Carnival Horizon Review
Rating by category
Additional details
My fiancée and I decided to plan a cruise for my birthday, and we were excited by the idea of a brand-new cruise ship for Carnival. It is our first cruise together, having only taken cruises with our families separately. Our personal success with getting to the ship was fine, and embarkation onto the ship itself was actually fairly smooth, much better than I expected. However, the ship itself was much more disappointing.
It was only the two of us. We didn't travel with children, and we're both of drinking age, but we're not particularly wealthy. And it was made quite clear as we explored the ship that what we felt comfortable with spending was not enough to get much of anything out of the ship.
We dumped about $50 total into the casino and basically lost it all. The cheapest machines are about $0.40 per bet for perspective. That said, we left the casino after about 20 minutes and did not return.
Cabin Review
Interior
Our cabin was more or less passable. You can get leftovers from dining, but there is no microwave, so it's not like you can heat anything up. There is a minifridge. Our shower was very small; we were in a 4D stateroom. Our mattress was very hard and uncomfortable, but the pillows were very nice and soft.
Port Reviews
New York (Manhattan)
Very clean embarkation process. It did not take a long time.
San Juan
We got to go to the bar in which pina coladas were invented, which is Barrachina. They were very good. Other than that, there was not much to do in terms of walking around, and there was not easy access to the beach. We had lunch at a burrito place on the port strip, and it was pretty good.
Amber Cove (Puerto Plata)
Amber Cove was beautiful. We took a tour with an independent tour service, which we thoroughly enjoyed. The only thing I wish were different is easier access to the beach. Other than that, though, it was basically perfect.