Review of M/S Holiday 7/31 - 8/5

[jbauman]

Let me start by saying this was my second cruise and my wifes very first cruise. We were very conserned about my wife getting sea sick so we took a lot of motion sickness pills including Bonine and other RXs.

 

We drove to NO on Friday and stayed at the Winfield Inn out by the airport and it was WONDERFULL for the money. $59 per night and the rooms were great! I thought it was a great deal. Anyway we drove downtown on Sat. morning and ended up parking in the Port lot and had no concerns about it being secure. We arrived at about 11:30 and we were all checked in with room info by noon. I know we were on board by noon or shortly after. We ate on the Lido deck and bought the souvineer cups with adult beverages (worth the money for the amount of alcohol in them). We walked around deck and made our way to the topless deck of course. About the time that we started to leave NO it started to rain so the Capt. delayed a little bit. We left NO with an escort of a Coast Guard Helicopter (dont know if that is normal or if they had a slow day).

 

Our room was standard we were on Emperess (E183). The room was fine it had two twin beds and just the right size. The only issue that I had was when the Capt was turning the boat in the Mississippi River our room would rattle and shake like you would not believe. It was shaking so bad on our return up the river that things fell off of the dresser. This was the only bad thing about our room and it was very small at that because you are only in the river for about 6-8hrs anyway.

 

The food was great in the dining rooms. The lido deck was average but not a disapointment. Overall the ship was nice, you could tell she was old but like a good wine.....better with age.

 

My wife did not get sick once, and after the first day did not take any motion sickness meds AT ALL! The boat did not rock at all during the day because we were moving slow and the stabalizers were in use. After about midnight each night you could tell we picked up speed and in came the stabalizers. Although by this time each night we were "toasty" from the beverages so it did not bother us at all.

 

The ports were nice. We liked Cozumel much better than Playa. We went downtown in Playa to eat at Senior Frogs and were disappointed, and scared. We saw a guy walking around with a 9mm pistol, and he was not a policeman. We felt much more secure in Cozumel.

 

We did Xcaret in Playa and would probably do it again. It was beautiful and huge. We did A LOT of walking here considering the park was 80 acres in size. We did the Catermaran Sail/Snorkel in Cozumel. I have one bit of advice for this. Do the later sail. We did the early one and had so many free adult drinks that we had to come back and take a nap, and did not make it to downtown Coz. We were drunk by 10am that day. We did make it to the shops right on the port and did our part to suppor the Mexican Economy.

 

We did here some people complaining about the ship because it rocked too much and it was too small. Let me tell you, if anyone would have gotten sick from motion it would have been my wife and she did not even feel one bit sick!

 

if you have any questions about the ship let me know. Another couple went with us so I can share some of their expierences as well.

 

Also I now know of some great places in NO to eat. We stayed two days afterwards in NO at the Drury Inn on Poydrus ( another great deal $49/night GREAT ROOMS)

 

Josh

[HOSKI]

Thanks we will be sailing on Sept. 25th. and can not wait. Do you know good places to eat near the airport?

[jbauman]

Harbor's it is on veterens blvd ( i think) it is a fresh seafood place. kinda hole in the wall but GOOD FOOD. are you staying by the airpoart or going right out to the boat?

[phinfan63]

Great review. We leave in 10 days and are very excited. We will be staying at the Hilton Riverside so any suggestions for restaurants near there would be great.:)

[jbauman]

I am assuming that this is down by Convention Center Blvd?

 

There is a resturant on Convention Center Blvd west of Poydrus call Mullottes (I probably spelled this wrong). Good seafood. I had Catfish Ceclia that was AMAZING. It has a crab stuffing that was out of this world.

 

If you have time and can make it up to Dauphine and Laffette (i think) there is a resturant called Deannie's that has good Po'Boys and $3 beers that you have to use two hands to drink 'cause the glass is so huge.

[jbauman]

Sorry about the vagueness of that last post Mulates is 201 Julia St. (corner of Convention Center Blvd and Julia)

 

Deanie's is 841 Iberville St (the corner of Dauphine and Iberville)

[phinfan63]

I will add these to my list. I have heard about Mulates several time so it sounds like a must. Makes me hungry just thinking about the food in NO . Can't wait !

[Cotton]

GREAT! I love hearing good thoughts about the Holiday, and glad y'all enjoyed your cruise so much. (Hey, maybe that guy at PdC was an undercover policia?):rolleyes: PdC is not my favorite port.

[amfenske]

I just posted a request for info on the Holiday before I saw your post. We 're considering it for a Christmas cruise and wondered how she was holding up. If we go, we'll go down a day early and stay a day after I love NO.

[patkyla]

Mothers on Poydras - you just can't miss a trip to Mother's - usually a long line but moves very quick and well worth the wait - get a sampler platter and sample red beans and jambalaya, the potato salad is great and their specialty is a "debris" poboy. Don't forget to take your Lipitor! (TIP: while waiting in line, get one of your party to walk to front door and go to cash register, order bloody marys, they're great and make the time go by!) I grew up in Nawlins and this is a spot I never miss when I visit now. Also, Frankie and Johnnys on Oak Street (or Tchoupitoulus) near Tipitina's is well worth the visit, reasonable prices with great New Orleans food. Skip any place on bourbon. For a great brunch experience, my one exception is court of two sisters, they have an entrance on bourbon but main entrance on royal, I believe. They do a daily jazz brunch in the courtyard that is terrific, great atmosphere. Enjoy the big easy! We are taking the Holiday on 11/18 from Mobile, closer to home now...

[Cotton]

I just posted a request for info on the Holiday before I saw your post. We 're considering it for a Christmas cruise and wondered how she was holding up. If we go, we'll go down a day early and stay a day after I love NO.

The Holiday is relocating to her new homeport of Mobile in October - so it won't be there for Christmas. Sorry. The Sensation's taking her place in N.O.