 |
 |
|
Name: Donn E. Peterson
Email: dp205@usa.net
Age: 63
Occupation: Retired
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Horizon
SailingDate: April 10, 1998
Itinerary: Bermuda
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 80
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 99
ShoreExcVariety: 50
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 50
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 88
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 85
BeautySalonStaff: 90
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 95
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon: 85
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization:
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 85
OverallCruiseValue: 80
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 06 May 1998
Time: 13:57:38
Remote Name: 153.34.119.137
Remote User:
Comments
I have waited a few weeks to write this review because I wanted to be sure in my mind that
what I wanted to say wasn’t done in the heat of the moment.
There were many good things about this cruise but there so many things not good that it is
most unlikely that we would ever take another cruise on the
Horizon again, or even try another Celebrity ship.
To take the good first:
The food was superb. The taste was out of the world as was the plate presentation. There
was a good variety of dishes offered at each meal. This was true
not only in the main restaurant but also in the Cafe and the outside grill. I went on the
galley tour and was very impressed with the appearance and
obvious sanitation of the area.
Our cabin service was impeccable. Our stewardess “Yolly” was a gem. How do they
know when you’re out of the room so they can get in to do all that they
do? The cabin was of a good size including the bathroom which had it’s own hair
dryer. There was a small safe in the closet which is a handy thing to have.
Any time we saw a member of the cabin staff in the hallways they had a warm smile and
hello. We had received a nice upgrade to a category 7 cabin so
we had a outside window and were on the Bermuda deck so we could walk down the hall to the
open area at the fantail of the ship.
The ship was very clean. Any time we were out and about in the ship cleaning crews would
be working. In all the areas we could see the Horizon was
spotless. I even saw the hotel manager inspecting the plants in one of the public areas.
Entertainment was very good. The headliners as well as the singers and dancers gave it
their all. It is amazing how they are able to maintain their energy
level through all the shows that they do. This was true not only of the talent in the main
show room but in the lounges as well.
And now the not so good:
The embarkation is long , noisy and uncomfortable. Every now and then one of the crew
members got up to announce, at the top of their voice, that we
were to be sure to have our forms filled out. One of which was a form no had seen before.
So there was a rush to get the form from security at his desk in
the corner and get the form filled out. From the time they first started calling numbers
(yes, we were given numbers) for the boarding process it was about
an hour before we were called. There were still many people who had not been called at
that time.
While the food was terrific, as I said, the over all dining experience was not. The main
restaurant has a long sight line giving the impression of being in a
very large long, crowded room. Because the ship was full the dining room was very busy
with waiters and assistant waiters almost running from place to
place. The galley was overburdened perhaps and the food was slow coming. One night it took
a little over two hours from start to finish for us to dine. It
often took 10 to 15 minutes to get refills for our coffee and iced tea. For some reason
the serving of iced tea and the associated sweeteners are seen as
two separate operations and are seldom done at the same time. It was often necessary to
ask several times for the items. While I had no problem with the
preparation of my food one of the men at our table constantly had trouble getting his meat
cooked the way he wanted it. Our water and assistant waiter
were very good and did all they could to please us . However they were not always on duty
in the main restaurant at the noon meal. At those times we had
other wait staff who had no interest in seeing that we had a good service. What is it that
a Maitre d’ does anyway except to introduce themselves the first
night and then be very obvious the last night? And why would they expect a tip for doing
that?
My wife and I were at a table at the outside grill and asked a waiter for an item. He gave
us a curt “I’ll get that” and never returned.
The young women who work in the Mall “ the store” seemed to be also curt and
unfriendly.
The singers and dancers serve as welcoming staff at the shows in the main theater. I asked
one of them a question that I felt was serious and legitimate.
He responded with a flippant and patronizing answer. The answer was so out of line that
another staff who heard it came over and answered my question.
We booked a glass bottom boat tour. I did not realize that the boat would be going out
into the open sea where it was very rough. The small boat tossed
about very badly once we were out in the Atlantic. In addition the crew had trouble
keeping the viewing lights on so it was difficult to see the reef. We could
not sit on the upper deck due to the bad weather so had to sit where we were breathing
diesel fumes much of the time. Indeed we had to stand much of
the time because of the doors to the viewing windows being open. Several members of the
shore excursion staff were aboard the boat but they seemed to
be more interested in talking to one of the boat staff than in seeing to the safety and
comfort of the passengers. After several days I went to the shore
excursion desk to complain. I found that other passengers on that tour had complained but
the staff had made no effort to contract the other passengers
because they assumed we were happy if we had not been down to see them. After I raised a
fuss they did credit us for half the cost of the tour. I said I felt
that the tour should never have left the dock. The staff said they had asked the tour
people who said it would be OK. Of course they would say that, they
don’t get paid unless they go out. Why wasn’t the Horizons bridge officers
involved in decision that affected the safety and comfort on their passengers.
Can you imagine the liability issue if anyone had been hurt on that tour?
No member of the crew seems to know what the weather forecast was including the shore
excursion staff. I would think it would be their business to know.
Also, there is no information about the weather on the Horizon channel on the in cabin TV
or in the daily newsletter.
Speaking of the newsletter it was very confused. One day it said on one page that the
dress code for that evening was informal, on another page it said
the dress code was casual. You can guess what happened, half the people were in casual
clothing and the rest wondered whey they had gotten dressed
up. The newsletter, in bold print, gave the schedule of what would happen on Monday when
we docked. The problem was that we docked on Friday.
In short the Horizon did not exceed our expectations. In point of fact it did not even
meet our expectations. This is really too bad because we had waited
and planned a long time to go on this cruise.
Want to book your cruise at a great rate?
Click here.
Questions or comments? Mail to webmaster@cruiseopinion.com.
Copyright ©1996-2001 CruiseOpinion.com. Last modified: January 17, 2000.