Pre Christmas Sailing on the Holiday Review

[firstplacechef]

Just returned from Holiday! Wow, is all I can say. I had some pre-conceived notions about Carnival (not all good) and I must say I was pleasantly surprised with how good the food was. I was informed by the asst. matrie’d that our cruise was the first with the new menus. The evening meals were uniformly wonderful or I just made good choices, hee hee. Smoked Duck on Thai Noodles with Wasabi was my favorite appetizer, and all of the soups were good. The night they offered Spaghetti Carbonara as an entrée I ordered it as and appt. and it was perfect al dente. The beef entrees were always as I ordered them a perfect medium rare and my favorites were the Beef Wellington and Chateaubriand. Seafood was excellent also and the Sweet and Sour Shrimp were very good. Oh, and the desserts were out of this world! Warm Chocolate Molten Cake with ice cream every night and other choices were, Amaretto Cake, Apple Hollander, & Tiramisu.

 

The buffets were pretty good and, as a chef, I was glad that the hot food was hot and the cold food was cold although, the desserts on the buffet were sometimes a little too warm for my taste ( warm cheese cake) Another area on the buffet was the pizza, and it was very good. Cotton, thanks for your previous advice on what to try!

 

The ship is in very good shape and very clean. The only two complaints I had were the seats in the main theater were very uncomfortable, I was constantly sliding out of the seat (and no I was not drunk) and at night when the ship picked up speed the room creaked quite a bit. My wife loved it said it reminded her of her childhood home in a storm! Oh, the beds are very comfortable and the sheets were great. Bathroom is stocked with Dove shampoo and Lever 2000 body soap. There is also a little bowl of samples with toothpaste, razors, mouthwash, etc. on the sink. Our cabin steward kept the room clean and the ice bucked filled!

 

I only noticed the “sewer” smell when in port and it really wasn’t that bad.

 

We are a couple that just turned 50 with a daughter 17. I am a personal chef, my wife is an accountant and my daughter is off to college next year. We love to cruise and normally cruise RCI and Celebrity, but we really did like this Carnival experience. We chose not to particpate in in the pool games but we did win the triva game and won a "genuine 24K gold piece of ship on a sitck". I had read about these and was glad to get one, ha ha!

 

The shows we made were good and the comedian was funny but we didnt stay up for his late show. Steve, the cruise director, was okay but he was a great "fiddle" player the last night in the Extreme Country Show.

 

We didnt use Camp Carnival or the spa services. I used the gym a few days and it was sufficient for what I needed, loved the dry sauna!

 

We didn't use the Casino but played bingo a few times and hit it close twice with only one number left. Oh, well!

 

As for the ports, we tendered in Cozumel. We had the 3rd tender and went down when it was called and was off the ship 30 minutes after the ship set anchor. We actually arrived at our private “resort” before the help arrived. We booked our own stay at Nachi Cocum and had a great day there. I must say that the area is slowly bouncing back after last years hurricanes. In Calica we did the ship excursion Jeep and Cavern Dive and Beach. We had a blast and it was a great day. We did a little as possible on the two days as sea as we booked this as a relaxing vacation.

 

I must say that the staff at the port of Mobile is wonderful and embarkation took us only 15 minutes from drop off to being on the ship. We arrived around 11:45 AM. Debarkation would have been about the same but for some reason we were pulled by customs for “further” questioning. After a few questions and a look in some of our bags we were on our way home. We were off the ship around 9:45 AM., and it was great not having to deal with an airport!

 

This was our 4 cruise in 2 years and it was a wonderful experience for us. We got an excellent deal for the three of us and even if we had paid the rack rate we would have enjoyed it. Drive to Mobile and enjoy the Holiday!

[Cruzman]

Love to read those kind of reviews on the Holiday. We have sailed her three times with #4 coming up in February. We have always enjoyed this ship and that is why we keep coming back!

[Trotkim]

Firstplacechef, Thanks for the review!!! Do you still have a copy of your capers for all 3-4 day? If you do would you mind sending me a copy? We are going on the Jan 11th sailing. There will be 35 of us, mostly experienced, but some new cruisers. Thanks again!!

[firstplacechef]

Trotkim, I thought we kept the capers but I didnt find them when we unpacked, sorry!

 

Days at sea were mainly filled with pool side games, store "sales", team events, bingo, etc. The library is only open one hour each day, go figure. The ship is separated into two teams, red and blue, based on your dinner table, even or odd number. They had games like survivor, jeporady, dog eat dog, etc and the winner would get a prize but the points would go to either team. At the end of the cruise the team with the most points was announced but I didnt hear of any prize. I do know that on port days the spa offered "discounts" and the duty free liquor store had some great deals! $32 for 2L of Crown Royal compared to 1.5L for $45 here in GA.

 

I am sure you will all have a great time. Scott

[eLav8]

I loved my last (and first) cruise on the Holiday back in May 06. I haven't done much but lurk these forums and dream of the next time I get to cruise on her. Since I live 45 mins from Mobile, I don't think there could be a better deal than what is offered for a cruise on the Holiday, especially on their slower weeks before and after school break.

 

I've already gone and booked my 2nd cruise, upgrading to an OV room this time (last one was a 1A). I was looking into an earlier cruise on one of the ships from NOLa, but stumbled upon a friend hosting a group cruise for Mothers day, which happens to be the same weekend as my birthday, so I couldn't resist! It will be nice to cruise with more friends this time...Plus get to celebrate my bday in Costa Maya (last year it was a Sea Day). What I look forward to the most though is the great staff and food. Especially if they have a new menu! I sure hope they kept my favs, the Ziti on the first night was to die for. What am i saying, it was all to die for!

 

She may be an old ship, but I guess I lucked out going on her as a first timer. I love it so much I'll prob cruise with her until she is retired, or until a larger ship is brought into Mobile.

[KimtheCruiser]

I was on the same cruise - and I have my Capers. Unfortunately, my scanner is not working, but I'd be happy to fax them to you - just shoot me an e-mail with a fax number - kggarner@bellsouth.net

[marshabear]

thanks for the review!! we sail feb 12th and i am really looking forward to all the great food everyone talks about on this ship!! we sailed the Destiny in Oct and found the food to be not quite up to par with our previous cruises....hoping this time we will be pleasantly pleased with the food!! :)

 

calica is a new port for us....was thinking of Xcaret for an excursion...we love to snorkel!! anyone done this??? should we book thru carnival or can we do this on our own easily???

 

sailing from Mobile is new for us too!! i was finally able to "snatch" low airfare...being it's mardi gras time, it was all high prices, but i found cheap airfare by flying into Gulfport then renting a car to Mobile!! :) hope this will work out as planned!!

 

Marsha

[Cruzman]

thanks for the review!! we sail feb 12th and i am really looking forward to all the great food everyone talks about on this ship!! we sailed the Destiny in Oct and found the food to be not quite up to par with our previous cruises....hoping this time we will be pleasantly pleased with the food!! :)

 

calica is a new port for us....was thinking of Xcaret for an excursion...we love to snorkel!! anyone done this??? should we book thru carnival or can we do this on our own easily???

 

sailing from Mobile is new for us too!! i was finally able to "snatch" low airfare...being it's mardi gras time, it was all high prices, but i found cheap airfare by flying into Gulfport then renting a car to Mobile!! :) hope this will work out as planned!!

 

Marsha

Marsha, you can book xcaret on your own, but in this case, it is just as cheap to book it through Carnival. Have a great cruise and keep her in good shape for those of us sailing the week after you, lol.

[Trotkim]

Scott,

 

Thanks for looking for the capers!! (Kimthecruiser found hers). I appreciate you trying to find those. Also thanks for the great review!! We can hardly wait till we leave! I love watching and sometimes participating in the games. My favorite must see every time is the newly and not so newlywed game!!!!

[firstplacechef]

We did not to the Xcaret excursion, but our tablemates did, and they loved it! They were a mother and to kids 12 and 9. That is all they talked about at dinner that evening and said they couldnt fit it all in.

 

The Newlywed Notso Newlywed game is always good for a few laughs and it didnt disappoint.

 

I found sticking to the waiters reccomendations to be the best for eating in the dining room. My DD ordered the alternate steak twice, it was very good the first time but the second time she ordered it, it actually tasted like the hamburgers up on Lido deck. Now the hamburgers were great but a NY strip should not taste like a hamburger. There was also a good assortment of vegetables each night and they now serve the salad dressings (except for the Caesar salad) on the side. I had heard that the salads come "dressed" and was glad it was on the side as I do not care for "salad on my dressing"

 

We cant wait to try Holiday again. It is a great ship to just relax on and that is what we were looking for this trip.

[Vanessa L]

Thank you so much for the review!!! It's always good when a chef says the food is good!! ;) I have been considering this cruise for some time as Mobile is only a little over 3 hours from my hometown (Dothan). Going over when I'm down visiting friends and family would be a breeze. Thanks for making the decision making process much easier!!

[Silverain_54]

Hi! I see that you went to Nachi Cocom when you were in Cozumel! Hubby and I are thinking of going here on our cruise in two weeks. Would you recommend it?? Did you book it through Island Marketing? Any info would be appreciated! Thanks!!