Day two on the Carnival Horizon and it’s the first of two back-to-back sea days as we head to our first port of call, Aruba. I look at sea days as a stress test for the ship and the passengers. With everyone “stuck” with nowhere to go, lines get long and patience gets short. Being this is a holiday weekend, coupled with the fact that most cruises on all lines are sailing full, the ship is pretty packed. Most were out early to secure a lounge chair around the lido pool where most of the action is during the day, or planting their butts in one on the 21+ Serenity Deck. A quick walk around both these areas shortly after 10:00 am saw most of the chairs taken or “reserved” with a towel. If shade is what you’re seeking on the Serenity Deck, forget it. There are no covered areas so the sun is going to be your friend up there.
If you don’t care about laying in a lounge chair and just want to work on your melanoma and watch the ocean, there are less crowded areas on Deck 5 where you can grab some comfortable chairs, read a book, and just be lazy. However, during the times I have done this so far, there are no servers coming around to take drink orders, so unlike other areas such as the Lido or Serenity, you’re on your own to grab that bucket of beer.
The buffet at breakfast time was the usual cluster, much like I described in Day 1. People wandering aimlessly, cutting in line, not knowing where the line starts or ends, trying to sneak in to get some of that, “I just want to grab a sausage real quick,” and blocking traffic while they try to figure out if they’re at the buffet or the pool. This is not something unique to this ship, as people generally lose consciousness when put in a situation where they have to decide between bacon, sausage, or ham and will spend the next 45 seconds oblivious to the line of people behind them instead of just taking some and moving on.
With the previously mentioned patience running thin, breakfast was a no-go. I waited till later in the day when I met some of my traveling companions at Guy’s Pig & Anchor BBQ | Brewhouse for some BBQ. This quick service spot serves a semi-buffet-style lunch. It’s set up outside on Deck 5 and instead of you serving yourself, crew members plate the food for you which keeps the line moving.
Beef, chicken, pork, and sausage are on the menu along with sides like mac and cheese and collards. The first thing I noticed is that the chicken, beef, and sausage I got were all cold. The chicken was nothing special, the sausage was pretty good but spicy, and the beef was blah. Perhaps I should have doused them with some of the various sauces that were in large squeeze bottles, but I didn’t.
This restaurant is available at no charge during lunchtime, but at dinner is available ala carte with indoor seating. Dinner menu options include ribs, prime rib, chicken, and more.
Before getting into dinner and the evening activities, my thoughts on the ship itself. Simply put, there is really no “wow factor” to the Carnival Horizon. Everything seems just very bland and sterile. The atrium, which on this ship spans three decks, is bright, white, and boring. The center of attention is a LED “funnel” that has different scenes that play out as the day goes on, but that’s it. Older Carnival ships have an atrium design that is gaudy, garish, and attention-grabbing, this is like walking into your local Target.
The pool deck is pretty much standardized across all Carnival ships now each with the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar, Red Frog Rum Bar, Guy’s Burgers, and Blue Iguana Cantina. Copy and paste doesn’t make for uniqueness across ships. Even the two newest Excel-class ships, the Carnival Celebration and Mardi Gras are exact duplicates right down to the carpeting, and the same is expected with the introduction of the third in the class, Carnival Jubilee when she sails later this year.
While some may like the familiarity, those who like variety and cruising on different ships to experience the uniqueness each one offers may find the cut and paste approach lines have taken lately to be disappointing.
Ok, enough of that. On to the evening stuff.
I dropped into the casino before heading off for dinner, and while I was there someone won a little over $10k on a slot machine. (Note to self, don’t play that one as it won’t be paying out for quite a while.) I turned a $100 into a quick $200 then turned that $200 into a quick $0. Some people have luck, I can’t even get lucky with a prostitute.
For dinner, I made a reservation at Bonsai Teppanyaki, which is always a best bet. For $38 per person, you simply cannot go wrong. The menu is exactly the same across all ships in the fleet and to save you from diving into each individual item, I will just make it short and simple and say everything was fantastic! I went with filet and chicken and my request for the filet to be prepared “blue” was honored.
Bonsai Teppanyaki on Carnival Horizon is small, so be sure to make reservations early as they fill up quickly. There are only two teppanyaki tables, each with 10 seats, and there are three seatings per night: 5:30 pm, 7:15 pm, and 9:00 pm.
After dinner, I met up with my traveling companions to take in the evening’s show in the ship’s main theatre – Soulbound. Billed as a sinister story of mischief, mayhem and dastardly deeds, the devious cast of characters perform some of the greatest R&B hits of all time. It was pretty much like a high school musical. There was no live band, the choreography left a lot to be desired, there wasn’t a set other than a large video screen, and the vocalists were average. There was nothing about the show that made you say, “I can’t wait to see what they put on tomorrow.” Instead, I walked out underwhelmed, but at the same time stumbled upon the best performance of the evening in the atrium.
The cruise director was hosting a 70s and Motown Music Trivia Party where the DJ would play a part of the song while the audience would take over when the music stopped to see if they knew the lyrics. This turned into not only a great trip down music history lane but a spectacular people-watching opportunity. With hits from Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, and James Brown blasting and people singing along, at times it took on the atmosphere of a Sunday morning Gospel meeting at a church in a strip mall complete with the local chapter of the Holy Rollers. The entertainment value of this alone was far superior than the 45 minutes spent in the ship’s theatre.
Finally, after spending two nights now in my inside stateroom in the bowels of the ship on Deck 1, I have no real complaints. The room is small, and the bathroom has that shower curtain thing going on, but my neighbors on either side are quiet and I haven’t heard a peep. There are times at night or early in the morning where I do hear the beeping of a forklift from the crew deck below me, or some noise from the service corridor directly behind my stateroom, but nothing to complain about.
That’s all for today, thanks for stopping by.
Fun Times for Day 2:
The Fun Times for September 3, 2023, can also be downloaded as a PDF by clicking here.