Live from NOLA and NCL Breakaway - 3/12 thru 3/19 😀⚓️🕖☘️🍸

CTCruiser001 · March 11, 2023

13 minutes ago, GALSews said:

I'm here at home in Maryland. I just sent a note to my hubby who is just outside NOLA for a few days suggesting that he try GW Fins based on your photos. Thanks.

He won't regret it. Just fyi, they require men to wear collared shirts, otherwise he will need to eat at the bar which gets busy. If he is with coworkers, he will look like a rock star for suggesting this place!

CTCruiser001 · March 11, 2023

1 hour ago, LincolnLog said:

Thanks so much for doing this! We’re boarding the Breakaway next week and are looking forward to seeing some up to date information.

And although I already have a mile long list of New Orleans restaurants we want to try while we’re there, now I’m going to have to add GW Fins too. That looked amazing!

Any suggestions for places with small plates and lots of New Orleans flavors? We are still deciding for tonight...

CTCruiser001 · March 11, 2023

The boarding place where our puppers is spending his week away from home shared some photos of him today...Makes my heart sing to see he is doing well. This is the first time we've boarded him overnight as he is only 8 months old.

Erekosse · March 11, 2023

Following along. We've got a while before our trip on the Breakaway in December...

The Traveling Man · March 11, 2023

19 hours ago, CTCruiser001 said:

We plan to chill in the room for a little bit before going to the hotel bar for a pre-dinner drink. Dinner reservations are at 9:15pm at a nearby seafood restaurant, when we thought it would be later for our arrival...Our Pilot decided to get us here 45 minutes earlier than planned, but it all works out in the end!

Glad you enjoyed GW Fins. About a block further, in the opposite direction from your hotel, is Antoine's on St. Louis St., home of the original Oysters Rockefeller. I would highly recommend it if you haven't been there before.

Edited March 11, 2023 by The Traveling Man

CTCruiser001 · March 11, 2023

2 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

Which seafood restaurant did you visit? The Oceana is just a block from your hotel, but just a block further on St. Louis is Antoine's, home of the original Oysters Rockefeller. I would highly recommend it if you haven't been there before.

We went to GW Fins on Bienville Street. Will look up the menus for the places you've suggested. Thanks!

GALSews · March 11, 2023

3 minutes ago, CTCruiser001 said:

He won't regret it. Just fyi, they require men to wear collared shirts, otherwise he will need to eat at the bar which gets busy. If he is with coworkers, he will look like a rock star for suggesting this place!

Thanks for the info. He's retired and before that he was working from home. I doubt he took a collared shirt with him.

CTCruiser001 · March 11, 2023

We settled on an early dinner at Oceana which is next to our hotel. Here is our best chance to sample flavors of New Orleans on smaller plates!

CTCruiser001 · March 11, 2023

Blackened Alligator Tail, Oceana's Famous Oysters, and the Taste of New Orleans (Creole Jambalaya, Crawfish Etouffee, and Red Beans with Rice and Smoked Sausage)...Everything was good except the Oysters - The creole spice doesn't work with it for us. A great shared meal!

CTCruiser001 · March 12, 2023

Tonight we walked a bit around the hotel and Bourbon Street. To use the property credit we had with the hotel, we decided to attend a jazz show they hosted - It was pretty good...we decided on dessert and drinks, a Chocolate cake for me and Pecan pie for the DW. These were pretty good!

CTCruiser001 · March 12, 2023

We're calling it a early night since we've walked all over New Orleans to and our little piggies hurt!

Spending some time repacking what we used and wore the past few days. We are calling this pre-cruise adventure a success!

Tomorrow we'll be making our way to the ship and the real fun begins!

Friendly reminder:

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Langham1865 · March 12, 2023

I did this cruise December 2021 and the cruise itself was amazing even though we still had to mask up and had a late start due to an issue from the cruise prior delaying us to board. Love following along as its bringing back memories!

Edited March 12, 2023 by Langham1865

CTCruiser001 · March 12, 2023

Showered, bags packed, in a taxi on the way to the ship! It's cruise day!!!

YVRteacher · March 12, 2023

Have a wonderful cruise!!

CTCruiser001 · March 12, 2023

Well, that was very efficient! After hearing about nightmare security lines, etc...We decided to skip breakfast after waking a bit later than usual and head straight to the port.

Our cab was speedy and we arrived to see massive crowds, but these were the disembarking guests. Dropping our bags with the longshoremen, we headed in and made it through security quite quickly. Port arrival time was 9:35am. We were through security and checked in quickly.

CTCruiser001 · March 12, 2023

We are now sitting in the Haven waiting area. Lots of lovely offerings for those who will wait, something appreciated by us who skipped breakfast!

Terrific assortment of teas, water, coffee both regular and decaf, orange juice.

They also have open faced tuna sandwiches, brie cheese sandwiches, assorted meat sandwiches (bacon sandwich was yum!), assorted fruit and pound cake.

MNcruisingcouple · March 12, 2023

7 minutes ago, CTCruiser001 said:

Well, that was very efficient! After hearing about nightmare security lines, etc...We decided to skip breakfast after waking a bit later than usual and head straight to the port.

Our cab was speedy and we arrived to see massive crowds, but these were the disembarking guests. Dropping our bags with the longshoremen, we headed in and made it through security quite quickly. Port arrival time was 9:35am. We were through security and checked in quickly.

We had a similar experience in February. Arrived about 10:30am, later than I'd have liked, but breezed through security and checked in. There were a lot of people waiting to board, but boarding started within half an hour of us getting to the waiting area. We really couldn't have timed it any better. No long lines and no long wait to board.

It helps that we are Sapphire, so we were called to board just after those that need assistance.