Carnival's "Holiday" 5 day cruise to Mexico


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Central America Caribbean
January 26th 2007
Published: January 29th 2007
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January is definately the time to go on a cruise - especially since we realized that there were numerous options for 4 and 5 day cruises for $199! Myself and Chris has planned on taking a cruise at the end of March or early April, but jumped at the chance to get the same cruise for over 1/2 the price! All that being said, here's my account of our 5 day "Western Carribean" cruise to Cozumel, and what would have been Costa Maya (read on...), leaving from Mobile, Alabama.

We left out of Atlanta on Saturday morning, the day our cruise was to leave, and due to the 75/85 split not being as clear as it could have been, we went 30 miles the wrong direction before realizing our error. Luckily, the extra hour we added to our trip time was laughingly gained back, as we realized we'd failed to account for the time zone difference. We arrived into Mobile at exactly when we had originally wanted to. Boarding the boat was a quick process and we were soon exploring what was to be our home for the next 5 days.

The "Holiday" is the smallest ship in the fleet, but joined with southern hospitality, it created an intimate setting. We were a bit suprised at how quickly the staff pounced on the passengers for drinks. We knew going into the experience that we'd need to take it light on drinks since that's one of the few things that is NOT included in the price, so we declined. It was obvious later that night that some did not have the same self control that we did!

At 4pm there was a safety drill, we learned that the emergency boats are made to unsinkable, even if filled with water - and that there is supposedly enough food and water already loaded into the boats. We'll never know for sure if they actually did - seeing as that we made it back to land safefully. 😉

Every 30 minutes to an hour brought different activities on board. It was a bit slow the first day for us because it was too chilly to enjoy the Sun, it wouldn't be until the next day before the boat would find warmer weather in the Gulf. The Ship offered nightly shows, comedy acts, dance lessons (hiphop, swing, chacha, and line dance.) For the gamblers there was a casino with slots and tables, and even Bingo games to put your money on. And the food! WOW! We enjoyed the casual dining area more than the restaraunt area, we liked the freedom of larger dining time ranges and being able to see and pick our own food. We found that the other option meant having to wait for others at our table to complete their meals and the food was usually overcooked for our tastes. But other than that, we ate like KINGS! I'm sure we ate enough food to cover what we paid for the entire cruise! Chris even played in a ping-pong tournament and took second place recieving a medal (First place won a "piece of ship on a stick".)

The ship dealt with alot of wind, more than I think is normal as they often had to close the top deck. Unfortunately, this wind was so strong that it prevented us from docking in Costa Maya. We tried, but the captain and crew explained that we had to abort because it was pushing us inland, and had we continued to try to dock, we would have grounded the boat. The cruiseline refunded our money for the excursions for that stop, and also credited each person with $25. I think their handling of the situation was done as well as possible - despite the obvious disappointments.

Luckily, there were no problems with docking in Cozumel, and we had a blast! We had selected the excursion to the Mayan Ruins in Tulum - and were not disappointed. To get there, we took a 25 minute ferry to Playa Del Carmen (to which Chris gladly took advantage of the provided baggies...) and then a bus ride from there to the ruins. (with the obvious stop along the way at a place to buy souvineers, I'm sure the tour guide got a kickback of the profits.)

I have a seperate entry for the ruins in TULUM because I think it deserves it's own attention: Tulum ruins and Beach

After leaving the ruins, we passed back through Playa Del Carmen and even saw some wild pigs in some of the brush! We had a small amount of time to enjoy Cozumel afterwards before having to be back on the ship so we were able to do a bit of shopping. We went to a place
Americana LoungeAmericana LoungeAmericana Lounge

Dance Lessons, Showtime, Bingo...
called "Silver Emporium" and found almost all of our gifts to take back.

All in all, it was a great cruise, we'd definately do one again - but after I've recovered from the "boat sensations"... We've been back a few days, and I still feel a little wobbly at times!


Additional photos below
Photos: 27, Displayed: 25


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Leaving Mobile, Alabama's PortLeaving Mobile, Alabama's Port
Leaving Mobile, Alabama's Port

Out of commission by Hurricane Katrina?
Leaving Mobile, Alabama's PortLeaving Mobile, Alabama's Port
Leaving Mobile, Alabama's Port

Coal Industry looked alive and well.
This is all we got to see of Costa MayaThis is all we got to see of Costa Maya
This is all we got to see of Costa Maya

The wind and weather made it unsafe to dock. We would have grounded the boat. :(
So much food!So much food!
So much food!

This was a dessert table area.
Tulum, MexicoTulum, Mexico
Tulum, Mexico

Make sure to see my entry with more pictures devoted specifically to this beautiful place!
Tulum, MexicoTulum, Mexico
Tulum, Mexico

Make sure to see my entry specifically for Tulum!


10th February 2007

Best time of our lives
What a wonderful time the Holiday afforded this week. The accommodations were superb, the food was beyond description, the atmosphere was down-home friendly, but perhaps the greatest facet of the trip was the over-the-top friendliness and helpfulness of the staff. We definitely will be back--this time we're bringing the whole family.
4th March 2007

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Thanks so much for this. I'd love to see more pictures!! My husband and I are going on a cruise this summer on the Holiday from Mobile as well...we are docking at Cozumel and Calica. I definitely look forward to it. I would love to see more pictures of the boat and what everything looks like. When you say you have to wait for others to finish their meals, does that mean you have to sit there and wait until they finish so you can LEAVE, or wait on them so you can get the next course?
11th June 2008

I went on a cruise to Cozumel from Mobile in January. It was awesome! I would recommend it to anyone who is even considering it!!
1st December 2008

Thanks for the great info
I, along with my husband, children, parents, brother, and nieces and nephews, are leaving for this trip in about two weeks. Thank you so much for the detailed analysis. I'll post more comments upon my return.
29th December 2008

what do we bring?
Thank you for sharing your information. We are going in January me and my husband and two kids 12 AND 14 TEEN what do wear or what should we bring?

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