I was on the Holiday from 01/31 - 02/05. Everyone is more upset at the fact that Carnival knew about the problems weeks in advance, and never attempted to notify anyone. That's what's got everyone so mad. They waited until everyone got to Mobile before they broke the news to everyone. It wasn't all just about missing the port. I left with the impression that Carnival has already given up on that ship since it's leaving in November. Below is my take on all the events that went wrong on my first and last cruise with Carnival.

Carnival should be ashamed of the way they treated their guests on the Holiday that sailed 01/31 and returned 02/05. It was the most horrible vacation I have ever experienced. The experience was a disaster from beginning to end. We arrived at the port in Mobile and were handed a piece of paper explaining changes in the itenerary. Carnival explained that they had an issue with the propulsion system which would reduce speed so we'd have to miss out on our port at Progresso. We were very upset about this since this was our first cruise, and we we're also celebrating our birthday which was on 01/30. We attempted to cancel our cruise but we were told we would not receive a full refund. The next day, we complained at the pursers desk and they told us that we had the option of canceling for a full refund. We told them that we were given a different story before embarrking. We tried as hard as we could, but it was very hard since there was nothing for us to do on the ship. The shows were very second rate. I've seen better quality at a 10 year old's school's talent contest. The only thing available was drink and gamble. If I wanted to gamble, I would've gone to a real casino and not a cruise. Our food was horrible!!! The portions were sized for toddlers. We always had to ask for two of each item if we wanted to get full. My lamb chops were still breathing. I could've filled a coffee cup with blood if I would've squeezed the lamb chop over the cup. The buffet was horrible. The hot dog buns felt and tasted like they had been sitting out for days. There was always a 15-20 minute wait to get your food at the buffet. The options were extremely limited. The potatoes looked and tasted like something you'd get out of a vending machine. The coffee was always running out. The milk was always kept at room temperature. I was shocked to never see the milk refrigerated or at least with ice around it to keep it cool. It was ALWAYS freezing everywhere on the ship. Everyone we met on the cruise complained about the cold temperature, but the crew never did anything to relieve the freeze. The water for the sinks and showers was a redish brown color. You could soak a rag in the water, and it would stain the rag the redish brown color. We finally got to Cozumel at 6pm and were told we had to be back on the ship to set sail at 11:30am the next morning. There was no time to do much of anything. While in Cozumel, we found out that the Holiday had been broken for several weeks. The locals were telling us to not get on the ship because it was broken. I couldn't believe that Carnival would do this to their guests. They knowingly stole our vacation, birthday celebration, and our first cruise memories. This was a nightmare, and it was all created by Carnival. We were really looking forward to finally getting back to Mobile so that we could finally get off that horrible ship. Even that was ruined. An announcement was made that we'd be arriving back at Mobile at 12pm instead of 8am. Four more hours of hell. Once we got off the ship, we tried to warn the new set of 1500 passengers what was awaiting them. Turns out, Carnival had issued them all letters stating that a "propulsion" problem had occurred on our cruise and it was going to affect their cruise. I talked to some people when I got back, and they all said Carnival pulled the same exact problems when they took their cruise two weeks ago. Carnival even set up a loud radio where we entered the building back at Mobile to try to drown out all of our pleas to the incoming passangers about the diaster they were about to embark on. Even the media was there waiting for us to do a story on the horrible experience. All Carnival "offered" was a $20 credit for missing port at Progresso. Carnival didn't give us any form of compensation nor did they even have the decentacy to offer an apology. They wouldn't have even given us the $20 credit if they didn't legally have to since it was the taxes we paid to enter Progresso's port. Carnival responded to the media's inquiries that the propulsion mishap happened while we were at sea. Not true since we were given a letter before we even set sail. Carnival could never get their story straight. We were told the reason for the delay in arriving back at Mobile was because of bad weather. There was never any bad weather. We sat dead in the water for a couple hours because they had to shut down the only working engine because it was in danger of malfunctioning due to the extra work it was having to perform. Carnival knew about this problem long before our cruise, and they had ample time to contact me to let me reschedule. Never once did I hear from Carnival. Carnival is legally robbing their customers. That ship belongs at the bottom of the ocean. Carnival should do what's right, and offer all of the guest that endurred this misery another cruise. If they don't want to do that, they need to at least refund everyone for their stay. This is a clear indication of what Carnival's coorporate officers truely represent...GREED. They want to make as much money off unsuspecting victims that chose their cruise line over everyone else. Not next time though. If Carnival doesn't make this right, I'm going do everything in my power to make sure everyone knows of this horrible act they call "doing business".