Please tell me all about it.....

[Booman14]

Hey, newbie here!:D My family and I are, "trying out our sea legs" for the first time. We are soooo excited. Just a quick question, (trust me, there will be more to come) we are booked on the Carnival ship "Holiday" for Thanksgiving week 2008. We are heading to Progreso, and Consumel. Please tell me everything about this time of year. How crowed? What to expect? Weather? People on the boat? Alot of kids, or will it be more adults? Just really need to know what to expect? Also, are the ports crowed that time of year? Thanks so much..... :cool:

[Essiesmom]

Thanksgiving week means there will be a lot of families because kids will be out of school. Sooo..expect a lot of kids and a younger crowd. I can't answer for that time of year, as I haven't cruised then, or done that itinerary. EM

[barryod]

Hey Booman14,

Welcome! If it's info you want, you're at the right place. You have time to gather it as well. Part of the cruise is the preparation and you've started that by coming here. I would suggest one thing to do would be to go to the board listing Roll Calls, then your ship, then your sail date, and meet and chat with people going with you. The joy is in the journey, just be careful not to go on the cruise before you go on the cruise, if you know what I mean. Get the whole family involved.

Have a wonderful cruise!!!

 

Barry

[julieanne]

Have cruised that time of year with children. It will be crowded and lots of children/families. The weather should be good, it's always warm in Cozumel. I have never been to Progreso. We were just in Cozumel last November and th weather/seas were beautiful. You can check and see how many ships will port with you that day at http://www.cruisecal.com. The beaches are very nice there and there is a huge shopping center at the pier. I always enjoyed holidays with the children aboard ship and I know you and your family will have a great time! If you post some more specific questions, I know you will get a lot of great answers! Have a wonderful first cruise! :)

[cruzeluver]

Weather should be great! Warm, but not blistering hot. There will be a lot of kids onboard.

 

Cruisecal is a great site, but they now charge to use it. If you want to find out what other ships will be in port with you (Coz can get really busy in the Winter months) try porttime.com.

[clackey]

We have sailed late Nov. early Dec. several times. The weather is usually good with temps in the lower 80's and the water temp is nice. I think that we had one day when it was rainey with alot of wind.

 

Go to the ports of call boards and research. There is plenty to do in both of your ports.

[KLLund]

There will be lots of kids .. great weather .. and you will have a great time .. everyone is happy because they are on a winter holiday!!

 

cruisecal.com .. is now a subscription site .. but

 

http://www.porttime.com is not and provides even more information to you .. for instance it will tell you how many passengers total you can expect from the specific ships in port with you ..

 

Enjoy the cruise :o

[Booman14]

Hey, Thanks for all your help. I wasn't sure what to expect. I believe when we get to Progreso, we are planing to go on a tour of Uxmal. For the most part, everyone on the boards have recommended the tour. After that, I believe I will have to give in and spend the day with my family shopping in Cozumel. :rolleyes: Can anyone recommend a good place to eat fresh seafood? Thanks again.

[julieanne]

Hey, Thanks for all your help. I wasn't sure what to expect. I believe when we get to Progreso, we are planing to go on a tour of Uxmal. For the most part, everyone on the boards have recommended the tour. After that, I believe I will have to give in and spend the day with my family shopping in Cozumel. :rolleyes: Can anyone recommend a good place to eat fresh seafood? Thanks again.

LOL, tell you what Booman, I was just reading an article yesterday about the worst food choices you can make in a foreign country are. You guessed it, seafood! I'll have to try and find the article. My DH and I love to eat in port. The last two times in Mexico? A bit of stomach upset :(. We still eat in port, but we haven't chosen seafood the last couple of times and have been a-ok. It's usually delicious, but pack some meds just in case!

[clackey]

Hey, Thanks for all your help. I wasn't sure what to expect. I believe when we get to Progreso, we are planing to go on a tour of Uxmal. For the most part, everyone on the boards have recommended the tour. After that, I believe I will have to give in and spend the day with my family shopping in Cozumel. :rolleyes: Can anyone recommend a good place to eat fresh seafood? Thanks again.

There are too many good places to eat in Coz. Check out the list on www.cozumelmycozumel.com and www.cozumelinsider.com. Some of the best seafood that I have had was at Le Saint Bonnet in Progreso. The resturant is in front of the local fish market, so anything that you order is about as fresh as you can get without catching it yourself.

[Booman14]

:cool: One more quick question...... How is the seating in the dining room on the Holiday? Is it 4 - 6 people at a table, or is it 20? We have a couple of groups going, can we request to sit together? Also, does the menu change, or is it always the same? Where can you find it on the web? Thanks......

[clackey]

:cool: One more quick question...... How is the seating in the dining room on the Holiday? Is it 4 - 6 people at a table, or is it 20? We have a couple of groups going, can we request to sit together? Also, does the menu change, or is it always the same? Where can you find it on the web? Thanks......

The largest table that I can remember seats 8. Talk to the M'd. They bend over backwards to help you in any way that they can. The menus are different each night.

 

If you are a carnivore, you need to try the Chateau Briand.

[Booman14]

Are some of the tables made for a party of 4? Or maybe even 6?

[ThePatientOne]

To the OP.. You have a ton of reading to do.. You DID come to the right place.. CC is great for "Newbies" as well as seasoned cruisers...

Table layout varies.. There are some for 2 tables, then there are some for four, usually they are for 8 however when I sailed we had a group of 10. We had our own table just for the 10 of us..

I would suggest that whoever you have your booking through, get with them and have all the reservations "Linked" for dinner.. That way, you will have your own table set up prior to sailing...

Have fun and, well have fun...

[Booman14]

Thanks for all of your help.:)

[Morgsmom]

LOL, tell you what Booman, I was just reading an article yesterday about the worst food choices you can make in a foreign country are. You guessed it, seafood! I'll have to try and find the article. My DH and I love to eat in port. The last two times in Mexico? A bit of stomach upset :(. We still eat in port, but we haven't chosen seafood the last couple of times and have been a-ok. It's usually delicious, but pack some meds just in case!

 

I, personally, would think long & hard before eating seafood in Mexico, but that's just me. For starters, there is so much food on the cruise, I just don't plan to eat in the ports of call. Second, about the only thing that I will drink in certain ports of call is bottled beer or soda :rolleyes: ... Mexico would be one of those places. If I were going to eat seafood (or other foods) in ports of call I would only order items that are thoroughly cooked -- deep fried or grilled fish, but NOT fresh produce (to include raw salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, etc) which may have not been handled (or cleaned with) the same standands that you might expect. Food sanitation standards in the US are generally very high; as a result your stomach may take some "accustoming" to foods in other countries. I wouldn't risk it on my first cruise. Stick with the $1 Coronas, in my opinion.

[138east]

Good advice Morgsmom. We lived in Mexico for three years and that is the advice we always give to folks going to Mexico. If you must eat, choose something (not seafood) fried or cooked in hot oil. Don't eat ANY fresh vegetables or fruits unless you peel them yourself. Always drink directly from the bottle - no ice and no glasses.

[crystalh256]

DH and I just went on our first cruise in May. It was on the Holiday also. Absolutely loved it. We sailed the same itenary so you will be leaving on a Saturday. If it is the Saturday before probably tons of kids, but Camp Carnival must do a great job as we saw only a handful and were told there where over 175 on board. If it leaves the Sat after Thanksgiving I would guess there will be fewer kids.

In Progreso, you would be wise to book an excursion. We just did the massage on the beach which was great, but were only there for 1 1/2 hrs as there is not much else to do, the beach is not so great and encountered some lewdness that made me uncomfortable. So when we go next year, this time with our kids, we will probably just stay on the ship for this port.

Tables of varying sizes, we were seated at a 10 top with 3 other couples and 2 college students. We absolutely adored these couples and felt like old buddies by the time we left the ship. We are all still in touch and planning on camping together next month. Dinners vary, but everything that I ordered was great. There were a few alternatives that stayed the same thru the week. However, the Holiday swapped over to the new Carnival menus this month, so not sure how they are now.

Have a great cruise and hopefully it will become an addiction for you like has us!!:)