Unruly crowds on RCCL from NOLA in April?

[ailinsh1]

We are trying to plan a spring break trip for our family, which will be the week before Easter. One of the options we almost went with is the Voyager of the Seas W. Caribbean cruise out of New Orleans on Mar. 31. I came over here to just check on the reviews of the ship, and was dismayed to read several very unhappy reviews of the RCCL cruises out of Galveston (which is not far from NOLA) on Voyager during the same time frame last year because of large numbers of unruly crowds of unsupervised children on the ship. The reviewers identified the issue as one relating to large numbers of Mexican nationals traveling on spring break out of Galveston who failed to supervise their children. For me it is not a Mexican thing; it's an unsupervised children thing ... but if that is indeed a trend on cruises during Holy Week in this area, then it is something I want to avoid when planning our vacation.

 

RCCL doesn't appear to have sailed out of NOLA last April, but I'm wondering if we are likely to experience the same trend as the Galveston cruises did given the proximity. I guess the other question is, is this a phenomena unique to Galveston due to the proximity to Mexico, or is it a potential problem out of FL ports as well?

 

Thanks.

 

Sondra

[rvsullivan]

Spring break is a problem for everyone/everywhere. There are going to be large numbers of kids on all the cruises, other than the most upscale ones, during this time. It can range from not great to terrible. If you cruise during these time frames, you have to be prepared. Galveston, NO and Florida will all be somewhat the same. Good luck.

[G&TQ]

If you are planning on staying over in NO then book a room soon. the Final Four will be that weekend. Hotel rooms are scarce.

[ailinsh1]

We booked our Mar31-Apr. 7 cruise last week, and I decided to go on and take care of the hotel for the night before (flying in Mar. 30).

 

ALL hotel rooms in New Orleans were booked. WHAT?!

 

Yes, the Final Four starts Mar. 31. So, if you're on a cruise leaving NOLA on Mar. 31, find a hotel on the outskirts of the city or look for a B&B pronto. (We did manage to find a B&B in the French Quarter).

 

Who knew?!