We won a free cruise on Carnival Cruise lines so we decided to take a Caribbean cruise in February of 2022 on the Carnival Horizon. Usually free cruises are just interior cabins on a deck/cabin location that the cruise line chooses but did you know that if you win a free cruise that you can pay a little extra and get a balcony instead? We’ll show you around the ship and give you some tips and tricks that we found on our cruise so that maybe this will help you prepare for yours.
Lisa and harry
Restaurant Choices on Carnival Horizon
My absolute favorite restaurant was the BlueIguanna (which was poolside) and the food was included. They have the best breakfast burritos! It is only open for breakfast and lunch though. We also enjoyed the Guy’s Pig and Anchor Smokehouse/Brewhouse (that does cost extra) but they really had some great food as well.
The buffet on the top deck has so many options and they change entrees every single night. That one is great if you’ve been out all day on a shore excursion and when you get back, you are famished and want your food fast so that is a solid place to go. There were so many places we didn’t even get to in the end and we were out there for eight days!
Early Dining or Late Dining? They have you choose whether you want early dining or late dining but that is in the massive dining room which is fine dining. The food is amazing but we only did that one the first night and the last night (when it really counts) so don’t stress too much about whether you pick the early or late option. They put on a good show on the last night. The rest of the nights, we tried some place different if possible. They did have a formal night in the main dining room one night and some people really went all out dressing up (and the photographers were out in full force). If you like dressing up, be sure to bring some formal clothing for that night but the rest of the nights in the formal dining room are more business casual.
Should I get a Balcony or an Interior Stateroom?
For us, the balcony was well worth the upgrade. My oldest son had an interior stateroom. All the rooms have the option of making the bed into two separate beds or one queen-sized bed. You tell them in advance and they will have the bed ready and set up as requested.
The balcony has much more closet storage space than an interior state room (note that if you need more hangers, all you have to do is ask your stateroom attendant – you should find his/her contact card in your room).
The balcony room has more table/shelf storage vs. the interior stateroom as well.
Each room has their own mini-fridge and there is a hair dryer in each room as well.
The bathrooms in both rooms were pretty much the same.
The balcony stateroom does have more square footage as well with a couch in the room. The interior stateroom does not have a couch. Here’s the one thing to think about as well, with the balcony, you have instant access to the outdoors and when you are at sea, some people flock to the sundeck to get there first and throw towels on all the chairs to save them first thing in the morning (please don’t be one of those people). If you aren’t quick enough, you have no place to sit. I personally, enjoyed the peace and tranquility of sitting on our own private deck. If you want the party atmosphere of the sundeck, you might be okay with an interior room and then just running up in the morning or taking your chances on finding a place to sit later in the day after the early people burn out (literally).
What side of the ship and what deck should I choose?
If you have an issue with motion sickness, it’s best to be in the middle of the ship rather than the fore (front) or aft (rear) as you will get far less movement there. Being in the middle of the ship also makes it easier for you to go in either direction to your point of destination.
Regarding the port (left) or starboard (right) side of the ship, if you have a balcony, think about this: Do you prefer the sun or the shade? Look at how many days you are at sea and think about whether more sun or more shade is important to you. If you are heading south, the port side will get sun later in the day and the starboard side will get the morning and more of the mid-day sun.
We also choose to be somewhat close to the stairs/elevators as you can just walk out your door, run up the stairs to the sundeck, perhaps grab a drink or snack and come right back down and go out to your private patio. It’s super simple and easy. Some people claim that being too close to that area is noisy and we have never had any issues with noise. As a mater of fact, the cabins are pretty air-tight and we hardly ever heard a peep from the hallway.
We chose Deck 7 which was perfect for us as it put us right about the center of the ship where everything was centrally located up and down and front to back.
Pre-cruise Checklist
Make reservations at your hotel in advance: Make sure you have reservations at a hotel in the port area for the day before you leave in case something happens to your flight or something happens to you on the way to the airport. In the case of a delay, the best case scenario is that you are on the next flight possible which might not be until the next morning (typically the cruise ships leave in the afternoon). That will still give you time to get there. If you still miss the ship, you’ll have to catch up to it at the next port (or bank on the fact that you bought travel insurance).
Hotels that offer free shuttles to the port: Some hotels advertise free transportation to the port the next day but know that those shuttle buses often fill up fast so be prepared to take a Lyft or Uber in the alternative in you can’t get on the shuttle. It is not guaranteed that you will get on a shuttle from the hotel.
Call your cell phone provider and consider purchasing the WIFI as well from the ship: Call your cell phone provider and tell them you are traveling internationally and make sure you are covered. AT&T offers an International travel plan where for $10/day, you can use your phone with unlimited high-speed data, talk, and text. That covers many different locations but when you are at sea, use the ship’s plan which you will need to purchase! We signed up for the AT&T international plan for when we were in port but my son felt that he got better service when he roamed at sea instead of using the ship’s plan that we had already purchased for everybody. I ended up getting a bill for an additional $287.00 that month just for my son. AT&T took off about $30.00 from there but said that was the best they could do.
Review your credit card’s foreign transaction fee policy: Some credit cards incur a foreign transaction fee for purchases made outside of the United States and some credit cards are exempt from this fee. Be sure to figure out what your card has to offer so you don’t find yourself slammed with foreign transaction fees when you get home.
Buy your shore excursions as far as possible in advance: Buy your shore excursions as far as possible in advance as they fill up. Only take the ship’s shore excursions as well (do not take any private excursions). The reason for this is that if something happens, the ship will wait for you. They will not wait for you if you are on a private shore excursion.
When we got to our room, all of our shore excursion tickets with instructions were there waiting for us in an envelope.
Print your luggage tags off: Print your luggage tags off and secure them to your bags while you are at the hotel. You can buy nice luggage tag holders from Amazon or you can just staple them to your bag at the hotel. Either way, you’ve got to do this before you arrive to the port terminal. Make sure you have in your carry-on everything you need in the interim before your bags arrive at your stateroom (medication, swimsuits, etc.). Also, Carnival allows one bottle of wine or champagne per person but that must be on your carry-on so make sure you transfer that out of your checked bag or they will remove the alcohol from your bag and stow it until you are done with the cruise. Then you just get to bring it back home with you all over again.
Passport: You’re going to need your passport so make sure if you don’t have one that you apply for one at least 6 months in advance to make sure it arrives in time. There are some expedited passport service places but they are quite expensive.
Should I buy travel insurance?
There are so many plans out there to choose from (the ship also has insurance as well). It all depends on what is important to you. There are a couple of different types of plans to consider:
Annual Travel Insurance: Covers all your travels over an entire year and is typically cheaper. It typically bundles coverage for travel medical, emergency medical evacuation, baggage delay, baggage loss and travel delay. This can cost less than $100.00 a month. If you travel a lot, this would make good sense.
Single-trip travel insurance: This insurance covers yourself (or your family) for a single, specific trip. It typically covers emergency transportation, baggage delay, baggage loss, travel delay, trip interruption and trip cancellation. This is more cost effective if you only take a couple of trips a year. The cost can vary based on the cost of your trip.
You get more benefits with single-trip travel insurance than you do with annual travel insurance so make sure you verify what benefits you are giving up if you go with the annual travel insurance.
The ship does have medical facilities and doctors on board. If you use these services, your credit card on file will be billed for these expenses and then you can take it up with your insurance company when you return home to see if they will reimburse you. If you get medical services in a foreign port, note that there is not one U.S. health insurance company out there that I am aware of that will reimburse you for that so that is going to be an out-of-pocket expense.
Emergency Medical Evacuation Insurance: One major expense is if something catastrophic happens to you and you have to be air-lifted out from a foreign port. This could be hundreds of thousands of dollars. On cruises, we choose to skip the travel insurance and take our chances but we do have Emergency Assistance Plus for emergency transportation services. I pay $207.00 a year for this service (if you are a veteran, it is even cheaper). https://www.emergencyassistanceplus.com/
Carnival’s Cheers! Drink Package
Alcohol: As I stated above, make sure you bring your one bottle of wine or champagne per person with you on your carry-on baggage (not your checked baggage). Note that there is a liquor store on board that you can buy alcohol from but they will just take the alcohol from you and keep it until the night before that you arrive back into port so why bother?
A lot of people wonder if the drink package is worth it. Not just one person in the stateroom can get the package…you both have to purchase it so basically, it all depends on how much you drink. We opted to not buy the drink package as we knew we could not drink that much between the two of us.
Here is more information on their drink package and below that is a receipt that we got when we purchased alcohol at a port in the Dominican Republic:
KEEP IN MIND THAT ANY ALCOHOL PURCHASED IN PORT WILL ALSO BE CONFISCATED AND RETURNED TO YOU ON THE NIGHT BEFORE YOU RETURN HOME. THEY WILL SEARCH YOUR BAGS WHEN YOU RETURN TO THE SHIP.
Smoking on board the Carnival Horizon
Do not even try to smoke on your balcony of your room! Carnival’s policy applies to all forms of smoking, including but not limited to cigarettes, cigars, pipes, vaporizers, electronic cigarettes and marijuana. Smoking in any non-designated area will get you nailed with a $500 charge per violation and may also result in your getting kicked off the ship. Once you are kicked off, you are responsible for getting yourself home and you’ll be prohibited from sailing with Carnival Cruise Lines in the future.
Cigarette smoking (including electronic cigarettes and personal vaporizers) are permitted in the following areas:
- Horizon Casino: There is no smoking in the casino unless seated and playing; it is not allowed at the casino bar or in the entire area when closed.
- Outdoors: Smoking is permitted in designated areas on Deck 5 (port side and starboard side, forward) and Deck 11 (starboard side, forward and aft).
- Note: Cigar and tobacco pipes are only permitted at outdoor smoking areas on Deck 5 (starboard side, forward) and Deck 11 (starboard side aft).
- Note: On embarkation and debarkation day, smoking is not allowed outdoors while the ship is refueling. Please consider selecting a later Arrival Appointment to minimize any inconvenience on embarkation day.
Things to Pack
Hanging Phone/Wallet – I never leave home on any vacation without this thing. You can get your phone in here, your passport, cash, and credit cards and not have to worry about people pick-pocketing you as it hangs around your neck. It’s also great when you are out hiking as your phone can go in here and leave you hands-free. This one is also lined with the radio frequency shielding material which protects people against scanning your important personal data such as credit cards. https://amzn.to/4aEcZiQ
Magnetic Hooks – did you know that the walls in your stateroom are pretty much all magnetic? Use these hooks to hang things from like hats, jackets, lanyards, beach bags, swimsuits, etc. https://amzn.to/3VPXIHw
Lanyards and luggage tags – These are great and are waterproof as well. You’ll be issued a card that will open your door, turn on and off the lights in your cabin, and you’ll use it to make purchases as well for everything on the ship from restaurants to ship stores. These come in handy and I already talked about the luggage tags above so you’ll want both! https://amzn.to/43R8fEj
Motion Sensor Lights – It gets dark at night out at sea and these work great in your stateroom. You’ll want one in the main room and one in the bathroom. https://amzn.to/4cGSiVb
Over-the-door organizer – There is a small shelf in the bathroom to put your stuff on but this works great as well for your bathroom door (or closet door). They really help to keep you organized. https://amzn.to/3U8n023
Hanging Toiletry Bag – You could also try a hanging toiletry bag which would hang from the towel bar in the bathroom to help keep you organized as well. https://amzn.to/43T1wtb
Poo-Pourri – If there is any smell coming from the bathroom, it seems to just sit and marinate in the room. Use these and keep your room smelling fresh. https://amzn.to/3xpITRN
Power Strip – You’re not going to have many outlets so you are going to definitely want this one. It is a power strip with USB outlets. Approved for Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Norwegian & most lines’ policies (NOT Disney) in 2024 & 2025. https://amzn.to/3vHQomq
Beach Bag – These come in great for bringing on shore excursions and for those days at sea when lounging on the sundeck! https://amzn.to/4cGW8O5
Travel Flasks – Carnival will only let you have one bottle of wine or champagne in your checked luggage, however, you could try to get creative: https://amzn.to/3U7aoIq and https://amzn.to/49s8GWz
Portable Charger – These power banks are great for when you are going ashore all day and need a way to charge your phone. https://amzn.to/43R3kmy
Other things to think about: collapsible laundry hamper (or bring a garbage bag to put your dirty clothes in), water bottle (I carry mine everywhere), book to read for those days you are at sea, motion sickness medication such as Dramamine (just in case), over the counter meds in a baggie just in case you get sick as it is quite spendy on the ship (cold medicine, aspirin, antacid, etc.), small first aid kit, children’s blunt-end scissors (cutting tags off of newly purchased items, etc.), wine opener if you are bringing wine, liquid hand sanitizer (all you’ll get in your bathroom is bar soap), sunscreen, sunglasses (bring extras), a waterproof case for your phone, and extra Ziplock baggies. Don’t forget the staples like your swimsuit and cover-up too with some flip-flops for the hot tubs and if you’re going on a shore excursion that includes snorkeling or beach time. You don’t need to bring a towel as they will have plenty on hand for you which you can also put in your beach bag and take ashore.
Your checked bag won’t arrive to your room until later in the day on that first day so put everything you need to start your fun in your carry-on bag/backpack such as your swimwear, medication, flip-flops, phone charger, etc.
What to do while on the ship?
Let’s take a tour around the Carnival Horizon!
Shopping in Port
If you attend a shopping seminar on the ship prior to reaching your first destination, usually there is somebody there to talk about some of the partners in the city that the ship is associated with. They give out coupons for discounts, free stuff, and lots of prizes. It’s sometimes interesting to go. You’ll find a big push for Diamond’s International on these Caribbean cruises. A lot of people buy fine jewelry and luxury time pieces from there while on vacation because they are tax and duty free so chances are that you will see this storefront over and over if on a Caribbean cruise.
Depending on where you are going, just be aware of your surroundings when you are in port shopping because tourists are often targets for scams and some merchants (depending on the port city) can be extremely pushy.
The Towel Animals of Carnival Cruise Lines
The exact originator of towel animals is unknown, but their popularity is often attributed to Carnival Cruise Lines. Carnival apparently debuted its first towel animal in 1991. You’ll find a new towel animal on your bed in your newly cleaned stateroom every day. You can even buy a book on how to make these same towel animals from a place on the top deck at the front of the ship by the bar area.
Make sure you bring some cash to leave just for your room attendant at the end of the cruise. That person will know all your names and take very good care of you while you are on the ship.
Getting ready to say goodbye
If you are self-disembarking, you don’t have to pack your bags the day before. People carrying their own luggage off the ship get off first. You are highly encouraged to leave your bags outside your door the night before though at a certain time to be picked up and they will be waiting for you as you get off the ship. You’ll need to have your carry-on bag with your toiletries and everything you need to get ready in the morning.
Everybody is assigned a departure time based on return flights. We were one of the last groups to get off the ship and we still had plenty of time to get to the airport. We didn’t feel rushed at all. No need to call a taxi, Uber, or Lyft as there are tons of options right there are your disposal when you get off the ship. We got onto a van shuttle going straight to the airport and were on it in less than 5 minutes after we got our bags.
Bon Voyage!
I hope some of this will help with the planning of your cruise! Have a great time!!
Lisa & Harry
Over 50 Travel 