celebrity-horizon10

Note - this page contains multiple reviews.

Name: Geoff Speare
Email: geoff@shalott.com
Age: 31
Occupation: Computer Programmer
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Horizon
SailingDate: June 17, 2000
Itinerary: Bermuda
Cabin: 9058 / Obstructed View
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 92
FoodRoomService: 93
CruiseStaff: 98
CabinAmenities: 92
FoodLidoDeck: 98
DiningRoomService: 99
CabinQuietness: 88
FoodMidnightBuffets: 95
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 96
DeckService: 91
ShoreExcValue: 95
GoodForHoneymoon: 99
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 96
LoungeService: 92
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 92
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 92
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 88
OverallPortsofCall: 97
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 94
CruiseActivities: 96
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 94
EmbarkDisembark: 93
DiscoNightclubs: 92
DeckSpace: 93
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 96
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 18 Jul 2000
Time: 10:41:49
Remote Name: selma.igcn.com
Remote User:

Comments

I sailed on the June 17th sailing of Celebrity's Horizon with my wife and daughter (who was 15 years
old at the time). We had an obstructed view cabin on the Bermuda deck (deck 9) on the port side, a
little aft of midship. This was our honeymoon cruise, so we purchased the honeymoon package
(more on that later).

In short - we had a wonderful time! This was the best vacation of our lives, and we did not want to
leave. While not everything was perfect, the good far, far outweighed the few bad things that
happened. In particular, the food, service, itinerary, and cruise director were incredible. If you have
never cruised before, I can't think of a single reason not to try it. If you have cruised before and are
considering this ship, the only reason not to go might be if you require absolute top-notch shows.

As a first time cruiser, this review is probably more useful to people who haven't cruised before, as I
don't have much basis for comparing this trip to others. If you have any particular questions about
the trip that aren't answered here, please email me.

Getting there

Initially, I planned to purchase our cruise over the Internet. I had been watching several sites for a
few months, and knew where the best deals seemed to be. I didn't know much about the different
cruise lines, so we went out and bought a couple books: Cruises for Dummies, and The Unofficial
Guide to Cruises. Both were helpful books - Cruises for Dummies was better for picking a line and
ship, and the Unofficial Guide to Cruises was better for picking a travel agent and other financial
details. Reading the books convinced us that Celebrity was the line that would best suit us.

Unfortunately, there aren't too many good deals for Celebrity on the net. In the end, the variety of
"little things" that can make or break a cruise convinced us to use a travel agent. I called about 10 in
my area and narrowed it down to one or two. In the course of talking to them, we decided on
Bermuda as a destination - since we live 2 hours from New York City, and my wife doesn't fly,
Bermuda was much more convenient than the Caribbean. Once agents started calling us back with
specific cruise dates and cabins that interested us, we called around to see what price other agents
could give us for the same listing. We managed to get a final price about $200 below what the first
agent offered. We also called Celebrity directly to make sure their price wasn't better (it wasn't), and
to check on a few details of the cabin. We did notice that when it came to the fine details (is the bed a
true king or two doubles pushed together; how obstructed is the view), the travel agents cared more
about giving the answer we wanted to hear than the truth.

At any rate, we were in luck - Celebrity runs a bus from the Lehigh Valley (about 2 miles from our
house) directly to the port in New York. We handed our bags to the bus driver and didn't have to
worry about them until we were aboard.

We were a little worried about the check-in process, but it was painless. There was a large array of
people processing check-ins, and we only had to wait behind one group for a few minutes before it
was our turn. We received our $50 Bermuda vouchers there, and then had to wait behind three or
four groups to get our embarkation picture (not the best time to get your picture taken!) before we
could board.

Boarding the ship was quite an experience. After walking down a grungy gangway, we rounded a
corner and were confronted by a beautiful lobby, brilliantly lot, occupied by dozens of white-gloved
staff ready to welcome us. It brought a big grin to my face - at that moment, I knew we had made the
right decision.

While most of our bags arrived promptly, once (my wife's nicest bag) was late in coming. Finally, I
went into the hall to see what I could find, and noticed the room where all the bags were being kept.
My wife's bag was in a corner by itself - probably to protect it because it was so nice. J I asked nicely,
and a steward brought it straight out for me.

From there, we went to the lunch buffet, which I can only describe as incredible. Not all of the buffets
were of that caliber, but as an introduction to the ship's food, we couldn't have asked for a better
one.

We were on deck for our departure, which was delayed by several hours. We heard that a large
group of people were on a late flight, but someone we met later was watching the gangway and said
he never saw anyone board. I don't really object to the late departure (it had no effect on our arrival
time in Bermuda), except that when we were finally ready to go, we had to wait while they moved the
Big Red Boat II (which was cancelled that week) from a berth on one side of us to a berth on the
other side of us. This took at least 45 minutes, and while it was interesting to watch, it would have
been nice if they could have waited.

The departure itself was very scenic. One warning - the horn is amazingly loud, especially if you are
on the tops decks in the front of the ship. It's fun to watch everyone jump when it sounds, even if you
are jumping yourself.

The cabin

We spent a lot of time thinking about the inside/outside cabin issue. In the end, we decided on an
obstructed view cabin. We weren't worried so much about a view as about getting sunlight in the
room, so we wouldn't feel isolated from the outside world. As it turned out, our choice was perfect.
There was a lifeboat directly in front of our window, but it didn't stop the light from getting in. We even
had a limited view (see pictures). This was listed on Celebrity's computer as "101% obstructed" -
given that, we were quite happy.

My wife and I are "stay at home" types, and we were concerned that the cabin would be too small; for
us, and for our clothes. While the cabin was compact, there was plenty of room to stretch out and
watch TV (though the channel selection was limited). Moreover, the storage space was far beyond
what we had expected: about 20 drawers, two closets, plus bathroom storage space. We had no
trouble storing three people's (including one teenager!) clothing and other items, and even had a
little room left over.

Because there were three of us in the room, we had a rollaway bed plus two double beds pushed
together. The asst. steward brought the bed in every evening and removed it every morning - very
convenient! The first day, he arranged it so that the rollaway was between the door and the other
beds; after we moved it to a different location, it was put in that location every night thereafter.

The walls of the cabin were thin enough that we heard occasional sounds from neighboring rooms
(an argument one night, a loud conversation another), but it was never a real bother.

We had no regrets for picking the cabin we did. If we have the money, we'll go for an unobstructed
view next time, but if not, we'll be looking for the same room next time.

The Shows

I'm going to talk about the "production" shows early, because we didn't attend many of them. In fact,
we attended the first night's show and the rock and roll number only. I'm not the hugest fan of that
kind of show, and my wife was not particularly impressed with the singers and dancers (to be fair, she
was a casting director, so she has high standards). I found the performance to be fine - the
comedian was a little slow to start, but his "slide show" is worth staying for. I was falling asleep myself,
but woke up for the good part.

From talking to other people about different cruise lines, I got the impression that the shows were
good, but that other cruise lines had better. This didn't detract at all from our cruise, but if top-notch
shows are a requirement for you, you might want to consider another ship and/or line. In fact, this is
the only reason I could think of not to take this cruise.

The Ship

A lot of people talk about the appearance of the ship, and the effort that was being made to keep it
clean. I'm not a neat freak, so I probably didn't pay as much attention to this sort of thing as other
people might. All in all, the ship seemed very clean and kept in good condition. Occasionally we came
across cleaning in progress (cleaning powder in front of the elevators, wet floors, etc.), but it was
uncommon. There was a little wear and tear visible in places (the floor lights in the elevator, for
example), but the overall impression was of a tidy, well kept ship.

There are plenty of nice spaces on the ship - enough that we didn't really get a chance to enjoy them
all. The America's Cup Club is an excellent "quiet" place for enjoying the view. The Coral Seas Café
(where the buffet meals are served) was fine for meals, with easy access to the aft decks for outdoor
seating (which was generally windy but otherwise enjoyable). The Zodiac Club (the adult disco) was
too loud for us most of the time, but we were there several nights for the trivia contests, which were a
lot of fun. The Palladium (the main stage) was pleasant, with very comfortable "couch" seating. The
casino looked very good, although we never played; the mall was also very beautiful. I had expected
to spend a lot of time in the library/card room, but in fact was never there. (One note: the library has
a very limited selection; I would definitely recommend bringing books to read.)

The pool area was spacious, although the pool itself was pretty small (more for floating in than for
any serious swimming). There was definitely a problem with people reserving lounge chairs, and
tables with ashtrays - unfortunately, I didn't really see anything that could be done about it.

For those cruising on the Horizon or Zenith, there are a couple little layout hints that might come in
handy. The elevators are not the best in the world at being prompt; at times, it seemed like both
elevators would go to the same floor, or they would go past our floor for no reason, or they would say
they were going up when instead they were going down. It wasn't a huge problem, but it was definitely
a nuisance at times. If there isn't a physical reason not to, I recommend using the stairs.

Also, the midship elevator/stairs don't go all the way to the top. If you want to get to the pool, the
buffet café, etc., you need to take the fore or aft elevators/stairs. We got caught by this several times
until we started remembering which stairs we needed to take and when.

We also learned a little about avoiding crowds. Whenever there was a timed event (dinner, captain's
cocktail party, debarking, etc.), there was always a crowd of people waiting ahead of time. Since we
didn't like waiting with a crowd, we tended to be a few minutes (or more) late for these events, to give
the crowd time to clear up. I highly recommend this approach; we never felt like we missed out on
anything, and we saved ourselves a lot of hassle.

The Honeymoon Package

The honeymoon package includes a pair of robes (very nice), some chocolates, a honeymoon
certificate, a half-bottle of champagne, two engraved glasses, and an in-room breakfast. It seemed
like a nice addition to our cruise, since it was our honeymoon.

Unfortunately, the delivery of the package was not up to par with the rest of Celebrity's service. The
second night, we came back to our room to find the champagne on the bed, with our robes and
chocolates - no certificate, no glasses, and the champagne was warm. Our cabin steward asked us
to sign for receipt of the package right away. Instead, we spoke to the Hotel Manager, as well as the
Assistant Cruise Director (Julian). Both were very helpful (both sent us more free champagne);
however, the next thing we found was a wedding (not honeymoon) certificate, and a box containing
two very dusty and dirty engraved glasses. Another talk with the higher ups fixed this, and we were
satisfied with the final resolution, but it shouldn't have had to have come to that. But if something like
that happens to you, speak up - it's worth it!

The Dining

I'm not going to go into great lengths about the food, but it was excellent. No one we spoke to had
eaten better food on any cruise line, and we had no complaints. Celebrity's reputation for having the
best food is well earned.

The dining room service was equally impressive. We had requested a table without children, but the
first night we were seated with a family in a far corner of the dining room (far away enough that we
couldn't hear the music). The service that night was mediocre. The following night, however, we were
reassigned to a table with two older couples that was much closer to the music. Our waiter, Das, was
one of the "good ones" you read about in net reviews: personable, always remembered our names,
always waited on the ladies first, always the perfect gentleman. His assistant, Jorge, was equally
good. We enjoyed the food, the service, and the company for the remainder of the cruise. All of our
needs were taken care of. I enjoy a cold soft drink, without ice, with my dinner. The first night, I
ordered a Coke with no ice, which arrived warm. I asked if I could get one chilled; every night after
that, the bar waiter appeared shortly after we were seated to take my order. If I wanted a second, I
had only to catch his eye across the dining room. It was great!

We never attending the formal breakfast or lunch, mainly because our schedule didn't mesh with the
dining room's. We were usually able to get breakfast and lunch from the buffet; once we missed
breakfast by 10 minutes, and once or twice we fell into the short interval between the buffet lunch
and the dining room dinner. It would have been nice if there was a 24 hour location for getting food,
though I suppose there's always room service.

The Itinerary - St. George

I highly recommend getting up early one day while at sea to see the sunrise. We were up the day that
the ship arrived in St. George, and it was beautiful beyond words. The railing fills up with people fast,
so if you want to see the whole thing, I recommend getting there early enough to claim a good spot
(deck 11, right front corner is good).

We signed up for the helmet diving excursion through the ship, and found it highly worthwhile. Having
a reserved excursion first thing in the morning meant that we didn't have to hurry off the ship.

Helmet diving is an interesting activity. They put a large helmet over your head, and pump air in
through a hose from the boat. The helmet is not airtight - the pressure from the air keeps the water
out, so that your head stays dry, even though you can reach in and scratch your nose if you want to.
They take you down in groups of 6 for about 20 minutes - when it's not your turn, you can swim off
the boat. Underwater, you can see coral, feed fish, and make faces at each other. It was very easy
and very safe; if snorkeling is too much for you, give this a try! One recommendation: if you want to
take underwater pictures, buy a camera in the U.S. and bring it along. We picked up disposable
underwater cameras for $9; in Bermuda, the same cameras sold for $18-20.

After coming back from helmet diving, we had lunch on board the Horizon and then walked around St.
George. The city is small - we saw a few interesting items, but it didn't take us more than an hour or
two at most to see what there was to see. Then we saw the parasailing sign in front of a tavern (the
White Horse) and decided to take a look.

Our parasailing episode was like a scene out of Star Wars. The waitress led me through the tavern to
a small bar in back. Seated at one table was a cool character who eyed me dubiously through stylish
sunglasses. He was taking his last parasail run for the day; if we wanted to go, we had to leave now. I
asked him how gentle the ride was. His response: "If I could assure you that I could send you up, and
then bring you down on a dozen eggs, without breaking a single egg, would you go?" I nodded. "Well,
I'm not going to give you that assurance," he said with a smile. His attitude was amusing, but he
clearly knew what he was doing, and I told him that my wife and daughter wanted to go, and I wanted
to come along to watch. "Pay for them now," he said, "you can pay after you go." We all went (the
boat was tied up beside the bar), and sure enough, I paid afterward.

From watching it, I figured that parasailing was something of a rough ride. Nothing could be farther
from the truth. Once you have the harness on, they hook you up at the back of the boat, and you
ascend gently into the air. High above the boat, the sound of the engine fades into the distance while
you enjoy a slow, peaceful ride with an incredible view. Returning to the boat is just as easy: they
haul you back in with a winch, and all you have to do is walk forward a few steps when you touch
down. After my ride, I could think of only one word: serene. My wife, who has chronic back problems
and a fear of flying, had the time of her life.

We sailed with Island Parasailing; I cannot recommend them highly enough. Look them up in St.
George at the White Horse Tavern, and ask for Phoopa!

The Itinerary - Hamilton

I was up for the trip from St. George to Hamilton; in fact, I wrote the initial notes for this review on
deck, with the Town Crier of St. George calling "Oyez! Oyez! Clear water Horizon!" from the dock.

The sailing to Hamilton was interesting; unfortunately, there was a freighter in front of us, and it
looked like we took a route that was farther from shore to avoid it, meaning that the view was perhaps
not what it could have been. The view of the harbor as we came into Hamilton was excellent,
however.

We signed up for the Crystal Caves excursion from the ship (using the in-room TV system, which
worked perfectly). Having traveled extensively, I knew what to expect from a whirlwind bus tour
excursion, and we got what I expected. If you haven't taken many bus tours, expect to spend not
quite enough time at any one stop, but to get enough information about each that you can tell if any
are worth returning to. A good tour driver, however, has plenty of good information about the island,
and in this we were not disappointed. The bus tour went first to the Bermuda aquarium and zoo,
which although interesting is certainly not a required stop. From there we went to the perfumery, and
then the Crystal Caves. The caves are very interesting - not the required stop that they had been
made out to be, but worth the time we spent there. All in all, I'm glad we took the bus tour - it allowed
us to see several places in a short amount of time - but it wasn't as good as helmet diving.

We did a little shopping that afternoon, then went back to our cabin for a nap. Shopping in Hamilton
is expensive; we found it somewhat relieving, as we weren't really tempted to buy much more than a
few souvenirs. We had no problem finding stores that took the Horizon card (in fact, we felt sorry for
the Zenith passengers who must have become sick of all the "Horizon" signs). One note: keep careful
count of how much you have left on the card, as there's no way for the merchant to tell. Most stores
will let you use up the rest of the card and pay the remainder with cash, although a few (such as
Onion Jack's) will only let you use the card if it covers the whole purchase.

The following day, we took the ferry to the Dockyard, and then traveled back to Hamilton by bus,
stopping along the way. The Dockyard had a number of craftsmen offering items that we hadn't seen
anywhere else - if you want something beyond a standard souvenir, that's a good place to look. From
there, we took a bus to the Henry VIII restaurant (near Gibbs Lighthouse), which serves an excellent
hamburger. After lunch, my wife visited an artist she had met over the internet (Sharon Wilson, look
up her stuff!), while my daughter and I went to Horseshoe Bay beach. The water was warm, the sand
was pink, and the swimming was excellent. A crowded bus ride back to Hamilton, and that was the
day for us.

The busses returning to Hamilton were very crowded; we almost couldn't get on one, and then they
had to bring in another bus to handle the people who got left behind.

There's a street festival that night, but we skipped it, and stayed on board for the trivia game instead.

The following day, we did our souvenir shopping, and then set sail for New York with a deep sense of
regret that we could not stay longer. We had a wonderful time in Bermuda; as we were hurrying back
to the ship, a smiling old man called out "You don't have to go!" If only…

The Weather

In Bermuda, the weather was sunny and hot. I believe the thermometer was in the mid 80s; for me, it
was hot enough to be slightly uncomfortable unless a small breeze was blowing. We encountered two
rain showers: one downpour at the Dockyard which lasted fifteen minutes, and one light shower in
Hamilton that was less than five minutes in duration. In both cases, the rain was apparently restricted
to one part of the island; there were some people who never saw a drop of rain the whole time.

On board ship, we had smooth seas most of the time, with one somewhat rough day going out, and
one rough day coming back. During the rough days, there was no mistaking the motion of the ship,
which was enough to cause me some balance problems (I never fell, but it took a little getting used
to). However, none of us had any trouble with the motion; in fact, we all liked it. It was soothing to fall
asleep to the gentle rocking of the seas. Two of our dinner companions took some medication for
seasickness, but never missed dinner. If you know that you react poorly to rough seas, the
Caribbean might be a better destination.

Activities

While we didn't attend any shows, we did go to several of the other events, in particular the trivia
contests. The cruise director, Dave, did an excellent job of keeping us entertained without being "in
your face" or grating. He was clearly and honestly dedicated to his job, and his enthusiasm showed.
The trivia contests were fun and well thought out; the more competition minded should consider that
there's no limit to team size, and no real checking to make sure no one is cheating. The "Who Wants
to be a Millionaire" contest, because of the way it was run, didn't have these problems, and was a lot
of fun (and let me use my English degree).

There was always plenty to do on board, and plenty of places to go if you didn't want to do anything.
We were never pressured into joining something, and never had a problem finding something to do.

Leaving

Departing the ship was the only part of the trip where real waiting was absolutely required. We spent
a couple hours in the lounge waiting for customs to complete; after that, we had to disembark, claim
our luggage, pay a porter to bring it to the bus, then wait for the bus to leave. None of it was terrible,
but together it was more waiting than the rest of the trip combined. If any of the geniuses at Celebrity
can think of a way to shorten the process, it would be well appreciated!

Summary

Cruising is incredibly fun! I highly recommend the Horizon, Celebrity, and cruising in general.
Bermuda is a friendly and beautiful place to visit. The service, food, accommodations, and ship were
top notch, and we would gladly sail the Horizon again. Hope to see you on board!

Name: David Melgar
Email: dmelgar@my-deja.com
Age: 37
Occupation: Engineer
NumberOfCruises: 14
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Horizon
SailingDate: 7/8/2000
Itinerary: Bermuda
Cabin: 5032
FoodDiningRoom: 60
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 50
CabinAmenities: 80
FoodLidoDeck: 50
DiningRoomService: 80
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 60
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 30
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon: 30
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 40
LoungeService:
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 20
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 40
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 01
EntertShowLounge: 40
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 40
CruiseActivities: 20
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 10
DiscoNightclubs: 70
DeckSpace: 50
Stabilization:
ShopsOnBoard:
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 20
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 13 Aug 2000
Time: 22:15:32
Remote Name: rdu162-255-234.nc.rr.com
Remote User:

Comments

Cruise Review Celebrity horizon 7/8/00. New York to Bermuda.

Our background: We’ve been on 14 cruises so far. We’ve learned that people’s opinion of a cruise
is strongly affected by their age, their likes, and their expectations.

Cruises provide a variety of activities to suit different tastes. For us, exercise is our main goal. We
are a couple without kids in our mid 30's with enough vacation to be able to enjoy many cruises.
We're avid sail boaters & love the sea. We don’t smoke, we love the outdoors & exercise. We're
not into luxury, we always book cheapest cabin because we want to be able to vacation a lot. We
care a lot about ship design, wrap around promenade decks, open spaces to view the sea,
sunsets, moon shimmering on the waves. We're not into service, fancy food, and casinos.

Expectations: We’ve seen passenger opinion affected more by expectation than the cruise itself.
We’ve been on wonderful Carnival cruises where newcomers complained, and we’ve had a horrible
experience on Celebrity where newcomers thought this is as good as it gets. So, my review as any
is biased by my likes and dislikes. Having been on many cruises, our expectations are based on
past experience, and perhaps a longing to re-live truly great cruise moments.

Ship: The Horizon is a typical 1990 ship. It is a generally pleasant tall box. Its design shows its age
without providing any charm. There are no veranda cabins, no atrium, no wrap around promenade,
and no Jacuzzis. It’s hard to describe how totally styleless the ship is. It’s as if you took a white
metal box, painted a few black stripes on it and called it a ship. The pool area is adequate size but
undecorated. One pool is deep everywhere (no diving). The ship used to have 3 Jacuzzis, but they
were removed, possibly because of the soot problem. Instead, the ship has a unique small Jacuzzi
pool, with jets & a group chaise lounge in the water with lots of bubbles. The pool is on deck 11.
Deck 12 is the only deck where you can walk around the ship. It has the standard walkway around
the pool area. Decks 11 & 12 are the only decks where you can look forward, but even then, you
can’t look down. They don’t let you get close to the front of the ship so that you can’t see the crew
pool area below.

The stern is terraced down to deck 8. Deck 12 aft has cool chairs with a built in canopy to protect
from the sun while letting the breeze through. They were always busy as were most deck chairs.
Deck 11 aft is the buffet restaurant, where lots of garbage blows overboard. Deck 9 aft has 3
ping-pong tables & golf net. The ping-pong tables were either busy or ball-less. This cruise
apparently had a problem with kids throwing balls over the side. You had to sign your life away on
deck 5 just to get a ball. I wish I could have bought some for a few bucks rather than go through
the hassle. How cheap can Celebrity be? Deck 8 is the lifeboat deck, closest thing to a promenade.
Teak decks, shuffleboard, but they don’t like chairs on the deck.

Most public rooms were on decks 7 & 8, providing a decent variety of lounges. There is also a
lounge on deck 11. Michaels club has really interesting decor reminiscent of a 1st class smoking
lounge (it is a cigar lounge). Don’t try to play chess on the equally interesting table. The extremely
rude staff won't let you move the portable set if the smoke gets to you. We were in the middle of a
challenging game, someone came in for cigars, we started moving the table to the game room
immediately next door. The bartender scolded us and forbid us from moving it. No room for
negotiation, she didn’t care about the game, not her problem, the board stays here in the smoke.
We walked out for a second to contemplate the situation, upon returning, she had already reset
the table. I have never experienced such rudeness. This one event made us so upset that it
seriously adversely affected our cruise.

The ship has lots of soot from the smoke stack that falls on the rear decks. The problem is pretty
bad, but the crew works hard to keep things clean. Watch out on your clothes & food.

Other than that the ship is very clean & well maintained, other than being an older boring design,
you can’t tell the ship is not new.

Overall, the ship is clean and functional, but hands down the ugliest ship we've been on.

Crew/activities: Some of the crew is friendly, but too focused on schedule and arbitrary rules at the
passenger’s expense. Early closings are the rule, especially annoying at the lunch & breakfast
buffets, and the pools.

The crew was often was rude to passengers. When some of our tablemates were late to lunch,
they were asked, "do you know how to read a watch?"

Most irritating was a feigned interest in passenger complaints. Complaints were not responded to.
The attitude was, complain all you want, we won’t change it.

I can’t complain at the crew, they’re typically following orders. But the officers, and Celebrity should
know better. We attempted to speak with the hotel manager Mr. Filippos Gergiov, but he did not
bother to return our calls.

Entertainment: We didn’t attend much of it. What we did see indicated that is was not a priority on
this cruise. Most of the shows were poor quality, nothing like what’s typically available on newer
ships. The calypso band was actually quite good, except for the minor detail that they rarely played
Caribbean music. They play good rock.

Exercise: Exercise program existence is a lie. We cruise to exercise. This ship was not satisfactory
for someone active.

The exercise room has been cut in half, creating one of the smallest exercise facilities afloat. The
space has been converted to spa & massage, which are big money makers for cruise lines.

The exercise day consists of two morning exercise classes, one of which conflicts with a supposed
walk a mile. The staff sometimes did not even show up for the morning walk. It was hard to tell it
was ever going on.

The pool, our favorite spot to exercise, closed at 6:45pm even though sunset was at 8:30. During
the day it was too crowded. The only chance to swim was early in the morning. I’ve never
understood the need to close a pool that early & much prefer cruise lines that leave them open
(such as Princess).

As mentioned earlier, the ping-pong tables had paddles but no balls. You had to traverse the ship
and leave your cruise card to get a $0.50 ball! How cheap can Celebrity be? I wish I could have
bought a box to avoid the hassle. Again, everything on a schedule, the front desk closes, after that
time you can’t get a ball no matter what.

That’s about it for exercise, or the lack thereof.

Food: As boring as the ship. Same every night, a broiled fish, a steak, some pork or veal. No other
cuisine, no decent pasta, no vegetarian entrees, no international. Lunch buffet was usually bad.
Afternoon pizza was ok. Who ever said Celebrity has great food wasn't talking about this cruise.

Other comments:

Music was piped in everywhere on the ship. It was a varied collection of amazingly irritating music.
Imagine a mix of heavy metal, country and rap. No popular music, no reggae, soca, calypso music.
Lots of 70's rock. If you want to hear Caribbean music this is not the cruise for you.

Overall: To be fair, cruise is port intensive, basically a ferry and hotel to Bermuda. This can explain
the poor entertainment and food, however I find the crew attitude inexcusable. What we learned is
that you get what you pay for. This is the cheapest cruise to Bermuda. It would have been well
worth cruising on any other ship. As a cheap ferry and hotel in Bermuda it was fine, but as a cruise
it was a disappointment. Given the negative value of the cruise, I’d recommend flying and staying in
a hotel rather than take this cruise. Typically a hotel won’t kick you out of your deck chair and the
pool 2 hours before sunset.

These complaints were not isolated cases. Many passengers were distressed by the attitude
aboard. When the attendant unceremoniously kicked everyone of the pool (a sizeable crowd), they
were about to mutiny. All pleas and questions to the crew about why the need to close the pool
were met with disinterest. His job was to close the pool no matter how many paying passengers
were enjoying the afternoon sun. I have pictures of the cleared out and netted pool, as well as the
deck being cleaned and chairs stacked on an obviously gorgeous sunny afternoon with many
irritated passengers standing by.

In no way could I recommend Celebrity. Cruises can vary from week to week and ship to ship;
however, I must strongly caution anyone considering a Celebrity cruise, and especially the Horizon.
Spend the extra money, go on a cruise line that cares, basically anyone else. Your time is
important, don’t waste it on a cruise that is less than it could be.

Name: Dan Faulkner
Email: djmfaulkner@efni.com
Age: 41
Occupation: Business owner
NumberOfCruises: 5
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Horizon
SailingDate: Feb4,2000
Itinerary: Southern carribean
Cabin: Cat5
FoodDiningRoom: 92
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 95
CruiseStaff: 92
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 85
FoodMidnightBuffets: 98
CabinSteward: 98
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 94
DeckService: 94
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 80
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 91
WheelchairAccess: 90
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities: 90
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 88
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 88
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 96
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 15 Aug 2000
Time: 19:02:12
Remote Name: stream-0503.efni.com
Remote User:

Comments

What is there to say,five cruises on Celebrity and each has been so good that I'm afraid to try
another line. With few exceptions, the high standards set by this fine line could only be at the
best,equaled.

Embarkation...what could any cruise line do to make this a good experience? Twelve hundred
travel weary souls in an enclosed area,not horrible, is the best you can expect.The cruise staff
work hard to keep a good attitude while answering endless questions put forward by novice
cruisers.I have never seen a staff member become short, even when confronted by the odd rude
passenger.

Staterooms...we have been fortunate enough to have had both a cabin and a suite on the
Horizon.To be honest, the standard outside stateroom was so comfortable and well laid out that the
added expense of a basic suite seemed foolish.Time has taken a small toll on these cabins as the
hardware on the spacious closets does tend to creak and rattle with the ships motion.

Service...when was the last time you were at a fine hotel, and every single staff member, from the
least skilled to highest rank ,looked you squarely in the eye and said 'good morning'? In a world
filled with indifferent service these people are simply a joy to be around.

Food...simply wonderful.There would seem to be almost no reason to go into any further
description. The menu is European based, and while not everything was to my taste, that is a
problem with my taste and not the food. As one somewhat annoying tablemate of ours once
complained 'we don't make it like at home in New Jersey'...to this I can only say ,thank goodness.
The chilled soups and wonderful pastries may be worth the entire price of the cruise.

Entertainment...while not perfect, it was always well worth the time. The effort to put on the best
show possible is always apparent, what more can you ask?

The less than perfect...please,please,please,fix the electronic chimes in the elevators,by the 10th
day I was about ready to throw myself overboard (good thing the food was so good). The constant
flogging of drink glasses, preferred onshore shopping,and the charges for soft drinks are all out of
character for a 5 star line. The Coral Seas Cafe is looking very tired, and the floor in the pool area
is less than first class. It's hard not to be picky when everything else is SO clean and well
maintained.

Pet Peeve...tipping. Please add this to your rates and be done with it. By the final days of the
cruise the staff and guests are so stressed out by this ritual that it taints what otherwise is a
wonderful holiday. I find first time cruisers very uncomfortable with this, I know I was. What have you
done with the private island? What a wonderful plus to have after a long trip to get to the ship.

Finally...my wife and I have had 5 wonderful cruises with Celebrity and plan another next March.
This year our 16 year old son will join us for the first time, I can't wait!!

Name: Fred Nosul
Email: fnosul@aol.com
Age: 44
Occupation: Buyer
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Horizon
SailingDate: 8/05/00
Itinerary: Bermuda
Cabin: 6151
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 60
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 99
FoodMidnightBuffets: 100
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 50
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 70
ShoreExcValue: 50
GoodForHoneymoon: 60
CasinoStaff: 85
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 85
LoungeService: 60
TenderService: 75
GoodForSeniors: 50
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 50
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 85
EntertShowLounge: 50
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 50
CruiseActivities: 20
Casino: 10
AirSeaProgram: 85
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs: 50
DeckSpace: 75
Stabilization: 75
ShopsOnBoard: 75
SpaceRatio: 75
OverallCruiseValue: 70
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 17 Aug 2000
Time: 21:19:49
Remote Name: spider-wk052.proxy.aol.com
Remote User:

Comments

Ok, being our 1st cruise, (my wife 44, and me 44, with no kids finally so we can really enjoy
ourselves....).... well here goes. I firstly have to stongly say the entertainment really was poor,
inadequate, wrong 'theme's' for the generations aboard. Many people were saying this as we met.
Other people compared other cruise lines entertainment and food to the Celebrity, and all said it
was not enough and not high quality shows that we were expecting. The appetizers most evenings
were not appealing, There should have been at least one or two 'staple' choices. But that wasn't
the case. And the grand buffet was great, but the food wasn't al lthat hot. the lobster was rubbery,
and didn't taste fresh. We're from New England..we know lobster! :o) The Palladium which is a
great theater, was not utilized properly. It sat dormant w/o any shows/activities many a night. I think
they could have added more entertainment. The comedian really was a rookie, and the best show
was the Broadway reviews. That one night was spectacular. The Rock N roll jump jive show was
way off the mark. The male singer stunk. The girl Jennifer Hope was great. The Celebrity
singers/dancers were great, but not enough of them doing stuff. For God's sake, put bingo in
another room, not the Palladium. Spend more money to get better talent. Another very bright spot
was the group Prodigy. They were absoultely very, very, good, and diverse, and talented. But they
didn't play enough!!!!!!! The guest relations center ladies tried to do well, but none of them spoke
up strongly enough, and a few of them really didn't seem confident in their answers. No biggie. The
slot machines were rigged big time. As a frequent player at Foxwoods, you always hit a little jackpot
here and there, every several minutes. But on the Horizon, it would suck up $20 w/o a hiccup of a
win. Very poor indeed. Another big disappointment was the lack of more midnight buffets. We were
told by the cruise dir. and other staff of 2 buffets on 2 separate nights, and there were none! Even
some of the staff didn't know what was going on or where. Another bummer was the pool. I've never
seen a pool that didn't have a shallow end. Poor kids, and adults too! I understand it was saltwater,
but don't some boats have fresh water? Big dissapointment considering we were at sea for 4 days
with no pool to go into. Most sailing days, the pool was closed with a net in it. The water was
pouring out of it cuz the motion of the ocean, I guess. Bar service in all the lounges, dining rooms,
took too long. And the servers wouldn't ever come back some times! Some took our card and kept
it for hours, so we had to stay at shows that stunk, basically. And get rid of the cashless system.
Having to sign, in the dark, collect papers, should be obsolete. And one thing that stood out,,, kids.
We love them dearly, but they were up all night, running around, unescorted, and going into the
lounges, getting up on the dance floor...come on now! Fix it pls. Dress code. If you don't make it
mandatory, then don't mention it at all. We abided by the tuxs,sportscoats, etc., yet there were tons
of people 'out of proper attire'. ???? Stabilization was ok. I got sick. At times it was rockin and
rolling. Another biggie. We were told most staff on cruise boats are characters and put on a show
for the people. Not many at all, I could count them on one hand, on our ship that trip. And some of
the staff, servers, barely could speak good English. Our head waiter was pretty bad and boring,
unless we entertained him, and come to think of it, we WERE the entertainment in most of the
cases. There was one bar server, you couldn't understand one word he spoke! He was trying to
describe the drinks of the day... forget it. Elevators were terrible. They either wouldn't come or they
would always miss your floor. And speaking of being entertained.... it got sad wit hall the
interativeness of certain shows. We're there to relax and Be entertained, get it? And some sides of
the ships stairways were improperly desinged. To get to the Palladium from our cabin, we had to
either walk the entire length of the ship, or walk up an extra set of stairs just to be able to have
access to that room, which was not accessible from certain sides of the ship. Don't get it. Floors
were slippery in the Coral Seas Cafe. Very slippery. Our table in the Starlight, main dining room,
was right next to the servers table. Constant interruptions, banging, etc. And our friends that came
with us, they were assigned a diff. table #. Ridiculous!!!!

And I remember the stairway leading from the 12th top deck to the pool deck below, absoultely
extremely hot to the bare feet. and the same stairs had the metal grooved tipping, whinh made it
even more extremely painful. An accident waiting to happen, I say. In closing, overall it was a great
experience, but I wish there were better entertainment, and more qty of shows, and more dancing
time available. The times were too short and untimely considering the time of night. For the price
which I was told was more expensive than most other cruise lines, we expected a lot, but were
disappointed. We may not ever go on another Celebrity boat again, or for a while. And you know
how people talk to one another when 'shopping' for the right boat, right? Negative talk can literally
'sink a ship'!

Name: Vikki Davis
Email: vdavis@davisservices.com
Age: 43
Occupation: Realtor/Tax Services
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Horizon
SailingDate: August 26 2000
Itinerary: Bermuda
Cabin: 9002
FoodDiningRoom: 85
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 75
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 100
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 100
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 95
PrivateIsland: 100
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 100
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon: 100
EntertainmentPoolside: 80
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 80
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 85
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 03 Sep 2000
Time: 09:27:53
Remote Name: dial-63.r21.sccumt.infoave.net
Remote User:

Comments

This was our third cruise and second Celebrity Cruise. Because there were no verandas on this
ship, I was pleasantly surprised with my satisfaction of the cabin. Our steward was great but the
room service lacked what I had come to expect. They hardly ever got the order right. I only order
coffee and tea from room servive, and to me, that is not a hard order to perfect. The beer on board
was less than cold. I did find out why on the last day and was told what I could do to correct that. I
could simply ask a bartender to put my kind aside or on extra ice and they would have it extra cold
for me. I was very satisfied with the shore excursions, but not with the shore excursion personnel.
They were abrubt and not very warm. They were the only staff like that however. Guest relations
handled a problem with an overcharge on our bill very well, and they were very quick to correct the
problem. Our meals were very pleasant, service was great, and the choice of our table mates was
excellent. The ship was kept very clean, which had to be difficult with 300 children running around
everywhere. The service in the main dining room for lunch was less than adequate. I would
recommend you eat in the Coral Springs Cafe for lunch. My cabin steward was the greatest. The
first day I asked for sliced lemons and the rest of the trip I had them in my cabin. She kept our room
clean and in order and she was pleasant every time we saw her. Embarkation and disembarkation
went very smoothly. The crew and staff were most helpful and organized. The photographer was
great with his shots and of course this forced me to purchase each picture he took of us. I had my
hair cut and styled on board and JoAnn was great with my hair. She was very entertaining during
my cut as well. Of the ships that cruise to Bermuda from New York, I would probably sail again on
the Horizon, but if I had another choice of cruise ships such as the Carnival with the same itinerary,
I would choose Carnival.

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