Sailing out of New Orleans

[pete_coach]

Could you explain roll call. Been on cruise critic for a while but do not know exactly what it is for sure. Thank you.

Almost every cruise has a Roll Call for that specific cruise. Someone starts it and others that are on the same cruise join in.

 

 

Rolls calls are fund here https://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcalls/

 

You will have to enter your ship and dates.

[vpearlkc]

We cruised out of New Orleans in 2016, 2017 and are on the same Feb 17th cruise, for us staying in New Orleans and flying out Monday or Tuesday was cheaper each time (including hotel) We love New Orleans, so we are staying before & after this time

 

Same with us. Our next cruise in December will be out of New Orleans as were our last four out of five. Two nights before and two nights after. For us a beach is a beach but there is only one New Orleans. The days in New Orleans are as much fun as the cruise itself.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Were there 4 days and we never heard a train. There are no trains. What you may have heard is a boat on the river. They blow their horns regularly and you can hear them all over the city .

 

There is a Riverfront Streetcar that runs along the riverfront and they have a bell. It stops at the front entrance of the Hilton Riverside.

We have a tour for our full-day but we are going to try and enjoy the Riverfront Streetcar after we arrive in New Orleans.

[Debde]

Nothing beats staying in the quarter. Bourbon Orleans hotel is my favorite. Great location.

[gooch47]

Were there 4 days and we never heard a train. There are no trains. What you may have heard is a boat on the river. They blow their horns regularly and you can hear them all over the city .

 

There is a Riverfront Streetcar that runs along the riverfront and they have a bell. It stops at the front entrance of the Hilton Riverside.

 

Then things have changed since the last time we stayed there. There were DEFINITELY trains going by on that track. We have heard them from the Harrah's Hotel and the Hilton.

 

Not a boat on the river nor the bells on the streetcars, either.

[gooch47]

Just to prove to myself I wasn't getting senile, I checked Tripadvisor about staying at the Hilton and found this from February of 2018:

 

I have stayed at the Hilton Riverside several times. The first times were in rooms in the main building (Tower). These rooms were nice. The last time I stayed at this hotel, February 2018, I was placed in a room in building two (long walk to the main lobby) in a third floor room overlooking active railroad tracks. Trains go through the below intersection at night, using their horns. It was noisy, and I could not sleep.

[SAS21]

We are staying in Gretna in West Bank. Does anyone know of any good restaurants there ? Also how far from French Quarter? Transportation besides taxis. Thanks so much for all the replies so far. Getting some great ideas !!

 

I misquoted earlier about Mardi Gras sorry.

 

As far as restaurants on the Westbank, not any like you find in the New Orleans. If it were me I would stay in the downtown area for both convenience to the port and restaurants.

[pete_coach]

Then things have changed since the last time we stayed there. There were DEFINITELY trains going by on that track. We have heard them from the Harrah's Hotel and the Hilton.

 

Not a boat on the river nor the bells on the streetcars, either.

Don't know when you last stayed there but the only things on those tracks are the Riverfront Streetcars which have been running since 1988..

There are trains but they are way west near Napoleon Ave, about 4 or more miles away.

[LuckyLori]

We sailed out of New Orleans last Oct and drove in from Kansas we stayed 2 nights prior to the cruise. We rode around on the double decker buses it was a blast. They have 14-15 regular stops all around the city. We got off at several stops and wandered around and then got back on and with to the next stop!! It was a great way to hit a lot of the cool areas. We went on a ‘tour’ of one of the ‘cemeteries’ pretty cool. We are going again in January and thinking about a swamp tour!!

 

 

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[gooch47]

I absolutely second the recommendation to take the Hop On Hop Off busses. We have done it several times and sometimes just ride around and around.

 

If you want to visit the cemeteries, the Canal Street streetcar will take you to them. Make sure you get on the right streetcar. The same line has cars going to City Park.

 

We almost always take a swamp tour, too. Our favorite is the Honey Island Swamp Tour. The Jean Lafitte is OK, we just like the other one better.

[LuckyLori]

I absolutely second the recommendation to take the Hop On Hop Off busses. We have done it several times and sometimes just ride around and around.

 

 

 

If you want to visit the cemeteries, the Canal Street streetcar will take you to them. Make sure you get on the right streetcar. The same line has cars going to City Park.

 

 

 

We almost always take a swamp tour, too. Our favorite is the Honey Island Swamp Tour. The Jean Lafitte is OK, we just like the other one better.

 

 

 

You are so right about the street car, I had forgotten about that. We walked the wrong way after getting off the bus and and had to walk back about 10 blocks to get to the cemetery on the way back to the bus we rode the street car.

 

 

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[LuckyLori]

Last Oct we stayed at a nice Best Western, $110, in Covington the first night then drove into New Orleans the next morning. We had to drive across Lake Pontchartrain on the causeway, it’s close to 20 miles across and the roadway is very close to the water, too close for me, but it was kinda cool, after I got over shock, haha!! For our 2nd night we stayed in Slidell, we had reservations in the French Quarter but when we got there they didn’t have a room for us. So we just found the hotel in Slidell $150, the other hotels we called were all around $250. There was a big convention in town and we just could see spending that much. It was only about a 20 minute drive to the port. Since we drove in, most of the hotels we looked into had $35-50 parking charge per night so it was a lot cheaper for us to stay outside of the city. Hopefully this time around the rooms won’t be so expensive. We are looking for a hotel for the Thursday night after we disembark. We need a hotel that we can park for free. We are wanting to stay closer to the French Quarter or maybe the Garden District, or maybe by the SuperDome. Any help is appreciated.

 

 

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[merknerk]

I absolutely second the recommendation to take the Hop On Hop Off busses. We have done it several times and sometimes just ride around and around.

 

If you want to visit the cemeteries, the Canal Street streetcar will take you to them. Make sure you get on the right streetcar. The same line has cars going to City Park.

 

We almost always take a swamp tour, too. Our favorite is the Honey Island Swamp Tour. The Jean Lafitte is OK, we just like the other one better.

Are the hop on hop off busses safe to tide during Mardi Gras ?

[merknerk]

Are the hop on hop off busses safe to tide during Mardi Gras ?

Oops I meant ride.

[gooch47]

Oops I meant ride.

I really don't know. The parades could mess up their routes but I'm sure they would know how to get around them.

 

Mardi Gras isn't just a single day. The parades are held many days.

 

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[LuckyLori]

Are the hop on hop off busses safe to tide during Mardi Gras ?

 

 

 

When we were there last Oct while on the bus it stopped for about 30 minutes for a parade. They have parades almost everyday of the year for some sort. Some are short a couple floats and some are longer. They were also shooting a movie while we were there so we got held up for a few minutes for that. We never felt unsafe the whole day, but we kept our eyes open. The bus only runs during the day it was like 9-5. We walked down Bourbon Street, without any worries. But I don’t know what it is like at night.

 

 

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[senoragilbert]

If it were me I would stay in the downtown area for both convenience to the port and restaurants.

 

There are several hotels within a couple of blocks of the Fulton Street Parking, so you can put together your own stay-and-park package. We looked at the options, and could match the HI Gretna cruise parking package with a Priceline hotel and the Fulton parking. The parking has a shuttle but is walkable if the shuttle is full or slow.

 

 

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[pete_coach]

Then things have changed since the last time we stayed there. There were DEFINITELY trains going by on that track. We have heard them from the Harrah's Hotel and the Hilton.

 

Not a boat on the river nor the bells on the streetcars, either.

As I mentioned, the Riverfront Streetcars have exclusively been using those tracks since 1988.

[gooch47]

Pete, I really don't want to argue with you.

[happy cruzer]

So this year 2019 the same as folks are talking about in the thread.  There is a parade in the French Quarter at 2pm on Sunday 2/24.  Anyone know how that will affect boarding for the Breakaway? 

[MINILvr]

9 minutes ago, happy cruzer said:

So this year 2019 the same as folks are talking about in the thread.  There is a parade in the French Quarter at 2pm on Sunday 2/24.  Anyone know how that will affect boarding for the Breakaway? 

The FQ parade that day will not affect anything.  It is a walking parade for dogs and their owners.

 

There are, however, 4 parades uptown that day which will affect traffic.  If coming from the airport/I-10/anywhere other than south of the city, I suggest staying on US90/Pontchartrain Expressway until you get to the Tchoupitoulas exit.  Turn right on Tchoupitoulas St., left on Henderson, and left on Port of New Orleans Place.  That will take you to the terminal.  There will be road closures and lots of traffic if you try to take surface level streets.

 

 

[NOLALADY]

On 10/3/2018 at 9:06 AM, cruiserssandr said:

We will be getting off our cruise on the Norwegian Breakaway on February 17. The cost to fly back to Boston that day is crazy expensive. Any thoughts on if Mardi Gras is the reason for this? The flight down is only 185 p/p plus tax but the flight back is $522 p/p plus tax.

Mardi Gras doesn't really start in earnest until February 22nd so your flight should not be affected by it. 

[LuckyLori]

54 minutes ago, NOLALADY said:

Mardi Gras doesn't really start in earnest until February 22nd so your flight should not be affected by it. 

You might check prices on flying out the next day.  Some times it’s cheaper to stay in a hotel an extra night.

[Lionkingrichard]

So it looks like we will take the bus from Airport to Canal.

 

From ship to Airport on a Sunday? Looks like cab maybe the best bet?

[drumming cruisers]

On ‎10‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 2:22 PM, SAS21 said:

Hi I am from the New Orleans area and just wanted to let you know Mardi Gras will be over by the day you embark.

Hello, we are looking at last sailing out of NOLA Apr 7th to 12th. Is spring break still going at that time?  

Edited February 14, 2019 by drumming cruisers