Holiday 10/4 Trip Report, Part 1

M/S Holiday from New Orleans to Playa del Carmen/Calica and Cozumel

10/4-9/2004

Day 1: After an overnight stay at the Doubletree Lakeside in Metairie (very nice, with a view of Lake Ponchartrain), we arrived at the port around 10:30 a.m., parking in the Fulton Street garage ($12 per night). Luggage taken at curb and sent on to ship. Shuttle took us to pier after parking. We had maybe a 20-minute wait in line for check-in, and were on the boat by noon. Although cabin (Empress 19, forward) was not formally available until 1 p.m., steward welcomed us to stow carry-ons. We activated safe and left our one-apiece bags in closets.

Since this was our first cruise, we went to explore the ship. A line had already formed at the Lido Deck Wharf buffet, where we enjoyed cheeseburgers/fries, then sat on the aft deck overlooking New Orleans.

We had a drink at the Lido deck bar and discovered that the bank had cancelled, from lack of use, the debit card associated with the checking account with which I had guaranteed my Sail & Sign. Fortunately, I had another account with a card, and swapped it at purser’s desk. Still, left port without access to much of the money I’d stashed separately for this vacation. Luckily, my traveling companion had plenty of cash. I reimbursed her when we returned home.

Returned to cabin about 1:30 p.m., and found it roomy enough that we never felt crowded. Watched a bit of a movie as we stowed our carry-on contents and then continued touring the ship. The Holiday may be small compared to newer ones but, as cruise director Paul Santley pointed out later in the week, it was the largest cruise ship afloat when launched. It took a while to go over her.

4:00 p.m.: Lifeboat drill. Okay, I realize it’s required and all, but I wish they’d done it other than while the ship pulled away from the wharf. By the time we were released, the ship had reversed course and was headed downriver. We went to a top deck and watched New Orleans disappear.

Headed to a liquor tasting at 5 p.m. and bought three bottles at the duty-free shop at a great price (actually, one was free for purchasing the other two!). Also looked through the other shops onboard, which included a Carnival logo shop, jewelry/watches, and formals/flowers. When we returned to cabin, our large, hard-sided suitcase had arrived, so we unpacked further.

We had late (8:30 p.m.) seating for dinner in the Four Winds forward dining room, so whiled away a bit in the casino – which opened upon sailing – and won a few dollars at slots. When dinner time finally arrived we had a ‘small-world’ experience – the first couple to sit down with us at our 10-seat table resides in the same county as us, fewer than 15 miles away. Ironically, though we’d never met before, we were familiar with one another – the gentleman knew me from my former work as a local news/sports reporter/columnist, and his father was a local businessman who’d served on boards/commissions I used to cover. The only other couple present was from Chicago. Most of us selected and enjoyed the filet mignon.

After dinner, we enjoyed the get-to-know-you variety show in the Americana Lounge, featuring a comic ventriloquist.

By the time we returned to our cabin after the show, our remaining luggage – a garment bag apiece – had arrived. We unpacked and turned in.

Day 2: At sea. We reached the Gulf of Mexico sometime during the night, and awoke out of sight of land. I wandered around the ship and took pictures while my companion slept in. We went back to the Wharf buffet for a late breakfast before going to the port-shopping discussion by the resident shopper in the theatre. We took dutiful notes, but little came of them because shopping was not our planned primary port activity. We found the 24-hour pizza station for lunch, then went to the art auction just to watch. We did, but didn’t buy anything (nor did we plan to!). Enjoyed the free champagne and the spectacle, though.

Returned to cabin and took a nap before dressing for the Captain’s Cocktail Reception and formal dinner. Had our pictures taken (though we didn’t buy a single one of the formal ones; we did buy a couple other casual ones) at several different locations/backdrops in our evening wear.

After dinner, we took in the nightly show, this time featuring the resident male and female vocalists (Ed Chen and Hanna Ashton) and the house dancers. We were pleasantly surprised, finding the entertainment on a par with many Las Vegas shows. We left early, however, to take pictures of the ice and food sculptures at the gala midnight buffet, then turned in – worn out from two days of activity.

Day 3:I awoke early enough to watch the ship back into Calica port, south of Playa del Carmen on the Riviera Maya. Then we went to open-seating breakfast in the aft Seven Seas dining room before leaving the ship. I’d made a reservation to rent a car with Executive Car Rental at the port (the location is not on their website; email a request for quote), and we got a Nissan with 86,000 miles and manual transmission (it’d been awhile, but I’m an old farm boy – I remembered how it worked) for $45, which included the must-have $0 deductible insurance (otherwise, you have to pay for any damages before you’re allowed to leave), and were on the road to PdC around 9:45 a.m.

We bartered for some good deals on silver jewelry at several street shops on Avenidas Cintas (5th Avenue), the main shopping street, and visited the powder-sand beach for pictures before heading south to Puerto Aventuras, about 15 miles south. The Omni hotel/resort at PA had offered us (in response to an email request) free day-use of their facilities, but we stopped first for a wonderful late lunch in the little town there at Café Ole Restaurant. We ordered coconut shrimp and flounder – and both were wonderful, enjoyed in an outdoor, garden setting. Then we rented snorkel equipment (despite choppy, low-visibility conditions) and hit the Omni’s beach. Wow. What a gorgeous place! We gave up on the snorkeling pretty quickly, but still enjoyed an hour or so just playing in the waves. Afterward, we wandered around the marina (where there is a Dolphin Discovery location that had walk-up availability, which we decided against) and shopped a bit in town.

Next, we hopped back in the car and headed further south to Akumal, where we stopped at the first beach/marina and snapped pictures while strolling along a beachfront path fronting some beautiful rental villas.

Although the port stop had been extended until 10 p.m., the dock-side rental car station closed at 7 p.m., so we headed back to the ship, arriving about 6:40. We bartered a bit at the handful of vendors dockside, then went aboard with just about time to shower and dress for our dinner seating. We went on deck to watch the ship sail before repairing to the juggling/comedy late show in the theatre. Tomorrow, Cozumel!

Thanks for the great review I will be on this ship in March with my family. Was it easy to pick up the rental car in Calica? how about driving in Mexico? We are considering renting a minivan for the day to go to Tulum.

Allison

Picking the car up was a breeze -- the booth at the dock apparently has no electricity, so they only imprint your credit card, not scan it, and we'd carried a copy of our emailed confirmation -- and driving itself was not a problem. There are some unique 'rules of the road', especially concerning passing and left turns, but they are outlined for you in various publications. Highway 307, which goes all the way to Tulum, was good road, and we never felt uncomfortable about being on it.

However, we discovered a concern after returning home, when we realized Executive had tried (unsuccessfully) to charge/hold a sum much greater than our agreed rate (see post in "Ports of Call: Playa del Carmen").