Just got back last Sunday from an 8 day trip on the Horizon (3/15). I have cruised on 35+ cruises and this was my least favorite. Embarkation was a breeze and there was no wait. We ate in the dining room 6 nights and not once was my meal satisfactory. The entree was always over cooked and dry. The main dining room service was excellent. We at Jiji's one night and it was the best meal of the week! We also dined in the steakhouse. The food was superb, but the service was absolutely horrible. Also the casino was doing a promotion for all the heavy gamblers. Some of which were on a free cruise because of the amount they spent in the casino on previous cruises! There was absolutely NO NON-SMOKING areas in the casino. When you stepped off the elevator on deck 4 you could immediately smell the smoke coming from the casino. The atrium was the least spectacular of any ship I've cruised on. Decorated in very muted colors and It was only 3 stories high. Not at all majestic, nor were there any glass enclosed elevators. Disembarkation was unbelievably easy. We walked off with our luggage. There was NO customs agent present. We only had to glance into an iPad with facial recognition technology, and we were out the door! We will definitely NOT cruise on this ship again! Cheers! Read Less

My husband & I had low expectations after reading the negative reviews. We have been on 20 prior cruises between multiple cruise lines. We decided a few weeks out to go on a short winter getaway and this cruise fit perfectly in our time frame. We were both pleasantly surprised with the ship and our cruise experience. The ship had been refurbished in lot of areas a couple of months prior which helped. The pool was a nice size and had plenty of chairs surrounding it. The bar service was better than our 4 prior cruises and in general the service on this ship was a better than prior cruises. Even though there wasn't a Steak House, we were happy with the food & service in the dining room. Normally we eat in the Steak House 2 -3 times during a 7 night cruise. Did miss the wine you only get at the Steak House. All the Entertainment on board was very good, again better than previous cruises. The band was a standout, they played a variety of music and kept everyone dancing. Our favorite bar is the Alchemy Bar and the service is always first rate. If you like craft cocktails and willing to try something new, this is the place for you. We loved the ports - Key West was a lot of fun and Cozumel is always a favorite of ours. Overall we were very happy with our cruise and would definitely recommend this cruise to our friends for a short getaway. Read Less

We chose a aft balcony to come through the canal, hoping to enjoy the many sea days on the balcony and de-stress, relax and enjoy the break of the daily work grind. THIS DID NOT HAPPEN! We had oil droplets spewing from the funnel each and every day and these oil drops were landing on us, destroying our clothes, and not able to sit out without enjoying a daily spray of oil. Our room Stewart was amazing. He was very upset that there was so much oil coming out of the funnel and he scrubbed the balcony each day and even though we did ask for evening service he would come and wipe it down just in case we wanted to try and go out on the balcony. The guest services team did not believe that this was Happening and basically called us liars until 5 different people at 3 different times came to check out what was occurring. They finally gave us “white” shirts to put on if we wanted to go out on our balcony as the Engineer that came as a last effort to disprove us, said “It is oil and he can’t fix it out at sea, as he can’t shut down an engine”. Needless to say, we basically had an aft balcony room that was officially now an ocean view room. Not only were we concerned about what we would breath in if we wore the “white” shirts they provided to us to wear, if we wanted to use our balcony, but also what was being spewed into our ocean as we cruised along spewing the oil droplets. Safety, health and environmental concerns. The sanitation effort on the crews part was exceptional, they all were working extra to ensure that the ship was disinfected continuously, minimizing the risk of exposure to the Coronavirus and ensuring we all stayed healthy. Absolutely Job Well Done! Food was excellent, and serving staff was excellent to. Room had some air conditioning issues and some foul smell coming from across the hall from were the crew was repairing the pool, as well as there was diesel smell coming from the water in the shower and sink. Coffee in the buffet had a diesel smell and I can officially say I was caffeine free for 2 weeks as the coffee smelt like diesel and tasted awful. Thank god for bottled water! We have sailed on Carnival Miracle before for a 15 day Hawaii cruise and she ‘was’ one of our favourite ships, so when we booked this cruise along with her just coming out of dry dock, we didn’t expect to have all the issues. Hopefully by her having to be guest free for a few weeks, will give the crew an opportunity to get her back up to her splendour and the shape she was before. We would recommend this ship if they get the issues fixed, as she is a beautiful ship with intimate spaces hidden away, and on deck 3 at the front of the ship, is excellent for star gazing. Highly recommend a full transit Panama Canal Cruise, as we did a partial transit previously and we enjoyed that one, but going from the Atlantic to the Pacific and seeing the full wonder of the sheer magnitude of the amount of work it took to create this Canal is a sight to see. Entertainment was the normal, same shows that if you are a frequent Carnival guest will know the shows. This is an area that Carnival is lacking in, is the shows, they need a refresh and a change. After 12 cruises with Carnival, we can pretty much tell you what the playlist lineup will be. Read Less

The March 5 repositioning was excellent from Miami to the Miracle's new home (we hope) in San Francisco. Although there was some concern about the novel coronavirus, it was the best ship in the world to sail on. The Miracle was coming off of 15 days in dry dock in Freeport with replacement of many furnishings and plenty of time for any residual virus to die (published studies say maximum of 3-day survival on surfaces depending on moisture and temperature). Cartagena had a beautiful old town and artisan market; very much worthwhile. The full Panama Canal transit was magnificent; worth every penny and extra days at sea. On the Atlantic side, we transited the three Gatun Locks up to Gatun Lake. On the Pacific side, went through Pedro Miguel Lock, then proceeded to the two Miraflores Locks. At the first one, we stopped briefly to board three (health?) officials. Then we stopped for over an hour at the final lock to disembark a passenger, who reportedly had immediate surgical needs, and his wife and the three officials. For the stop in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, we simply walked around the small town taking in the basic aquarium and plenty of shopping. We had a couple of beers at a nearby bar and used their excellent WiFi to check email. Next port of call was Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala where we booked the only excursion; "Top 10 Sights of Antigua with lunch". Manny was a very knowledgeable and understandable guide; he has a degree n anthropology and a Masters degree in tourism business. The ship skipped our scheduled port of call at Cabo San Lucas. We were denied permission to dock at the Miracle's future home port of San Francisco. For several days, we did not know where or if we would be given permission to dock. Finally, the port of LA allowed us to dock at San Pedro, one day earlier than our scheduled San Francisco termination port. All of the crew, especially the Cruise Director, were very emotional as we ended the cruise since they were unsure of the future of the cruise industry. The short term financial crisis and the long term health concerns over the cruise industry. Donald Trump's good friend and donor, Micky Arison, offered to use Carnival cruise ships to alleviate housing needs during the novel coronavirus crisis and the ships' hiatus from cruise itineraries. On the refurbished Miracle's first journey after dry dock, food, cabins, entertainment, and service were all very good. I was sad that there was no show band to play with the big theater productions. All music was pre-recorded and lacked the amazing sound of live musicians. The entertainment director said all ships had gone that route since it is almost impossible to find quality musicians who are willing to sign-on as ship staff for several months at a time. Importantly, for extra hygiene during this time of coronavirus concern, the staff added protocols for serving guests all food, including many condiments. This meant that staff had to work extra hours to man all of the stations that are usually self-serve. I am sure the extra protocols helped the ship to have no reported cases of novel coronavirus or flu on the entire sailing. Congratulations to staff and passengers for sanitizing hands frequently. Staff gently reminded guests at every opportunity to use the sanitizing stations all around the ship. The Miracle is an excellent ship with 2,500 passenger capacity. That is not too big, but big enough to have full staffing. It never felt crowded, except occasionally having to wait up to 10-15 minutes for a table for anytime dining. Read Less

The cruise itself was like many others. And a good time was had by all. I’m writing because of the amazing staff,..... When we were caught up in the coronavirus scare. When it was realised we had to find somewhere else to dock because we could not get back to san francisco, the guest services dept and rest of crew rearranged transport for everybody from san pedro , worked all night to get their approx 2000 passengers safely to their selected destinations. The members of staff were helpful, patient and very professional. We were independent travelers and the situation was scary. even the ancillary staff remained cheerful and courteous despite themselves , being far from home, and facing a very uncertain time ahead. We managed to get back to the uk eventually , but i cannot praise carnival and the crew members of the “ miracle “ enough. So very well done. and thank you adam for keeping our spirits up ! Read Less

This boat is just plain tired. There is paint on top of paint, curtains don't fit, windows need work, carpet is bad, etc. I realize it takes on a heavy load every week but it is just screaming for some decent care. Even the uniforms were faded...maybe that would help the staff who also appeared to be at the breaking point. Whatever you do, if you get sick, make sure it is during infirmary hours or you will pay through the nose. With all the health concerns, it also needs more sanitizer stations--like EVERYWHERE, PEOPLE--and more trash recepticles. Announcements are rambled off so quickly you cannot possibly comprehend what is being said. I would suggest that the restaurants make available nutrition information, including fat and calorie information. That shows you care, even if it isn't used. Post ingredients, at least what fats you are using in cooking. If you purify the water you use for drinking, it will taste better and you can eliminate bottles. Read Less

Choice this cruise as a group trip to try a new ship. Ship was fine but not too my liking. Plenty to do . Went to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday night . Drove to Miami on Sat morning and parked at Safe Cruise parking and took a shuttle to ship. Very could parking in enclosed garage. Quick shuttle to and from the port. Arrived at ship about 1030 and went directly onto the ship after filling out a health form which was ridiculous.Went to the Lido deck and had the first of many bad meals.Items most often on this deck were cold.The egg plat parmagane was to hard to cut with a knife. Dinner was supposed to be at 6pm, we were moved to 530 and put im the ATD . Day 1 and 2 sea days normal sea day activities. The CD (Donkie) and his group really did good job with activities Day 2 was elegant night. Food was cold as most nights Day 3 Grand Turk used to be one of my favorite ports. Now they have gooten rid of most of free chairs on beach and commercalized it. Spent thirty minutes there and left . Day 4 La Mona spent day a good bar in port and found a 2 qt Corana for 5 dollars. Had already been there three times so skipped the all inclusive Day 5 Curucoa ther from noon to 1030 did walk around shopping disticet and then took a tour of the Island It was great. Not a Carival Tour but went same places for less. Day 6 Aruba Walked to a publid beach. Been there several times befoe and enjoy it each time Day 7 and 8 Sea day normal activty The entertainment was good and bad, Had a couple of uncanned shows in Liguid lounge which were good. Group in Ocean Plaza was very good Horizon Wireless and the Hotspots. Cabin was a blacony. seemed like the balcony was larger that ships had two chairs and table comfortable there. Seems like the showers and rooms are smaller. Closet doors got in way of bathroom and hall door. Steward service was great. Dining was average. Many meals in the dining room were cold. Breakfast was cold every morning as the food was put out The ship was in good shape some things would go down like ice but would be fixed quickly. I would not take the Horizon again only because I did not like the layout of the ship and size. That is just a personal preference. If you like bigger ships it would be fine Returned on Sunday morning and was off ship as priority by 30. Friend who was not priority was off by 8. Easy and good debarkation and embarkation Read Less

When getting to port embarkation went smoothly. Cabin was in the family harbour inside was concerned that there would be noise from children but this was a comp room so just happy to be on cruise, the noise was never a problem. The area that you can get a small meal or snack was very convenient. The staff was on top of making sure it was stocked only problem was older person on scooter was running past others dropping things and over all rude not Carnival fault. The room had 1 closet but plenty of draw space with large draws under sofa. Cleanliness of room was not what I would have expected and room attendant was very slow we got of the ship came back at 1:00 room was not done he offered that he could just give us towels, but then did call supervisor who apologized and room was done. Actually 2 days later when getting back on board room was significantly cleaner black stuff that had been on floor behind toilet had finally been cleaned never saw room attendant again so may have been replaced. Main dining my time able to get a table thru app never more than 10 minute wait food was mediocre service was slow. Buffet was confusing need to check if both areas open both areas to get full selection need to visit both areas and with crowded areas this can be challenging. Entertainment was ok it is Carnival that doesn’t generally have much that I have found appealing love and marriage show was mid day and standing room only didn’t stay comedy club generally required an hour of standing in line not what I want to do on vacation, and not great anyway. Casino (how I have comp) was small lacked machines lower than $2-$5 a spin. Premier host was nice as was his assistant felt bad one night took 1/2 hour to find player in casino for bull game. Regular host seemed new. Overall would not rush to go on horizon again. Not bad just not great and only have so much vacation time. Read Less

I’m a player. I usually cruise for free on RCL and Norwegian; however, I paid to be on this Carnival Horizon because I like where they go, and Carnival is a fun ship. But I am so disappointed with casino. FREE DRINKS only when you are sitting at the slots or table. You can’t go to the bar and order. You must wait forever for a waiter to take and then get you drink. There is a 15 drink limit per day, and you must wait at least 5 minutes between drinks. You need 2,500 points to get the free drinks. PREMIER PLAYER CLUB only works on past cruises. You must reach at least 7,500 points to get into the club for some nice free perks. The points must be earned in one cruise. However, you don’t get any of those perks during that cruise if it is your first time into the “club. For example, by day 3 I reached the 7,500 goal. I’m on a 8 day cruise. I don’t get any of the perks on this cruise. The casino staff did not make this clear to me until AFTER I made the goal. Then they were rude to me about it saying they had told me it would be on a future cruise. I didn’t book a cruise to be treated rudely or like a child. NON SMOKING IS ALMOST NON EXISTENT. The Horizon has a very small non-smoking section. And people smoke all around the non-smoking section so it’s like smoking anyway. The ventilation is only okay. This is TERRIBLE for anyone with COPD or asthma. SKIP THE CASINO. 1 out of 5 Lungs. 1/5.....Don’t cruise on this ship if you gamble and have COPD or asthma. The ship itself is nice. It has a good spa, and nice cabins. The food is good. I’m just very, very disappointed with the casino. Read Less

We had a group of 31 and the intent was for a party atmosphere and fun at sea, this was achieved. You will find this is a very very casual ship. If your your looking for opulence and serenity you may want to consider another ship or cruise line. I’m not a big complainer especially at this price point however these are a few experiences that I found disappointing. The main dining room food was poor and the service was equally poor. I had mixed reviews within our group between great and bad. I highly recommend the burger bar and buffet for hot fresh food. Our cabin was clean but ur dude went awol the day before the cruise was over. Lower your expectations and have a great time, bring more money and less clothes. Party Hats not Top Hats. Not for everyone. Overall it is worth the money but the ship is dated, the staff a bit uninspired and a majority of the food was JV. Bon Voyage. Read Less

We chose this as a last minute cruise. We booked an interior guarantee and got upgraded to a balcony (8201). A terrific financial deal. The crew was nice and it was a shorter cruise (4 days) but the food and activities were not good. I think this ship is going in to be restored but they seem to have given up a bit. The ship is a really good layout and I hope it will be restored to this original glory. Embarkation was very easy but disembarkation was a nightmare. No explanation of disembark zones so everyone self disembarked with their luggage. I'm accustomed to luggage tags but that didn't happen. So with everyone trying to get off the ship, it was quite a mess. But once we got off to our transport, it was quick and easy. First time we ever used room service and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We did not go to the main dining room, we mainly ate at Guys and Deli, since buffet was pretty bland and blah. Read Less

Embarkation: Embarkation was a breeze we did not have any priority embarkation and from arrival to port till the time we got on the ship was only about 30 min at 1pm in the afternoon which I would presume to be one of the busiest times. App: The Carnival Hub app is the best cruise line app i've seen it's extremely user friendly and I loved being able to request a table from anywhere on the ship. Cabins: We had a Havana Premium Balcony as well as an interior room. The balcony room had a huge balcony but I would have liked more chairs the decor in the room was very nice. If you are staying in the Havana area I would reccomend a Havana Cabana instead. The interior room was quite basic but there weren't any problems although I would like USB ports beside the bed. The rooms were both very quiet. Staff: We didn't have any problems with the staff on board and for the most part they were quite friendly however none of them stood out to us and went above and beyond. Guys Burgers: Just as good as everyone says, one of the best burgers i've ever had. The only negatives of it would be the fries weren't anything special and lines were usually around 10-15 minutes. Sports Area: The sports area and clubhouse was very big but still quite crowded. The mini golf course was quite good but if your a serious golfer I would reccommend bringing along a ball as the balls provided are foam ones that aren't that great. Main Dining Room: We had our meals in the Meridian Dining Room which had pleasant decor. It was your classic main dining room food which was quite good. It took us about 1 hour and 15 minutes for meals. Comedy Club: The facility was very good with comfortable seating and good sightlines the comedians were good but will vary by sailing. Shows: The shows on the ship were terrible. We went to Soulbound and Celestial Strings and had to walk out of both of them. The performers weren't terrible but the coreography and story of the shows were horrendous. The theatre itself was very small with terrible sightlines as the seats aren't steep at all and there is big poles on the upper level. Bars: I am not a drinker but the decor in the bars were very nice I especially enjoyed the skybox sports bar. The virgin pina coladas on the ship were also very good and all cocktails came with candy straws. Shops: The shops were quite overpriced on the ship especially Cherry on Top if you do go there do not get the bulk candy it is stale and probably 5x the price you will pay on land. Ocean Plaza: The Ocean Plaza was a nice venue with a little breakfast buffet if your looking for a quiter spot. It doesn't have any pancakes or omelettes but if your looking for just a quick bacon and eggs or something it's a great option Buffet: I found the buffet on the ship to be quite better then other ships. Im not a huge buffet fan but the food was quite good although the options were limited. Expect 10 or so hot items at breakfast 12 or so hot items at lunch and even smaller selection at Supper. Pasta Bar: The pasta was good but nothing to great just your basic pasta dishes. Deck Chairs: If you are looking for a deck chair you probably want to get there before at least 10am and if you want one at one of the pools 8am. Main Pool: The main pool was very crowded but a nice area, we didn't spend too much time here. Waterslides: The body slide was very painful on the back and im not sure if you would be able to sit straight up on it. I preferred the tube slide although it was a fair bit slower. Pig and Anchor (supper) : The BBQ here is very unique in flavour usually a hickory flavour. We loved some of the stuff and hated some of the stuff. Havana Area: The Havana area is a very nice area to get away from the busy main pools with some really nice daybeds at the back. I would definitely reccomend if you can afford it. Arcade: The arcade was way bigger then any i've seen on a cruise ship with probably over 50 games and not a single one broken in comparison to Ovation of the Seas which only had about 15 games half of which were broken. They also have power hours which are half off games and it doesn't really get much busier at these times. Seaday brunch: The seaday brunch on the ship was very good. I would highly reccomend the french toast. Skyride: The skyride was very fun and you didn't really have to pedal if you don't want to it wont give you much more speed. Lines range from 20-50 minutes depending on when you go but will be shorter when it first opens and on port days despite the limited hours. Blue Iguana Cantina: Im not a big mexican fan but the burrito I had was quite good and they had lots of variety of salsas. Thrill theater: The thrill theater was the bets ive ever been on and I have been on over 10. It incorporated so many more elements then any other one ive been on im not going to spoil them but its well worth the $5.50 cost Imax: The Imax wasn't really an imax but just a large movie screen which played recently released movies as well as documentaries. I think the new releases were $11.50 while the documentaries were $5.50 Pizzeria Del Capitano: The pizza is very good thin italian style. The lines were long but moved very quickly. Our itinerary was the 6 day to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel Ocho Rios: We did the blue hole, river tubing, and zipline which was about $125. The blue hole was absolutely beautiful. It is a tour with 4 jumps ranging from 5 feet to 25 feet and 1 rope swing its not on your own schedule at all and you cant do the same jump twice or just swim in the pool. It takes around 45 minutes. The river tubing was more of a river float that most of the time you had to paddle yourself to go anywhere it was very beautiful though. The ziplining was only 3 zips but 2 of them were very long it didn't feel like the safest zipline but it was still fun. I would reccomend this excursion Grand Cayman: We took a shuttle taxi to seven mile beach for $5 where we went to Royal Palms Beach Club which is $2 entry and has a pool as well as cabanas for rent that cost $100 to $300 and sell out over 2 months in advance lots of days. There are also lots of chairs and umbrellas for i think $10 a chair and $15 an umbrella. The beach is the best beach ive ever seen and you could snorkel right of the shore. At the beach club you can rent snorkel equipment, kayaks, paddleboards, and jet skis. There is also a snorkel excursion available for $45. Food and drinks are quite expensive but very good. I would highly highly reccomend the Royal Palms Beach Club and 7 mile beach. Cozumel: we did the adventure jeep snorkel and tequila which was about $110. The jeeps were closed tops with broken stereos and no AC in the back although I think we got the worst of the group. The drive was mostly just a 20 minute highway drive to Ponta Sur where you drive down the beach. The snorkelling was way better then most reviews say and I wouldn't skip out on it. The beach is also very nice but there is some seaweed. The food was not very good. The lighthouse had an amazing view from up top but there are some tight spaces to crawl through. The mayan ruin was very fascinating and our guide Danny was veyr informative. We did not see any crocodiles. Overall, I would reccomend this cruise but I wouldn't say its the best cruise ever. Read Less

ROOM - We had Stateroom 2450 in the Family Harbor section. We traveled with 2 adults and 3 kids. We could all fit nicely in the room. While a little crowded, I was surprised at how well we managed. Two beds drop from the ceiling and the couch is turned into a twin bed. The couch takes up no more space as a bed than a couch. There is plenty of closed space and desk space for all the random crap we collected over the week. The room has 2 outlets and 2 USB ports. There are 2 more USB ports on the TV. We brought a 5 port charger and never had an issue. The half bath with a little tub was nice for our smallest one. Our Steward was great and everyone was super friendly. We LOVED the family harbor lounge a few doors down as it had snacks throughout the day and ice cream, coffee, water, and ice from 6:30a - 9:30p. The breakfast was a smaller version of what is served in the Lido buffet without the omelet station. SHIP - The ship is nice and new and easy to get around. Once you learn the elevators (you have to push the floor button for EVERY person that wants to go to that floor) they work well except during large people moving times. We chose to use the stairs a good but during the heavy periods. The upper promenade was easy to get around and if you are in a hurry to go from bow to aft, either do it a long stateroom deck or hit the outside on deck 5. On sea days it could get super crowded. My major complaint is that people reserve chairs at 6am that they don't plan to use until much later in the day. This was frustrating. My small kids loved the water park. On sea days I had to stand many times to keep an eye on her as the adjacent chairs were either occupied by a towel or people unaffiliated with a kid in the water park. FOOD - Decent. The Main Dining room was good. If the portions aren't enough for you order an extra. The selection was nice. The lido deck food seemed to be trying to be something no one wanted. The food was complicated. I just want a hamburger or hot dog without waiting at a station. Give my kids some chicken fingers or cheap pizza. All of those were options, but you had to stand in line at a special place to get it. I mean the Guy's Burgers, and Lido Pizza joint, and Sandwich station were really good - but the lines were 15-20 minutes on sea days. Certainly there is a hybrid from fancy to simple here. Once bright spot is the Gelato near the front of the Lido buffet - spot on! CAMP OCEAN - All I can say is that my youngest (4) LOVED that place. I don't know if they are feeding them heroin in there or what, but she wanted to be there all the time (There or the pool or the water park). The staff was so awesome. I can't add much more than that. Oh - they have dinner at 6pm (kid food) this really makes parental dining in the MDR so much better than a wiggling 4 year old,just sayin. We did the behind the scenes tour, it was cool and worth the $95. Make sure you go to the excursion deck as soon as you board and grab a spot. It's limited to about 30. OVERALL - It was a good value. Don't expect gourmet food and amazing service for value price. If you manage your expectations, you will have a great trip. If you' re looking for a Viking River Cruise, you'll be pretty upset. Read Less

After reading all the negative reviews of this boat I was terrified of what was to come but was pleasantly surprised. The boat is smaller but there was loads to do and the service and food were all great. I've cruised before and the food was some of the best I've had! A word of warning... the boat did get a bit tippy at points which I heard was due to the lack of stabilizers. I would reccomend packing gravel or some kind of seasick medicine if you're sensitive to motion. The ports were incredible with Turks and Caicos my fav. We did the stingray kiss encounter and it's something I'll never forget. There is a beach right at port so you could just relax all day here. Amber Cove was also good with a massive swimming pool and waterslides. We traveled with our kids who are are 9 and 6 and loved it. My only negative is the shows are not nearly as good as some I've seen on other cruise lines. The late night ones sounded good but weren't appropropriate to take the kids to. Overall an excellent holiday in the sunshine and I would reccomend this! Keep in mind it's an older boat with lots of purple and is a smaller ship...but get past that and you'll have a blast! Read Less

Airport Transfers - We began by utilizing an airport to cruise port (Fort Lauderdale to Miami Cruise port) for the first time and we are so very happy we did - Jiffy Jeff. The driver(s) and vehicle were great! Prompt pick-up on both the embarkation and debarkation sides. Much less expensive than Carnival and so much easier and convenient - I recommend them highly!! Cruise - We chose the Horizon because the dates of the cruise and the destinations were what we were looking for and we have never tried another cruise line as we have always been pleased with Carnival. Cabin - we had a balcony on deck 9 aft - generally where we try to be - and we weren't disappointed - comfortable beds, decent sized cabin and balcony. Dining - buffet and restaurant lines were long at lunch time but food was great as always. Entertainment - there was a great pianist on the ship, Jeffrey Munks - very different than normal, the comedy show lines were very long every night and we didn't want to wait the 45 minutes plus in the lines and still not be able to get a seat. Shows in the auditorium were so-so. Read Less

We chose this cruise based on price and sail dates. It was Thursday-Monday which made getting off work much easier. I was concerned about the boat after some of the reviews but soon realized it was much better. I think many of those poor reviews come from unrealistic expectations. This cruise was cheap and most people I spoke to booked it for value and in the end, it was a great value. This ship is old and despite constant cleaning and maintenance by the crew, she is starting to show her age but everything worked and there was no sewage smell as described in other reviews. Our ocean view room was basic but very clean. The food was delicious, though there were some misses in the main dining room. Honestly, they tried to hard with fancy dishes. The burgers on the boat were insanely good. We all had at least one per day. The burgers during the sea day brunch were out of this world, like shockingly good. As for service, everyone worked hard to show us a good time, especially at Alchemy bar. The crew was friendly and accommodating, not one bad interaction to mention. I feel the key is to go into this with realistic expectations, it's not a luxury trip. If you sit back, enjoy the sun, and sip on a cold drink, you're going to have fun. As for ports, our stop in Key West was cancelled due to an intense storm. Luckily the ship cleared the bad weather in a few hours and we ended up having a nice day. We got some money refunded and got an extra four hours in Cozumel which was great. If you're going to Cozumel the Chef Maestro's cooking excursion was awesome. Read Less

We traveled as a couple, and can say from beginning to end this was an enjoyable cruise! I have been on more than 15 cruises and read not so good reviews on this ship, but I have to say this was this cruise was just like any of the "highly rated" ships that I have been on. Embarkation was so easy, we parked our car directly across the street from the ship and walked on within minutes. Our cabin was a balcony 8332 and it was a perfect location, and not above or below any common area. The cabin Steward was the best, EDZEL was respectful and always serviced our cabin at the perfect time, he was courteous, and had a great attitude, plenty of storage and a refrigerator. The food on this ship was very good, service in the dining room (Atlantic early seating) was at times slow, but we weren't in a rush. we once needed any time dining because our excursion got back too late for our regular seating and they accommodated us with a smile. Every meal we had was very good. I can't speak too much on the activities since we didn't participate that much, we watch a show and a comedian and they were both okay. Service all over the ship was very good, except for the excursion desk it was indifferent. We went to Key West and Cozumel and we loved Key West, just strolling the streets, shopping and having a few drinks at different bars. I do wish we had more time, we got off the ship at 8 am and nothing was really opened until 10 and we had to be back on the ship at 1. Cozumel, we did a last minute beach and shopping excursion through carnival. the hosts of this tour were fantastic Angel and Anna they were informative and fun. I would have preferred more beach time, but I knew what I signed up for. The day at sea was fun with plenty of activities, although we chose the serenity area and walked over to the main pool to watch what was going on at times. two flaws i saw on this ship was the serenity area was above a child play area (although never too loud, this is odd) and the Sushi bar was in the Casino which was very smokey so I would never purchase Sushi because of the smoke, this should definitely be moved to a new location. We ate at the buffet once for breakfast and the omelet station was great. The pizza was good and we loved the Mexican station at the pool where they do made to order tacos, burritos and salads. they had beautiful cakes out at lunch with an attendant slicing, which we liked so not everyone was touching everything. We would have liked this station opened after dinner because the cakes were that GOOD. Is the ship on the older side without the bells and whistles of the newer ship, did some of the booths have material that was faded or ripped a bit, yes, but again, we new what we were booking and the most important thing to us was GOOD service, GOOD food and a GOOD cabin and we had all of that on this ship! Read Less

We were excited to sail on one of Carnival's newest ships but the maintenance issues and poor guest service left us extremely disappointed. First, we paid the additional fee for priority boarding. When we arrived to the port we were informed that priority boarding is only for the first passengers to board the ship and that it had ended at 10am. When we purchased priority boarding we were not informed of a time stipulation. The embarkation process was slow but smooth. When we boarded the ship there was a stench in the hallway and in our room. We booked a junior suite, the booking agent told us that the balcony was larger, the balcony was standard size. The walk-in closet was very nice and we enjoyed the additional space that the junior suite allotted. Our cabin steward was amazing and attentive, he left us extra bottles of water because we were return cruisers and a little box of cookies for being suite guests. There was a jetted tub in the bathroom which was nice, but the jets didn't function properly. On day 3 of 6 we started have an issue with flooding in our room. For 2 days we had soaking wet carpet. The first 2 guest service representatives that we spoke with were dismissive and rude. They implied that the flooding issue was something we had done. We found out from our neighbor that they had been dealing with flooding issues since day 2 of the cruise, apparently some pipe in the wall had a leak and the 3 rooms on the hall with us were all dealing with flooding issues. The dining room service was slow, our service attributed it to the larger ship and more passengers. We paid for specialty dining at Bonsai Teppanyaki and 555 steak house. Bonsai was entertaining and tasty, the Steak restaurant was average at best. We enjoyed the comedy shows and movies, both on deck and in the imax theater. Because of the maintenance issues that were not properly addressed and dismissive and rude guest service interactions we will not be taking anymore Carnival cruises. Read Less

This was our 7th carnival cruise. Embarksion PRO: was smooth and quick. Headed up to the lido deck for lunch at Guys Burger until 1:30 when we had access to our cabin. CON: employees scanning were rude to folks not going quick enough and barking orders. Cabin PRO: typical layout of previous trips and room size with balcony. Liked the ability to control the thermostat! Beach towel were in room for excursion. Daily newsletter each day. CON: No conditioner in shower.....just shampoo and body wash.ended up spending $10 for conditioner from the shops. Steward asked if we preferred morning or evening room turndown/ cleanup. This surprised us as it was always both in the past. We requested both which was then granted. Watch the blue beach towel -we had to ask where they went as she removed from the room and didn’t return until we asked for them back (note: you will be charged for missing towels). APP PRO: loved the APP to see what’s going on tru out the ship. Able to make dinner reservations at specialty restaurants as well as “ your time dining in main restaurant” via app. Ability to purchase photos. Book shore excursions. This is a must to download! So easy to use. CON: times were off on a few events. Not able to see spa services or book a spa service thru the app. This would be a nice to have for cruisers. FOOD PRO: was okay...above average of a typical restaurant but not up to past cruises experience. Guys burger and fries GREAT. Deli food was pretty good. CON: Minimal fresh cut fruit. Missing the desert table of cakes, pies, cookies. Etc. They did have 5 types of cakes daily in the buffet area. Just not the past experience. Didn’t have the midnight buffet as past cruises had. Wasn’t excited at all about the lunch buffet selection of food. GAMES PRO: mini golf, pool, basketball, indoor clubhouse with kickball pool, ping pong and bean bag toss. Water park slides. DANCERS PRO: The shows were unique compared to past cruises. I’d say this was our top shows. They were great with kids and did a little wave to my 5yr old daugter who absolutely loved them. Took ohotos and had small props for the 20s show before the show started. MAIN THEATER: CON: Hate the name Liquid Lounge. Need something a bit more classy. Didn’t like the layout at all. With kids you must get there when doors open or they won’t be able to see. It’s tough for adults to see as it is. Order a drink and you end up holding it thru out the show as well. PRO: Dancers use not just the stage but main floor to try and have more audience see the show. ENTERTAINMENT PRO: variety of events. The lip sync event started on the lido deck and then last main show winner was selected. Loved that the ocean club kids got to participate in last main show. Learned how to salsa the downfall was all dance events had minimum space and felt to crowded. Had an 80s evening dance at 10:30 but would be more fun knowing this before going on the cruise so one could have a costume to make it more fun. Seaside movies as well as music always had something going on the lido deck. CON: a lot of people but not necarrily enough space for some events. LAYOUT - CON: It’s s bit all over. Took us until day 5 to find the theater which costs additional fees. Photos was day 3 to locate. The stores could have better options as other carnival shops have. Liquid lounge layout is horrible. This cruise ship has a modern feel and not the elegant feeling as other carnival ships. SHORE EXCURSION PRO: Do your research ahead of time, if there is a shore excursion that had 5 and unde are free go ahead and order tickets for everyone but them, they actually don’t need a ticket. Our cosmuzel excursion got cancelled due to winds and we were refunded. Pixel photos CON very expensive. First photo is $19.99 then additional are $5/ea. There were photos I’d love to get a 4x7 of an event but no way am I paying that much. I did spend $100 in photos. Dining Was disappointed at first not having either an early or late set time/table. However, I ended up loving the on your time dining. No rush and we still saw the waiters show, table location wasn’t to bad and getting a table was always within 5 mi utes. Only thing I miss is the personal touch of having the same waiters each day. I’m now a fan of dining when I want to! Read Less

The ship is nice and the staff very friendly and helpful. Loved the sky ride. There was a worker named Milos who made our cruise more enjoyable. The rooms are nice as well. However the food on the buffet was mediocre. The breakfast was better than the dinner. I was totally disappointed with the desserts. Thought I was getting cake but instead the texture was a mixture between jello and pudding and tasteless. We still don’t know what that was. I noticed there was a lot of cheesecake which is fine if you happen to like cheesecake which my husband and I don’t. This is our six cruise and we would like to see an improvement in the food. Why can’t there be normal desserts like the classic cake or pies? Would like to see a separate bar set up for serving cokes because when you pay to be able to have them, you have to go to the bar which takes forever because they are busy mixing alcoholic drinks and seemed to be more concerned with making them than messing with the cokes. Itjust seems like a hassle to just get a coke. If you want pictures taken they have plenty of photographers taking them and they look nice. But you have to have a big pocket book to be able to purchase them. They charged $20 for just one picture that you can download on your phone or you can buy packages but be prepared to pay a lot of money. They would probably make more money if they made the pictures more affordable so that people would buy more. Had fun on the excursions except for the Bamboo Beach in Jamaica. It was a 45 minute ride to and from. No place to get out of rain so we got soaked before even getting to swim. Beach was not as nice as I thought it would be. By the time you got back, there was no time for shopping. Would not recommend this excursion. Grand Cayman and Cozumel was very nice. 7 Mile Beach was beautiful. Swam with the dolphins in Cozumel and loved it. Would highly recommend this excursion. Read Less

Horizon was a lovely cruise ship overall PROBABLY my favorite so far as far as the carnival family.... We always choose Carnival bc we do family trips and CARNIVAL BRINGS THE FUN‼️ and Guys burgers... Hands down the BEST and on horizon Guys Barbecue Joint OMG good... Loved the new ship overall.. my only draw back would probably be I absolutely love the family dinning experience and on this cruise they were really slow and also love, love, love Latino music/atmosphere... We went to the Havana Bar and was never greeted or attended to at all. They clearly seen us, looked at us and we in fact had to walk over to the bar and order when we were at a table.. Overall we love Carnival. Our only disappointment was the Havana Bar bc we were treated like we wasn't there and dining was slower than usual but absolutely beautiful ship.. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of dates, ports of call, and leaving from Miami. Getting to the cheap was slowed by traffic issues surrounding Super Bowl Weekend in Miami, but that was not the cruise company's fault. Perhaps a text warning to allow more time could have been helpful. We were early enough it ended up not affecting us, but some fellow passengers talked about the stress. The ship is beautiful. It is spacious enough that one could always find a quiet place, and busy enough one could always find a fun activity. Food was very good, though sometimes lukewarm in buffet line. Our time dining was convenient and we never had a problem getting in when we wanted, although they could use more waitstaff. They sometimes looked a bit frazzled trying to keep up. The ship was clean. Fellow passengers were polite and fun. All and all an above average experience. We had an interior cabin which was kept very clean. No complaints. We got what we paid for. We were near the rear or the ship on 8 and it was just a two deck walk up to the Lido deck. Read Less

My wife and I decided to finally go on one of Carnival's newest ships and we loved it. We never felt like we were with 4,000 other cruisers. The layout of the ship makes it very accessible and easy to get around. Previously, we had been on four of the older ships with half as many passengers. We loved the 'Smart' elevators, just wish everyone would make an effort to use them properly but we never noticed any serious problems. Our interior cabin cabin was perfect, it even seemed larger than previous interior's on older Carnival ships. The location was perfect as you could reach the forward elevators or the mid elevators within a few steps. We loved the Hubb App as we had Anytime dining and used it every single night to request our dining reservation. We never had to wait more than five minutes to get a table. We would normally request it while we were finishing a show and by the time we walked over our table was already assigned. The Food in the Meridien Dining Room was very good with excellent service. Breakfast on the Lido Marketplace was very good as well. The made to order omelets were delicious but always busy. Definitely worth the wait. Mike P was our CD and this was going to be his last 6 day Horizon cruise as he was promoted to a Carnival Corporate job. Let me tell you there was NO short timers disease with him. He was 100+% the entire trip. Definitely a well deserved promotion! Overall we loved our FANTASTIC Horizon cruise. Read Less

Carnival conquest was quiet a bit cheaper then the other cruise lines I was looking at sk made the choice to give them a try worse mistake ever I will gladly pay more for Norwegian or royal Caribbean cruise line this boat is run down the food is absolutely terribly seriously lacking entertainment small layed out very inconvenient u gotta go up to get down and skip around to get to the next floor up or down the stateroom attendant seriously ask me our 1st day if I really needed our room cleaned daily never mind twice a day I've cruised many time prior just not with carnival unless u are going on a cruise to get totally wasted and stay in the casino this is not the cruise line for you i normally dont leave bad reviews but it truly needs to be told publicly how terrible this boat and cruise line is JUST SAY NO n go with some other line trust me it's worth the extra $$$ Read Less

I chose this cruise to take with my family of five (two adults, three kids under the age of 12) because it was an excellent value and we could have connecting ocean view rooms. This was my 20th cruise and 7th with Carnival. Embarkation- I parked in the port lot directly across the street from the terminal after dropping off my family and luggage. It could not have been closer, though at $22 per day was a little steep. We literally walked onto the ship after waiting in the security line for under 5 minutes. Ship- the entire ship has a French Impressionist theme, which we really enjoyed. The art around the public spaces was lovely to look at. I'm not sure what some of the reviews here are meaning by dirty or worn areas; I did not notice anything like that anywhere. There was a little rust on the hull, however, but that is not a problem. Cabin- We had connecting rooms on the Riviera Deck (1), all the way aft. We were surprised that the rooms seemed large and had tons of hangers and closet space. The noise from the engines was minimal and we even remarked how we thought it would be worse. Bathrooms were nice and a good size. Dining- We had most of our breakfasts in the Monet dining room as we prefer that to the buffet. Dinners were also in the Monet and lunch at the buffet/ Guy's/ Blue iguana. Every meal we had was tasty and well prepared. The fish was a tad dry, but still good. There was always a good selection to choose from. Is it "fine" dining? No, but it doesn't come at that price either. It is however, very good, and we enjoyed ourselves very much. Entertainment- The cruise director, Kyndall Fire was really great and seemed to be everywhere! The shows were well done and the dancers especially good. Service- Everyone we interacted with was just excellent. Ports- We did not do any Carnival excursions: Grand Turk- We took the Island Tram and saw the island, then snorkeled right off the beach by the pier. Had a great time though the water was not as clear as usual as storms had come through the day before. San Juan- Walked off the ship into the old town, saw the fort, had dinner in the city. Very safe, beautiful and a great place to wander. St. Thomas- We got a taxi to Sapphire Beach and spend our time there. It was $50 each way for all 5 of us and took about 20 minutes. There is a restaurant, bar, and facilities to use but we brought our Carnival towels so we did not have to rent chairs. Amber Cove- This was a surprise. I booked a private tour with RV Tours and we had the best time. Just the 5 of us, our driver and guide. We saw the town, rode the cable car to the mountain top, and stopped at rum, amber, and chocolate factories. Highly recommend. Children Program- Our kids love Camp Ocean and enjoy the programs very much. Summary- I would sail the Conquest again. However, the lack of the water park that some of the other Carnival ships have (even the smaller Fantasy Class) would make me probably pick one of those over her if my kids were with me again. Also, I would choose, if possible, a cabin on deck 6 or higher simply because the galley and restaurants make it so that you cannot walk fore to aft on decks 3 or 4, which was annoying if your cabin is below those. Read Less