Holiday/ Mobile, AL- traveling issues- any ideas?

[mother2_3]

My husband and I (no children traveling with us) are going on the Feb. 8th (a Thursday) sailing of the Carnival Holiday out of Mobile, AL. This trip was booked very short notice and we have a very TIGHT budget for all expenses. We live in TN and the total travel time down there should only be 5-6 hours. Now, our dilemma is this- when should we leave TN and plan to get to the terminal? We don't really have any hotel allowance in the budget. We could conceivably leave TN in the wee hours of Thursday morning and drive down in time. But this leaves so much up to "Murphy" and no telling what would happen to us on the way down- car trouble, getting lost, who knows! Driving all night could possibly be the answer (I'm sure the excitement would be enough to get us through), but would be last case scenario as we aren't teenagers anymore! Any ideas what we could do for a few hours if we drove Wednesday evening (late) and got into Mobile midnight- 1 am? On that note, I've seen conflicting answers for how early exactly we can check in? I wouldn't mind going and sitting in a walmart parking lot for a few hours! I just want to get there with the least expense involved! Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Jus10mom]

Where are you traveling from in TN? We live in Murfreesboro. It was roughtly 480 miles for us and took around 6 hours and that was SCOOTING! ;) We drove down 2 days early.

 

The first day we stopped in Atmore which was about 60 miles outside of Mobile.

 

Then we stayed at the Raddisson Admiral Seemans. Wonderful place.

 

If you somehow squeeze it in, drive down the night before (which I STRONGLY suggest!!!) here is a GREAT place to go! We loved it... it has that old "New Orleans" atmosphere. A nice bar on the premises and a FABULOUS all you can eat breakfast.

 

The Park and Cruise package is $129.00. You get a night's stay, free

parking while on the cruise, transportation to/from the pier and

breakfast for 2 in the dinning room. To park at the pier itself is $10

a day so that adds up to start with. Parking is totally secure in the

garage attached to the hotel. The rooms were HUGE with Sleep Number

beds and staff was great. Nice little pool area. We actually didn't use

the service to ride to the pier, we walked b/c we were too excited to

wait on the van to get back for another load. Took us all of 10 minutes

and we were on the ship within 15 more enjoying a Fun Ship Special! Van

was right there to take us back to the hotel when we disembarked.

 

http://www.radisson.com/mobileal

 

I'm sure you can research and maybe find a midway cheap motel for the night. It sure seemed like a LONGGGG drive to me!

 

We got on the boat around 10:45-11 and there were TONS of folks already on by then!

 

Have a GREAT time!!!! I'll be happy to answer any more questions! :) Is this your first cruise????

[mother2_3]

OMG! I am in Murfreesboro! That is so cool! This isn't my first cruise- I've been on 2 (1995 and 2003), but this is my husband's first cruise so I am so excited for him. I am a SAHM with 3 little ones (#4 on the way) and I decided last weekend that I NEEDED a long vacation. It looks more and more like we are going to have to go down the day before and stay in a hotel. Your hotel and special sound great- i will check it out. We might just have to dig up the difference from somewhere! By the time you pay for a room, breakfast and parking- your paying all of that. thanks. Do you get to cruise often?

[Jus10mom]

Too funny...I live on the Siegel side. I work outside the home. My boys are 8 and 9. We cruised on the Holiday in October and that was their first cruise. It was my 3rd and hubby's second!

 

Congrats on #4! No Fun Ship Special for you! (wink) :p And yes, a vacation sounds like a great thing!

 

What ships did you cruise on before? I did the Ecstacy in 94 (so it was still new) and then the Conquest in 2004 for our 10 year anniv. It was AWESOME. Keep in mind that the Holiday is the oldest of Carnival...but....she is still GREAT. Staff were very friendly and folks were always working/cleaning. I quess the only place I really noticed the small size was the pool area. Compared to the ampitheather style of the Conquest, it was very small. (That and then when you park next to one of the BIG ships in port!)

 

What ports do you hit on this leg?

 

I love the Raddison. It was SOOO easy to find. The rooms were HUGE!

 

Also, while in Mobile you HAVE TO eat at Wintzells. It was within

walking distance from the hotel. 6-7 blocks maybe! YUMMY!!! The crab

cakes were to DIE for!!!! There are lots of other places folks recommend but we just wanted to park and then be there and not get back out and drive.

 

http://wintzellsoysterhouse.com/

 

Debbie

[mowrider]

2 hours ago ! The Holiday is in great shape ! Crew (like always) was as good as any on carnival. All the entertainment was first class. We went on the Fury snorkle and sail excursion and had a wonderful time (water was warm and lots of fish !)

We heard rumors that the Holiday may be sold as soon as maybe this summer (heard it from one of the crew members) Also at one of the "talks", more info about Mobile getting a second ship (nothing offical, as the deal is still "in the works". Embarkation and debarkation was swift. We did not "self debark" but still were off the ship by 10:15. Will answer any questions. GREAT CRUISE !

[Yazoo cruiser]

drive from Mobile and New Orleans, and we drive down the morning of the cruise, leaving home about 6 or 6:30. This get us to Mobile about 10:30 or 11. This is ussually the earliest you can park at the terminal, it also gives us a few hours leeway if you do run into heavy traffic, a flat tire or other delays. The terminal in Mobile is right off I-10, very easy to get in and out. We have been on the Holiday 5 times, our favorite ship. you are in for a treat, have a great cruise.

[Dixe Lee]

My husband and I (no children traveling with us) are going on the Feb. 8th (a Thursday) sailing of the Carnival Holiday out of Mobile, AL. This trip was booked very short notice and we have a very TIGHT budget for all expenses. We live in TN and the total travel time down there should only be 5-6 hours. Now, our dilemma is this- when should we leave TN and plan to get to the terminal? We don't really have any hotel allowance in the budget. We could conceivably leave TN in the wee hours of Thursday morning and drive down in time. But this leaves so much up to "Murphy" and no telling what would happen to us on the way down- car trouble, getting lost, who knows! Driving all night could possibly be the answer (I'm sure the excitement would be enough to get us through), but would be last case scenario as we aren't teenagers anymore! Any ideas what we could do for a few hours if we drove Wednesday evening (late) and got into Mobile midnight- 1 am? On that note, I've seen conflicting answers for how early exactly we can check in? I wouldn't mind going and sitting in a walmart parking lot for a few hours! I just want to get there with the least expense involved! Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

We sailed on the Holiday over Christmas. Let me ask you this. Do you have budgeted the parking fee for the garage? If so, you can apply that towards your room at the Radisson since the Radisson will shuttle you to the terminal. So you then add about a little more than half of that to your expenses. Or, you can park across the road from the terminal under the overpass, park there for free, and then use what you would save in parking garage fees for a cheap hotel. Lots of hotels in and around Mobile for $50-60/night - nice, clean ones. The parking across the road is free, the area is fenced in and regularly patroled by the local authorities. Friends of ours who cruised on the Holiday in Nov '06 parked there. They, too, were on a tight budget. They used what they saved in parking garage fees and rented a Jeep in Cozumel and had a blast just driving around themselves and seeing tons of sights. Since Cozumel is such a small island, driving around it is easy and can be done in a few hours. Let's face it, your options for coming into Mobile in the wee hours of the morning are limited to Waffle House or any other 24-hour restaurants you would find open. Why put yourself through that? You don't want to start your cruise wore out from driving. On our cruise, we boarded shortly after 1:00, lots of people already on the ship, but no one could get into their cabins until 2:00. You should be able to board by as early as lunchtime, but if your cabin is not ready - go eat and enjoy the rest of the ship which is what we did. Hope this helps.

[elizablake]

We heard rumors that the Holiday may be sold as soon as maybe this summer (heard it from one of the crew members)

 

What!! I hope it's just a rumor. We are really looking forward to the Holiday in Oct. I don't have any specific questions, but I would love to read a review (when you have some time to write one).

[sa7776]

Mobile is too profitable a port for Carnival not to have a ship there. My guess is that if the Holiday is sold they will move a Fantasy class ship there. When I was booking a group on her last year they told me that the Mobile sailings were almost always full. Didn't someone on this board comment before that some work would have to be done at the port in order to bring in a larger ship?

[Rodeomomof2]

I think you could easily leave early that morning and drive down, the port is very easy to find and parking and getting on that ship was the easiest that I have ever experienced. You could leave at 5 or 6 in the morning and get there in time for lunch.:) Whatever you decide, I wish you luck and that you have a great time, I LOVED sailing on the Holiday!:D

[RJ7591]

We live in North Alabama and I agree that you could drive it if you left early enough. We sailed on the Holiday in 2004 and like others have said, the port is very easy to find and embarkation was quick and easy. I'd count on it being more than a 5 hour drive though. It's almost 5 hours for us and we're an hour south of Huntsville.

 

We stayed at the Admiral Semmes and if you can swing the expense that would be my suggestion. The Park and Sail package worked perfect for us and it will take a lot of stress out of the trip.

 

Enjoy you're cruise and here's the info for the hotel if you're interested.

Reservations:

800-333-3333

Telephone:

(251) 432-8000

 

251 Government Street,

Mobile , Alabama 36602 www.radisson.com/mobileal

[mother2_3]

Thanks for much for all the comments. And it's such a small world when you talk to someone in a thread from your home city! I am still going back and forth. I did call the Radisson Admiral Semmes and they are "full" of the Park & Cruise packages. They were nice enough to offer me a room for 189$ though. Ya right. I have heard about parking in that fenced area for free. Is it really checked you think while we are gone? I may be so pumped about this trip I wount be able to sleep Wednesday night anyway. Maybe we'll just play it by ear. As for the cruise itself- I am so excited. I've heard absolutely wonderful things about the ship. And just the thought of a 5 day vacation alone with my hubby makes me smile. Thanks for all the well wishes!

[mother2_3]

Thanks for much for all the comments. And it's such a small world when you talk to someone in a thread from your home city! I am still going back and forth. I did call the Radisson Admiral Semmes and they are "full" of the Park & Cruise packages. They were nice enough to offer me a room for 189$ though. Ya right. I have heard about parking in that fenced area for free. Is it really checked you think while we are gone? I may be so pumped about this trip I wount be able to sleep Wednesday night anyway. Maybe we'll just play it by ear. As for the cruise itself- I am so excited. I've heard absolutely wonderful things about the ship. And just the thought of a 5 day vacation alone with my hubby makes me smile. Thanks for all the well wishes!

[mother2_3]

Thanks for much for all the comments. And it's such a small world when you talk to someone in a thread from your home city! I am still going back and forth. I did call the Radisson Admiral Semmes and they are "full" of the Park & Cruise packages. They were nice enough to offer me a room for 189$ though. Ya right. I have heard about parking in that fenced area for free. Is it really checked you think while we are gone? I may be so pumped about this trip I wount be able to sleep Wednesday night anyway. Maybe we'll just play it by ear. As for the cruise itself- I am so excited. I've heard absolutely wonderful things about the ship. And just the thought of a 5 day vacation alone with my hubby makes me smile. Thanks for all the well wishes!

[marshabear]

we sail right after you- feb 12th....

 

we have to fly down because we live in Ohio but we are staying at the red roof inn on service road in Mobile the night before...$45 for the night...

 

of course if you did this you would still have to pay a parking fee at the terminal but this gives you another option at a cheaper price!! :) we also tried to book the radisson but they are full....

 

good luck with your decision and have a great cruise!! :)

 

 

Marsha

[marshabear]

we sail right after you- feb 12th....

 

we have to fly down because we live in Ohio but we are staying at the red roof inn on service road in Mobile the night before...$45 for the night...

 

of course if you did this you would still have to pay a parking fee at the terminal but this gives you another option at a cheaper price!! :) we also tried to book the radisson but they are full....

 

good luck with your decision and have a great cruise!! :)

 

 

Marsha

[vetgirl]

Too funny! I'm another Murfreesboro mama here driving down the end of next month! What a small world!:D

 

We have decided to leave the morning of the cruise around 4 a.m. and just go for it. We're thinking it will be about a 7 hour drive--with a couple of stops since we're traveling with a little one. 7 hours is really nothing considering we usually have to drive to Florida. Even though that cruise package with the room and parking is definitely a steal--if/when they have availablilties--we're still driving down that day and hoping not to run into any sort of problems.

 

Happy sailing!:)

[craigmol]

2 hours ago ! The Holiday is in great shape ! Crew (like always) was as good as any on carnival. All the entertainment was first class. We went on the Fury snorkle and sail excursion and had a wonderful time (water was warm and lots of fish !)

We heard rumors that the Holiday may be sold as soon as maybe this summer (heard it from one of the crew members) Also at one of the "talks", more info about Mobile getting a second ship (nothing offical, as the deal is still "in the works". Embarkation and debarkation was swift. We did not "self debark" but still were off the ship by 10:15. Will answer any questions. GREAT CRUISE !

 

 

Mowrider,

 

This really doesn't have to do with this post but I see you live in Mobile so I figured you could help. I am a huge Bud Light drinker and want to know if they have it on the Holiday? Also I want some for the night before we cruise at the hotel. What does it go for down there for a case? I can get it up here in WI for less than $14 but don't want to pack it if it is the same price down there. We have 3 vehicles driving down for our cruise in March. Most of us have never been on a cruise before. What do you think would be the best place to park? I have read that the Admiral shuttle fills up pretty quick? Thanks for your help!

[mowrider]

Mobile is too profitable a port for Carnival not to have a ship there. My guess is that if the Holiday is sold they will move a Fantasy class ship there. When I was booking a group on her last year they told me that the Mobile sailings were almost always full. Didn't someone on this board comment before that some work would have to be done at the port in order to bring in a larger ship?

Mobile owns the cruise terminal. the turn around basin is large enough for a much larger ship. The parking area is going to be expanded. The Holiday is going out on 112% of capasity. The mayor is pushing hard to get the second ship here. Carnival has "right of first refusal" for the next ship, although RRCL has been looking closely at us. Access is very easy to the terminal (right off I-10). A 200 event-a-year motorsports park is being built just north of Mobile that will just add to making Mobile a "destination" city. Oh, Yeah, This is where Mardi-Gra started ! It's all good.:D :D

[Jus10mom]

This is too funny! Wish I could pull another off. They were offering $139 military rates last week for an interior! WOW! We had an ocean view on the Holiday but I wouldn't bother again. If I cannot have a balcony then I'd probably save a couple of dollars next time. Honestly I cannot even remember looking out the window more than once...

 

I'm jealous of you both!!!!! ;)

 

See ya'll at Kroger's! LOL.

[mother2_3]

That is so funny "running" into all of you M'boro mamas here! I guess with all these kiddos running around we need a cruise vacation at the closest possible port- I know I do! Maybe we should organize a group cruise some time of worn out Murfreesboro Mamas that "need" to go on a vacation! I have a 5 yr old (turning 6 this Friday- sniff!), a 2 1/2 yr old, a 14 month old, and 12 weeks pregnant. Anyway, I'm such a tightwad that I am leaning on driving early am. I just don't want to pay for a hotel when I feel we are so close. I'm also not sure how big that free parking under the overpass is so I'm not sure how soon it will fill up. I'll probably change my mind several more times before next week!

[Jus10mom]

WOW....and I thought my kiddos were close in age! You are a busy woman!!!! Mine are 22 months but they are older now (8 and almost 10).

 

You can do it driving fine and be ready to get on the big ship with not problem. Maybe check AL Dept of Transportation to see if there is much construction too...

 

I remember the underpass and all but not sure how many spots there were. ????

 

So what time are you thinking of heading out? Is this the 4 or 5 night cruise?