A. Keck

Age: 67
Occupation: retired librarian
Number of Cruises: 4
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Holiday
Sailing Date: June 5th, 2004
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

We had read many reviews of this trip; some good,some bad. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the ship was in good condition, clean, and also no bad odors such as we had read about in other reviews.

This 5 day trip goes out of New Orleans, so if you can have a day or so there, you can really enjoy an extra vacation! New Orleans is a wonderful city; fantastic food and filled with interesting historical sights and fun things to do.

We had gotten boarding passes online, so our move onto the ship was fast and everything was handled smoothly by Carnival. We were upgraded to an outside room.

The room was nice-clean, lots of toiletries supplied, and James, the gentleman who took care of us, was just great.

Now-the food!! We had breakfast on deck each morning, our omlettes were fantasitc, and there was all the fruit, juices, cereals, etc. you could ever wish for. The small Danish pastries were "to die for" as our traveling companions said.
We usually had lunch on the deck. The two times we had it in the dining room , it was just not good. This was really a surprise, because our evening meals were fantastic!!!

Evening meals-Our waiters, Paulie and KG, were friendly and helpful. KG is just learning, but charming and was everyones pet--he had us calling the Hogs!! Paulie was smooth, kept everyone happy, and several time noticed that we weren't eating something we had ordered , so he brought out something else. We were really fond of them. I think it is incredible that they can have such a happy demeanor when they have to please people day after day.

The ports--What's the deal with Calica/Playa del Carmen? Nothing to do there, $10 for a pina colada, all gift shops had the same old made in China junk--Why this stop?

Cozumel--Lots to do and see here. Beaches, nice restaurants, and of course, shopping, shopping and shopping.

We went in all the shops on the main drag, but wound up shopping at the stores recommended by the tour director.It would be a good idea, Carnival, to have the longer day in Cozumel and the shorter one (or one somewhere else) in Calica/PdC.

In conclusion, we all felt that this was a great trip for the money we spent.

We drove from Little Rock to New Orleans, so didn't have the hassle of flying.
Oh, yes one other thing. I had read that lots of people had been seasick on this particular ship, so I wore a patch, and my husband didn't. Neither of us had one minute of queasiness.

We will probably make this same trip again!!

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