Just back from 5 Day MS Holiday cruise

[The4Cruisers]

Wow! I am so glad I didn't listen to the naysayers that bash on Holiday. This was a fun cruise (our 5th on CCL) and everything was about as good as it gets.

 

Having had the same CD on our previous four cruises, this was our first with a different one (Torey). She was a bundle of energy and very personable as well. We had a nice chat with her about many things cruise related and where her path may go once the Holiday sails into the sunset. She and her staff worked hard to ensure the guests were happy. In fact, the last song / dance show was cancelled due to rough seas. Her singers and the entertainment staff did a great job putting together a "backup" show that featured the two main singers and then some good-humored fun in the way of a skit.

 

Just to go over a few things, we never experienced the sewer smell that some people rant about. There were three of us in one cabin and two of our group in another on the Upper level and only one person in our two cabins said they saw rust in the water when they turned it on one day. I will say another cruiser on the R deck said he had rust daily.

 

We did have a couple of issues that were handled promptly and professionally by the staff (clogged sink, crummy table assignment in the DR, and a poor job by the room steward in making up the room). Couldn't ask for much more there. In fact, they sent up a plate of chocolate covered strawberries with a note from the pursor, but that was unnecessary. We understand that some glitches happen here and there.

 

The crummy table assignment was that our party of 5 was seated at a 4 topper just outside the kitchen door. We had to have one person sit on a chair in the aisle, and they kept getting bumped by the passing wait staff. I was waiting for a tray to come crashing down on us. There were a couple of close calls. Unfortunately, that early dinner service was jam packed, so the best option the MD could give us was to move to the late seating. That was no good for us, so we got a different person in our group to sit in "the chair" and we stayed at that same table all five nights. We got along okay in those circumstances, just not "wonderful".

 

After leaving Cozumel on Tuesday, the ship encountered some rough seas and the pitch and rolling continued well into Wednesday. The crew posted sickness bags near the elevators. I only heard of a couple of instances where people who were getting sick. (Funny how rumors can circulate onboard. The table behind us in the DR were discussing the hurricane we travelled through! :eek: :confused: :( OMG! It was sunny out!!! Just some rollers were moving the ship around folks! They'd probably freak out if we went NEAR a hurricane in the gulf! )

 

The dining room and Lido Deck both served delicious food. The DR staff did a great job in making sure everyone had enough to eat and I particularly need to commend our drink server, RatMan (as he calls himself). This gent kept the drink glasses full and he was a lot of fun to interact with. Our wait staff of Imade and Tina did a great job as well.

 

The ship met my expectations as it is the oldest in the fleet, yet she is clean and comfortable. The stateroom was kept up (when the Steward got to it) and we were all happy with the end result; clean beds and towels! The staff was always busy scrubbing and cleaning the common areas. It sure shows that this crew is proud of their ship.

 

The Mobile cruise port was very nice and the staff was great! They moved us through outbound and inbound with no delays at all.

 

Well, that's about it. We were so glad to have went on this cruise. If I were to grade it on the overall scale of 1 - 10, I'd give the experience a 8.5 and would do it again!

[mcfam5]

We loved our experience on the Holiday in August and are looking forward to sailing her again next month.

 

We also could not say enough positive things about the staff ~ the best service we have received anywhere!

[bonniemari]

Glad to hear you had a good cruise.

 

I love the Holiday and have been on her several times. IMHO she has the best crew and food of any Carnival ship.

 

I'm sure gonna miss her when she is gone.