B W.
Cruise on the Carinal Horizon
We selected this cruise to get at least an average cruise experience. I will start with the good. Primarily,the ship itself. Appears to be in very good physical condition and well maintained. All pools, hallways, bathrooms, were fairly clean. All dining areas were in physically in good condition. Even the theatre had those nice lights, and new directional microphones, comfortable chairs,etc. The Bad. It is clear to me that this cruise line has a new business model for food. "The less you eat, the better their profits". This is the worse food experience we've had on any cruise. Example. On the Lido deck for breakfast...I ask for bacon... the server replies "no bacon". There always appeared to be lots of broccoli and beans at every meal. The Lido breakfast didn't have as many choices as I hoped... no waffles, no other variety of meats, like Lox, no variety of sausages, no variety of egg dishes, I heard there was an omelet station. In fairness, at sit down breakfast, there was more variety available. Bacon,yes. I ordered waffles at sit down. The waiter brought to me a plate with 1/4 of a waffle on it. I asked for more, and he did bring it out. Is this a "cruise" experience", begging for food to be served at reasonable quantities and expected times. One other clue is the management of the Lido deck. All the food serving stations were not used. Another clear sign, that everything thing is cut back. Oh, yes, True, menu, options were generally posted. Again, I felt like the opening and closing times of restaurants, Lido,etc, were designed to keep you from eating when you really wanted to. For Example, the lido was close at 9:30 at departure date. Maybe I should have "watched' the times more closely. Room service, is a joke. The only options, at night pizza and sandwiches. Shrimp cocktail, the smallest shrimp I’ve ever seen in my life. The escargo, yes, all in one dish with no (dish cup) separation. I suspect, boiled in mass, and scooped in to a dish, no cheese, or breading on top. The hamburgers were very good. Only open at certain times. The taco station, good idea, unless you ask for more, about 2 teaspoons of meat on each. Barbecue house was good. Need I mention , on menus, extra charge for” premium” steak, $23.95 per person. The prime rib was good. Then there is the extra charge for an additional lobster. The waiter spent an additional 10 minutes, to make sure I understood there would be an extra $5 charge for that. Show time !!. The entertainment was a "violin" group with dancers, who sang songs that I did not recognize, thru a sound system that muffled their voices. Evidence of hiring from talent from an inexpensive foreign country, avoidance of licensing fees, and, an unexperienced sound team. I would never have presented this as "entertainment" for a group of Americans, from the Midwest and South. Entertainment was dominated by "Single/Double person" acts, comedians, piano players, sing alongs, DJ, Singer/Guitar player,,,,you get the pattern, no groups or "real" bands. Must say, the service staff were generally good, within the limits management allowed. Would I go on another Carnival cruise, Probably Never, unless I was able to review (at least) the entire food menu, Times of restaurant openings, entertainment scheduling/content, drink costs and other items controlled by management, in advance.