We’ve Reached The Horizon And It’s As Lovely As We Imagined Cruising Carnival Horizon

I’ve already wet your appetite with the culinary changes you’ll gobble up while cruising Carnival Horizon so here’s the rest of what I loved about the newest, most modern, spacious and high tech ship in the Carnival fleet!

A Carnival Horizon review with a ton of Carnival Horizon pictures!

Smart Destination Elevators

It’s the most startling new feature you’ll see cruising Carnival Horizon because unless you throw it down at the lobby bar straightaway, the first thing you’ll do upon boarding the Horizon on deck 3 is get in an elevator to head up for a Guy’s Burger or some soft serve if you have children. With the Carnival Horizon Smart Destination Elevators, you pick which floor you want to reach FIRST, then wait, then get in and go up (or down) without altering your plan. The elevators are more efficient and fun in a futuristic WHAT IS HAPPENING?! kind of way, but man are you going to be a wee bit confused the first (and second and third) time you try to ride on a Smart Destination Elevator while cruising Carnival Horizon.

Carnival Horizon Clothing

The Horizon branded Carnival clothes are stunning. Using a mix of super soft fabrics and stylish retro designs, the new Horizon sweats, hats, shorts, and shirts make guests feel as though they are cruising both into the future and also straight back into their bestest memories of youth. Good design can do so much and these new clothes feature stellar graphic designs.

The Merch

New merchandise is for sale while cruising Carnival Horizon, like a gorgeous elegant cartoon cartography map of the Horizon’s original European route, photo magnets and high-quality photographs from the European cities visited are available and all of it can be had for extremely fair prices ($2.99 for photo magnets and just $14.99 for the 12×18 map on good thick paper / $34.99 framed). We bought the map, framed it at home, and absolutely love it.

The Perks of Pixels Cruise Photos

You’ll still be prompted to stop and pose for photos all over the ship while cruising Carnival Horizon (and you should do it and have fun with it, even just for the weird pleasure of letting your kids search for your family photos on the massive walls of pics during down times on sea days) but now choosing to buy one or some of those photos comes with perks, which is nice because the price points are still a bit ‘ouchy’.

A Mall At Sea

An upscale mini-mall spans deck 5 mid of Horizon, with the 1st ever full Victoria’s Secret at sea, a floating Kate Spade store plus cruise ship shopfronts for Hublot, Michael Kors, Alex and Amy, and Nike athletic wear. You know, in case you feel like you’ve got just a bit too much wiggle room left under your credit card spending limit.

The Newest Movies, the Nicest IMAX Theater

It was teased on Vista but hits Horizon right out of the dock. You’ll enjoy watching 1st run new release movies in IMAX while cruising. We had Ready Player One and Rampage during our week on board in mid-April. Both had just been released into landlocked theaters back home. You’ll also have a nature documentary to select from while cruising Carnival Horizon.

Dr. Seuss Water Works

The waterpark high atop the Carnival Horizon is branded to be in line with the already strong partnership between Carnival and Dr. Seuss. There are 2 slides, a gigantic water tipping bucket, and more, all of which feature red & white stripes and one fish two fish — perfect for familiar water play, for kids big and small.

Dreamy Toilet Seats

That’s right, I’m talking toilet seats. It wasn’t in the press packet but I noticed it straightaway upon entering our cabin. The bathroom toilet seats no longer slam shut! There are slow-going, quiet-as-a-mouse, self-closing toilet seat lids in all cabins. This small touch will let you sleep through the night when cruising with tiny bladder children.

Three New Playlist Production Musical Theater Shows That Will BLOW YOU AWAY

Three new shows with lead singers you’d expect to find on Broadway and with music that’ll stay with you long after you’ve disembarked to dry land. Soulbound, Vintage Pop and Celestial Strings are breathtaking examples of the commitment Carnival has to delivering superb entertainment to their guests.

You will want to see each and every one of these new shows on Horizon, possible both the early and late shows of each. They are THAT great. I’m a music AND theater snob and I cannot recommend enough to you all three of these new shows available while cruising Carnival Horizon! GO!

Clue: Murder Mystery experience

We loved the addition of Hasbro Game Night, now comes a Clue themed murder mystery experience for the whole family to watch, play and enjoy while cruising the Carnival Horizon. There’s no Tim Curry on board but it’s still awesome. So grab your candlestick and meet me in the library!

Stronger WiFi!

Yeah, I know. We’re supposed to be unplugging from the outside would while away in the lap of Horizon’s luxury but let’s be real. We wanna know what the score is, if our friends hear Laurel or Yanny, and we need to make sure the world back home isn’t actually coming to an end. The new stronger WiFi on Carnival Horizon delivers, and supports FB live streaming. Woot!

Hubba Hubba the Carnival HUB App As Even Better!

Already impressive, the Carnival HUB App now handles specialty dinner reservations. Plus, there’s no easier or better way to find our what show is on when and where, what movie is showing during your afternoon at sea, and when the shop’s $10 t-shirt sale is going down!

Outlets!!

A pair of 120V outlets, a 230V plus a pair of USB ports! None bedside. But c’mon this is great news for modern cruisers!

More Specialty Rooms

Carnival has increased capacity of their specialty rooms from Vista due to popular demand meaning there are now 96 family harbor rooms and a total of 79 Havana rooms on Horizon. Man, those rooms are so sweet! And so is the rest of this amazing ship.

St. Jude Kids’ Artwork Dreamscape

They’ve raised over 16 million dollars for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, now on the Horizon you will see artwork of 30 St. Jude kids displayed in a technological dreamscape in the atrium lobby.

*Carnival kindly invited us on the Horizon press cruise in Europe last month and had me and my mom up to NYC for the official naming celebration this week. All opinions express above are honest and unbiased, as always.