a free Tokyo Sangria...hint hint.  

The taxi took us to the Airport rental car where we picked up a convertible Mustang to cruise the Florida Keys for two days.  That was DH's dream for years and years.  Our honeymoon was on a tiny ship called Dolphin IV.  It went to Nassau and Key West.  So, this was a drive down memory lane for us.  

Value - We could not have pulled off the B2B cruise if Carnival had not had the prices we needed.  We will not be able to do it again as we booked during a time Carnival hit hard times and dropped rates.  This was our anniversary, Christmas, Mom/Dad's Day, BDs present to us.  We may celebrate those days at home with small gifts or eating out, but as the boys are grown, we roll the money we normally spend into epic vacations on a shoestring budget.  Life is about choices.  

If you  mananged to make it all the way thru this review, I thank you.   Happy Cruising.  Hope to see ya around.  Shoot me any quesions you may have.  

[cruiser52forever]

Great well rounded review!  Thank you for posting.