Horizon or Celebration for 8-day ABC island cruise

[sapcat]

Hi everyone!

 

Which ship would you choose? Same length and itinerary. We would get a regular balcony cabin on either one (no Havana because DD too young). Cost of Celebration is about $300 more total. We have two kids (teen and tween ages) who love water slides and will use the kids clubs. We've been on other Carnival cruises, but never on either of these class of ships (Vista or Excel). Pros and cons of each? Thanks for helping us make a decision!

 

[Hoosierpop]

I like the Celebration a little more. More dining options. More specialty bars. Is it worth $300 more total? Maybe. But Horizon is a good ship also.

 

I’d likely go on the celebration but I was just on the Horizon last month and going again in May. 

[StephPS79]

For a standard balcony, I would probably choose Celebration.  Dining options are wonderful, new beautiful ship.  We are on Horizon for ABC in a Havana room, if booking a Havana room, I would definitely choose Horizon.  But I love both ships, and would be happy on either.

[cellfree]

If you choose Celebration make certain you choose “anytime dining” so you can take better advantage of the various dining venues. We are doing Horizon ABC’s in September, cruised on Inaugural TA many years ago, Celebration of course is a newer ship and very different from tradition cruise ship layout. Either a great choice. 

[wardwhitty]

Our last two cruises were on these ships.  The Celebration has more options for dining and bars. new design and I think the staff is fantastic.  The Horizon has a different layout as well, bigger cabins but I have to say the staff was the worst I have experienced and we have been on over 30 Carnival cruises. I know from talking to guests and staff/crew I only heard great things about the Horizon.  Maybe we just caught them on a bad week. I don't think you can go wrong with either but my vote would be Celebration.

[bar1068]

I'll add another nod to Celebration, for mostly the same reasons as stated, better dining options, bar options and new ship design and layout. We've done 8 day ABC cruises on both, Horizon and Celebration and given a choice would choose Celebration. Can't say if it's "worth' the $300 difference, but having been on all 3 Excel class ships...I seem to lean towards them!!

[ninjacat123]

If you decide on Celebration, make sure you try "Big Chicken" (best chicken sandwich EVER), Emeril's (small upcharge for super yummy food, unpredictable hours) Street Eatz (selections change daily) and gelato by the Shawarma station on Lido.👏

[Saint Greg]

You're going to have four sea days so I would say you'll find more activities and food options on Celebration.

[missholly24]

1 hour ago, cellfree said:

If you choose Celebration make certain you choose “anytime dining” so you can take better advantage of the various dining venues. We are doing Horizon ABC’s in September, cruised on Inaugural TA many years ago, Celebration of course is a newer ship and very different from tradition cruise ship layout. Either a great choice. 

What does Anytime Dining do for the dining venues? Do you eat at those places as well for regular dinner (still charged?) Thank you!

[hapytobehr]

6 minutes ago, missholly24 said:

What does Anytime Dining do for the dining venues? Do you eat at those places as well for regular dinner (still charged?) Thank you!

If you have set dining time you have to wait until after 7:45 to go to any specialty restaurant.  With anytime, you can go anytime (lol)  

 

Cucina and Chibang are free on Excel ships for the first visit only.

 

You must try Emeril's if you choose Celebration.  The food is fabulous and very minimal charge.  Get the shrimp Po boy-it's yummy!

 

Celebration is my all time favorite ship.  Been on it 4x and going for a fifth in July.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

 

Edited April 17 by hapytobehr

[firefly333]

4 minutes ago, missholly24 said:

What does Anytime Dining do for the dining venues? Do you eat at those places as well for regular dinner (still charged?) Thank you!

Anytime diners can eat at the 3 designated restaurants one time free. If you have set time, then cant eat free at those pay restaurants. At least it used to be 3 restaurants. 

[hapytobehr]

2 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Anytime diners can eat at the 3 designated restaurants one time free. If you have set time, then cant eat free at those pay restaurants. At least it used to be 3 restaurants. 

Not true on Excel.  You can eat at Cucina and Chibang for free one time even if you have set dining times.  Not sure what the third one is that you are referring to.

[missholly24]

5 minutes ago, hapytobehr said:

If you have set dining time you have to wait until after 7:45 to go to any specialty restaurant.  With anytime, you can go anytime (lol)  

 

Cucina and Chibang are free on Excel ships for the first visit only.

 

You must try Emeril's if you choose Celebration.  The food is fabulous and very minimal charge.  Get the shrimp Po boy-it's yummy!

 

Celebration is my all time favorite ship.  Been on it 4x and going for a fifth in July.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

 

Thanks! I love this info. Booked for Celebration in February. Going to change my Dining time now. LOL...

[csm5986142]

Another vote for Celebration.  We've really enjoyed both ships, but Celebration has more options (more "included in fare" dining venues, more comedy shows, center stage in addition to the standard theater, etc). 

I do like the Imax theater on Horizon though.

[ninjacat123]

21 minutes ago, missholly24 said:

Thanks! I love this info. Booked for Celebration in February. Going to change my Dining time now. LOL...

Make sure you get to Center Stage early so you get decent seats.  Many seats don't have good views. Same thing for comedy shows, get there early.👍

 

[cellfree]

1 hour ago, missholly24 said:

Thanks! I love this info. Booked for Celebration in February. Going to change my Dining time now. LOL...

You got a lot of answers to your initial question about why choose Anytime - one more thing to note - whether set time or anytime - lunch at venues is complimentary no matter the number of times you go. 

[dlphn501]

I haven't been on any of the excel class ships yet, but I have spoke to several people on Horizon  last month who have done both.  Most liked Celebration better, but they didn't have kids.  The couple the preferred Horizon said the biggest downfall for them with (Mardi Gras, I assume Celebration is set up the same way) is the dining venues are all over the place.  On Horizon, most are on lido, but on MG they were too scattered to make sense for them.  The kids never wanted what the parents wanted.  So I say check the deck plans and go based of that.  Celebration is a massive ship, so it may take a while to learn your way around!

[USAFwife79]

On 4/17/2024 at 11:43 AM, hapytobehr said:

If you have set dining time you have to wait until after 7:45 to go to any specialty restaurant.  With anytime, you can go anytime (lol)  

 

Cucina and Chibang are free on Excel ships for the first visit only.

 

You must try Emeril's if you choose Celebration.  The food is fabulous and very minimal charge.  Get the shrimp Po boy-it's yummy!

 

Celebration is my all time favorite ship.  Been on it 4x and going for a fifth in July.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

 

I agree with Emeril’s on Celebration, those shrimp po boys are soooooo good! I loved the Celebration and am doing a B2B next year on it and cant wait! One is an 8-day to the ABC islands and the second leg is a 7-day trip to the E. Caribbean. I love how many dinning spots there are and bars to choose from. The bloody marys in Guys Pig and Anchor bar on deck 8 are one of the best I’ve ever had! With all of this said, I haven’t been on the horizon to compare. However, it is smaller than celebration but sometimes that could be a plus. 😃