Review: Carnival Horizon Western Caribbean Cruise – Part 2 – Main Dining

~ Chris Wada

We thought the main dining menu onboard the Carnival Horizon could use some work, but at least there are plenty of options available.

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Two restaurants serve main dining on Carnival Horizon

Before we get into the specifics of our experience, I should point out that there are two restaurants onboard the Carnival Horizon associated with main dining. Those restaurants are either Reflections or Meridian. All of our dinners took place at Meridian, which is where all “Your Time” dining guests go. If you want to dine in Reflections, you’ll need an assigned dining time. In general, you should expect all your dinners to occur in one restaurant or the other, but not both.

“Your Time” vs assigned dining

When you’re signing up for your cruise, you can get the option to choose a specific time for your dinners (early or late) or have a flexible time. Early dining is around 5:30PM and late dining is 8:15PM. If you purchase Carnival’s “Faster to the Fun”, you allegedly get priority request towards your preferred dining time (which wasn’t the case for us).

When we attempted to assign ourselves to early dinner, the preference didn’t save. And when we returned at a later date, only late dining was available. Rather than subject the kids to an 8:15PM dinner time each night, we instead opted for “Your Time” dining. That was actually the wiser thing to do. We could join the waitlist each night from the app, about 5 minutes before the restaurant opened. That pretty much guaranteed we would be seated as soon as the restaurant opened.

The table you’re assigned is determined at random. If you’ve developed a relationship with your server (as we did), you can talk to restaurant staff to get assigned to that server. But that approach can be slow as there are a lot of people crowded around at the entrance. The better approach is just to play roulette. Join the waitlist on the app, see which table you’re assigned, then cancel the dinner request and rejoin the waitlist to get a new table. Eventually, you’ll end up back in the area you desire (just remember the table number you want).

Don’t bother with formal nights on Carnival Horizon

We brought nicer clothes to wear during formal nights (“cruise elegant”) on the Carnival Horizon. It wasn’t anything that was ultimately all that glamorous, but we felt like we were out of place. Most guests made no effort to wear anything different. In fact, we saw some guests wear a t-shirt and shorts, which seemed inconsistent with the desired dress code. We’ve always found it nice to have an excuse to dress up but if we end up on another Carnival cruise, we’re not going to bother.

Dinners at Meridian

While all menus for main dining are available on the app, you can request a hard copy with your server instead. Additionally, there are menus dedicated to gluten-free and vegan diets.

Seating at the Meridian (Carnival Horizon)
We liked getting seats near the windows

Before getting into each dinner, I need to point out my general disappointment with the layout of the restaurant. Each night there would be a “show” in the center of the restaurant. But the problem is that many tables (in fact, this happened 5 of the 6 nights) have no visibility to the center of the restaurant. You have to walk away from your table and sometimes around walls and pillars, and block the view of others to see it.

It makes the experience seem very poorly thought-out. And we heard many people around us complaining about it.

The dinner shows were hard to watch from where we sat
We were almost always placed in out-of-the-way corners of the restaurant

Lastly, you should know that everyone can order two entrees free of charge at main dining on the Carnival Horizon. Every entree after that will cost an additional $5. But I’ll save you the trouble and tell you that almost everything available nightly at the main dining room was also available at the buffet. There were some exceptions (like the lobster) but practically the whole menu is otherwise repeated. That’s good if you want to eat at your own pace but not good if you want to eat something else.

Carnival Horizon Dinner #1

At the start of each meal, I’ll display the menu available that evening and then offer up my thoughts on what we ordered.

As you might suspect, the kids meal did not change.

We started with the tomato soup, which wasn’t that memorable. It tasted like it came out of a can.

The pappardelle with braised lamb was the best dish of the evening. The lamb is flavorful but not overpowering. The red sauce also had a lot of flavor. In retrospect, maybe we should have just ordered two of this dish for each person and call it a day?

The wild rice, gruyere and country chicken soup is very hearty and warming. It tastes a bit like a chicken pot pie in soup form. Not a bad starter if you’re feeling a bit hungry to start the meal.

Jenn ordered the broiled striploin steak as medium, but it arrived undercooked (rare). The description said “broiled” but it actually tasted boiled. No flavorful crust on the steak and instead it was heavily drenched in a sauce. It also arrived lukewarm, bordering on cold.

The featured Indian vegetarian dish (korma) was good, though the korma was a little more watery than I would prefer. The eggplant was cooked properly and the rice was good. Overall, I was pleased with this one.

Alex’s kids pasta was fine, but it lacked any depth in flavor for him. Perhaps it’s not a good sign when a child points out bland flavors? This isn’t the same red sauce as what was used for the pappardelle, unfortunately.

Char’s chicken nuggets were reminiscent of McDonald’s, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. No, there is no “boot” shape, but they were a little more crispier than the McDonald’s variety. The fries aren’t as crisp though.

For dessert, Char ordered the banana split, but there were no bananas ripe enough on the ship. That was strange.

The cheesecake simply is not good. I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a connoisseur but I have made a lot of cheesecakes. This one lacked density as though the ratio of cream cheese and sour cream was off. The strawberry sauce was heavily processed and not fresh.

The Carnival melting chocolate cake certainly has a lot of chocolate flavor. It also comes with vanilla ice cream for that perfect pairing. I don’t know if I would call it a melting cake, however. There wasn’t much inside that could be called melting. It instead seemed like a generic chocolate sauce that was more lukewarm. I like it oozing with hot chocolate and this didn’t meet that need, but at least the flavor was good.

Carnival Horizon Dinner #2

This was the first elegant night, occurring on the first At Sea day.

The tuna crudo is fine, but could use some more tuna. For a dish called tuna crudo, it sure was hard to find it in the middle of the rest of the accompaniments.

The linguini alfredo was similarly fine. How hard is it to mess up alfredo? It had enough flavor to it to avoid being bland.

After the first night, Alex navigated away from the kids meals and ended up with the duet of filet mignon and short rib. This meat-heavy plate was one of his favorites of the cruise. The server also went ahead and cut it all up for him, which was nice, but makes for a less-appetizing picture.

The jumbo shrimp and fish cake was OK. The shrimp was a little on the tough side. It’s also not a very substantial meal. One thing that seems a bit odd is that some entrees are incredibly heavy and others are 1/3 the size. There’s no indication from the menu what size you’re going to get until it arrives. I wish there was more consistency in portion size.

For dessert, we ordered more ice cream (bananas are still not ripe yet).

The grand marnier souffle was also unappealing. There’s no texture and the flavor just is too strong. I’d recommend not eating it.

Carnival Horizon Dinner #3

The broccoli and cheddar cheese soup tasted like it was missing broccoli. It’s not accurate to say it’s just cheese. Rather, it’s blended with something that didn’t mix well. You’d think it’s broccoli based on the name, but typically you’d see the broccoli florets in the soup. The kids, who are normally fans of the soup, didn’t like this one.

The Hawaiian shrimp poke is a bit lacking. We like poke but the dish would have done better if it had fresh raw fish in it rather than cooked shrimp. The better poke bowls combine hot rice with cold fish and this one instead just had a consistent temperature throughout. I’d pass.

Shrimp cocktail. It’s what you would expect. Again, a dish that has an incredibly light portion size that isn’t apparent from the menu. Hope you weren’t hungry as four small shrimp is all you’ll find here.

Char ordered the kids burger, which looked a bit ridiculously cheesy since the burger is more of a slider in size but the cheese slice is of normal width. She seemed satisfied with it, but children with a bigger appetite might want seconds.

The spaghetti carbonara is fine, but lacking in sauce. That made the dish a bit dry. I’m not sure if they’re being stingy on purpose?

The southern fried chicken isn’t a bad option. It is very filling, so definitely a good option if you’re looking for food. Personally, I think Popeye’s has better flavor than this chicken, but it’s still perfectly acceptable as an entree. For this kitchen, I’d say it’s an above-average dish.

Alex ordered the roasted sirloin of beef. Not bad, but it’s incredibly massive. Still, he did some damage to it and nearly ate the whole thing. It’s tasty and one of the better choices for the evening, along with the fried chicken. Maybe the menu is improving?

Finally bananas were available, making the banana split possible. For Char, it was worth the wait.

The banana cream pie was OK. I think the melting chocolate cake from the first night was still the best dessert so far.

Carnival Horizon Dinner #4

This was the second elegant night, which was also the same night as the Grand Cayman visit. I think it’s a little weird it wasn’t timed to be during an At Sea day, but sure. In the end, it ended up being an At Sea day since the Cayman visit was canceled on us, sadly.

The cream of mushroom soup is fine, but doesn’t need smoked gouda cheese in it. I’m not sure I’ve had a cream of mushroom soup that tasted more like cheese than mushroom, so this was a first.

The chilled strawberry and chia seed dish is certainly sweet but not excessively so. It frankly tasted more like a dessert than an appetizer. If we ate this at the end of the meal, it would actually be quite enjoyable. But at least there was no cheese in it.

For Char, we tried ordering her some crawfish fettuccini with the crawfish on the side. The server acknowledged what we wanted, but then left the crawfish in the dish and brought extra crawfish sauce on the side. Perhaps there was a language barrier with our server today. The meal itself is too salty and imbalanced.

The calamari is tough and overcooked. There’s not much else to say about this. We couldn’t finish it.

Perhaps I should mention it now, but only one fork is given for your entire dining experience. If you use it for the appetizer course, you’re expected to keep your fork for the entree course. If the server takes your fork, no replacement is proactively offered. You’ll need to flag down someone to get another fork. I’m not sure why two forks aren’t provided from the start.

Anyways, both Jenn and Alex ordered the prime rib. Both ordered it medium. Jenn’s ended up medium, but Alex’s was well-done. Combine that with the rare steak we were given the first night, I’m inclined to say you’re just going to get what you get in terms of doneness. They will ask for a preference but not deliver on that preference. The one medium prime rib received was the only steak that arrived with the requested doneness.

At least the flavor of the prime rib was good.

Jenn and I both ordered the broiled lobster tail, which was served a bit cold. There was clarified butter, but the dish still lacked flavor. It needed some salt. Let’s just leave it at the lobster was underwhelming and not worth the space in our stomachs.

I also ordered the roasted vegetable lasagna. I needed some vegetables, but like most vegetable lasagnas, everyone seems to overcompensate with too much cheese. And despite all the cheese atop the dish, it lacked salt throughout. I’m not sure if there was just a shortage of salt this evening, but it was noticeably different from the other nights on this cruise.

Char stuck with her typical banana split, but Jenn this time went with a trio of sorbet flavors. Pineapple, lime, and orange are the three flavors. Pineapple is good, but the other two taste like they’re just from your generic store-brand rainbow sherbet carton at your local chain grocery store.

Everyone knows a good crème brûlée is all in the crisp sound it makes when you first break the top layer. If you judge this based on the amount of effort it takes to break through, then this one wins. That top sugar layer is incredibly thick, requiring a lot of elbow grease to dent it. That thick crust then sticks in your teeth, so don’t eat that part. The custard underneath was good though.

Carnival Horizon Dinner #5

Jenn ordered the ceviche crudo, which was fine. Unlike the crudo we had several nights earlier, this one had plenty of fish at least! The dish came with some bread, but that was painfully stale.

The french onion soup was… interestingly presented. I can only offer two explanations. Either it was the first french onion soup ever made by this chef, or someone got distracted by a conversation and didn’t realize it was overcooked. The cheese on top was inedible but the broth inside was fine.

Char ordered the kids mac & cheese, which she loved. At least this wasn’t Kraft, which was a relief.

Jenn ordered the linguine and clams. Pasta should be cooked al dente, but it’s still acceptable if it’s just past that point. This dish is so far past that it’s way too soft. On top of that, there is way too much salt in the dish. So we’ve come to the point where chefs received feedback on the low salt level from the night before and overcompensated tonight?

Alex ordered the BBQ pork spareribs, which he loved. They fell off the bone, which is pretty much the best compliment you could give for ribs. The corn accompanied the ribs was also good. Definitely one of the better meals and one I would recommend.

And, hey! A second excellent meal for the evening. I went with tonight’s featured Indian vegetarian dish (paneer) and it was perfectly prepared. This ended up being the best meal I had on the ship.

Jenn ordered the tiramisu, which was fine though a bit on the sweet side for her preferences. I’m not a coffee fan, so I can’t comment myself on this one.

I ordered the bartlett peak almond cake, but I didn’t realize that it was a “no added sugar” dessert. I do not like sugar substitutes and all “no added sugar” items on this cruise will contain some substitute in it. Yes, you can taste the substitute in this dish, and so I couldn’t finish this. In retrospect, I should have given another go for the the melting chocolate cake.

Carnival Horizon Dinner #6

The final night of the cruise! We started with the fried tomatoes, which were heavy with the breading for the fryer. I guess it’s how Emeril likes it?

The parched pig ale and cheddar soup was fine. For a soup that says it’s a cheese soup, there wasn’t as much cheese in it as the mushroom soup had. But of the (intentional or not) cheese soups on this cruise, this one had the best balance.

The beet and petite greens was refreshing, but could use some more beets. At this point of the cruise, though, it was hard to find room for all our meals. So not getting enough beets wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

Alex ordered the jerk spiced pork chop. While in Jamaica, he discovered that jerk seasoning was one of his favorites. So how did this one compare? He complained it lacked any jerk flavor. That’s probably because it’s smothered in a sauce that washes it all away. As a result, it actually tasted a bit bland.

The braised beef brisket had fine flavor but it was dry. That’s a shame since it visually looks appealing. The chimichurri vegetables similarly had good flavor but were well overcooked.

Jenn chose the coffee glazed roast duck, which didn’t have a strong coffee taste to it. This duck isn’t as good as other ducks we’ve had, but it’s an above-average dish for this kitchen.

We finished the evening with a classic: the baked Alaska. This one was like you’re eating a slab of Neapolitan ice cream in between two very thin layers of cake. The cake was more crumbly (read: dry) than I would prefer. But we didn’t regret the choice.

Special shout-out to Komang

We dined with Komang three out of our six nights onboard the ship and, really, we wish we had done it every night. He spent the time to get to know us and went above and beyond to entertain the kids. He ended up being the best employee we interacted with on the ship. And his passion ensured we would have a good dining experience even if the food wasn’t perfect. So thanks for that, Komang. We definitely appreciated your service!

Komang made paper craft out of the kids menus

Carnival Horizon Breakfast at Meridian

We ate at Meridian the first morning of our Carnival Horizon cruise. As with dinner, we joined the waitlist on the app and were able to view the menu on the phone. Once at our table, we placed our order with the server.

Per our server, orange juice is complimentary, but there is an upcharge for cranberry or pineapple juice (I didn’t ask how much). In case you’re wondering, the orange juice tasted like a heavily-processed Minute Maid drink. There also isn’t much selection of teas, as we were just handed a typical yellow-and-red Lipton tea bag.

We ordered a blueberry muffin and a croissant. The server instead delivered an orange muffin, which was excessively sweet. When we informed the server that we ordered a blueberry muffin, he immediately got annoyed and chided us. He said we were supposed to tell him when ordering what kind of muffin we wanted. Except… we did because we asked him what muffins were available and the only thing he told us was blueberry. Well, okay then…

The omelet was rather simple. It’s one of those things where I don’t think it was that small but the size of the plate makes it appear so.

The skillet cake is more like a pancake that’s made from cornbread. If you’re into cornbread, you’ll find it’s fine enough. The sauces it comes with are excessively sweet and completely unnecessary. In fact, that pink and white sauce underneath the skillet cake is too sharply sweet and sour. I’m not actually sure what it’s intending to be. The accompanying hash browns are also quite soggy and not crispy at all.

The bagel is on the tougher side, perhaps needing a bit more toasting though it wasn’t that fresh. The salmon was fine, which makes you wish the salmon was served on its own.

The yogurt parfait is honestly the best thing here and really the only thing I would eat if we came here a second time. It’s a well-balanced dish with a tasty variety of nuts that paired well with the yogurt.

Breakfast in main dining ended up being a rather large disappointment. We dined here the first morning but never returned after both the service and the quality of the food turned us away.

Bottom line

The main dining experience is lacking on the Carnival Horizon, if I’m being honest. I didn’t have high hopes coming in and it still didn’t meet those reduced expectations. The kitchen seemed to have a lot of issues with temperature, spices, and flavors, among other things. It seemed like training was severely lacking, as though the chef each night didn’t have any experience cooking the dish. That seemed to be a problem both at dinner and at breakfast.

The Meridian dining room layout also meant that many guests simply had no way of seeing the shows from their seats. So it’s a rather disappointing experience. The one ray of hope was our interaction with Komang, who made things as enjoyable as they could be. If not for him, I’m not sure if I would have much good to say about this restaurant.

Stay tuned for the next installment where we’ll take a look at the buffet onboard the Carnival Horizon.

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