It's hard to believe that Holiday was only the second ship actually purpose built for Carnival's trademarked "Fun Ship" cruising -- and she's the oldest one left sailing (Tropicale, built three years earlier in 1982, was Carnival's first new-build). At 46,000 tons, Holiday was considered a mega-liner in its day. Now she is considered "intimate."

And yet: Holiday represents a watershed in the incredible growth of Carnival Cruise Lines. A bit of history for them -- like most historical figures, when their name and the word "history" are uttered together, it's a sign they are beginning to show their age.

Much of Holiday's design and architecture were considered bold and innovative when the ship was launched. Cabins, both inside and oceanview, were larger than virtually any low- or mid-priced vessel afloat. The deck plan was asymmetrical -- port and starboard sides of public room decks were not mirror images. Architect Joe Farcus' interior design elements -- a bright and bold color palette, liberal use of chrome and other reflective surfaces, and the whimsical use of found objects or creation of familiar objects in gigantic scale to establish themes for public rooms -- diverged radically from the tradition of designing ships to be elegant, serious, and calming in their ambience. Although, to be honest, compared to his later efforts, Holiday almost seems tame!

Nowadays, most would find many of Holdiay's design elements commonplace or outmoded. The ship's complement of suites is only 10 -- out of a total of 726 cabins or about 14 percent -- and they have the only balconies onboard.

Another design wrinkle is the placement of the ship's two restaurants and galley; putting them on a deck that includes other public rooms creates a major passenger flow issue. Passengers seeking the ship's shops, library, piano bar, or the entry level of the show lounge can only get there by using the forward most stairway or elevators. If they choose either of the other two (mid-ships and aft) they will find their way blocked.

The ship is also showing its age in wear and tear. Reflective metal surfaces are dulled or scratched, much of the carpeting is worn or stained, and reflective coating on windows is peeling in many spots.

Many of these flaws and deficiencies are forgivable, however, taken in the context of Holiday's position in Carnival's marketing plan. Over recent years Carnival has aggressively developed the Gulf Coast by moving a Holiday-class ship to a city which previously had not home ported a major cruise line, and sailing short cruises to the Western Caribbean. This strategy yields a triple enticement for first-timers: short duration, affordable fares, and a pier that can be reached by automobile. First time cruisers, ipso facto, have no other ships to compare with Holiday, so the ship does not suffer so badly by comparison. Thus these sailings get extremely positive local reviews and word-of-mouth, generating repeat customers, and an expanding market, for which a larger ship (usually Fantasy-class) moves in to service.

But it is not only lack of prior cruise experience that generates such enthusiasm and forgiveness for Holiday's physical shortcomings. There seems to be a genuine "esprit de corps" among crew and staff in most departments tending to this oldest and smallest ship of the glitziest fleet on the seas. As a result, the level of service in most departments -- both in warmth and efficiency -- we found to be superior to most of our previous experiences with the line.

A bit of history: In the early 1980's when I lived in Los Angeles I often sailed with my family on three-night Baja California cruises aboard an older, outmoded ship called the Azure Seas. This 15,000-ton, 800-passenger vessel was already 30 years old and showing her age. What Azure Seas lacked in glitz, glamour and bells and whistles she made up for with compensatory warmth and personal service -- much like Holiday to Alabamans.

In the early nineties, Carnival moved Holiday to Los Angeles to compete for passengers in the same three-night sailings. I sailed that itinerary aboard Holiday a decade ago. Ironically, it was Holiday then who was the "new kid on the block," state of the art, glittery and glitzy, but lacking the warmth and caring service found on the nearly decrepit Azure Seas. How the tables have turned!

But the question remains: What will happen when Holiday and Celebration, both clearly in the sunset of their lives in the U.S. market, are retired? Currently, Carnival has no ships on the drawing board in the 50,000-ton range, and no current plans to develop any in the future. However, Holiday is scheduled for an extensive, 19-day dry-dock in late 2005, so design changes and upgrades are possible. We'll stay hopeful.

Holiday sails four- and five-night Western Caribbean voyages from Mobile, Alabama. The shorter itinerary calls only at Cozumel, Mexico. Five-night trips call on the Yucatan mainland as well; alternating sailings calling at Calica/Playa del Carmen, or Costa Maya.

Tip: Since this ship caters so heavily to drive-to-pier business from locals, at the time we reviewed her there was literally no meet-and-greet service at Mobile's airport (it's hard to picture arriving at an airport for a cruise and not seeing a phalanx of folks waving clipboards with cruise line names on the back, and shouting "Follow Me!" but it's true for Mobile). So it's not tough to correctly surmise that there is no transfer service to the ship either. To make matters a bit worse cabs can sometimes be scarce, especially during disembarkation at the cruise terminal.

There is an easy solution. The Mobile Regional Airport operates a shuttle service between the airport and cruise terminal. Advance reservations are essential. There is special pricing for cruise passengers ($15 per person roundtrip versus $30), but you must mention that you are booked on the Holiday at the time of booking your transfers to receive your discount. For reservations call 251-633-0313 or 800-357-5373.

Virtually all standard cabins are identical, differing only in their deck levels above the waterline. The 10 balconied verandah suites have whirlpool bathtubs; all other cabins have stall showers. Hair dryers and robes are not included amenities, but there is no shortage of grooming and hygiene products, piled high in a basket in each bathroom. The commercial provenance of all these "free" products (read "free samples") is boldly visible; you don't have to look closely to find the logos, making this amenity a basket full of product placement.

The color scheme is bright and warm, with lots of reds, rusts and tans. Framed lithographs on the walls are among some of the best art pieces on display around the ship. Most cabins have twin beds that can be put together to form a king.

In-room televisions offer the three major networks, three movie channels (one for kids only), the Discovery Channel and five channels of ship information/promotions.

Tip: Holiday's cabin walls are VERY thin. If your next door neighbors are having either a very bad or very good time you will be sharing the experience with them. A word to the wise: Sound passes equally well in either direction.

Holiday's food service reflects the much-touted fleet-wide improvements in service, ingredient quality, imaginative recipes and proficient preparation and presentation. Newcomers such as duck breast and unusual varieties of fish and fowl as well as Asian fusion elements like bok choy and lemongrass have crept into the recipes. Meats are of a higher quality, more tender than the offerings of half a dozen years ago, and invariably on our sailing came out precisely at the temperature ordered.

Dinners in Holiday's Seven Seas and Four Winds restaurants follow a traditional shipboard assigned sitting and seating format, with the two basic sittings further broken down by restaurant into four by staggering the start times by 30 minutes. (Seven Seas sittings start at 5:45 and 8 p.m.; Four Seasons starts a half-hour later for each.) Carnival claims this offset makes it easier to have all guests receive their food in a timely and hot manner.

The decor in the dining rooms is pleasant, but not particularly elegant or fancy. The unpretentious style is accentuated by the seating layout which relies heavily on banquette four-tops separated from each other by glass partitions, feeling more like booths than banquettes. The partitions tend to break up the noise level -- which normally can be cacophonous on Carnival ships.

Lunches in the dining rooms were a pleasant surprise, weighted toward the low cal and low carb contingents. A nice variety of salads was offered through the cruise, ruined somewhat by the fact that all are made and dressed in advance. As a result, it's not possible, for example to get a salad without onions, or to order one lightly dressed.

The Wharf Grill on Lido Deck serves the conventional cruise ship function of providing buffets for breakfast and lunch as well as doubling as an alternate dining venue for those seeking a more casual ambiance or wishing to dine al fresco. This venue is exceedingly casual, though cordial and accommodating, but don't expect linen -- or even full-sized paper -- napkins. And with the exception of passengers with disabilities, waiter assistance with trays is hard to come by.

There are also dedicated salad and deli/sandwich stations open for lunchtime. A pizzeria and ice cream station are open (at no charge) 24 hours a day. At the dinner hour a sushi station is added as well.

Nearly all the public rooms on Holiday are tightly clustered on two decks: Admiral and Promenade. One can trace the age and evolution of Holiday by the changes in style and usage its public rooms have gone through. The aft-most lounge on Promenade Deck, once a high-tech virtual reality experience, is now Doc Holiday's, a country western bar. Carnegie's Library now also houses the ship's Internet cafe. There are two mid-ship groupings of bar/lounges. The more forward grouping is devoted to socializing and gaming, and is still geared to a Broadway theme. The large "set piece" emblematic of this area in the Holiday class ships is a vintage bus, and the sitting area forward of it is dubbed Times Square. The bar serves the typical cruise ship casino on one side (the smoking side) and those wishing to socialize on the other.

The aft block of lounges is devoted to entertainment and libations, with the aforementioned Doc Holiday's appealing to the two-step and line dancing crowd, Tahiti to music lovers, and Reflections for the late-night disco aficionados.

Tip: One thing we wished for was canapes and appetizers at the bars during happy hours. We found a solution when we had had more than our fill of goldfish crackers and salted nuts. It was a simple matter to have our late afternoon/early evening drinks at the inside Wharf Bar -- and it was just a few steps from there to the pizzeria, sushi station or even the French fry bins at the sandwich/deli station, all of which served as dandy appetizers.

Anyone who has ever sailed on any Carnival cruise in the past can write up a report on Holiday's daily onboard activities from memory. There's the usual spate of pool games, hairy chest and knobby knees contests, bingo, horse races, art auctions, trivia games, and the like. The casino provides slot and blackjack tournaments. As on all the ships in the fleet, the cruise staffers double as on-stage performers in the evening production shows. Again, because of a seemingly genuine camaraderie among the workers on this less-than-glitzy, far-from-new vessel, there is an elevation of the fun level over some of the ships in the line.

There is an extensive list of shore excursions, including some rarely seen on other ships' lists. For example, though every cruise line calling at Cozumel has a scuba excursion, Carnival offers scuba divers the opportunity to dive the Chikin Ha cenote (cenotes are underground caverns filled with crystal-clear fresh water). And, though many lines offer off-roading in the Yucatan in four-wheel-drive vehicles, Carnival offers doing it by jungle bike. The shore excursion department personnel are knowledgeable and helpful. If there is a fault at all it's that the staff pushes both shore excursions, "recommended" stores, and purchase suggestions far too aggressively.

Carnival is known for its flashy Vegas-style reviews. On Holiday's four-night itinerary there were two such shows; the other two nights featured individual variety acts and a typical "Welcome Aboard" show.

Holiday has two pools on Lido Deck for adults, and a separate children's pool area one deck down on Promenade Deck. There are sunning areas around the pools on both decks, as well as overlooking the pool areas from Verandah Deck (one deck up). The aft sunning area on Verandah is topless. The mid-ship sunning area on Verandah also has a pair of whirlpool hot tubs.

Holiday has a typical Steiner of London spa operation located mid-ship on Verandah Deck. Steiner spas are a familiar shipboard fixture to seasoned cruisers. Competent, efficient, and offering a full slate of treatment options (from typical massage and relaxation to various herbal wraps, scrubs, toning and skin care), Steiner's main fault is their high-pressure selling techniques. Don't be surprised if, while being massaged, your masseuse informs you that the oil she is using is available for sale, but that they are down to their last six bottles, so you'd better put in your order soon.

Steiner also operates the fitness facility but it must be noted that Holiday was built in an era when physical workouts were low on the priority list of Carnival's guests. Both the diminutive size and limited numbers and varieties of workout machines reflect this. A relatively recent addition is the inclusion of a golf learning center on Lido Deck aft complete with an onboard PGA pro who conducts clinics and gives lessons, utilizing the V1 golf instruction computer. Golfing excursions, packaged by Elite Golf, are offered through the ship's shore excursion department. There is a jogging track on Lido Deck (five circuits equal one mile).

Families are as much Carnival's strong suit as is its reputation as the cruise line for high-energy, twenty- or thirty-something couples and singles. the minimum age accepted for passage is four months. There are no adjoining cabins and, other than suites, no "family cabins" per se. About 25 percent of standard cabins have third and/or fourth upper bunks.

Camp Carnival is divided into four categories: Toddlers (2 - 5), Juniors (6 - 8), Intermediate (9 - 11), and Teens (12 - 15). There's a playroom for children under 3. Babysitting is available in cabin at a rate of $6 for the first child, $4 each for additional children. Group babysitting is offered gratis in the children's playroom; check for hours of operation onboard. Daily kids' specials are offered in the dining room, and there is a standard children's menu comprised of the usual suspects: chicken nuggets, hot dogs, pizza, peanut butter and jelly, etc.) Teen-only shore excursions are offered and walkie-talkies are available for rent. A fountain fun card for unlimited soft drinks and juice is available for $16 ($22 for "kids" over 21).

Holiday attracts mainly fun-seeking Alabamans and Mississippians looking for a short spate of high-energy hijinks. The onboard bars were most crowded during the times their TV's were running NASCAR races. Carnival's reputation for family friendliness attracts families as well depending, of course, on the school vacation schedule. Greater numbers of families can be expected when Holiday's inaugural season in Mobile enters periods of traditional school vacations. .

$10 per person, per day is automatically charged to guests' onboard accounts.

Since most of the days on these sailings are sea days, daytime dress tends heavily toward beachwear and cutoffs. There is one formal night, with a fairly high compliance rate -- most men opting for suits or sport jackets. Women tended to glitz up more than the men. On the remaining nights casual was very casual, the only no-no's being beachwear, tank-tops and shorts.

• Cruise line - Carnival
• Ship name - Holiday
• Type of cruise - Fun/Casual
• Total cabins - 743
• Private balcony cabins - 10
• Decks - 9
• Passenger capacity - 1452
• Total crew - 660
• Officers nationality - Italian
• Ship size - Large
• Year entered service - 1990
• Tonnage - 46052
• Ship length - 728
• Registry - Bahamas

Copyright 2005, The Independent Traveler, Inc. All rights reserved.