Holiday Troubles

[sls]

I live within an hour of Mobile, they should have called me I would have gone.

 

sls

[Crazy about cruising]

I can certainly understand why some people would be disappointed at not being able to go to Cozumel( one of my favorite ports). But for me after 15 cruises with Carnival, its not about the ports anymore. I love the sea days and a 4 night cruise to no where would suit me just fine. I hope that the people who did go are having a great time.

[L_T]

I agree with Bill. I imagine folks have planned and anticipated their trip, including shore excursions, for quite some time. Many have driven or flown some distance during valuable time away from work in anticipation of an excape to another country and a warmer climate.

I'm going to swim upstream here and let everyone know that I feel Carnival's response was more than "stingy". Of course I'm a novice cruiser and not as experienced as many posters, but would compare the situation to other business dealings I've handled. Considering the loss of a port stop (therefore no port taxes) and the fact that the boat didn't wander too far south probably meant that it wasn't nearly as warm a vacation as most would have anticipated. $100 credit may be adequate for many, but adding a good discount on a future cruise would have been a good move on the cruise line's part. Heck, they will make the $100 back through additional drinks and casino action, and won't burn near as much fuel either! If the weather forcast was for cool temps in the Alabama area, I would not have gone. Obviously the ship was not up to par because the problems were serious enough for them not to wander far, but apparently not serious enough for the Coast Guard to ground the boat for safety reasons.

[tjohn159d]

I think I would still ask for a refund of part of the port charges.

[hilltopfamily]

I'm with L T. Quite likely the ship didn't go "far enough" to hit the warm climate that most of us cruise the Caribbean for. And the onboard credit doesn't seem like quite enough to me to make up for missing the one and only port. It would help, but I'd still be quite disappointed. Particularly if I'd just spent a bunch on airfare to Mobile. Yes, us veteran cruisers are aware that ports can and are missed sometimes. But many people on the ship were probably 1st time cruisers and were not as familiar with this very real possibility as the rest of us. Yes, the docs state this in the legal information, but I'm guessing most people don't book a cruise and think "Well, I hope we get to port, but if not, no big deal". I'm guessing most people read the docs and figure that it is a pretty long shot that they won't make it to their port.

[myangel]

I totally agree with you Connie!!!:)

[Cotton]

And another thing!!!:)

 

If Cotton gets ahold of this thread, and finds anything negative said about the Holiday. boy will you all be in trouble!!!

:D :D Hi Angel - This is my first time to visit the board since the 20th of December. Busy-busy time, and now I have the flu.:o

 

I'll try to play catch-up in the next few days. Hoping you had a wonderful cruise on the Holiday. My son said it was great, and although it was his first cruise, it 'sho won't be his last! He liked the Holiday, found no problems whatsoever, just one port change - he wasn't sure - I think he said from Calica to Progresso? He rolls with punches well, so no biggie. Said the food was fantastic...but not as good as my Beef Wellington.;) Said one of the production shows was cancelled due to too much movement? (You can probably provide me w/much more detail than he did.) All in all - he really and truly enjoyed his cruise.

[Cotton]

BrendaB1....don't even tell me....I don't need to start worrying right now...OK????:p Rick

Rick - If I recall correctly, Brenda was very ill and stayed in her cabin almost the entire cruise. So, don't put too much stock in her comments, as her review was very unfavorable in all aspects. She was ill - how could she enjoy anything?:o

 

The Holiday is a fine ship. She IS the oldest and smallest ship in Carnival's fleet - and folks should realize that when making cruise reservations. I have sailed on the Holiday four times and would not hesitate to sail on her again. She is by far my favorite Carnival ship, intimate with friendly staff, great food, very clean, easy to maneuver, and recently renovated cabins.

 

And YES, there are problems from time to time - even on some of the newest ships! A lot of folks don't seem to like the Conquest because of crowding, (and you don't ever seem crowded on the Holiday). You can really feel laid back and relaxed on the Holiday.

 

Go with a good feeling. You'll have a wonderful cruise on the Holiday!:)

[myangel]

Hi Cotton! I was wondering where you were, but I knew if you were around you would show up on this thread.....lol

I had a fabulous time n the Holiday, I am going to write a review, I have all my notes.It might be ready tomorrow. Yes, they did change the port to Pregresso, it did not bother me, as I mostly cruise to cruise and not so much going to ports. You were right, those beds, comforters, were ABSOLUTELY like sleeping in your own bed!!! Sorry you aren't feeling well!

[chuleta]

I find this interesting since my friend who sailed on the Holiday Dec. 20-25 had an itinery change from Playa del Carmen to Progresso in order to pick up a propeller.

[fldad23girlz]

Rick - If I recall correctly, Brenda was very ill and stayed in her cabin almost the entire cruise. So, don't put too much stock in her comments...

Thanks for the reassurance! I am not worried at all. I figured out right after I found this place that opinions about cruise ships, destinations, cabins, service, etc. are about like opinions on politics...it is your opinon and you are not right or wrong....it is just your opinion....unless of course someone disagrees with me...then they are dead wrong....:D

 

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experiences with us "rookies". I feel like I know enough about cruising just from reading stuff on here to make me feel a lot more comfortable about going and knowing I will have a great time.:)

[mr jimmy]

From the Holiday schedule, it looks like for a 4-day cruise the total time from dock-to-dock in Mobile is 88 hours. The schedule also shows about 10 hours in Cozumel. If Coz is really that important, then catch a plane and stay awhile. I like to cruise because it's a cruise.

[BrendaB1]

Rick - If I recall correctly, Brenda was very ill and stayed in her cabin almost the entire cruise. So, don't put too much stock in her comments, as her review was very unfavorable in all aspects. She was ill - how could she enjoy anything?:o

 

The Holiday is a fine ship. She IS the oldest and smallest ship in Carnival's fleet - and folks should realize that when making cruise reservations. I have sailed on the Holiday four times and would not hesitate to sail on her again. She is by far my favorite Carnival ship, intimate with friendly staff, great food, very clean, easy to maneuver, and recently renovated cabins.

 

And YES, there are problems from time to time - even on some of the newest ships! A lot of folks don't seem to like the Conquest because of crowding, (and you don't ever seem crowded on the Holiday). You can really feel laid back and relaxed on the Holiday.

 

Go with a good feeling. You'll have a wonderful cruise on the Holiday!:)

Excuse me!!! You must have me confused with someone else. I have never been SICK on a cruise ship. Nor did I post a review so please get your info straight. Maybe it was just an off week when I was onboard. Please don't flame me for just giving my honest opinion.

 

Rick: Many people have sailed on the Holiday since I have & loved it. Hopefully the problems I encountered were a rare occurance & have since been corrected. Go have fun & enjoy your cruise.

[GoinCruisin]

Rick - If I recall correctly, Brenda was very ill and stayed in her cabin almost the entire cruise. So, don't put too much stock in her comments, as her review was very unfavorable in all aspects. She was ill - how could she enjoy anything?:o

 

Cotton, I don't recall Brenda ever saying she was sick in the cabin the whole time... I know they had bad weather maybe? She cruised on her bday, they were hit by flying cans of coke and had glasses shattering everywhere... rude and lazy staff.

 

I don't know if I would tell anyone "not to put too much stock" into anything... what if they put "too much stock" into someone that REALLY loved the ship and they end up having a bad time? I think everyone should be able to post their experiences and views on various ships. If the Holiday is Brenda's least favorite, no need "not to put too much stock" into what she says just because it IS your favorite, just a thought... I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound "witchy", but the comments above were a little harsh...

[chuleta]

I personnallty like sea days but Coz is one of my favorite ports. I would be fine though as long as te ship went far enough south to feel some warm weather, wouldn't want to be cruising for 4 days 100 miles offshore of Mobile!

[JaxALCruiser]

We were on the Holiday from 12/16 - 12/20. It was my first cruise. I found the ship to be older (obviously) but it more than met my expectations and we had a grand time.

If this had been our cruise I would have been crushed with a change in ports but dealt with it.

Sitting by the pool wasn't an option for most of our cruise as the pool wasn't open most of the time. They drained the main pool for repairs the last at sea day. It was too cold for even my son the other times, who normally would happily swim alongside icebergs.

The seas were very rough most of the trip and personnel cleared the upper decks the afternoon of our final day due to high winds. Even the ship's personnel remarked about the winds being much worse than normal.

We found the service to be quite good, the beds were as comfy as already reported and the food was first rate.

In Cozumel, we booked the dolphins/sea lions independently of the ship. It was an experience of a lifetime.

Thanks to all of you for the helpful tips which made our trip even better!

[BrendaB1]

As you all can see....[i]People [/i]sometimes have a bad day like cruises sometimes do. :rolleyes: Must have been some validity to our comments to Carnival since we received a nice discount on our next cruise as well as discounts on shore excursions. I recently sailed on Sensation & loved but seem to remember that Cotton posted that she didn't care for it.....so you see....it's all a matter of personal taste. To each his own.

As I posted earlier, I have read many people say that they sailed & loved the Holiday. Everyone go enjoy your cruise. I'm sure lots of changes have been made since I sailed in Sept. 2002.

Happy cruising! [url="http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001"][img]http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/7/7_6_4.gif[/img][/url]

[Rescue156]

Personally, I LOVE Cozumel. But I love sea days more. So I wouldn't have been disappointed.


About the Holiday...I feel that as long as cruises are staying booked let her stay as long as she wants...but if sales start to drop then it is ready to say its goodbyes to Carnival.

[Cotton]

[b]Brenda, [i]my apologies[/i]. As I started that post, I did say ..."If I recall correctly"... but I obviously had you mixed up w/someone else. Having been off the boards for almost two weeks, and staggering in here yesterday w/flu and 101 fever - well, just chalk it up to a big mistake. Back to bed now.:o [/b]

[mgbfv11m2001]

I will be sailing the holiday tomorrow. I got my email from my TA yesterday stating Carnival had changed the port of calls from playa del carmen and coz, to key west, fl. Okay...I'm no whiner and can roll with about any situation that may arise. I can't speak for the ones that didn't cruise thursday to nowhere, but for me reading the ports changed was very disappointing. Here's why, I booked my cruise back in Oct, this is my honeymoon, and I joined CC and have read so much advice and opinions that I've had an expectation that clearly will have to change now. Of course I was furious yesterday...I had to get on CC just to find out why Carnival changed the ports. With the holiday's and all, just imagine how many people will arrive tomorrow not knowing the ports have changed. So, now I fell better knowing what to expect, I've settled down and realize Carnival didn't make the engines mess up....although thats another story..who knows...when the holiday left new orleans for mobile, did they over haul the engines? When the holiday hit the barge last month and damaged the rotors did they take the time to really fix the problem? Now a quick question will both my wife and I receive a $100.00 credit. My TA just mentioned a $100.00 on board credit. I will post a review once I return from my cruise. I will pay close attention to the other cruisers attitudes from the ports being changed. Thanks for all the advice.

[northerner]

For our December 11th cruise, We were disappointed to have missed Costa Maya and sent to progresso to repair a very bad propeller problem. (Ship was vibrating badly, husband says he guesses one of the blades was cavitating?) They had divers on the peir ready when we got there. We felt blessed to have gotten to go to progresso instead of Costa Maya, I really wanted Chichen Itza and we got to go! The trip over to Cozumel was smooth and aparently they made a good repair. But after Cozumel we hit rough seas and it was apparent the propeller was still bad. My husband is a very good mechanic, we own two boats and he says if Carnival doesn't stop being greedy and dry dock her she will be in need of much more then just a propellor, (Like the whole drive shaft assembly, all the bearings ect...) if she isn't already. The whole issue makes me mad, they should have dry docked her right when the problem started, after she hit that thing in Mobile Bay. It makes me wonder if they care about our safety or just about getting the people on board. IT was funny to listen to conversation on the ship about the problem. Many people knew before the cruise it was being diverted others said this was her last voyage before dry dock. One lady said they were sending her to the ship grave yard(Is there such a place?)

BTW< I love the ship, it was awesome, crew was above any expectations. The captain however is a jerk and should be put in charge of a garbage barge somewhere, he was rude, arrogant, and the crew doesn't think highly of him. It was bad enough he didn't say anything to any of us at the Captains dinner, didn't walk around and such. But when I approached him in front of the piano bar he didn't speak back. I thought maybe he didn't understand so I spoke to him in Italian, still nothing, he kinda looked at me in suprise and turned his back to me. Anyone who thinks he maybe didn't hear me, no he heard me, his officer ushered me away like he was the president and I was Lee Harvey Oswald. I don't think I have ever been treated so poorly, like a criminal, just because I tried to speak to someone. I went back to my seat at the piano, and the crew sitting there said that it was a common resopnse from him, that I should be glad I didn't work for him. They had some other comments but I'll let the reader imagine them....

[Flip2cruise]

[color=black]Holiday will be in Key West from 12pm-12am on Wednesday, Hopefully they can get all the repairs done at that time.[/color]

[halos]

[quote name='Mrs. Connie']
If it were I, I'd be disappointed, but I'd take the money and hang out by the pool for a few days. How bad could that be, anyway?

Connie[/QUOTE]

I agree!
Certainly there would be disappointment! But, you really ruin the cruise if you dwell in the disappointment.
To sound sappy...make lemons out of lemonade. Do your best to get over the disappointment quickly as to not ruin your whole vacation. Make the best of the days on the ship. I still don't understand how anyone could be bored. It's only a 4 days cruise...not 7 or 8 days at sea....not that I think that would be bad either, but that's just me :D
Sh*t happens. Ya gotta get over it.
As far as bad weather, that would ruin a day in Cozumel as well. No one has control over mother nature. Just ask the folks in Sri Lanka.

[BamaBelle]

[quote name='LibertyCruiser'][color=black]Holiday will be in Key West from 12pm-12am on Wednesday, Hopefully they can get all the repairs done at that time.[/color][/QUOTE]

The Holiday is going to have to face a week in dry dock for the neccessary repairs.

For more details as of yesterday:
[url]http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1104574657111831.xml[/url]

[neverenufcruising]

I can understand how it would ruin some people's cruise. Some people cruise for specific reasons and others cruise for a host of reasons. Those that cruise for specific reasons are going to be more disappointed if there is any change in the cruise while those that cruise for a host of reasons will always be able to find something else to do.

When we sailed in September right after Ivan, we (obviously) missed our stop in Grand Cayman. This was the highlight of our cruise as this was to give our DD's a chance to swim with the Stingrays. My DW and I had done it several years ago and always wanted to take the kids. We were all disappointed that we didn't get to go but we just enjoyed another day at sea.

A ship is one of the least flexible forms of transportation since they don't move very fast and they can't just book you on the next ship a few hours later or the next day.

Since I'm the type of person that adapts to the situation, I'd have gone and just enjoyed hanging out and meeting people.