Fresh off Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam, I’m back at sea, this time spending the next six days aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Horizon. In what seems like déjà vu, two of the ports of call are the same as last week: Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman. Add in Cozumel, and that rounds out this Western Caribbean cruise.
First things first, this was a last-minute casino deal where I was offered a free stateroom. My charges for this trip were a $100 fee, which was given back in the form of onboard credit, and $204.67 in port fees and taxes.
About the Carnival Horizon
Carnival Horizon, the second ship in Carnival Cruise Line’s Vista Class, debuted in April 2018. This ship was built by the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, a company known for crafting some of the world’s most recognizable (and huge!) vessels. Sister to Carnival Vista and Carnival Panorama, the Horizon has a gross tonnage of 133,500 and a length of 1,062 feet.
Onboard, Carnival Horizon can accommodate up to 4,977 guests at full capacity, with a crew of approximately 1,450. The ship is packed with amenities that cater to travelers of all ages. From the WaterWorks aqua park to the Cloud 9 Spa and the exclusive Havana area, there’s something for everyone.
Dining options range from Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse to Bonsai Teppanyaki, plus all the casual favorites Carnival cruisers know and love, including Guy’s Burger Joint, Blue Iguana, Pizzeria del Capitano, Carnival Deli, and Seafood Shack.
This will be my third trip on a Vista-class ship. Just a few months ago, I sailed on the Carnival Vista out of Port Canaveral on a last-minute trip to the Bahamas before she headed to wet dock for emergency repairs to her propulsion system. I last sailed on Carnival Horizon in September 2023 on an eight-day Southern Caribbean cruise.
Carnival Horizon Southern Caribbean Cruise Review – Day 1: September 2, 2023
Getting There
Since this cruise was sailing out of PortMiami, I decided to take the Brightline train from Boca Raton to Miami. I’ve previously taken Brightline and booked a Premium seat, but this time, I decided to give their “Smart,” or coach class, a try.
While Smart seats don’t give you access to the Premium Lounge or offer free snacks and drinks on the train, they do provide you with a comfortable seat in a 2×2 arrangement with overhead storage and luggage racks for larger bags.
The train departed Boca Raton at 11:24 a.m., and we arrived at Brightline’s Miami Central Station at 12:15 p.m. After experiencing both Premium and Smart classes, I’ve reached the conclusion that, for the short trip to Miami, Smart works fine unless there is a minimal difference in price between the two. If I were traveling to or from Orlando, Premium would be the way to go.
Arrival at PortMiami
Once at the terminal, it was complete and utter chaos. Lines of people checking in snaked around the outside of the building, making me once again utter, “Port Miami is the biggest clusterfuck in the history of clusterfucks.”
Being Platinum, one of the perks is priority boarding. After finding the entrance to that area, the line was much shorter. But this was the same area where the priority and main lines met to check in and go through security—so once again, a complete clusterfuck.
Once I passed through security and moved on to the next step of the process, the line split into priority and regular boarding. Despite the fact that my boarding pass clearly said “priority” on it and I said, “priority” to the agent, she directed me to the regular line. Not wanting to be “that guy,” I complied, but clearly, she just didn’t give a crap.
Time from check-in to boarding was a bit longer than I expected—roughly 40 minutes. Over at Terminal F, where Carnival Celebration sails from, the boarding process is 10x more efficient and quicker, even with the ship holding more than 6,000 passengers—over 2,000 more than the Horizon.
Stateroom 5229 on Carnival Horizon
With these last-minute offers, they’re for interior staterooms, and you aren’t able to pick where your room will be on the ship. Sometimes I get a room assignment prior to boarding, but there are times when it’s a complete surprise, like it was this trip. I didn’t get my room number until I checked in at the terminal.
I was assigned stateroom 5229, which just happened to be an upgrade from a standard interior. Now, upgrades are completely out of the question, as these rooms are assigned as space allows. In the past, my free standard interior was upgraded to a deluxe spa interior, and on one occasion, I received an ocean-view room.
Stateroom 5229 on the Carnival Horizon is a Havana stateroom located on Deck 5 aft. Havana staterooms and suites offer upgraded amenities such as Cuban-inspired decor, bathrobes, Elemis bath products, and are located in the area of the ship home to the popular Havana Bar.
In addition, Havana staterooms have access to the exclusive Havana Pool and Sundeck, where there’s a small pool, hot tub, lounge chairs, sunbeds, and a bar. Those who have a balcony stateroom in this area have a unique setup where their balcony is actually a large lanai. Wristbands are given to those who have access to this area, and all guests booked in a Havana stateroom must be 12 years of age or older, keeping those crying babies out of this area.
The room itself is your typical inside stateroom with two twin beds that were combined to make a king, a flat-screen television, cooler/unstocked minibar, two closets, desk/vanity, a chair, and a bathroom with a small shower and shower curtain.
When it comes to USB and power, good luck. There are no USB ports located near the bed. The only ones are on the desk/vanity, and there are 2 USB, 2 U.S. power outlets, and 1 European power outlet. If you have a lot of devices to keep charged up, bring a power brick and get creative, as outlets are in short supply.
Havana Stateroom 5229 Video Tour
Muster Drill & Sail Away
Carnival Horizon, like all ships in the fleet, uses self-mustering. This means once you get onboard, all you do is look for your muster station number on your keycard, head to it, get it scanned, and, if necessary, get a quick lesson on how to put on a life jacket. You’re then free to continue on with your day.
Our departure time was set for 4 p.m., and the sail-away party got underway at 3:30 p.m. on the Lido deck with the “Fun Squad” and the DJ setting the mood for vacation time to begin. We departed on time as the Lido was packed with people doing the Electric Slide and the Wobble—two songs on the Carnival playlist that are long overdue for replacement.
Main Dining Room Dinner Menu
When it comes to dinner, the main dining room offers open seating where you can come at any time, all you need to do is check in beforehand on the Carnival HUB app, You can also choose traditional early or late seating.
For the first night of the cruise, here’s a look at what’s on the menu in the main dining room:
Dinner at Cucina del Capitano
For my first night onboard, my traveling companion and I headed over to the ship’s Italian restaurant, Cucina del Capitano. Cucina on the Excel-class ships—Mardi Gras, Celebration, and Jubilee—is free for the first visit and then $8 per person for each subsequent visit. On other ships in the fleet, including Horizon, Cucina has an upgraded menu with more options but comes with a $24 per person charge.
We started off with a few different apps: Nonna’s Meatball, Antipasti, and the Burrata Salad. No complaints here, as all were very good, especially the house-made burrata, which was creamy and delicious.
Entrees included Chicken Parmesan and the Tomahawk Pork Chop, which again were both good. The pork chop was prepared medium-well and was very well seasoned and tender. We paired our entrees with some pasta and veggies.
When it came time for dessert, I just opted for two scoops of caramel ice cream, while my friend went with the Apple Crostata, which is always a good pick.
Overall, for $24 per person, it’s not a bad choice. Is it the best Italian restaurant you’re ever going to eat at? Absolutely not. I’ve long compared it to Olive Garden or Maggiano’s. It’s there to satisfy your fix for some Italian food, and it does just that.
Nightcap at Pig & Anchor
After dinner, I walked around the ship a bit and stopped at Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse—one of the only bars on the ship where they have a huge selection of bourbons. Think Blanton’s, Eagle Rare, E.H. Taylor, WhistlePig, and more. Obviously, these higher-end selections aren’t covered in the CHEERS! Beverage Package, which runs you $59.95 per day plus 18% and covers up to 15 drinks per day.
In this instance, if you’re going for one of these, like I did with a WhistlePig 10-Year, if you have the CHEERS! package, you get 25% off. So that $25 pour ended up costing $22 after the discount and service charge.
I got back to my room a little after 11 p.m., and I quickly realized there is one quirk of the Havana staterooms: the noise from the Havana Bar just down the hall. It sounded like the band was playing inside my bathroom, with the thumping bass resonating through the room.
Thankfully, the band stops playing at 11:45 p.m., and things quieted down. However, if you’re one who heads to bed early and expects a Havana room to provide some extra peace and quiet, forget it.
Tomorrow will be spent at sea as we sail to our first port of call, Ocho Rios, Jamaica. As always, thanks for following along.
FunTimes for Day 1:
The Fun Times for December 1, 2024 can also be downloaded as a PDF by clicking here.