Holiday Past/Present Cruisers Post Here

[Jus10mom]

Doc Dance....the official dance you get to do when you FINALLY get your travel documents in the mail. When you get those, you know you are FINALLY close to setting sail after all those months of planning and anticipation!!!! :)

[memickee]

I will be on the 8/20 sailing as well. Will you be staying at the Raddison the night before? Are you on an inside room or ocean view? We are on the Empress deck - ocean view. I am getting so excited - just about a week away!

I got my docs a while ago and did the 'dance'

[Doughboy77]

:) My family will be leaving on the Holiday Oct.15th for our 1st Cruise, 67 days and counting.I have been reading all of the useful tips and info, can't get enough.Thanks so much to everyone.

 

My wife and I (26 and 27, respectively) will be on our first cruise with you! I know the ship is sold out but had yet to see anyone else pop up on the CC boards. I've started a Roll Call thread for our sailing right here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=211615

 

It's coming up fast and I can't wait!

 

-Jason

[cbreez]

I will be on the 8/20 sailing as well. Will you be staying at the Raddison the night before? Are you on an inside room or ocean view? We are on the Empress deck - ocean view. I am getting so excited - just about a week away!

I got my docs a while ago and did the 'dance'

We live in Montgomery so we're driving down Saturday morning. We got a great deal that we just couldn't refuese on an inside cabin on the Emperess deck. We had an oceanview on the Jubilee last year and loved it. You can sit in on the window sills and watch the ocean go by.

[Photomom22]

My wife and I (26 and 27, respectively) will be on our first cruise with you! I know the ship is sold out but had yet to see anyone else pop up on the CC boards. I've started a Roll Call thread for our sailing right here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=211615

 

It's coming up fast and I can't wait!

 

-Jason

 

Threre are 23 of us in all.Several families, most of us are first timers,ages ranging from around 4-50 something, so I'm keeping everyone updated on all the finds I'm getting from the great Cruise websites like this.My mother in law will also be on the cruise celebrating her Birthday.I'm really not sure if this will respond right or not, so bear with me.I'm new to it.

I'll sign up on the Roll Call next.Thanx

[atlcple2]

I just read today that the Holiday was refurbished in 2003...wondering why they have to refurbish it again? Where did you guys see that they are refurbishing it in September 05? Just curious.

[Jus10mom]

They are to refurbish in Sept; then supposedly in 2006 it will be sold and is supposed to go like to Australia or something......I read that the Celebration or Sensation or one of those ships are supposed to come to Mobile then....there were no sailing available in September for the Holiday.

[atlcple2]

Thanks for the info. I have been reading a lot about the Holiday and after a lot of thought, we decided to go on the Glory instead. The Fantacy was our first cruise and since then we have cruised the Pride, Spirit and on 9/3, the Caribbean Princess. We were just afraid we would be disappointed with the Holiday because she is so old, small and not as stable on the water as with the bigger ships. We were spending a good bit of $$ already on the Holiday for 2 rooms (4 of us) and decided that we would be happier if we just spent the extra $$ and booked the Glory. Everyone seems to love the Holiday, I just think we are more of a "mega ship" cruiser.

[shecat]

I received an email from Carnival for a last minute special on the Holiday sailing August 20 for $259 including port charges, but not taxes. I think it is a resident special for Alabama. Very tempting!

[memickee]

Wow - great price! I didn't get that email - but I am already booked for that cruise.

[Cruisewolfe]

Let us know how the criuse was as soon as you can....I am leaving 8/20!

Thanks:D

 

We will be on that cruise with you....our VERY first one..we are SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!

[memickee]

We will be on that cruise with you....our VERY first one..we are SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!

 

 

It's pretty neat to meet folks going on the same cruise before hand! I am looking forward to this very much - however, it looks like my town/state will be hit with a hurricane next week - yikes!!!

[memickee]

There are several folks booked on our cruise - it was suggested that we all plan to meet to get acquainted. What do you think?

[gingerbug77]

Terri,

 

You are quite welcome for the help. Glad to do it. Yes, I live in Mobile and really got started in posting on this board because I just wanted to help out anyone cruising out of here and hopefully they will have a good impression about Mobile and their cruise on the Holiday. We want the Holiday to be a success so we can get another cruise ship sailing out of Mobile. I'm like you. I would like to see another ship that would hopefully be a seven day cruise to some different locations.

 

DW and I sailed on the Holiday back in Jan. and loved it. Our cruise was the first cruise after the so called "cruise to nowhere" caused by the ship having propulsion problems. They actually fixed the problem during our cruise. The ship's crew could not have been any nicer to us during the cruise considering the problems and all. We would sail on Holiday again in a heartbeat. And I'm sure we will (after we complete our cruise in Oct. on Zuiderdam).

 

Richard

 

Richard,

 

Glad I saw your post. Can you tell me anything about Las Brisas on the Bay in Mobile. I have never been to Mobile so I know absolutely nothing about the area. They have a good pre-cruise price and told me that they have 24 hr. security. They have complimentary parking and complimentary shuttle and are about 3 minutes from the Carnival dock. Help! We are a group of 5 women traveling together so I hope to find somewhere to stay that we will all feel safe!

 

Thanks.

[memickee]

Terri,

I looked at this hotel as well when making my hotel reservations

If you click on the provided link it'll take you to some of their 'specials', however when I looked up reviews for the hotel on expedia - they were not good at all - I have some of the bad reviews -

 

This hotel is horrible

We arrived in Mobile at night and could not find the hotel because there was not a sign to indentify the hotel. When I arrived at the hotel there was glass in the parking lot. As I was checking into my room I could hear loud Rap music coming from the lobby. Our rooms were not clean, the bathroom did not have enough towels and it needed some work. My friends who were with me, had to change rooms due to the "bad" smell which was overwhelming. The Continental Breakfast was not included, we wanted just Coffee and was told that we would have to buy the Buffet Breadfast to receive coffee. Later that night after sightseeing, we returned to the hotel and could not find a parking spot because the lot was full. After parking across the lot we entered the hotel only to find the bar in full swing, there was a bar fight, one man had glass thrown in his eye. Yes, you can guess, the police and ambulance arrived five minutes later. This hotel needs a lot of work, I wont even go into the pool and "every room has water view". http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll?qscr=dspv&&itid=&itdx=&itty=&from=f

Regretted my choice

Wish I had gone on down the road - if I hadn’t already paid for it, I would have. The bathroom is so small, the fit so tight even for a relatively small woman it was uncomfortable. TV - couldn’t get even the regular network channels - VERY fuzzy. Room was huge - but awkward - not at all cozy or comfortable. Needed more pillows

 

http://www.mobile.org/images/packages/lasbrisas_copy.pdf

 

Hope this helps,

Michelle

[richcrow]

Richard,

 

Glad I saw your post. Can you tell me anything about Las Brisas on the Bay in Mobile. I have never been to Mobile so I know absolutely nothing about the area. They have a good pre-cruise price and told me that they have 24 hr. security. They have complimentary parking and complimentary shuttle and are about 3 minutes from the Carnival dock. Help! We are a group of 5 women traveling together so I hope to find somewhere to stay that we will all feel safe!

 

Thanks.

 

No, I would not recommend anyone to stay at Las Brisas. It's not even listed in the Mobile Yellow Pages if that tells you something. The best deal going for cruise packages is the Raddison Admiral Semmes. I'm sure that it is more than you might have been looking for if you were considering the Las Brisas, but they have a pretty good rate for cruisers. I think that it is around $89.00 and includes a full breakfast buffet and free covered parking while you are on your cruise (it will cost you $10.00 per day to park at the cruise terminal). The hotel shuttles you to the cruise terminal. This hotel is downtown about 5 min. from the ship. There is a Ramada downtown Mobile which is an alright place to stay I have stayed there), but I'm not familiar with their rates and if they will let you park while on the cruise. Other than that any hotel on I-65 Service Road will do just fine. The Holiday Inn Bellingrath Garden in Tillman's Corner is a nice place to stay and they will shuttle you to the ship and let you park while you are sailing. It is about 20-30 min. away.

 

Here are local phone numbers for hotels in order of my recommendation:

 

1. Raddison Admiral Semmes 251-432-8000

2. Ramada Inn Civic Center 251-433-6923

3. Holiday Inn Bellingrath Gardens 251-666-5600

 

Let me know if I can be of anymore help.

 

Richard

[gingerbug77]

Thanks so much for your replies....I'm marking Las Brisas off my list!

[Cruisewolfe]

There are several folks booked on our cruise - it was suggested that we all plan to meet to get acquainted. What do you think?

 

I think that would be GREAT!!!

[Terri102066]

Michelle,

 

I know everyone has there own experience, but we have stayed at the Radisson twice in the last year and have not had any problems. The deck you park in for the hotel has never been half full, and the rooms were clean. As far as the coffee in the morning, there is a coffee pot in your room and room service, so I'm not sure what the other person was complaining about the coffee.

 

If anyone else knows anything about the Radisson please post, because maybe it has just been me, but I haven't had any problems.

 

You can find the special if you go to the Mobile port's web page. Go under pre-cruise packages.

 

Terri

[memickee]

Sorry I addressed my last email wrong - it was for Gingerbug. I didn't want them to stay in a bad area.

[futaba951]

The Radisson Admiral Semmes is a great choice but tends to be fully booked alot of the time specifically because it is a great choice. The H/I Bellingrath is a great second choice and they also offer free parking and shuttle. I think they are even a bit cheaper than the Radisson. Try the link below for a list of recommended hotels and their offerings. Oh, and as posted above, avoid the Las Brisas.

 

http://mobile.org/packages.php

[futaba951]

Carnival announced that they have extended their contract with the City of Mobile and Holiday for one more year stating that response to cruising from Mobile has been nothing short of sensational. So, Cotton, looks like she is still good to go for another year. :D

 

http://carnival.com/CMS/Articles/mobile_contract.aspx

 

(Can we read anything into their use of the word "sensational".)

[memickee]

For all those who are going on the 8/20 cruise, we are trying to arrange some type of meeting the first day. If you are interested email me at memickee@msn.com

[Jus10mom]

Any reviews of those that have sailed of late??????

[memickee]

All of you who are interested to meet on the 8/20 sailing - We are going meet at the Bus Stop (Promenade Deck, near Doc Holiday's) at the front of the bus near the sign that says 'No Standing' at 3:00 p.m. on 8/20.