Sipsey

Yep, that Jefferson was a cutiepie all right!

I guess the crew are delicate uneducated unintelligent individuals who would become completely baffled when given a 2.00 bill that they would be stumped and not know how to take it along with the rest of their tips to to pay for their on board expenses or to deposit them into their bank account.

Yeah, I know what you mean. That dang money just keeps making my life so hard. It is so difficult to deal with. I wish they wouldn't give me any more.

I hardly think that a boliviano is equivalent to U.S. legal tender in terms of difficulty of use or exchange, regardless of denomination on most cruises and in most other places.

I reiterate: if you expect to be paid in a specific currency and in cash, then you ought to familiarize yourself with the denominations. I also don't agree that a $2 bill is all that unusual, nor $1 coins. I have been given change in $1 coins from some vending machines.

Now, having said all of that, I must confess that I have never, so far as I can remember, used a $2 bill to tip. I think I may have used $1 coins without incident. But if that's what I had in my wallet, I'd give it without a second thought.

If having a $2 bill in your pocket is such a terrible burden, I'm sure there are people that will gladly change it or charities that will accept it as a donation.

And yet, OP has not said, OK, I'll take them to the bank. As has been proven by this thread, they are a problem, even here in the US. Just pay in normal bills, do everyone a favor. :confused:

The OP has stated that he/she was already aware they could be exchanged at a U.S. bank.

$2 bills are legal tender, and thus are "normal". So are $50 and $100 bills, but some places don't like to accept them. Too bad, the rules of commerce say they are a legal medium of exchange. The times I have paid with large denominations, I always ask if they can change it first. Almost always, they oblige if they can and shove the bill under the cash drawer. Piece of cake.

For someone to refuse or question a gratuity for this reason is, to me, baffling. The customer is under no obligation to tip at all. If you're working on a ship (or anywhere) that uses U.S. currency as a medium of exchange, it seems to me a matter of self interest to get acquainted with the different denominations of it.

The "oceanview" rooms that I have seen on the Carnival and Royal Caribbean ships I have been on are a porthole that provide little in the way of a view. Some of them in the lower decks you will find waves splashing on them, obscuring what little you can see. I have no experience with Celebrity or Princess. To me, it's just not worth the extra money. If balconies weren't several times the price of an inside cabin, and were actually a little larger, I'd consider them. But for me, the inside is fine. I spend a lot of time on deck looking at the sea and don't spend a whole lot of time in the cabin. Obviously not everyone agrees. Guess that's why they offer both chocolate and vanilla as well!

If you read my original post, it's that I have a bunch of $2 bills in my possession, not that I wanted to use them for no reason.

 

TY to the people for the bank suggestion... Yes I realize I can do that.

 

The reason I was asking for personal experience as opposed to anecdotes is because I was really trying to understand if this is a true issue or one of those many cruising urban legends.

You mean you didn't want to be told 15 times on the same thread to take them to the bank and cash them in? Hard to understand.

If you are using the Fulton St deck, I don't see how they would know. They charge per day, but I seriously doubt there is any attempt made to force people out when they get back. They want a full deck to make more money, and the longer you park there the more they make.

I misspoke. It was the Marriott Courtyard we stayed at.

I believe I stayed there about 10 years ago, for a wedding. It was pretty nice, typical Hampton but a little larger than the others I have stayed at.

I don't like Metaire, however. The traffic seems congested all the time. The area we were in is not good for walking anywhere, unlike New Orleans. If you are going on a cruise or coming back from one, it's a good ways away to the terminal so allow enough time.

I think I had always wanted to try it, but with kids at home just figured it wasn't practical.

After they were out of the house, and the age of the internet had begun, I guess I must have noticed an ad for a cruise out of New Orleans that looked affordable while surfing the net one day. Since we have friends in NOLA, it was a natural. I doubt, without the internet, I would ever have gotten interested. I have seldom ever called a travel agent.

Like the OP, I did get tossed about on the first night. So much so that my stomach was demanding something to quell the acids sloshing about. So I got up and found the only food available at 4 AM: cheese pizza. I ate it, felt better, and went back to sleep. I made liberal use of dramamine and still do at the first twinge of seasickness. For me, it works.

Most of the time tips are given with chips, which go into one of the boxes. I guess it's possible to tip the dealers with cash at a craps table, but I have not seen it done that I can recall. They would probably buy chips with the cash and put it into the box to make it simple.

The other box contains the "drop", which is the term casinos use for the amount of cash buy in on a shift or in a whole day.

So, unless I miss my guess, most of the time one box contains cash and the other chips. Also, when they bring more chips to the table, the dealer signs a receipt and puts it in the box after verifying the amount.

I'm guessing glitch. Another possibility is that I am going nuts or dreamed it.

I don't think it was a scam, it was from Carnival and they send me emails frequently.

But, if it's not a scam, then they sure did yank it quickly. The link in the email is now promoting something else out of Miami.

Today I got an email offer for a cruise leaving out of NOLA going to several places I haven't been before - Grank Turk, Dominican Republic, etc. Price was great, okay I am interested!

Then I look at when it leaves. Tomorrow!

What the.....! Talk about deflated!

Good suggestions. Also you might want to consider hotels in the central business district, which puts you fairly close to many things. New Orleans is a walking experience, so make sure you pack the right shoes!

You didn't ask, but one of my favorite things there was the WWII museum and the IMAX movie about it. The restaurant in there is not bad, either.

This is the OP - and I would like to point out that my post said nothing about luggage on street cars. Since the cruise is a year away and paid in full, I don't think finances are an issue...and our intent is to taxi etc. from location to location. ( Although we will ride the streetcars for fun I'm sure ) However, thank you for your snide response. Good ol' Cruise Critic... there always has to be one !

It was really a response to BQ's streetcar suggestion, not so much to you. And to so many people who make posts trying to save a pittance here or there by avoiding a few dollars for a cab ride. Let's face it, there's a lot of them. It mystifies me.

I am sorry if I offended you.

wizard-of-roz

The DOJ and the ADA protect the handler, therefore protecting the dog.

There is no such thing as a Service Cat, Service Iguana or Service Monkey. The DOJ is now looking into licensing the minature horse since it can be trained to do "tasks" just like a dog. Weighs no more than a large dog, can be potty trained and is very quiet.

Since you offered to answer questions, some of this has piqued my interest and I have a few about your post.

1. Does the ADA have any application on cruise ships? They are generally not U.S. flagged.

2. Same question regarding the DOJ. Does it have any jurisdiction over cruise ships?

3. I was unaware that horses of any size could be house broken, as they are range animals. How is this possible?

I wouldn't recommend taking luggage on the streetcar, unless you are just carrying a very small bag. If you have enough money to go on a cruise, surely you have enough to pay for cabs to get you where you need to go. If not, you probably don't need to be going at all.

My dog gets sick just riding around in a car for more than a few minutes. I can't imagine subjecting her to the threat of seasickness. She would be miserable.

I don't think taking a dog on a ship for a vacation is in the best interest of the dog or the passengers. It might make the owner feel nice, but that's all. It's just not a good idea, on any level.

1. How far is the airport from the port area?

Not very close. The airport is out west near the lake. You will probably need to cab it in to downtown.

2. Is there an area we could stay in where we could see some New Orleans history and still be able to taxi to the port the next day/,

You can stay in the business district within walking distance of the French quarter, or in the quarter itself. It is a short ride to the cruise terminal from either. Basically, the FQ is on one side of Canal and the business district on the other, so walking around is possible, almost necessary, and usually enjoyable. Street car line along the river can take you to the French market area, which is in the quarter. Another line can take you up St. Charles to the Garden district.

I guess I am asking how spread out everything is...

The quarter and business district are pretty compact. No need to worry about that if you are ambulatory.

I don't think I take anything I wouldn't normally take on any other sort of vacation, except my passport and maybe clothes for formal night. I would recommend taking a flashlight in case of power failure, but that is something I like to take anytime I'm staying in a hotel anyway. Also, if you are in an inside cabin (I always have been), it can get so dark in there you literally cannot see your hand in front of your face, so it's a good thing to have.

The Hampton Inn on Carondelet St is nice, and like most or all Hampton Inns, it includes a breakfast bar. It's not gormet by any stretch, just cereals, a waffle maker, a selection of fruits and breads and some hot foods.

The Inn is about 2 blocks from the quarter, across Canal. The rooms are not quite as small as those in some French quarter hotels. Ours was quite acceptable, the room was updated and the common areas small but clean and attractive.

I wish I had seen this earlier, as we stayed there last year. The place is rather old, has a tiny elevator, and the rooms are small and somewhat cramped. I suspect this is the case with most FQ rooms as the Maison Dupuy on the other end of the quarter was the same way. No restaurant or bar or services there, but the location two blocks from the Care DuMonde and the French Market is very good. Many places to eat and drink within walking distance. The price is what attracted me, proving once again that you get what you pay for. For one night pre or post cruise, it would be okay.

Its quite possible that they weren't nude at all. I have seen people wearing skin tight outfits and covered in body paint where it was almost impossible to distinguish if they were wearing clothes or not just as the poster said he thought they were wearing g-strings but couldn't tell.

If that's what it was, it had everybody fooled and was the best job of it I have ever seen. But I concede that there is a chance you are correct.

That really isn't the norm and nudity is illegal. What time was it and what street were you on?

I believe it was Royal Street between St. Louis and Canal. My hotel was on Decatur and I walked away from the river into the quarter before turning left on Royal towards Canal. It was late May, so it was warm and I would say approximately 7 o'clock in the evening. It definitely was not Mardi Gras. I have seen some antics of tourists lifting their shirts before, both during Mardi Gras and at other times, but nothing like that. I think the people in front of that store were kind of stymied, intimidated and befuddled. I know I was. But the weirdest part to me was that the people supposedly in authority had no idea what to do about it.