Lisa Powelson

Age: 28
Occupation: research technician
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Holiday
Sailing Date: January 17th, 2005
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

This was my first cruise and I loved it. I went with my husband. We chose this particular cruise out of Mobile, because it was within driving distance and it was cheaper than most others I looked at. It took us about 1 and 1/2 hours to board the ship. I think everyone got there at the same time. My advise is to get there early, like noon, or later, 3:30 or so. We didn't leave Mobile until around 6:30. There was plenty to do on the ship all the time. We are not drinkers or partiers and we still found enough stuff to keep us occupied. There was always something going on in the Americana Lounge. The crew was very friendly. We had no problems with anything on board. The weather wasn't the best on the "sea days" so we checked out a game from the library to play. In Playa del Carmen we booked the jeep/cavern tour. It was a lot of fun. I highly recommend it. You get to swim in caverns, then they take you to the beach for a buffet meal and swimming. Later that night we took a taxi to Play to go shopping and eat supper. We ate at Carlos and Charles, which has a very fun atmosphere. The food was okay, I've had better Mexican in America, but the others in my group liked it. In Cozumel I booked a snorkeling tour online. It was a lot cheaper than doing it through the cruise ship, we saved about $20 per person. The name of the company is Cabillito de Caribe. We had a blast snorkeling. This was my favorite part of the cruise. Then after snorkeling they took us to a restaurant for a buffet meal. There was a lot of construction going on in Cozumel on the main road while we were there. So, you could only walk on the sidewalks and there were tons of people (there were 9 ships docked at Cozumel the day we were there). So, this made getting up and down this street a little difficult.

The food on the ship was good. The supper meal was more elegant than I'm used to. I usually did try to eat what was served. One night they did let me order a hamburger and fries in the main dining room. So, they are very accommodating whatever your food tastes are. We ate at the buffet usually every day for breakfast and lunch. There was lots of variety and good food. I would definitely recommend going on a cruise if you never have been. This cruise is a great one for a beginner. I am ready to book my next cruise.

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