We booked this cruise for the sky ride feature since no other boat has it as of yet,but seen reviews right after it set sail that the sky ride was down for repair,was hoping after 4 months that they would get it fixed but No still not working .Then was very disappointed in the buffet all week seemed like same food every day and only 3 meats choices and 6 sides literally 10 items on bar.Everyone on ship was complaining about the buffet.The entertainment was ok and they did have a vast amount of scheduled activities.The wait staff was great and friendly.Just wish they would take sky ride off the advertisement so no one else feels deceived .Also a mention about the fitness center, I have seen better gyms in hotels,This fitness center was very small and little to no equipment.To sum it up I feel 3 stars is a fair rating. Read Less

Wow! Embarkation in Miami was a breeze. Way better than we have ever experienced. The line for the Magic almost reached our ship. That was nuts! Upon arrival our room was clean and ready. The hall ways were super clean and smelling good. The atrium is not 1 color anymore, various colors and shapes. Very bright. They have specialty restaurants such as sushi, BBQ, seafood and a Havana area that reminds you of Cuba. So much of variety when it comes to food and different options when it comes down to entertainment and music. Live Latin band, piano players, acoustic singers, etc. This ship is beautiful! So clean and big. Love the options of the rooms and the décor is very nice. There are various themes such as Harbor, Havana and Spa. Staff is always great, but I feel like the staff at the Guy's Pig Anchor didn't want to be there. The staff serving the buffet food. The guy there had a sour face and was not friendly at all. The room stewards were awesome, they never forget a face or name. The bar are great and I feel the ship is so big you don't always bump into the same people more than once Definitely an eye catcher. Read Less

My party had a great time! I think the only 2 real complaints we had about the boat was about the elevators and the smoky casino. The elevators are suppose to be "smart" elevators. They are only as smart as the people using them or shown how to use them. There is no real explanation on how to use them. We learned by others who showed us that you need to press the floor number you're going to as many times as there are people in your party. This would prevent the elevator from stopping on other floors if it knew that it was full to capacity. Not everyone knew this or how to do this, so the "smart" elevators are essentially dumb. Also, we were on the 14th floor, so only 2 of the elevators went to that floor. Often our elevators were locked due to crew using them for luggage or other reasons. There were times we would have to wait 20 minutes or more for an elevator. Often relenting to walking up or down several flights of stairs pending on where we wanted to go. Not that we couldn't use the exercise, but it was inconvenient at times when carrying packages, etc The casino wreaked badly of stale cigarettes. You had to walk through the casino to get to some of the places or go the long way around. They said they have a filtration system to eliminate the smoke. If they do, they need a new one or a better one. Just quickly walking through, our clothes smelled so badly and it was really hard to breathe in the area. Other than these two things, we had a great time. Plenty to do and be entertained. The crew that took care of our stateroom was fabulous. Always courteous and willing, even remembered our names. That's quite a task when every week you get new people to care for. We zip lined in Jamaica. Fabulous! Beach day in Grand Cayman! Cozumel Port itself was nice. Unless you're going to an excursion I wouldn't recommend leaving the shopping area of the port. We accidentally did without realizing. Went into a store where they tried to separate us and then shut the door behind us. Tried pressuring us into buying certain things we didn't care to buy. Lesson learned, know the boundaries. All in all a good time had by our family! Read Less

Cabin is not bad , ship is new, clean and not noisly BUT. My excursion was canceled but for my not say about this, Only 2 small pool for many hundered people, Too cold because air conditioner is too low, many people say "too cold" but staff do not hear this, food is monotonous, all days food do not change, at 2-3 day eat this food tired of, "sky explorer" attraction is not work, too many people and ship have a private area but in ship app on mobile phone not say about this. We go at gavana bar at sit here at the last cruise day bur staff is for us "private area, go out" . But we say - in ship android application not writting about this... but staff say go out (( The mood was ruined ( Sorry for my bad eanglish and thank you for you attention, wish you do not mistake as me. , , , Read Less

Either Carnival was totally on point for the Thanksgiving week or all of those complainers are people that would cry about anything. This cruise was fantastic. Our family cruises for Thanksgiving and the last couple of times have been on the Oasis Royal class boats so this was our first time back to Carnival after several years and we selected it based on the ports it went to. Embarkation – we got an email days prior saying that they are expecting a delay in the debarkation so arrive an hour later than your scheduled time. We flew in that morning and did you know there was a check in at the airport?? USE IT! We did that and they did not say there was a delay so we went on to the port. There are two entrances to the ship – one for airport check in and one for regular check in. We walked right on through with no stopping. Highly recommend it! Security didn’t go through our bags, didn’t check to see our wine bottle was intact, and didn’t check to see that it was really pop cans in the bag. They did have the hallway doors to the rooms closed so you couldn’t access that until 1:30 which was fine. Food – It’s funny we did a carnival one year that was great food, and then the next year it wasn’t. The next was Royal Caribbean and amazing food and then the next year RC was bad. This year on the Horizon we were completely surprised at how good everything was. The food options were plentiful and because I wanted to try everything once I didn’t get to go back and try anything twice! I opted for the tacos at Blue Iguana for the first day and they were great with the salsa bar and accoutrements you could add to it. My family went to the Lido and complained at the limited options there. I had read Carnival was doing that and spreading the food options out across the boat. I never ate at the buffet other than for breakfast with the other amazing options out there. The Guys Hamburgers were great as well and even with lines it moved fast as they were cooking hamburgers constantly. You could add any additions, sautéed onions, mushrooms, sauces etc. The Italian place on 11 was free for sea days as well as the Mongolian Wok. You have an order sheet and check what you want. GREAT food. The BBQ was free on sea as well as lunch and the beef tips and pulled port were very tasty. For breakfast you had breakfast tacos or burritos from the Iguana – full of flavor. I did eat the lido here but it was very limited to straight breakfast foods. Eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, French toast, made to order omelets always had a line and cereals, toasts etc. Other cruise lines have included food for international passengers so thought that was unusual. Our dining room service was outstanding; food was always great, always hot. And quicker than on past cruises. We had the old fashion 6:00 dining and we just walked in to our table and our waiter Inyoman got to know us. Super friendly, attentive and great. I’m telling you we had no complaints in this section! We did do the Steakhouse on the first night – the special is a free bottle of wine with dinner on the first night. Everything there was outstanding. Bars – service was great at the bars and we found each bar had different menus. Although you could get standard drinks at any of them. The piano bar, the Alchemy and the pig and anchor had some of the coolest and strongest drinks. Most times there was only a small wait. The bar on the 5th floor Ocean plaza was always empty and you could walk right up and get something there. The serenity bar was usually pretty empty as well. The three pool bars were the busiest but they really do a great job at getting you served. We had the cheers package and you could get 1 alcohol drink and one non like a cocktail and a bottle of water but you couldn’t get two nons like a soda and water which was silly. You had to wait 5 minutes in between ordering. Entertainment – if I had to downgrade them at all it would have been here a little bit. The nightly shows have some great people singing and dancing but every night the show was pretty much the same – just singing and dancing. There wasn’t any variety other than the theme of their outfits. On Royal we had a cirque like show, a water show with divers, an ice-capade show and a full on Broadway production. People complained about the Liquid Lounge and the limited seating and viewing. They do have some poles in there but we didn’t ever have a problem seeing from our choices. We always sat downstairs. One night they had a “magic variety” show and that guy was almost funnier than the comedians! The live music on the boat was a big plus. I loved the electric violins. They played around dinner time in the atrium area so we could catch them coming to and from our dining. On Friday night they were in the nightly show and they were the hit (Celestial Strings). The comedians were pretty good – the PG show at 5:30 was plenty open but the night over 18 shows were packed – get in line early. Some of them were funny and some were just filled with F-bombs. Some of the PG version of the same artist were better than their adult version with cuss words. I have heard the Quest is the fun game but it’s late at 11:30 and after sun and drinks and a full day I couldn’t stay up that late so missed it. The piano bar at 10:00 with the sing along songs were fun. She is crazy talented with being able to sing all of those songs, talk and play and witty as well. Don’t be a Kanga-BOO! When you walk out of her show.  They had dance parties on the lido deck which were a big hit with the gangs of kids and the adults alike. Some nights they had dive in movies (rental box movies – not first run) and could lay on a lounge chair with a blanket and popcorn - very cool! We didn’t check out the pay for IMAX movies. You could stay as busy as you wanted to on this boat . The pools – very small. Very crowded. The main center pool was crazy loud and party atmosphere. The back area had a small pool with two hot tubs. By the end of the 8 days the pool was very cloudy and really kind of gross looking. I like how there were stools and places to sit around the pool and in the pool and keep your feet in it. Hot tubs were always butts to nuts – I didn’t try. We didn’t really go into the Havana area other than one night for drinks and to hear the music and see the back end. We thought about getting those rooms but I didn’t like not having my balcony private and right up to the window to see the ocean. Ship – it was beautiful. Well laid out – A LOT of areas to sit and relax in comfortable areas. The 5th floor had great seating with table/chairs or living room arrangements all around the boat. The clamshells in the serenity area were the best for napping in. You could walk out on the front of the boat on most decks and that is a neat view. (just walk down the cabin hallways to the doors at the front) So many areas to get away from the crowds and enjoy the breeze. Gone are the glitzy gaudy colors and splashes. Very modern and pretty. The casino is pretty small and definitely horribly smoky. We love to gamble and it ran us out of there many times. Seemed like the slots were flowing pretty good and we all did great at the black jack table. Had it not been gross in there we might have stayed and gave the winnings back. ha! I LOVED their hand washing stations in the Buffet area – they were like mini spas. Unfortunately I didn’t see many people using them. You gotta embrace the slow herd mentality. People just moseying along and stopping randomly. (this is hard for me). Oh, and people, have some class and clean up after yourself. We saw a chocolate ice cream cone on the carpet in the hallway. Seriously? The elevators - this was a big topic. Nowhere does it say click how many people are going to what floor. I assumed you would select that floor 7 times and then it told you which elevator to go to each time you selected the floor. I take the stairs every time and would beat my family every time - even when I had to go up 7 flights. They were slow. But I like the concept. People just don't get it though and the elevator thinks it's picking up 1 person and 6 get on. The big sky bike was shut down our entire week as well. That’s pretty crappy as it’s a big attraction for them and seems like it’s been broke more times! We did do the ropes course and that was a pretty cool design. There was a basketball court and on this ship my 14 year old could use it. Past cruises it’s been monopolized by adults. Putt putt, corn hole, ping pong, foos ball, pool tables all out in this area – great family hang area. Debarkation – we walked off the boat with our bags for an early flight. Very Easy and no lines. It was a wonderful cruise for my family of 7 (from ages 75 -14) and we all had a great time. No major complaints. I can’t imagine how all those negative reviews of this boat could happen. Read Less

Carnival Horizon 11-17-2018 8 day-Southern Caribbean out of Miami, FL. Ultra-Premiere Casino Cruise. Room 11219, Interior Spa Stateroom, 4S Overall Rating of The Cruise 9 out of 10. Embarkation: It was a good surprise to arrive at 11:15 AM and be onboard by 11:45 AM carrying our boarding pass. Embarkation 5 of 5 State Room 11219, Interior Spa Stateroom: Steward Eko had the room ready when we boarded. I highly recommend Eko and his team. This cabin is located 1 deck below the Spa. 1st order of business was to take a tour of the spa and amenities we received for having our fist spa room. Access to the Thalassotherapy pool, hot beds, sauna, steam room and other amenities was easy with our room key. The robe in our room was lots more comfortable than the ones you get in other rooms. Soaps, shampoo were definitely an upgrade. Access to the Spa area was easy either forward to the stairs or just use the main elevators. The Thalassotherapy pool was almost useless, shallow, seats shape was wrong and difficult to get in and out. The rest of the Spa amenities was very good and ready for use. Assigned Seating Reflection Lower, 6:00 PM, table 162. Team Head Waiter Paul Rodrigues, Team Waiter Onur Gvres and AssistantTeam Waiter Komang Gede, did their best to make the dining experience as pleasurable as they could. DW and I both noticed changes to the menu and I think it is better than previous cruises. Love the décor of the Dining room with the separation walls making it more intimate dining experience. On one occasion I ordered a stake from the steak house. For some reason they were very late bring our meal, but when it did arrive it was so tough that the steak knife would not cut it. Not acceptable! in fact I had them return it and start again. Now we are really late, DW was thru eating and most of the others in the dining area had already left before I received my second steak. Spoke to Matri d’ and let him know my dissatisfaction. Do not blame the food service staff but the Steak House needs to work on quality and timing. Casino: Can’t explain how well Carlos and Karol along with the rest of the team did on this Ultra Primer Casino Cruise. The games, prizes and staff interaction were nothing but 1st class. For some reason there is always one Bar Waiter who stands out and this cruise was no exception. Yoki was always at work, always calling us by name and always happy “5 star”. Why “NO” nonsmoking machines in the casino? Cruise Director: Mike Pack, lived up to everything I have heard. This was one of the best sail-away parties. When it come to a harry chest contest Mike made me laugh nonstop for the entire time. Will rate it “the best” I have ever witnessed. Mike took the time and spoke with DW and I numerous occasions while on this 8-day cruise. Misc. Cruise Particulars: Elevators on the Horizon are new but I liked them. When we arrived, some people would just jump in to find that did not know where it would stop and no way to select a floor. After the second day everyone seemed to understand how it worked and I believe it went smother and faster than elevators on other ships. The Pig and Anchor brewery is fantastic. Laundry is a great perk of being Diamond or Platinum and those who work below deck to support that effort deserve a pat on the back. “Thanks, Sholihin, and I Nengah Budasa”. Carnival needs to work on location of the hand sanitizers. Serenity spa water cold and pumps not working. Skybike was not functioning the entire cruise. Read Less

The food and entertainment were wonderful. Lots of activities and variety if music around the ship. Ocean bar was always hopping and the Havana area opened up to the public after 7 pm so you can use pools there. The only downsides are buffet area was crowded, all inside buffet had same food and sky ride was down all week for repairs. Dining room service was great, food wouldn't always come out hot like baked potatoes and soup. Someone at our table kept sending warm food back, by the last night food was very hot. Gigi and the Italian restaurant were free at lunch but if you got there after noon it would be a 30-40 min wait. We did water slides and sky walk, both were fun and short lines. Plenty of chairs on lido but on sea days in Serenity it was packed and we had over 1,000 kids so we thought we would find seats. But love the clam shell beds. Deck 5 outside deck was really open with plenty of seating and bars and food. Its a beautiful ship. Read Less

Our family have done more that 10 cruises and this one is the WORST one. i have never gave a one star to any kind of review before but i have to do this time. We travel with 3 title kids end one infant (that we payed full price for) and had a horrible experience. there is was no pool that one year old can go to. there is was no day care for kids under 2 year old provided, there was no play place that infant can go or food he can it but we had to pay Full price for him. i feel that i got robbed ! Theater! I can't see nothing if you not on the from raw. They rushed it when build it . And the food! No Vegetable , No any kind of healthy food. We all suffer.Same Buffet EVERY day for 8 days. Couldn't wait to go to the shore so we can eat. One positive think! Wait stuff was amazing ! I fell bad that company does not support all that hard work they do. No more Carnaval for us. .there is companies offer much more and better quality for same money. Read Less

If you have kids under 8 years old. This is the cruise for you. This is our first cruise with the kids (5, 3). They enjoyed the Dr. Seuss Waterpark a lot. Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast on the last sea day was a wonderful experience. The Seuss-a-palooza parade and storytime was one of the most memorable activities. The Hasbro game show was also a great hit! The fun squad were always smiling, upbeat and made things fun all the time. If you have picky eaters, there are plenty of "plain" kid friendly options. If you don't see what you are looking for just ask. I requested a plate of sliced raw carrots and cucumbers at dinner for the kids and our wait staff, Milosh, had it ready for us when we went for dinner. Kid's menu had lots of options: pizza, hot dog, hamburger, pasta, chicken nuggets and even filet mignon. These are usually paired with French fries. They had a large dessert option too: banana split, jello, brownie, ice cream and fruit. We didnt have issues using the main pool either since we usually go on port days around lunchtime. We would get off the ship and enjoy the beach for a few hours then get back on just in time for lunch by the pool. The kids would jump back into the pool after lunch for a swim again. Life jackets are available for use and you can exchange for fresh pool towels as needed. We would usually head back to the room for a quick shower and nap before dinner at 5:30pm. After dinner, we would go to the show or just walk around the Promenade. The Hasbro game show was lots of fun. Leilani (or LeiLei) was great at hosting. She is full of enthusiasm and greeted our group each time she saw us on the ship. The music productions were great too. Definitely not your cheesy shows. The promenade always had great musicians playing and singing after dinner. We also found the library a quite spot to play board games and hang out. Ocean Club for kids is a great option if your kids are willing to part with you. Sterling was very friendly, he showed us around and invited us back the last day for a take home prize. We also enjoyed going to the Dr. Seuss reading room to read the books there. It's a colorful inviting space for kids of all ages. The two things I did not like were some guests just had no class. This is not Carnival's fault and we dont have control who you end up sailing with. In the Lido buffet we were greeted by a large group being very rowdy. Using inappropriate language and creating a scene on multiple occasions. Many other guests could not hold their tongues and asked this group to stop as they are embarrassing themselves and bothering other guests. I chose to get up and move my family to a different spot and continue our lunch. Secondly, the spa and gym area were quite small. The spa and gym share a change room and shower facility. It only has ONE washroom and TWO showers. I dont think that was a well thought out layout for such a large ship. Also there were only a few public washrooms available. On my past sailings with other cruise lines. Every floor had pucluc restrooms horizon only had public restrooms on 3, 4, 5, 10 (by the pool) and 11. Staff were all great and super friendly. My kids were greeted every morning by Dusan at the Lido buffet. He made special heart straws and napkin parrots in a cup for my son. Milosh, our wait staff in the Meridian dining room had our hot water ready and colouring books laid out for the kids. Service was slow at times but we had a table of 10 with many others in our area. The staff were doing their best. We tried most of the eateries on the ship and my favorite was Farenheit 555 (worth the $). Guys burger and the soft tacos at Cucina were great too. Anytime pizzas and make your own pasta were great options too. I would recommend this ship for kids. Read Less

Embarkation in Miami is very chaotic in comparison to airports, yet we were on the lido in under 25 minutes from getting out of our cab. It would have been under 20 minutes had it not been for the many group pictures in front of us in line. We had done the online check in so that apparently really helped. We had a balcony spa cabin on Deck 11 forward. Which we used for morning coffee, checking in with the office and watching the fly fish! We used the Hub app extensively and the $5/user for the Chat was worth it if you want to avoid using facebook messenger or other apps. We didnt go to any stage shows purely because of logistics of not knowing the show schedule ahead of time but having booked specialty dining prior to boarding. This is where the Hub app falls very short. Since you can only use the app onboard, you can't really figure out what is when until then, andbthen theres so many options its overwhelming. We loved watching the movies by the pool. Skip the popcorn if you like butter on it, there wasn't any! As much as this is a huge ship with a lot of people there really was always quieter spaces and activities available. I recommend the loungers outside Library/Bonsai sushi on deck 5. Specialty dining do go to Fahrenheit 555 (We went twice), the chef table, but skip Teppaniyaki if you've seen it or a Japanese food fan, you'll likely be disappointed. Loved Georgetown grand cayman snorkeling excusion and doing 7-mile beach on our own. It's the most beautiful beach I've ever seen. We did a bundled package of snorkel-catamaran-dunns river falls- zipline and lunch at margaritaville. Which was well worth the money though zipline was just okay. We skipped Cozumel on principle. All in all we will cruise this ship and itinerary again. Read Less