NOLA - Early luggage drop off?

[CruzieSue]

How early can you drop your luggage with the porter? Thinking when we leave the hotel, drop off the check-in luggage and then wander down to the Riverwalk shopping area or aquarium for a little while.

[bluesea4me]

great question....bump

[must2cruz]

We sailed on the Elation on 2/11 and left our bags by 9am. We went to the french market area and walked around. We have learned after 8 cruises we don't have to be the first ones on. We had lunch on board the ship at 1:00 but learned we could have waited until 1:30 when the rooms opened. More table space as soon as the rooms open. Have a great time!

[CruzieSue]

I'm the original poster, didn't get a certain answer, but after going through the process ourselves, I don't think it would have been any problem to drop off our luggage (it was all properly tagged), and then walked on to the Riverwalk Shopping area (NOLA) which is right there at the port. We had to be out of our hotel room by 11:00 a.m. and had a cab take us to the port. I believe we were onboard by 12:30 p.m. which was faster than I expected after seeing the large crowd trying to board early.

 

Somewhere during the "checking in" process, we were told by a port employee that if we waited later in the day, about an hour or two before departure time, the lines would be significantly shorter and much quicker.

 

So next time, we may try doing that - dropping off luggage and spend a little more time exploring NOLA while the crowds thin out. I did not get my trip to Cafe du Monde :( and there is one there in the Riverwalk area. :)

[endymion6942]

How early can you drop your luggage with the porter? Thinking when we leave the hotel, drop off the check-in luggage and then wander down to the Riverwalk shopping area or aquarium for a little while.

What hotel are you staying at and which cruise line?

On the surface, you can do this with no problem.

[CruzieSue]

What hotel are you staying at and which cruise line?

On the surface, you can do this with no problem.

 

We actually cruised this past March. We stayed at the Maison St. Charles-Comfort Inn and Suites on St. Charles Avenue. Really enjoyed it and the area and would stay there again. A relative kept our vehicle for us, so we took a cab from hotel to port, even with the St. Patrick's Day parades gathering, causing a few detours, we still made it to port in about 10 minutes.