This year’s new Carnival Horizon, Carnival Cruise Line’s 26th cruise ship, will feature a variety of interesting features introduced on last year’s then-new sister-ship Carnival Vista. The top deck SkyRide and comfy inside IMAX Theater return along with a interesting combination of accommodations, restaurants and more.
Add nothing and new 3934-passenger Carnival Horizon would be a win for the world of cruise travel. Still, we have seven unique reasons to get excited about Carnival Horizon.
1. The Ship’s Godmother- Queen Latifah Enough said. Well maybe not quite enough. Odds are cruisers will never see Queen Latifah on board. Such is the job of the traditional Godmother. Latifah swings a bit of a different bat, participating in Lip Sync Battle: Horizon thanks to Carnival’s partnership with the hit Paramount Network series.
2. Bonsai Teppanyaki - A first for Carnival, Bonsai Teppanyaki is a restaurant within a restaurant with two tables inside the popular Bonsai Sushi. Add that the new ship also has JiJi Asian Dining and we now have three different Asian eateries, the most of any cruise ship sailing.
3. Vista Will Cost Less Now - It happens every time, the first new ship in the series comes out and pricing seems stuck on high until the second in the series goes on sale. By the same token, even older ships often cost even less.
4. Dr Seuss Waterworks continues the partnership that has redefined young children’s programming at sea. Just about the same features with dunk bucket, multiple slides and a hefty dose of Carnival’s trademark “Fun” but Suessified. This is more of that but not old hat.
View Prices on Cruises on Carnival Horizon
5. Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse | Brewhouse - A new full-service barbecue venue. For a fee at dinner, complimentary on embarkation day and sea days, think: Chipotle but you can have whatever you want and it’s free.
6. South Beach Serenity – The popular adults-only Serenity retreat by day lights up at night as a South Beach-style club under the stars. So basically, you can avoid the kids all day and all night on Carnival Horizon.
7. St Jude’s Dreamscape – Continuing fleetwide Carnival Cruise Line support of St Jude’s Children’s Hospital, the 24-foot LED Dreamscape atrium feature will host custom-designed artwork by patients of the hospital.
Also great news for west coast cruise travelers: a new ship. That never happens. Carnival Cruise Line has had older ships sailing off the west coast for years. New Carnival ship most closely associated with the west coast: Carnival Splendor. When positioned on the west coast in 2009, it had been 14 years since Carnival had a new ship there.
Chris Owen shares frank, inside information about cruise vacations on ChrisCruises.com
