I just got back on Monday from the horizon cruise. It was very good. Caught a taxi from home to the port and there were reps waiting on the pier near the taxi rank to collect your luggage. Then we had to fill in some forms to make the check in easier on board. They asked for mom in laws return ticket before boarding. Then we boarded and went to reception on deck 5 to check in and get our cruise cards. There was a small wait of 15 or 20 minutes while they checked the new guests in. Then we were free to roam around. The luggage is delivered to your cabin. Although they kept mom in laws luggage until after we departed as she had a small pair of nail scissors in there? Odd as I had a pair in my handbag they x-rayed when we boarded.

Anyway, onto important things.
Smoking - Someone asked about the smoking policy. You are not allowed to smoke in your room or balcony but you are allowed to smoke on the open decks (there are ashtrays built in around the outer decks) and also on one half of the pool area here there is a lounge area and tables to eat and relax. You are also allowed to smoke out the back of the upper deck restaurant outside. I do not smoke and others smoking only bothered me once or twice when I was having breakfast, but I was sitting in the smoking area as I wanted to see the scenery on that side of the ship. There is also a piano bar where smoking was permitted inside the ship. This opens from 6pm till late.

Other guests - I actually don’t know what to say about them. Mostly French with a lot of Spanish speaking. Not many people spoke English but that was ok with me as I did not go to make friends but rather relax. They had to be the rudest bunch of people I have ever met! Pushing old people out of the way in the buffet line, not letting you get out of elevators before they barged on. The list goes on and on. Very very rude. And as someone who lives on a half French island and spent time in Paris I have never seen this bad behavior from adults like this before. The children made some friends with other little kids even though nobody could understand each other but that didn’t seem to matter to them.

All inclusive – there was one main restaurant that was open for breakfast most days (depending on arrival times in various ports) from 730am-830am which had waiter service for drinks and a help yourself buffet for the other breakfast items. You could also order a cooked to order omelet, salmon, different eggs etc. cooked to order with a max 20 minute wait or you could help yourself from the buffet. Cereals, fresh fruits, hams, cheese, eggs (different every day, scrambled, poached or fried), bacon or ham and some sort of potato and ready-made sliced omelet. Along with a huge variety of pastries, croissants, donuts, banana breads, brioche, etc. The buffet upstairs as open from 7am till 930 or 10am. There are machines with various juices and sodas and a large selection of teas to choose from. My favorite place for a coffee was the Mocha coffee bar here they had lavazza coffee and bloody Mary’s, mimosas etc.

Staff – They made the cruise! There are a lot of staff on board from Mauritius and they were all amazing from the bar staff, our cabin steward (who cleaned the cabin twice a day and left lovely little towel animals for the kids) to the kids club staff, activities, etc. nothing but very good things to say about them all. There as only one man making crepes that could not speak English but he called his supervisor in less than 5 seconds to answer our questions with a huge smile on his face.

All in all in would certainly recommend this cruise, especially for the price.

Patti - what ports did you go to? Also, are drinks included in the cost of the cruise? In the early days of my cruising experiences; drinks were always included, even bottles of wine with dinner - now they even charge for soft drinks!

Thanks for the report! Have you been on other cruises before? How would you compare this one? Are lunch and dinner sit down affairs which no buffet available?

I only got off the ship in Guadeloupe, Margarita Island and Santa Domingo. This was my first cruise. There were house wines available free of charge along with an extensive list of cocktails etc. you had to pay for top shelf (jack Daniels is a surcharge but you get Smirnoff vodka, captain Morgan etc. all inclusive) the wines they had by the glass were very good. You could also order a special bottle at the table for a small surcharge (between euro 5-18/bottle) There is a buffet near the pool for all meals and light snacks throughout the day. At around 4pm they brought out cookies, cakes, pastries, finger sandwiches etc. The only time I paid for drinks was in the piano bar as I saw a cooking demonstration with the bartender one day and I wanted to sample his flaming rum coffee. The drinks were around Euro 3-6 (So not very expensive) I also forgot to mention that when we checked out there as a euro72/per person service charge added to the bill. The euro has dropped quite a bit so this didn’t end up too bad. You can also purchase a water card that costs euro7 and gets you 7 x 1.5 liter bottles of spring water. Although glasses of water at the bar are free as are the water machines in the restaurant

Thank you for the trip report. What was the cost for the cruise per person? We have encountered this rude behavior in St.Martin while waiting for the boat back from Pinel, the Eiffel Tower, to name a few. I don't get it. For such "cultured people" the behavior and smoking habits are a big turnoff.

OK, thanks for the additional info. I knew there would be a service charge, as that's the way it is done on most ships these days.

It was around $550 each with taxes and port fees all inclusive and no airfare! I have lived in a lot of different countries surrounded by a lot of rude people (and a ton of good people too!) but it is rare to be rude to the elderly and very young.

Thanks so much Patti. We go 3/2 and we'll also report. Why did they ask for mom in laws return ticket? We live here 4 months but not residents. I guess we should also be prepared to provide a return ticket even tho it's a month or so later?
Were there any sit down dinners?
How were the shows?
Casino?
What did you do when you got off ship? Were the excursions interesting and reasonable? I've asked the cruise line to provide a list of excursions available but to no avail.
Thanks again for taking the time