...or am I the only one on the October 10, 2009 sailing?  I'm surprised no one has posted a roll call.

Maybe I have the whole ship to myself then...  Nice.

I am sailing on the 10th out of Mobile.

So I won't have the ship to myself. Great! I hate sailing alone... I always look forward to meeting lots of people on cruises. Is this your first cruise? As you can see from my signature, this is my third. Hubby does not know we're going yet. It's an anniversary surprise. Do you know what excursions you're planning to do yet? Hubby loves parasailing, so we're going to Paradise Beach in Cozumel, same as last year. The guys there did a great job last year and it was so much cheaper than paying for a parasail excursion through the ship. Because of the drug violence that's been going on in Mexico, I'm leery of getting too far from the ship in Progreso unless I'm on one of the Carnival-sponsored excursions. I'm really thinking hard about going to see Chichen Itza, but I'm nervous about going there for a couple of reasons a) they found a bunch of bodies near Merida last year due to the drug related violence, and b) it's a 2 or 2-1/2 hour bus ride each way. However, the drug cartel is not targeting tourists, so I kinda figure if we stay with the tour groups, we should be safe. Now if I can only reconcile myself to that bus ride...

I booked my Cozumel excursions through http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.com/. It was much cheaper than through carnival. We are also parasailing, but I believe it's through Playa San Francisco Beach Club. They had an all inclusive package for $40.00pp which included free drinks and lunch, they have parasailing for $55.00pp to $110.00 a couple. We are doing this for our anniversary also! As for Progreso, I really want to go to Chichen, from what I can tell on the internet it is the biggest one and has the most to see. I think we're gonna wait till we get to Progreso to do excursions and not book through Carnival... but then I worry about not getting back to the ship on time, and booking through Carnival I think I'd have a better chance of being returned on time. We're in E108, is that a decent room? It looks like it's in the middle of the ship, which is what I wanted. Maybe we could find some excursions to do together, I'd like to "know" some people before I get there. 

Parasailing was $55 at Paradise Beach last year as well. We didn't do the free drinks and lunch package because neither of us really drink a lot. They let you sit in their chairs for free if you buy lunch at Paradise Beach, so that's what we did. And the lunch was really good.

Actually, getting back to the ship on time is another big factor on the Chichen Itza tour. Because it's such a long bus ride, I'd be nervous booking it with anyone other than the ship. Generally, if something happens, like the bus breaks down, the ship will wait, but if you're on an independent tour, you're on your own to catch up - fly home on your own. On a shorter tour, I'd worry less, but a seven hour excursion doesn't leave much leeway on an 8-hour port stop. Lots of people do it, successfully even, but I'm a self-professed weenie. I hate flying. I love saving money, but I'm not sure this particular tour is place to do so. I'm getting the mucho lecture from my dad the cop, too. So if I do decide on Chichen Itza, it will be through the ship. On the other hand, I can't see paying Carnival $60-70 a person for a jaunt to the beach. That's just silly.

Ok, here's what I notice about your room... You are right in the middle, so the front to back motion will be minimized. You're a little higher on the ship, so there may be some side to side rocking, but since you're not extremely high, the rocking shouldn't be too obnoxious unless we encounter rough seas. I don't know if you have motion sickness - maybe this isn't a big issue for you. This is a smaller ship, so I assume the stabilizers won't be as good as on the larger ships. I could be wrong. The stabilizers on my first cruise on the smaller Rhapsody were better than on my second cruise on the larger Conquest. Your door is in the foyer by the midship elevators. This means you're going to catch some noise, especially around dinner time and show time. You may also catch some noise from late-night party types. Someone in another area has suggested party types are less of a problem with cabins on the higher decks. I don't know if that's true, but perhaps it is. Or maybe you like to stay up late and this won't be a problem for you. Hubby and I are sound sleepers and only wake up if somebody messes with our door. So if there were loud party types on the lower decks on our first cruise, we never knew. Thankfully, your room is located between the galley and the dining room on the deck above you, which means you won't have that kind of noise to bother you - chairs scraping, dishes crashing around, etc. There is an open space directly above your room, which could be a public restroom or it could be a storage space for the galley or something else like that. My guess would be for the latter.

In any case, I see some potential noise issues with your room location, but you're in a really convenient spot for coming and going, I have to say. And depending on your personal sensitivity, the noise issues may not be issues at all.

I am starting to think we're the only ones going on this cruise, lol.

Personal attention.  Yay!  Fewer people on the beach.  Yay!  As if...  Seriously, I guess all the others are over on the Cruise Critic boards.  I don't go there anymore. Or maybe they don't hang out on forums at all.  Which means we know everything and they know nothing!  Bwahahaha!

On the other hand, I HAVE to decided to do the Chichen Itza tour, but because it's such a long tour, I'm gonna weenie out and book with the ship.  It costs a little more, but I'll feel better in case the tour runs a little long.  I won't be white-knuckling on the bus ride back to port, worried about whether the ship is leaving us because I think we might be five minutes late - but I'm not sure exactly how far it is...

So did I!! I booked it yesterday through Carnival!! I am SOOO excited! Looks like we'll be on the bus together!

This is my 3rd time and to my regreat my last but unless something has hanged it is the best crew in the Carnival Fleet and I will miss the old girl so I plan to take all the pics I can

 That's what I keep hearing about the crew.  It makes me really look forward to sailing this particular ship.

 Hey, what's with the image you posted?  It keeps making the page turn and turn but never actually finish loading.  Maybe it's just me?  All I see is a link and about half of your post...

 Hey all, I was originally going to go on the Fantasy at the end of Oct, but the Oct 10th sailing on the Holiday works out better with money and vacation time. The only thing is that I was pretty excited about some of the things on the Fantasy (Adult serenity area and the sushi bar) that it makes me a little sad to go on another ship. But, it is kind of to the point that it is this sailing or no sailing... well, not sailing is definitely not my favorite option! 

 

Nothing is set in stone yet, but it is looking good. I was wondering if any of you have sailed the Holiday yet and if you have, can you tell me what you love about her. 

 

Also, if it is in the beginning of Oct, do people still bring Halloween costumes? We were going to be on the Oct 31st sailing of the Fantasy, so we were expecting to take costumes. 

New Orleans would have been better for me, but it didn't work out. I have only been on cruises out of Galveston so far, so never on the Holiday.  Should be interesting.

I know the ships decorate for Christmas starting in early December, so the same may be true of Halloween.  I hope not.  I don't do Halloween.  But I don't rain on other folks' parade either, so if we end up on a Halloween-themed ship, I will not complain.  The group I supervise are a bunch of Halloween fanatics.  I can't stand being in the office during that time of year, but I don't tell them they can't decorate or dress up.  It's a morale booster for them.  Lucky for me this year, I'm going to be out of the office for a good chunk of the month doing my favorite activity:  cruising.

 Well, I am hesitant to actually declare we will be on this sailing until we have it fully booked. This is, after all, our FOURTH plan of action for our vacation. But, so far it is looking good.

 

Glad to find other people from the boards that are going too, especially ones that I have seen a lot in other forum topics. This is our first cruise and it has been a long time coming, so you veterans are welcome to share your words of wisdom.