Pirate's LIVE Mother/Daughter Cruise On The Horizon 3/10/24-3/16/24

[pirate4me2]

Made it to our hotel at 5:05. Check in was super quick and easy and staff is friendly. Our stay & cruise package allows us to leave the car here for the duration of the cruise, a $25 Uber credit to get us to the port, and breakfast in the morning. The hotel is super clean and seems to be in a good part of town. I absolutely will stay here again in the future! 

[pirate4me2]

After dropping our junk off, mom and I decided to hike to the Fatty Crab for dinner. It was a quarter mile from the hotel, and stretching our legs was much needed! I got a hurricane to drink, which was delicious, and the calamari basket with shrimp added. The calamari were perfectly cooked, as well as the shrimp. Mom got the chicken & shrimp pasta, and said the pasta was perfectly done, chicken tender and flavorful, and shrimp good. Whoo hoo, dinner was a success! 
 

While at dinner, I went ahead and arranged for our Uber tomorrow morning, just in case it’s crazy or prices skyrocket. I arranged for a 9:30 pickup, since our check in time is 10-10:30. Looks like it’s $37.96, so $12.96 out of pocket after the credit from the hotel. 
 

After dinner I checked and saw there was a Walmart about a half mile away, and I needed to get something for my lingering cough from my pneumonia I had a few weeks ago. We hiked there and ended up buying a bunch of stuff we don’t need (2 new natural deodorants to try, a cute nightgown with anchors on it, gum, jolly ranchers, razors, mouthwash) and finally left around 7. It was dark out, but I still felt safe walking back to the hotel, and we commented again to each other how handy this location is! I will be booking it again for next May when mom and I cruise World America. 

[ktinnc]

So excited to follow along… we board the horizon (for 3 weeks) at the end of April. The first 2 weeks are also with my Mama! Where in NC are you from? We are in Wilmington!

[pirate4me2]

F

[pirate4me2]

10 hours ago, ktinnc said:

So excited to follow along… we board the horizon (for 3 weeks) at the end of April. The first 2 weeks are also with my Mama! Where in NC are you from? We are in Wilmington!

Welcome aboard! 3 weeks on the Horizon, I’m so jealous!! 
We are from Hendersonville. 

[edspec]

Happy Cruise Day @pirate4me2!

[pirate4me2]

14 minutes ago, edspec said:

Happy Cruise Day @pirate4me2!

Thank you!!!

[Hogladyrider]

Happy Cruise Day....here is to a SMOOTH boarding so the FUN can begin!

[WhiteOptima]

On 3/8/2024 at 9:44 AM, pirate4me2 said:

It's the last work day before vacation, and I have a feeling it is going to drag. Ugh c'mon 5:30!! I have lots to do before my butt-crack of dawn departure tomorrow morning. For some reason I saved all my pre-cruise chores for today. Not smart, Steph, not smart at all. Laundry, dishes, loading up the car with my luggage (Oh yeah, gotta remember to put a swimsuit in there....somehow I forgot, and that could be important!), shaving, pulling the pre-portioned pet food out of the freezer for the Hubs...ugh. You know what, I think I will leave the laundry and dishes for him to do while I am gone....surely he won't be a total slob and pile even more on top of them while I am away....

I am going to hijack and ask about the dog food.  I have been reading up about making my own and some add to the dry food and some just do the homemade and buy supplements then some say no the homemade is bad for dogs which I find hard to believe.  So the question is are you making your own food?  Thoughts?

 

[Hogladyrider]

@WhiteOptima...chiming in here, check out Honest Kitchen pet food, made in the USA and worth every penny!

[pirate4me2]

3 hours ago, Hogladyrider said:

Happy Cruise Day....here is to a SMOOTH boarding so the FUN can begin!

Your wishes for smooth boarding came true…this was the quickest and easiest Carnival boarding I’ve had in 26 cruises with them!!

 

1 hour ago, WhiteOptima said:

I am going to hijack and ask about the dog food.  I have been reading up about making my own and some add to the dry food and some just do the homemade and buy supplements then some say no the homemade is bad for dogs which I find hard to believe.  So the question is are you making your own food?  Thoughts?

 

I make my own raw food for my cats & dogs 100%. Started after a former dog was diagnosed with cancer and her oncologist vet said to get her off all “commercial crap” he provided a list of foods (veggies, fruits, meats) that they can and cannot have. The social site I cannot name has a WONDERFUL group called Raw Feeding Advice and Support (PMR) and they were a great resource as I was learning! 
As far as what I think of the raw diet…my current dog poops way less than on a commercial diet, her coat is so much softer and shinier than it was, her energy level increased, and she was overweight but trimmed up so nicely! The cost honestly isn’t much more than buying a good quality commercial food, and when pet food recalls happen I’m not panicking…she eats food I would be eating myself! 

[pirate4me2]

The beds at Intercontinental Doral are phenomenal y’all…I slept like a baby, it was sooo comfortable! The location, comfy beds, and cleanliness make it a hotel I am saving for future reference! The only negative experience we had was the neighbor next door to us apparently had too much to drink last night and was banging and rattling on our door trying to get in at 11:00 at night, but after pounding back on the door telling them “someone’s in here! Wrong room!” they stopped. 
 

We had breakfast (included in our stay) at 9, and it was great for a hotel breakfast…spinach & cheese mini empanadas, eggs, bacon, potatoes, cottage cheese, fruit, pastries, assorted cereals, smoked salmon, cheese and other options. The coffee was good & strong too. 
 

Our pre-arranged Uber arrived at 10:25 (5 minutes early, I like it!) and we were at PortMiami terminal D at 10:45. From here things were a whirlwind…we never quit moving from the time we got into the “cattle line ropes” where they check your arrival appointment to the time we got onboard…there was NO WAIT at all in the terminal for any step of the process! When we got off the escalator at the upper level where you normally sit & wait the room was empty! We walked to the escalator, onto the gangway, and stepped onto Horizon at 10:57. Easy peasy! 
 

 

[Knights on the Beach]

Sounds like a great start to your cruise!

 

[pirate4me2]

Once onboard, we dropped our bags off in the room, went to our muster station (aft dining room level 3, took a painless 2 minutes) and then I went for my first drink of the cruise: a blackberry bourbon fizz from Pig & Anchor. Ahh, vacation has started!!
 

We sat at the bar for probably an hour chatting with the servers and each other, then moved on to get some lunch. We decided to go get sammiches from the deli and bring them back to the Havana lounge to eat. When we exited the elevator on Lido deck, I told mom “wait, right quick let’s go outside to the Tides bar.” She was like “Why? Are you already thirsty AGAIN?” but I just kept walking. Dont ask questions or judge me mom, just follow! I got reasons!  She understood when I walked up to the bar and said “Zoltan!” and a familiar face smiled and said “welcome back!” I introduced him to mom and ordered a bottled water and a Cruiser. He told me he would see me at Alchemy later, and then Mom and I went to get our lunch. I opted for a Southwest Chicken wrap (delicious!) and we headed to the Havana lounge to eat and chill. 

[pirate4me2]

5 minutes ago, Knights on the Beach said:

Sounds like a great start to your cruise!

 

It has been!!

[pirate4me2]

At 1:08 we went back to our cabin, 5239, to unpack. We are now settled in to our home for the week! 

[ninjacat123]

Would you take a pic of Zoltan and post it here? I feel like we knew an Alchemy mixologist by that name. 😁

[Knights on the Beach]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

Would you take a pic of Zoltan and post it here? I feel like we knew an Alchemy mixologist by that name. 😁

 

I was just thinking the same thing. But was wondering if he also worked at another bar on Mardi Gras or another ship?

[Roscoe13]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

Would you take a pic of Zoltan and post it here? I feel like we knew an Alchemy mixologist by that name. 😁

He also takes your weight if you put in a quarter down by the pier...

[pirate4me2]

2 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Would you take a pic of Zoltan and post it here? I feel like we knew an Alchemy mixologist by that name. 😁

I will try to remember to! 🙂 

49 minutes ago, Knights on the Beach said:

 

I was just thinking the same thing. But was wondering if he also worked at another bar on Mardi Gras or another ship?

He worked on MG November 2022, that was when I first met him. 

[pirate4me2]

Mom and I hung out in Havana area until sailaway just reading and chilling. When we reached open waters, we headed to Alchemy to enjoy some pre dinner drinks. Zoltan worked his magic and mixed mom up a “something fruity and disguising the alcohol taste” and mixed me up an almond joy, then a thyme, coconut & cucumber drink. Yum!

Right at 5:30 we checked in for dinner. In less than 5 minutes we had a table, 717, which was right by the window. Score! Nino and his team took EXCELLENT care of us. All food arrived piping hot, except the salad of course. The salad was great, crawfish strudel yummy, and bbq salmon delicious!

[pirate4me2]

Found a duck!

[Knights on the Beach]

48 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

I will try to remember to! 🙂 

He worked on MG November 2022, that was when I first met him. 

 

Ah! We were on MG December 2022 so that must be it. I was thinking we saw him at Brass Magnolia once or twice that week. 

[pirate4me2]

Finally checking something off my to-do list: watching Barbie. 😂 I couldn’t get Chris to watch it in December, so I conned mom into coming to the Dive In Movies with me. 

[Frank12]

That new BBQ salmon is the bomb!!