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Note 224.0 PARTY ON THE HOLIDAY!!! No replies
ODIXIE::RHARRIS 61 lines 16-AUG-1990 13:38
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I took the M.S. Holiday (carnival) to Cozumel, Grand cayman, and Ocho
Rios in the end of April '90.(base rate). Personally, that is the best
time to take a cruise, lower rates, yet you get the prime season
weather. I have a brief note on 223.00
Holiday is a mixed crowd. We were in the party crowd. 4 hours a night
sleep. When you are at sea, you drink, party, drink, socialize, drink,
casino action, drink, lay out poolside and get oreo brown, and drink.
I think after all the drinking I did on that ship, I put a few nails in
my coffin.
The service and accomodations on the ship were perfect. A good time
for all.
My opinion of the ports for the partyers.
Cozumel: a blast!!! Go solo. Stay away from the ship tours, a rip
off from what I hear. We got some local to take us to a dive shop.
Cozumel has the best water of the cruise. Killer diving and
snorkeling. Once you get the diving over with, rent a jeep in town.
Stay away from the rental agency next to the dock, you will save at
least $35. Hit the back side of the island and hit all the grass hut
bars on the desolate side. The iguana man bar, the Naked turtle, party
party party...
You have to top off Cozumel at Carlos n Charlies. If you do anything
in Cozumel, this is it!!!!!!!!!! a must!!!! Can't stress that enough.
We saw employees from the ship there. See, even they know about Carlos
n Charlies.
Grand cayman: A joke!! rude people, overpriced. a Waste of time. The
only thing good about Cayman is the snorkeling. Abundant variety of
fish. But the water in Cozumel is clearer. You might even swim with a
sea turtle.
Ocho Rios Jamaica: The best. The people are friendly. the dollar is
strong. and 3 red stripe beers for $1 ( american.) Sure, they are
friendly for your money, but you get a deal, and they think that they
are taking you for a ride. Who cares what they think, you are on
vacation and your money really goes a long way. Just bargain. That is
how they make there living. You have to understand where they come
from before you try to condemn them. They live in a poor country, sure
they're going to try to make some money from you, and if your not wise
to there game, they will win. Just don't let them. Make it fun, sort
of like a game. But they are friendly. Dunns river falls is fun. But
you have to do it first thing in the morning before all the other
"tourists off the big white boat" get there. Get a cabbie to get you
away from the tourism spots and see the real Jamaica. It is safe.
Just have a traveling partner to make sure. Eat some jerk chicken!! A
must, try some real jamaican cooking, not the toned down junk version
they try and sell in the states.
You will love the cruise. It is all in your attitude. Sorry for this
being so long, but I think that this cruise needed to get a point of
view from a single person also, not just the family types. Bottom
line, it is whatever you make of it. No two experiences are alike.
enjoy!!!!!! JA MON!! IRIE! ONE LOVE!!!
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| Mark,
Is the Holiday on the same itinerary? I envy you, I need a vacation
right now!!!!!!!!!!! Work on that tan though!! It really would be a
good idea to at least go to a tanning bead for a couple weeks before
going. That way, when everyone is using spf 15, you could be putting
on the spf 2 or maybe amplifier.. That is what I did, and I couldn't
believe the way I looked like after the cruise. A true oreo.
Enjoy!
Bob
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| Cruise Report:
Dates: 10/19/91 to 10/26/91
Ship: Carnival's Holiday
Overall Opinion: GREAT VACATION!!!
This was my third cruise and my husbands second. Other ships we've travelled
on were all on the Carnival line: Festivale and Tropicale. This cruise however
was far superior to the other two.
We booked the cruise through a group. Out of thirty people we knew about a
dozen.
Our trip down to Miami was pretty painless. Our group coordinator made things
easy by providing transportation to the airport and took care of all of our
luggage.
The SHIP:
The Holiday itself was a beautiful ship. Much larger than the others I had
been on.
The dining room was nicer as well just because it had windows. The other two
ships made you feel like you were in a cave with no windows.
Our cabin was typical - but this time we had a window!! I will never cruise
again without a window. Just having that light is wonderful. You also get to
watch the sunrise from your cabin if you are too lazy to get out of bed; you
can check the weather and get a quick glimpse of the island.
The exercise/jacuzzi/sauna were really nice. The exercise room overlooked the
lido deck pool.
There was a topless deck - tops optional for adults only - I don't remember
this from the other ships. Also a good size volley ball court.
There was a good sized library opened at certain hours of the day. Books were
available for checking out for the length of the cruise.
TV in your room provided viewing of the daily video diary taken as well as a
daily movie. I never did get to watch a movie thought they did offer some
pretty recent releases.
The non-smoking sections seemed bigger and they announced a couple of times
that the port side was reserved for non-smokers in most of the lounges.
ENTERTAINMENT:
There seemed to be so much more entertainment on this ship. A live band played
in the Blue Lagoon Lounge every night - except for the night they played out on
deck. A reggae band played out on the lido deck by the pool every afternoon.
The Americana orchestra performed several nights of the week for those big band
dancers. The Tahiti lounge had several forms of entertainment including a
singing duet on guitar. The Bus Stop had another singer/performer several
evenings. There were a few good shows put on in the Americana lounge - the
singer was excellent - a refugee from K.C. and the Sunshine Band. The disco
actually had a decent DJ with a good selection of music ( I had been sorely
disappointed on the other ships).
PORTS OF CALL:
The Holiday spends three days at sea and three days at port: Cozumel, Ochos
Rios, Grand Caymen.
Cozumel:
San Miguel, Cozumel is a very poor city, typical of the Carribean. People who
spent the day hear shopping were not at all impressed with Cozumel. Four of us
however rented a jeep and we LOVED Cozumel. The island seems so remote, so
desolate. We drove to the other side and found a beautiful beach with no one
there but ourselves. After spending the morning body surfing and exploring
some ruins and light houses, we found a grass hut bar. We sat in the hammocks
on the beach and were served Coronas. My husband declared it was the best beer
he ever tasted. Life is very slow here ... I could just feel the tension
leaving!!
We then went to a park where we spent the afternoon snorkeling.
After dinner we went to Carlos N Charlies. It was a lot of fun and some fellow
cruisers got pretty wild.
That night they put on a Mexican buffet out on the Lido deck and the band
played til 2:00 AM!!
Grand Cayman:
Quite a rich and beautiful Island. The beaches are like powder. Here I just
took a taxi to a local hotel beach and parked it for the day. I rented a float
and toasted my self relaxing in the ocean. I did do some snorkeling too.
My husband spent the day scuba diving and loved it. The ocean temp was 83
degrees. He was down 80 feet without a wet suit and loving it.
Unfortunately you have to leave this island too early - back on the ship by
3:30. This really doesn't leave you enough time to explore.
Ochos Rios, Jamaica:
No problem man! For this Island we signed up for a tour - big rip off!!
They described the tour as follows: "a yacht will pick you up on the dock. Free
flowing rum punch, live calypso music, fresh fruit and a island tour on the way
to and from Dunns River falls." The rum punch was free flowing but that was it
- it was nothing like the Kon Tiki and/or Rhum Runner. It wasn't fun at all.
So the boat ride turned out to be a very expensive taxi to and from the falls.
The falls however were a blast!!! We brought with us a waterproof throw away
camera - a must. We spent over two hours climing up and around the falls.
We all wore our scuba/snorkel booties and we were glad we did. Some people
going bare foot had a pretty hard time.
After our boat ride back we went parasailing - an experience of a lifetime.
The views of the Holiday, Jamaica and the ocean were spectacular.
Days at Sea:
These days were spent lounging in the sun and dancing around the pool to the
reggae band. A few of us won some of the silly contests.
DISEMBARKING:
This was a disgrace! It was utter caos getting off the ship. People were
stuffed in the hallways and stairwells for up to an hour. Once off it was caos
getting out of custums finding the right airline truck for luggage and then
finding a bus for transport. One line after another - what a horrible way to
end vacation. I'm planning on writing to Carnival about this - they left a bad
taste with several cruisers.
It would be much easier to disembark by calling cabin numbers. One floor or
section at a time. Bags could be organized at customs in this fashion as well.
Instead it was a stampede and a fiasco.
SERVICE:
Was okay. I was tired of being asked if I wanted a drink. Make yourselves
visible if I want you I will flag you down. BUT DON"T ASK ME ALL THE TIME IF I
WANT A DRINK!!! This was annoying.
The wait person we had was very new and you could tell. He was however so very
sweet that it made up for his lack of polished service. The wait staff on the
other cruises were much better.
It was a wonderful trip on the whole. I would definitely cruise again.
Whether or not it is with Carnival is still undecided. I think I'd like to try
another cruise line next time...
Addicted to cruises...
Suzanne
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