Back from the M/S Holiday

[budgetcruiser]

Sailed the Holiday from 9/30/04 until 10/04/04.

 

It was my sister and I (30's) and my mom and aunt (50's). There was plenty to entertain all of us.

 

The crew were awesome. William, our room steward was great. Our waitstaff, Legwo and Verginia, were a lot of fun. Paul Santly, the cruise director, was hilarious.

 

I will make this short and sweet. Everything was great.

 

The only thing they could improve on was the debarkation process. It was a little disorganized. There were people trying to get into the Americana and people trying to leave at the same time. I think this was because the ship didn't clear customs until after 8:00 am.

 

There was a sewage smell every so often but not enough to think poorly of this ship.

 

We had a great time in Cozumel and this was the perfect cruise.

 

I have cruised Disney and they did the embarkation and debarkation a little better but the food and service was the same.

 

If you have any questions about the Holiday, you can email me at swottreng@sanjamar.com

[fmrlkr]

We were on the same sailing. My DH and I, my sister and her husband. This was our third cruise out of New Orleans, Inspiration, Conquest and the Holiday. This was by far our favorite. We loved the smallness of the ship. It was never crowded. The crew was by far the best we have ever had. Our waitstaff was Lorento and Elge. He was terrific, came over to us every breakfast and lunch to speak. She was very sweet and helpful. Our room steward was James, who went above and beyond. He will be going back to India when the Holiday moves to Mobile and will later join another ship. Although old, the ship was very clean and well kept. The only critique we had regarded the food, it was never arrived hot. Mobile and New Orleans are the same driving distance for us so we are already talking about taking a trip out of Mobile next year. The Debarkation was not a problem for us, however my comparision is the Conquest which was a nightmare.

[Mrs. Connie]

My first cruise will be on Holiday. I'm so excited about it!

Please tell me: what did you bring that you did not need, and what did you wish you had?

Connie

[waterbound]

We sailed Holiday in April for a short surprise weekend getaway and it was wonderful!! It is smaller than the newer bigger ships and of course is showing some wear, but we had a blast!!

[cantwait2cruz2]

Thank you for taking the time to write about your cruise. A group of 5 of us will be sailing on the Holiday on Nov 8th. Of course, we can't wait!

 

Question ? How was the night life in the lounges? Dancing? Any good music to dance to for us oldies (50s)?

 

We will be going out of Mobile so maybe embark/debark will be better.

 

So glad you all had a great time. We can't wait! It'll be my SIL's first cruise. I am so excited for her. Hey, I'm excited for me to! I am sooooo hooked.

 

Thanks again!

[Cotton]

SO glad to hear that both of y'all enjoyed your recent cruises on the Holiday!

 

About the 'slight sewer smell', I've heard that mentioned a few times - but I swear, in my four cruises on the Holiday, I have never noticed that at all. (I think my nose works pretty well...:D...so I don't know how I missed it. Lucky me, I guess?)

 

Anyhoo, thx for coming back to report on your great cruises!

[budgetcruiser]

I did a pretty good job packing with the help from all of the boards. I'm so glad I brought my own insulated cup. I drink a lot of water and bringing my own cup helped. The water at the juice/coffee area was perfectly fine. I noticed a lot of people bought the water they but in your cabin. I really didn't use the shoe organizer. My sister and I shared a cabin and we had plenty of space in the drawers and there were two closets. I did forget my highlighter. That would have been useful to highlight the Capers. There was a lot of fun things to do.

 

I thought the nightlife had a good variety. Reflections plays the latest dance music and Doc Holidays has a variety of music. The night we were at Doc Holidays the band was playing everything from YMCA to Patsy Cline. They take requests.

 

We had the early seating for dinner so I don't know if that helped with our food being served hot. I have to say there was quite a variety of food. My sister is a picky eater and she found something on the dinner menu each night that she liked.

[phinfan63]

Just curious, what cabin were you in? We had William as a room steward too - not sure if it is the same one but he was great. We were in M21.

 

Cotton - I never smelled the sewage smell either. Guess we were lucky :-)

 

The only thing I can really think of that took that I didn't use was champagne and vodka. We had planned on mimosas but the oj was too watered down. The vodka wasn't used mostly because we were having too much fun on deck to walk back to the room every time we wanted a drink. Oh yea, we didn't use the nightlight either. The light coming under the door was plenty of light for us.

 

Someone said earlier that they didn't use the shoe organizer but that was one of the best things we took. The bathroom doesn't have any shelf space so it was a nice way to keep everything together and neat. We are smokers and took a smokeless ashtray which was very nice too.

 

Have fun!

[fmrlkr]

Mrs. Connie: We over packed as usual, took way too many shirts and tops. There is one formal night, but I noticed dress ranged from very dressy to khakis and button down. I took mix and match items.

 

cantwait2cruz2: We too really enjoyed Doc Hollidays, great music to dance to, or in our case sit and listen to. The biggest crowds we saw were at Karoke. By the way they had dance lessons every day, Cha-Cha, Austin Powers, Country dancing. We kept trying to go but always arrived late. I think that was the guys plan all along.

[rosejmort@aol.com]

I was on this cruise also, it was wonderful!! Probably the most fun of the 3 cruises I've been on! I liked the intimacy of a small ship, it made it really easy to meet people. "Mr. B from Florida" - if you are reading this, I wish we had time to get to know each other better!

[sanermae]

We are so hoping to experience the Holiday out of Mobile--an easy drive for us. We have travelled on the larger ships but started on the smaller ones and really miss the wonderful "sometimes you like to go where everybody knows your name" feel of the smaller ship. Cotton, you seem to be the most knowledgeable of the Holiday crowd--do you suggest a certain deck? We have never had a balcony (13 cruises and too cheap to spring for a balcony!). This might be a possibility on this ship--please advise fellow sailor! Happy cruising....

[Cotton]

Hey Sanermae! Yep, love that ship! On all four Holiday cruises, I've been on either Upper or Main Deck. To me, it's never mattered which deck I'm on, as the Holiday is so easy and quick to get around. Y'know - I've never had a balcony cabin; I stick to the less expensive cabins. I'll probably get lost on the Sensation in Nov., since I think I could probably walk around the Holiday blindfolded!:eek: Even though I'll be trying a different ship just for a change, I feel sure I'll cruise on the Holiday again.

[Shangrilq]

Sailed the Holiday from 9/30/04 until 10/04/04.

 

It was my sister and I (30's) and my mom and aunt (50's). There was plenty to entertain all of us.

 

The crew were awesome. William, our room steward was great. Our waitstaff, Legwo and Verginia, were a lot of fun. Paul Santly, the cruise director, was hilarious.

 

I will make this short and sweet. Everything was great.

 

The only thing they could improve on was the debarkation process. It was a little disorganized. There were people trying to get into the Americana and people trying to leave at the same time. I think this was because the ship didn't clear customs until after 8:00 am.

 

There was a sewage smell every so often but not enough to think poorly of this ship.

 

We had a great time in Cozumel and this was the perfect cruise.

 

I have cruised Disney and they did the embarkation and debarkation a little better but the food and service was the same.

 

If you have any questions about the Holiday, you can email me at swottreng@sanjamar.com

 

We loved the Holiday and was on the infamous Hurricane Lili cruise(first time on Holiday and we still had a wonderful time)

 

Both times on the Holiday we have had excellent waiter and asst waiter service in the dining room but our room steward has always been the "PITS". Wouldn't do nothing. I had to leave little sticky notes everywhere to get ice.etc. I left the minimum tips but made sure to leave a note(sticky note of course) that if he had had a better obliging attitude we would have gladly tipped more). I think Cotton holds a record on being on this ship so I would be interested to know if he has ever encountered such BAD room steward service or does he just bribe them all with $100 bills when he boards?LOL!!

 

 

Actually, yes we did smell that sewage smell near the photos section just before the upper show room area.

[Cotton]

We loved the Holiday ..... I think Cotton holds a record on being on this ship so I would be interested to know if he has ever encountered such BAD room steward service or does he just bribe them all with $100 bills when he boards?LOL!!

 

Hi Shan. First of all, I'm not a he, but a she!:D And, no I don't 'bribe' - as a matter of fact, I'm one of those folks who believes that tipping is something you do when you have rec'd good service. I DO leave all tips in place on the S&S account - but the degree of service determines if I tip extra later in the cruise. I wish I had $100 bills to toss around! Don't we all?:rolleyes:

 

As far as the cabin stewards I've had, they've all been 'good' to 'very good'. I make sure I meet the steward on the first day, and I always treat him w/respect. There might be a slight language barrier, but - Smiles bring smiles in return, y'know. If a steward seems to have time, I sometimes chat w/him a bit during the cruise.

 

Usually, as an extra little 'happy', every morning before leaving my cabin, I leave one of the mini-candy bars for him with a sticky note saying Thanks, or a $1 bill taped to the mirror. No biggie, just a little thx. (I also give a mini-candy bar to room service personnel along with the $1 or $2 tip....they always seems to appreciate that little surprise.)

 

Only ONCE on the Holiday did I not tip extra to the cabin steward...that was on my recent 2-day CTN. He was fine until the last morning, and then rushed me up, took my b'fast tray before I was finished, and looked at his watch.....NO extra tip for him, I assure you.

[Randy & Carmen]

Wait a minute....Cotton is a SHE?:eek: ....lol....but then I always thought so!....:D

[MS QUEEN]

Randy...seek help...quickly....

 

I am sooo glad to see so many positive Holiday reviews. I absolutely love this ship and I too can say it won hands down over the Conquest. The only thing I preferred on the Conquest was of course the updated appearance and the disco..much more room....everything else gets 10 points for the Holiday from staff to service to bedspreads and more!!!

 

Holiday is a great ship....spread the word!

[Cotton]

Hey Queenie! Girl, you're just never around anymore!

 

FYI to everybody - MS Queen is actually the Holiday authority. I KNOW she's had more cruises on the Holiday than I have - she just doesn't post much anymore (her new hubby takes up all her time now).....:D

[budgetcruiser]

We were in cabins M20 and M24. William was very nice and did an excellent job makeing sure we had ice and our room was very clean.

 

I did tip him extra the first day and the last day.

 

I thought all of the crew on the Holiday was great.

[MS QUEEN]

Hey Cotton!! Actually Cotton is waaaaay more informed of the Holiday. I only know how to get from my room to the lido deck to the dining room and disco LOL. She knows all that AND all the other stuff!

[cantwait2cruz2]

All you guys have certainly made me soooo excited and anxious.

 

Fmrlkr, Thanks for the info on Doc Holidays. My husband and I love to dance; however, I'm not sure I'll get him to the lessons.

 

We prefer the smaller ships also. I'm kinda bummed out about the guarantee cabin we got.......R38.......but as long as we're cruising, I'll be happy happy!

 

One month from today.......yippee.......

 

Big thanks to all on this thread........

[MS QUEEN]

I love the Riviera Deck myself and have sometimes gotten peeved (on the inside) with an upgrade LOL! The rooms are exactly the same as above decks and too the lower, more midship you are the least likely for that good ol' sea-sick feeling. Put me as low as they'll go is my motto!!

[cantwait2cruz2]

Ms Queen, From the deck plans it appears that R38 may be smaller than some of the other inside rooms and it is closer to the front. My hubby always wears the patch and I think I'll take some dramamine for myself this time (just in case).

 

No doubt we'll have a great time. We were on the Jubilee in May and I really like the smaller ship. Less walking for my "matured" body, heehee

 

Thank you for your words of encouragement on the lower deck.......

[Cotton]

About the closer to front issue - Last year I was in M6, just one deck above Riveria. Can't get much closer to the bow than that. It was a great cabin - one of the best I've ever had. No more motion than anywhere else I've stayed.:)

[dtredy2go]

Dh and I are going on the Holiday in December. I am really looking forward to it now that I know what to expect.

Sewage smell doesn't have anything to do with the age of the ship, we were on the Conquest in May 2003 and the smell was very strong in the hallway on our deck but you could not smell it in any of our cabins.(We had 18).

[tbrown]

Take a small bottle of febreeze with you and spray your cabin with it. Helps with the stuffy smell. But, of course I use febreeze for EVERYTHING.

 

This helps with the small bathroom and the smells that may come from them;)