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Embarking from NOLA


tnebell
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Hi there, question. I've left from numerous ports (Miami, Tampa bay, Galveston, San Diego) and each are different in their embarkation. How does NOLA compare to those? For instance Galveston you drop your bags on one side of the building and then walk to the main cruise terminal. Miami, I could've sworn we put our bags through tsa and then continued upstairs to check in. How is new Orleans?

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Hi there, question. I've left from numerous ports (Miami, Tampa bay, Galveston, San Diego) and each are different in their embarkation. How does NOLA compare to those? For instance Galveston you drop your bags on one side of the building and then walk to the main cruise terminal. Miami, I could've sworn we put our bags through tsa and then continued upstairs to check in. How is new Orleans?

 

New Orleans is similar to most other ports. You drop your bags with the porters outside, then carry your carry-on's through a TSA style Xray and magnetometer. You fill out the Health form at the same time.

 

After port security, you are directed upstairs to the various check in lines. Normal process from that point on.

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Porters are outside and usually wearing very colorful Hawaiian type shirts. Drop bags (and a tip) with them then proceed into the terminal just a few feet away. Someone will look at your boarding pass and check in time as you enter. Then up the stairs, through security and into the big room where you will be directed to a line where you will get your S&S card and a zone number for embarkation. I think NOLA is super easy.

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I agree with super easy. But I do not go early - I go around 1:30pm or so. I live about 12 miles away and I have literally left my home and been in my cabin in 45 minutes. I would sail out of New Orleans more, but I have already been to these same ports.

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After only doing New Orleans, then doing Galveston, New Orleans is super easy in comparison. Porters are right in front of the entrance to grab your bags.

 

Sure, the traffic jam on the road into the port is insane though. I experienced nothing like this at Canaveral or Ft. Lauderdale.

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Sure, the traffic jam on the road into the port is insane though. I experienced nothing like this at Canaveral or Ft. Lauderdale.

 

I take the shuttle from Fulton garage and I've never been in a traffic jam.

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We took a cab from the Hilton Riverside, it was a long line of cars inching along to get to the terminal.

 

I'd say that's rare then because I've done it four times and I'd say I've never been in that shuttle more than 5 minutes.

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We sailed last week on the Dream. We arrived at about 1:30, dropped off the luggage and parked the car. Once inside the terminal it took about 20 minutes to complete the check-in. We were on the ship within 40 minutes of arrival, with almost no lines.

 

When we left the ship at about 9:30 the following Sunday, the line of cars waiting to park was at least two blocks long.

 

It's all in the timing.

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We sailed last week on the Dream. We arrived at about 1:30, dropped off the luggage and parked the car. Once inside the terminal it took about 20 minutes to complete the check-in. We were on the ship within 40 minutes of arrival, with almost no lines.

 

When we left the ship at about 9:30 the following Sunday, the line of cars waiting to park was at least two blocks long.

 

It's all in the timing.

 

Maybe it's early arrivals. I think the earliest I've parked at Fulton is 11am.

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It's really very simple. Some people arrive at the port very early before many people have disembarked from the ship. At that time there are cars coming in to pick up the people disembarking and cars coming in to embark. Twice the traffic, twice the wait. If you arrive after everyone has departed the ship you will have a much quicker embarkation.

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It's really very simple. Some people arrive at the port very early before many people have disembarked from the ship. At that time there are cars coming in to pick up the people disembarking and cars coming in to embark. Twice the traffic, twice the wait. If you arrive after everyone has departed the ship you will have a much quicker embarkation.

We arrived after everyone should have departed, once we got up to the terminal there were not people leaving, only arriving. Once we got to the terminal we got inside quickly, it was just a PITA to get down that long line of traffic with a bunch of cops directing traffic that didn't seem to have a clear notion of what they were doing. On our previous cruises we drove ourselves, we just pulled in with what seemed to be almost no traffic and parked in the port lots. From there we simply walked on in, NOLA was the same once we got to the terminal, it was the road getting there that was bad.

 

ETA, When we debarked the traffic was the same for the cars coming to pick people up. We called an Uber and watched as he inched down the street to get to us.

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There are two ways to get to the terminal once you reach the end of Julia Street. You can take a right and walk a short distance to the terminal entrance, but you will be walking against traffic and there are signs that tell you not to do that.

 

Or you can take the escalator or elevator up to the Riverwalk mall, walk directly across towards the river and you will see an elevator that takes you to the terminal.

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There are two ways to get to the terminal once you reach the end of Julia Street. You can take a right and walk a short distance to the terminal entrance, but you will be walking against traffic and there are signs that tell you not to do that.

 

Or you can take the escalator or elevator up to the Riverwalk mall, walk directly across towards the river and you will see an elevator that takes you to the terminal.

 

Is it possible to walk across the tracks and enter the portal that says "Julia Street Cruise Terminal" and get into the terminal that way?

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  • 4 months later...
After only doing New Orleans, then doing Galveston, New Orleans is super easy in comparison. Porters are right in front of the entrance to grab your bags.

 

Sure, the traffic jam on the road into the port is insane though. I experienced nothing like this at Canaveral or Ft. Lauderdale.

 

I take the shuttle from Fulton garage and I've never been in a traffic jam.

 

We took a cab from the Hilton Riverside, it was a long line of cars inching along to get to the terminal.

 

I'd say that's rare then because I've done it four times and I'd say I've never been in that shuttle more than 5 minutes.

 

 

I haven't forgotten about this exchange. I recorded my ride to and from the Port this time.

 

Zwzj29_iG6U

 

[YOUTUBE]aJdXQchT9Ak[/YOUTUBE]

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  • 4 months later...

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