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Le Bistro. Last year we got the 3 dinner package, Cagneys, LeBistro and La Cusina, then we also ate at Ginza. All were very good. Le Bistro would be my choice because it is the type food I would least likely have access to at home. Steakhouses we have, steak we can buy and cook. Italian is readily accessible and again easy to cook. We even can get and/or cook good Asian food. LeBistro type food, on the other hand is complicated to cook and we have no restaurants in the area anywhere near the quality of Le Bistro. I get lost in the Apps. choices, the mushroom soup is fine but so is the foie, escargot, mussel, scallops... etc. Whichever restaurant you choose you will enjoy. Disclosure---my husband is a retired chef and we have many friends and family working in the food industry so we have our own set of biases.

We have used a dry erase board with a group of 11 and it worked great. Never had any problems. We would write on the board where we were or what time we were all meeting for dinner. Bought it at the Dollar Tree.

We had 11, just walked up on formal night to a backdrop we liked, the photographer took his time and we got great pictures. The only problem we had was the group included 3 couples, 4 kids and one grandmother. My husband is 20 years older than me so the photographer wanted to put my husband with my friends mother as the center of the picture.

Wear your walking shoes and only pack 1 or 2 other (small and comfortable) pair. As mentioned above mix and match is the way to go. Wear clothes multiple times, nobody else cares and even if they do, you don't know them. If you don't get free laundry, take advantage of the bag special and have them wash your clothes half way thru the cruise so you only have to take half the clothes. There is a robe provided in your room so don't pack one.

When space was at a premium we put underwear, swimwear, nightwear, socks and other stuff we don't mind wrinkling in vacuum bags, it is amazing how small you can make them. Pack by rolling your clothes and steam the wrinkles out when you unpack. Rather than buy new clothes we take old clothes and throw them away.

Buy travel size toiletries.

We did both TA last year on the Star. Sailed from NOLA to Copenhagen, flew home then flew back and sailed from Copenhagen to Miami. The second cruise was practically free after the savings on round trip airfare vs one way.

What we didn't like... the food. It was terrible. Not just bad tasting but badly presented. On the buffet they never changed out the serving spoons so after hours of use they were coated with food. The food was inconsistent. In the MDR one item on a plate would be hot, another cold. Unfortunately this was true on both crossings. Crew was untrained (could have been a lot of new crew due to the repositioning).

On our first trip we had a balcony, the second a mini-suite. We would give up the extra room in the mini-suite so that we don't have to deal with the bathtub. Getting in and out was treacherous, my husband and I took to "spotting" each others "landings" in and out.

What we did like...we love the smaller ship so although we noticed the tiredness, it really didn't bother us. The ship had a very intimate feel and you really had a chance to meet a lot of people. Since we had a balcony we never worried about finding a place to be on deck. We won in the casino and the casino staff was terrific. Back to food. YES, the crepes! We would skip dessert, go get crepes and eat them on the balcony. The specialty restaurants. Love Le Bistro, its our favorite specialty restaurant on any line. The Italian, Asian and Steak house are also very good.

Waiting for Triumph horror stories.......................:eek:

This did happen on the Triumph, but...

We were on B2B on the Triumph 9/1/11 a 4 day and 9/5/11 a five day. On the first cruise a storm (I think TS Lee?) made for rough sailing and bad weather. On Sunday night the Mississippi was closed to traffic and we were unable to sail up the river. Anyone who has sailed out of NOLA will know that it is 8 hours from NO to the gulf. The river was not reopened until 8am Monday morning, when we should have already been docked. We were at breakfast as we entered the river and the ship lurched to one side. Dirty dishes slid off the stands. Our table mates were quite concerned. We did not arrive in NO until afternoon and embarkation was not completed until 1am. People leaving were mad because of the delay, some missing flights etc. People getting on said it was complete chaos, no one knew what to do, they were relocated to various places, no information, no food. (The NCL ship which sails Sunday to Sunday had to come in the river after us and wasn't able to leave NO until Tuesday.)

So this was the worst cruise we have ever been on, just not for us. Since we were B2B we didn't have to worry about getting off or getting back on. No change of travel plans. The best part was going up the river and back down during the day. Usually the ship sails the river at night, leaving at sunset and arriving at dawn, but we had 8 hours during the day to sit on out balcony and watch LA go by. I have a great picture of the shadow of the ship on the banks of the river. The crew was great, did the best they could under the circumstances. We do not mind rough seas so the first leg was fine for us and the second was beautiful weather. We often talk about this cruise. We still love the Triumph. Have had 4 cruises on it.

17 cruises on Carnival, 4 on NCL, one booked on each for next year. We enjoy Carnival more. Generally the food has been better on Carnival especially room service. Le Bistro on NCL is well worth the extra charge and is better than any other restaurant on either line (in our opinion). Worst food ever was on a NCL TA cruise and you are kinda stuck. Carnival staff seems better trained and friendlier and yet the best cabin steward we ever had was on NCL. We don't go to the shows so I cannot comment. The rooms on Carnival are more comfortable but storage on NCL is better thought out. Six of one half dozen of the other. We choose based on itinerary.

The last time we had seated dining DH and I were at a table with a group of 6. 2 couples, a sister and their mother. In addition to it being extremely uncomfortable because we were excluded from most conversation, the mother and my husband clashed over food. She would order one entrée then complain that she didn't like it. My husband would tell her to send it back and get something else, she would explain that you can't waste food, clean her plate and still complain. My husband would order several entrees, eat what he liked off each plate and leave the rest. She would scold him for wasting food. Our next cruise was when they started ATD. We will never get seated dining again.

We haven't been on Princess in several years so the policy might have changed but when we last sailed you could order as much as you wanted. On a Carnival cruise this last January we were with a group of 11 people ages 8 to 78. We had ATD but had the same server every night, Andrew and his crew were terrific. By the end of the cruise when we would order "wrong" he would say "you won't like that, I'll bring it but I'll also bring something else." He was always right. If we liked something and shared it, he would just bring us more. Best waiter ever! We closed down the dining room every night. Gave Andrew and crew a very large tip on the last night.

If we find we need more money use a slot machine in the casino, charge to our room then cash out. Usually what we need the money for IS the casino. There is no charge for this. On our last cruise, friends needed cash for their return trip so we showed them how to do this, they never even played.

Hey porkchop on the first seaday, steak and eggs on the second.

There are a lot of people listing escargot as a must have dish/food, and I would like to try it but in my head I feel like I'm eating slugs...

 

Did anyone ever have such a mental block about a certain kind of food? What helped you to go ahead and try it even though you were kind of grossed out?

 

Can someone tell me what other food might be comparable (taste wise) to escargot? That might help me to get over this silly mental block about escargot.

 

Thanks for any and all replies!

You can work your way up with the escargot. When served, there will be a slice of toasted bread on the plate. Break it in half, pick up a escargot with the fork, dip the bread in the warm garlic butter, place the escargot on the bread, take a bite. Very rich, lots of flavor, lots of texture, not just a lone escargot. I love them, but like you said every now and then my head messes with me. My taste buds always over rule it.

Escargot, I usually get 2 my husband gets 3

Salmon from room service for breakfast every morning

Hey Pork Chop at sea day brunch

There is nothing wrong with a made to order omelet:). Breakfast through room service is kind of meh, cold cereal, fruit, danish. When the Lido first opens there are few cattle and everything is still fresh (and they do have made to order omelets and eggs to order).

Coffee, juice, sweet rolls for DH and 4 orders of Salmon every morning on our balcony, in our pj's as we watch the sun come up. For us this is the true meaning of cruising.

DH and I have been on 17 Carnival cruises, 4 NCL (47 nights) and 3 Princess. We have one Carnival and one NCL booked for next year. The Carnival have been chosen mostly for convenience and price, the NCL have been for itinerary. We do not care for entertainment so I cannot speak to the difference. Generally we like the food better on Carnival although we love Le Bistro on NCL and find it well worth the extra price. Had the best room steward of any of our cruises on NCL but have never been impressed with the dining staff. We find the staff friendlier and better trained on Carnival. We really like Carnival room service, especially breakfast because we can get coffee and salmon delivered, on NCL no salmon. Since we are Platinum the free laundry on Carnival is great, we send it at the end of the week and go home with clean clothes. On NCL you get a discount on laundry. Carnival rooms seem bigger but NCL storage seems to be better thought out. We like the bathrooms on NCL better but, on our last NCL we had a mini-suite with a tub which we thought was going to be great, however getting in and out was difficult and required a "spotter" (slippery floors and very high tub) so we won't get a tub again. Carnival no longer has the future cruise program, NCL sells future cruise certificates which we have gotten great benefit from. We are very happy with the pre-cruise service we have receive from both lines, I have guys I deal with and they are great to me. All things being equal we would choose Carnival but will continue to cruise on NCL for specific cruises and be willing to try other lines for the right price and itinerary.

We were booked on a TA to Copenhagen and found that a round trip ticket was 1/2 the price of a one way, so I booked the round trip and timed the return so that we flew back to Copenhagen and took the TA back to the US. Since the TA cruises are so reasonably priced this made both trips a real bargain. The most expensive part was Copenhagen, wow $30 for a sandwich.

While on a cruise we learned they were getting ready to stop the program so we bought 4 certificates. Used them all. I, too, wish they would bring back the program.

We love sailing out of NOLA, have done it 17 times. When you leave you sail down the river for about 8 hours before you reach the gulf. Many twists and turns. Hotel prices in NOLA vary greatly depending on time of year and events in the city. We usually drive in the day before even though it is only a 3 hour drive for us. Stay in or near the French Quarter to explore Bourbon Street. We have stayed at the Roosevelt which is a Waldorf property, when we have used points. Have stayed at the Hilton on Poydras and have been able to see the ship from our window. Do get multiple recommendations on specific hotels before booking, depending on your criteria, advice from those familiar with NOLA can keep you from ending up at the wrong hotel. On the morning of the cruise we generally try to arrive between 10:30 and 11:00. Once on the ship have lunch then explore.

We were a group of 11, sailed on the Elation in January, with anytime dining. We did have to wait some nights but they were able to seat us with the wait staff we liked all but one night, but always at different table configurations. Going early or late helps. Ask them on the first day what they suggest. We have observed that on some cruises they have been very helpful and have accommodated large groups, others not so much. It really depends on the crew. On our January cruise we left a very nice tip at the end because of how well they treated us.

On a recent cruise our group consisted of 7 adults and 4 girls, 20,14,11 and 8. On the door to their cabin we had a dry erase board (magnets on the back) we bought at dollar tree. All of us would write where we were going on the board when not in our rooms. It worked out great. We would set a time to all meet for Breakfast and Dinner, other than that just check in on the board. Even the cabin steward appreciated our updates.

Big AL, You are going to ruin it for the rest of us. If everyone knows how great a balcony is everyone is going to want one. As I pass by inside cabins I always am thankful that there are those that chose to stay in a broom closet. Having said that, I agree with everything you say. Our (DH and I) first cruise was on the Carnival Inspiration. We took my parents as a Christmas present (we cruised in January). We both had Oceanviews, at the time I thought it was an indulgence over an inside cabin. Later that year Carnival was bringing out the Conquest which would be the biggest ship at the time and was offering special fares so we booked a balcony on the 6 night cruise before it began regular sailings. We have never looked back. As we sailed into the first port, our cabin was on the dock side, we sat on our balcony as we pulled in next to another Carnival ship with all their crew and many passengers watching. The Conquest felt SO big. That sold us on the Balcony. DH favorite thing to do is be on the balcony with his binoculars. In port or at sea, it doesn't matter. We have now taken 16 Carnival, 3 Princess and 4 NCL (including 2 transatlantic) most with various types of balcony cabins (a few smaller ships we have gone on with others and did not have the option of a balcony.)

To your list of items to take I would like to add Painters Tape. It has many uses, the most important of which is taping the room service menu on the mirror over the phone for the mid afternoon snack on the balcony.

Thanks everybody for the advice. We will arrive on a Thursday for our cruise on Sunday.

The scheduled arrival time on the train is 3:30 pm so we will just take a taxi to our hotel and then pick up our rental car on Friday

You really do not need a car in New Orleans. It is a great walking city and with cabs, the streetcar and tours you can get anywhere. Hotel parking can run as high as $40 to $50 a night and parking around town is also expensive and difficult. Put your money in a good quality hotel in a good location and skip the hassle of trying to drive around New Orleans.

Group Cruise 7 adults 4 kids. Found a Dry Erase Board at Dollar Tree and a package of foam sea animals in craft section. Had the kids decorate the board and put it on the door to their room. It became communication central. Best thing ever!

Not only do we watch, we recruit others to join us. We have watched from the Holiday, the Inspiration, Fantasy, Triumph and Conquest. We look for the Drunks and those who are very sunburned. Free Tequila on the beach all day long is a recipe for either disaster or entertainment.