Hello all. I am going on my first cruise 8/18/07 out of Mobile, AL. I will be alone and need any and all advice or information you veterans can offer. Thanks!

Wow, there are so many things to say. Is there anything specific you have questions about?

I have done all my cruises solo so I can answer a lot of questions about that.

Hi Larry. I honestly don't know what to ask. Kinda nervous going by myself but want to be sure and get the most out of it. I really enjoy the sun and the beach; not much of a gambler since I'm surrounded by it down here on the MS coast. Suggestions?

Check out the excursions, find something interesting that you would like to see. Bring a good book and just soak in the sun. Make sure you go to the entertainment onboard. Do some dancing, take any classes offered, meet and greet new people. There is so much to do and you will find out...SO LITTLE TIME:-)....Be open to having a Grand time.....

Bob E

Ok...first of all, you will have a marvelous time.

The Holiday is a small but fun ship. The only thing it does not have that other Carnival ships have is the tall atrium that you see in all the ads. Some people don't realize that and I did not want you to be expecting it and be disappointed. The Celebration is the only other Carnival ship without the multi story atrium.

Other than that, it has everything needed for a great cruise. We have sailed on her many times and every time has been fun.

You will get a Caper (newsletter) every day in your cabin to tell you what is going on the next day. There will be one waiting for you when you arrive in your cabin for that evening's activities.

Here are some tips:

Bring about $50 in 1 dollar bills. Room service is free...but we do tip $1. There will be door hangers in your room if you want a continental breakfast delivered at a certain time in the morning. You simply fill it out and hang it on your door the night before. Be sure to mark everytning you need. (IE if you are getting bagels..then you also want to mark cream cheese) They also come in handy for requesting a special song at the piano bar.
On the Holiday, the Piano Bar can be hard to find...but it is there across from the Library.

At dinner, order anything you want. If you want 2 appetizers and 3 desserts...go for it.
Also cappicino and expressos in the formal dining room are free. They cost extra on the Promenade.

If you are into karaoke, they will have that every night. The time and place will be in the Caper. If you have your own CDGs, take them. Sometimes the selection can be limited.

It is ok to take your own soda and water. I would carry that on to prevent any spillage in the luggage. All carry ons must be able to fit through the security device like at the airport.

Ports:

Both ports you are going to are very safe. No worries there.

Cozumel is my favorite. There are more taxis than sand and the entire island is tourist friendly. If you want to swim with the dolphins, then I would recommend a ship excursion to make sure you get a spot . Anything else can be done on your own.
Food and drinks at any resort or major restaurant is fine. They have a Carlos N Charlies and Senor Frogs and a Margaritaville.
All of those are downtown.

If you tender in, it will be about a $5-6 taxi ride (for 4 people) one way to go downtown. If you dock at Punta Langosta, there will be no need for a taxi into town...you can walk. You will know if you are at Punta Langosta because Carlos N Charlies will be at the end of it. Margaritaville is about 3 -4 blocks to the right.

If you want quiet beach time, I would book the Nachi Cocum for $49.00. This includes everything, all your food and drink. The Taxi (for 4 people) is $15 one way. Not sure about one person.

If you want fun, then I would recommend Paradise Beach. There is no entrance fee. They just expect you to eat/drink $10 worth.
Lounge chairs, tables, umbrellas, CLEAN restrooms...are all free. You can purchase an optional $9 wristband to use their nonmotorized water toys (iceberg, water trampolines, snorkeling equipment, kayaks and floats). There will be an additional deposit for some equipment but you get that back when you bring the equipment back. They also have independent vendors in case you want to jet ski, ride the banana boar, parasail, or just get a massage on the beach ($1 per minute with a 20 minute minimum). They have lockers for rent as well.
Taxi again will run $14 for 4 people one way.

Don't worry about getting a taxi back there, there are hundreds. And if on some RARE occasion there is not one waiting to take you back to the ship, the staff of any resort can call you one.

Remember to keep your watch on SHIP time. The Holiday will have a clock as you walk off the ship to check against your watch.

Costa Maya is a neat little beach village. Very primitive. It is $3 per person to ride the bus from the port into 'town'! We just stayed in the port area that has shopping and a huge pool. But that was because we have seen more than our share of thatched huts. I have read several posts about vendors pestering people constantly "in town". We never had that problem at the port. So if that kind of thing really bothers you, be prepared if you go into town. I have heard a lot of folks talk about the Cat's Meow. Food and drinks there are safe.

Do everything...you can sleep when you get home!
BTW< hubby was born and raised in Long Beach.

You will have a great time on Holiday. If you are alone and want to meet other singles on board, they have a mixer scheduled early in the cruise. The daily "caper" will post the time and place. Personally, I wouldn't book anything in advance because you will meet many friends and probably do things together. Have a blast! We'll be back on the Holiday in October, if she is still there!

I echo all the comments here about the Holiday. We loved our cruise (family, not single). Mobile is a great port. We visited Cozumel & Calica and had a delightful time in both ports. There are truly a million things to do on and off the ship. Holiday was very comfortable! We've been on Carnival's larger ships, and didn't miss them.

Welcome to Cruise-chat and have a great time!

Thank you all so much for the wonderful information. I'm going through everything including the brochures emailed to me and will be back on here with more questions I'm sure.

You guys have been great.

You will be fine traveling alone. Most likely you will be seated with other singles at dinner.

Like someone else posted you can order anything you want at dinner. If there is something you just want to try go ahead and order it. Personally I always get at least two Lobsters on Lobster night. And the Chocolate Melting Cake is a must try for desert...

As for the excursions being the first time I would go with the ones offered through the ship. If for some reason you are late returning on an excursion you book through Carnival the ship will not leave without you.

I have done the Dolphin encounter in Cozumel and had a lot of fun. I also did the Tulum ruins a while back. If you like that kind of thing it is worth while also. It is a LONG excursion though.

Like it has been said room service is free, nothing like a nice cup of coffee in the morning before you leave the cabin. I usually take a bunch of $2 bills to tip the room service people. Pretty much everyone else on the ship gets automatic tips.

I always try to get on the ship early to avoid the long lines of other passengers trying to board. That way you can get on and have a chance to have a nice lunch on the Lido deck (again avoiding long lines) and walk around the ship to see where everything is. I'm not sure how things work at that port but usually in Miami they let us on about 11:45 AM even though the ticket says boarding starts at 1:30 PM.

I'm sure I will think of something else...

I see they have the Atlantis submarine tour offered there. I have never done the one in Cozumel but the Atlantis sub I took in St. Thomas was great.

Okay.. first questions. Formal = long gown or cute little black dress with pumps? I would prefer to have a nice casual dinner and pictures with water and/or the boat in the background. Is that an option? Do I really want to hang out with the captain with 2k of my closest (not) friends in a long dress and panty hose on my vacation?

Next... only want to do one excursion and really just spend as much other time on a beautiful beach in my bikini with fantastic water and drinks with umbrellas. Best bet?

Next... read that I can take non alcoholic drinks. Does that mean a 12 pack of Diet Coke and/or water or what quantity is advisable?

Umm... I think that is it for now. Thanks for the tips so far. Any advice for when you park, etc?

REPLY TO LHP: My son graduated from Long Beach High 2002. Recently graduated from USM and is leaving on his first cruise Thursday morn! He's one up on me. Mom is flying solo for the first time since he was born! No wonder I'm so scared!

Hi Southern Miss Mom!

Not much I can add to the wonderful responses.

Just wanted to give you another re-assurance that you will have a wonderful time.

I think Dave was on the Holiday not too long ago and knows about the parking. I am sure he will see this and give you some advice.

I will echo LHP about Paradise Beach.

Welcome Aboard!
IslandCruz

Parking at Mobile is easy and not very expensive.

We take about 2 twelve-packs of soft drinks for four of us. Two six-packs when there are two. There has never been a problem, even during the period when Carnival said they could confiscate all outside beverages. My wife and daughters wear nice dresses with pumps, forgoing the "prom" dress look. I wear a dark suit, no tux for me.

Beaches are plentiful and easy in both Cozumel and at Costa Maya. The Chacchoben ruins tour at Costa Maya is terrific (if you like that kind of thing, and I do) and short enough to get you back in time to spend a little while on the beach before reboarding the ship.
There are many beaches and some great shopping available in Cozumel. I tend to take a tour on the mainland and just relax on Cozumel. I have rented a car on Cozumel twice to just go exploring, but I don't recommend that for a first timer (unless you are fluent in Spanish). My wife with or without family and I have been to Cozumel five times, Costa Maya once and Calica twice. We are going back in September. We'll probably go back again. We love it!

Our family of four were on the Holiday in June. For formal night, I'd do the little black dress. That way you can move on to some dancing after dinner with any new friends. The meet-the-captain affair does include *free* drinks and hors oeuvers - if your goal is to meet other people, it's a great inexpensive way to do it. As for photos, they have several photographers at different spots on the ship, but they all are indoor, with fake backgrounds. Bring a camera and ask someone to take your picture off the back of the ship. As for drinks, I was more comfortable brushing my teeth with bottled water. The water sometimes ran a bit rusty-colored, though my teens were OK with it. If you plan on staying in your room alot, bring your own soft drinks. Otherwise get out, get a drink and mingle!
Good luck! I know you'll have fun!

Thanks all. Okay, I found the website for Paradise Beach and it looks great, if not a bit crowded. What is there to do on Costa Mayo? Which is the best place to shop?

Oh, and I don't plan on staying in my room much at all!

quote:

Originally posted by Southern Miss Mom:
Okay.. first questions. Formal = long gown or cute little black dress with pumps?

I vote for the little black dress.

There should only be one formal night on that cruise, the other nights can be more casual. If you opt for the gown you can always change afer the dinner.

There will be ship's photographers all over the place taking pictures, especially on formal night.

Also, make sure to bring extra memory for your camera. I'm sure there will be tons of things you will want to take pictures of.

Southern Miss Mom - your questions:

What is there to do on Costa Mayo? Not very much, except a high-price fake mexican village right at the pier. There are tours into the interior to see lake Bacalar or mayan ruins, which I have done and love to do. The cruise line has arranged for 4-wheeling and beach party excursions which I don't really care for. The beach in town is nice and the people will take great care of you. You can lounge on the beach, get a massage and do some limited shopping. You can take a taxi to town for about $3 and back to the boat for the same price. If you arrange a tour, they will either take you back to the ship or to town, where you will have to get your own transportation. It's about two, maybe three, miles from town to the cruise pier.

Which is the best place to shop? Cozumel far and away a better place to shop. You should have time to spend two or three hours at a beach and then spend two or three hours downtown shopping. I've never taken a Carnival tour on Cozumel. Your ship docks either downtown or short taxi ride away. On our second visit we rented a car to just drive around see things. That was great, but again, I don't recommend it for first-timers.

I don't know if this has been helpful. In Cozumel there is SOOOO much to do. At Costa Maya the choices are more limited, but I had a great time there and can't wait to get back in September.