Please sail out of New Orleans...

[LHP]

Hi everyone:

 

My dear Spudly and I are displaced Triumph cruisers, as we are (were) booked on the Triumph for the 1/20/2008 sailing on a group music cruise that our friend, Chubby Carrier, put together. For anyone who has seen the IMAX movie, Hurricane on the Bayou, Chubby is the accordion player in that movie. Anyhow, he and his TA are still in negotiations with Carnival and trying to figure out what ship/port/itinerary we are going to change to. I am eagerly anticipating where we get to go! I am so excited to spend a week with Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band and several other wonderful bands that I told Chubby I don't care where we go or how we get there...

 

HOWEVER - Spudly and I were VERY stoked to be sailing out of NOLA again, as we've done this twice before (Inspiration, Conquest) and we think it is simply THE best city to cruise out of that we've been to! There is so much rich history, culture, music, food, interesting architecture, etc., etc., etc! I LOVE going to Tipitina's, Preservation Hall, side stepping it into little restaurants and visiting the wonderful art galleries that are everywhere. This place is a gem! I am very disappointed that Carnival has taken this turn, shedding even more bad mojo on the Big Easy.

 

My sons, who are both in their 20s, were in NOLA for Mardi Gras and had a wonderful time. The comment that my oldest made to me when he called me from the Quarter to rub it in that he was there and I was not, was that the TV show "Cops" seemed to have camera crews everywhere, following many officers around and seeking opportunity to get some juicy footage. Blech! I am in complete agreement with most of the rest of you that New Orleans is getting much too much negative media attention.

 

So... I'll just keep waiting to hear back from Chubby as to our what our January cruise plans are, and keeping my fingers crossed that we still get to sail from New Orleans, as I know that this aspect of the trip is very important to him.

 

Cheers,

 

Taters

 

 

That is currently showing at our IMAX were in Memphis. We are planning to see it...and will keep an eye out for Chubby.

 

May I add that we are HUGE fans of Fairbanks. When we cruised Alaska back in July 2005, we flew in a week early, rented a car and did "the interior loop" (Anchorage, Fairbanks, GlenAllen, Anchorage) on our own. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Fairbanks. Great people...lots of good ole laid back fun.

 

Hope you get your new cruise plans confirmed soon.

 

Happy Cruising!!

[cruisecastle]

O.k.......I'll bite......what was your problem with cruising out of N.O.?

 

I have cruised out of there 3 times....no problems for us....even with using the Julia St. Terminal in the past. I guess anyone can have a bad embarkation experience at some point in their cruising life; but that doesn't keep me from cruising out of N.O. again....sorry.

 

Has nothing to do with the "embarkation" experience. Has to do with all the riff raff and gangsta's that gets on the ship for a couple of hundred bucks on the last minute deals. Definately the worse crowd on a cruise ship I've ever experienced.

[Cotton]

Has nothing to do with the "embarkation" experience. Has to do with all the riff raff and gangsta's that gets on the ship for a couple of hundred bucks on the last minute deals. Definately the worse crowd on a cruise ship I've ever experienced.

 

Well, bless your little heart....I hope you don't encounter 'those types' on any other ship. A coupla hundred bucks?:D What world are you living in?

[cruisecastle]

Well, bless your little heart....I hope you don't encounter 'those types' on any other ship. A coupla hundred bucks?:D What world are you living in?

 

I never have. The last minute deals for inside stowage was running 229pp back then

[kelz66]

Has nothing to do with the "embarkation" experience. Has to do with all the riff raff and gangsta's that gets on the ship for a couple of hundred bucks on the last minute deals. Definately the worse crowd on a cruise ship I've ever experienced.

 

That could happen out of any port that runs short cruises.

 

I just got an oceanview on the Ecstasy for 399.00 (and a free upgrade!!)for a 4 day out of Galveston...I hope that doesn't make me part of the riff-raff...LMAO.

 

:D

[Guest CRUZIN' SUZIN]

Has nothing to do with the "embarkation" experience. Has to do with all the riff raff and gangsta's that gets on the ship for a couple of hundred bucks on the last minute deals. Definately the worse crowd on a cruise ship I've ever experienced.

 

I have two innocent questions . . . :confused:

 

How did you know they were "gangsta's"?

 

and

 

what does Riff Raff look like?

[Guest CRUZIN' SUZIN]

Has nothing to do with the "embarkation" experience. Has to do with all the riff raff and gangsta's that gets on the ship for a couple of hundred bucks on the last minute deals. Definately the worse crowd on a cruise ship I've ever experienced.

 

I have two innocent questions . . . :confused:

 

How did you know they were "gangsta's"?

 

and

 

what does Riff Raff look like?

[MrPete]

C'est Riff Raff:

[suzy1212]

That could happen out of any port that runs short cruises.

 

I just got an oceanview on the Ecstasy for 399.00 (and a free upgrade!!)for a 4 day out of Galveston...I hope that doesn't make me part of the riff-raff...LMAO.

 

:D

Cruisecastle wasn't talking about a short cruise. He was talking about the Conquest - 7 days.

[Taters]

That is currently showing at our IMAX were in Memphis. We are planning to see it...and will keep an eye out for Chubby.

 

May I add that we are HUGE fans of Fairbanks. When we cruised Alaska back in July 2005, we flew in a week early, rented a car and did "the interior loop" (Anchorage, Fairbanks, GlenAllen, Anchorage) on our own. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Fairbanks. Great people...lots of good ole laid back fun.

 

Hope you get your new cruise plans confirmed soon.

 

Happy Cruising!!

 

Hi LHP:

 

I'm so happy that you loved our little city! This is a great place to live. I moved here in 1984 after a 10 day vacation to Alaska. This place just felt like home the minute I rolled into town.

 

Please do go see Hurricane on the Bayou! We are so proud of Chubby for being asked to participate in this documentary. I actually haven't been able to see it yet, as there is no IMAX in Alaska, but DH and DD saw it a couple of weeks ago when they were in Portland. They both say it is fantastic. I do own the soundtrack (magnificent) and will be able to buy the DVD on August 29th. Can't wait! Spudly and I first met Chubby when we stumbled into Tipitina's in January, 2001, the night prior to our Inspiration cruise. He and his band were playing a show there and we had the most fun of our lives that night. Chubby and I hit it off right then and there and we became fast friends. We're all looking forward to spending a week together on board some ship, any ship.

 

Cheers!

 

Taters

[EJ'S MOM-MOM]

My sister & I 56 & 63yrs were in NOLA in Dec. 06 pre-cruise & had a wonderful time. We stayed at Harrah's new casino hotel on Canal St & walked to Jackson Sq. & Bourbon St. We did not stay out until the wee hours of the morning, we walked back down Canal St. from Bourbon St around 9:30pm & felt safe as there was a lot of activity & police presence on Canal St. The day of the cruise we walked to the cruise terminal. We never felt unsafe at any time. We are however always aware of our surrondings as we are from a big city ( Philly ) & know to always be cautious. Go enjoy & help NOLA get back on it's feet. It is a great city to visit & they need all the tourist trade they can get. Oh, a nice place to eat is "Petunia's" on St. Louis just above Bourbon St.:)

As for gangsters & riff raff where exactly were they on the ship all I remember meeting & running into were a bunch of very friendly & warm southerners who made our trip very enjoyable. :D

And as stated before I am from Philly & know that we have our share of crime & corrupt politicians as do all big cities but that would never keep me from traveling somewhere. Before you travel everyone should do some research about where they are going, be concious of your surroundings, ask the locals about the places you should & should not go & then don't delberately wander into those areas to test the waters. That all being said as I said before NOLA is a wonderful city I would not hesitate for 1 minute to return.

[clackey]

WOW! Thanks for so many nice replies!:) Even the negative ones are interesting to read.

I definitely won't be rebuilding a 160 year old house! Still saddens me so much that I take a detour when going in that direction.

 

Hola Cotton,

 

I am so sorry for your loss. It is amazing how a home that you love stays in you mind. The old house where I grew up is still standing and everytime that I drive by, it brings back memories. I've been out of it for 36 years and I still get moist eyes.:(

 

Ginger D and I are looking at a trip out of NO for December. When we book I'll yell at you. Maybe you can go with us?

[kelz66]

Cruisecastle wasn't talking about a short cruise. He was talking about the Conquest - 7 days.

 

WOW!!!!!

 

I take it that was pre Katrina.

 

Damn!!! I gotta keep my eye out for deals like that!!!! :D

[SadieQ]

Exactly what I was thinking !!!! I recall Mayor "Willie Wonka" Nagin stating that New Orleans was and will continue to be a chocolate city.God wants us to be a chocolate city.Imagine If the Mayor of Greenville,SC stated that God wanted Greeenville to be 'white city". He would be up on Federal charges and kicked out of office immediately./QUOTE]

 

What on earth would these "federal charges" be?

 

I'm sure that somewhere out there is a white official who's said something equally as stupid as chocolate city but never got charged with a crime :-)

[98Charlie]

I'm in on answering your request to sail out of NOL, but it won't be on Carnival.

 

Truly have been trying to sail out of NOL since post Katrina but flight costs just weren't matching up with cruise costs until now.

 

Booked NCL Spirit today for Nov. 25, 07. WooHoo. Been wanting to sail the Spirit for years - but wouldn't sail her out of New York.

 

Flight costs from Ohio have decreased by more than $100 pp over the past few weeks so we are booked and anxious to go.

 

Last time we were in New Orleans I was pregnant with our second child. He's 26 now.

 

Dianne

[ztacruiser]

I'm in New Orleans right now visiting my boyfriend (who's down here at Loyola Law) for my spring break. I absolutely love the city and would definitely consider moving down here if it weren't so hot most of the year (I was down in August and it was brutal). We're uptown and I've never seen any city with more beautiful, historic houses, and Audubon park is absolutely incredible..I can sit there all day!! We also traveled down to the French Quarter a few times on the bus because the St Charles streetcar is still down and I love the history and the food and the shopping. It's really a great city, almost like a little European city here in the US.

[Grits53]

We were booked on the Triumph for the first 7 day cruise after it was to relocate to NOLA. We were very disappointed that we had to cancel that booking and sail out of another port. We live in north Louisiana but rarely go to NOLA. This would have given us a good reason to visit NOLA more often. However, I will be sailing out of NOLA on the Fantasy this weekend (with a friend instead of with my DH), so I'll get to see how it's changed firsthand. We WILL cruise on the Triumph if or when it arrives in NOLA.

[vincent]

We're sailing on the American Queen fro Mew Orleans in May, in part to help support the NOLA recovery. We're really l0ooking forward to a few days in the Big Easy at the end of the cruise!!

[NancyChgo]

Sailing out of NOLO end of April. Looking forward to an after-cruise scenic tour excursion of the city before my flight home.

 

Best of luck rebuilding.. sure wish USA was offering more assistance :mad: . Will spend what I can when I come through ;) !

[Rocknsoul]

We're coming in September! The last time I visited NO was in 2003 with a group of other women...some friends from Nashville picked me up, then we picked up another friend in Jackson, MS & took a road trip to visit our friend in NO. She lived in the heart of the city, so her home was destroyed by Katrina.

 

I loved every minute we spent there. I was completely charmed from the minute we rolled into town. We even got lost by the Superdome, and I wasn't worried...but then again, people tell me I'm crazy for feeling safe in Memphis! We walked everywhere we went, even at night, and had no problems whatsoever...even when we went a little off the beaten path, which we didn't realize until later. Amazing people, amazing places to see...I fell in love.

 

We had a crew from church spend a couple of days in Pass Christian last year, building a school playground & gutting houses. DH drove a van-ful all night & then back to Memphis the next night! We didn't get into NO, but the devastation was heartbreaking--however, it was surpassed by the hospitality & gratitude of the local families. They kept saying, "please come back, and bring more people." We're planning another trip back later this year.

 

I can't wait to be back in NO again, if only for one night before our cruise. And I still can't believe we can actually drive to take a cruise only 6 hours away!!!

[Rocknsoul]

Eek! Double post!

[Rocknsoul]

EEK! Triple post! Computer going haywire!!!!!

[momof4boys]

I hate to tell you how long ago I visited NO. I was sweet sixteen (1972)and we visited in October. What a beautiful time to visit!

 

We are sailing the Fantasy on June 30th. We will be in NO on June 28th for two nights, then staying from July 5 through the 9th. There are 13 in our group!

 

We have NO worries about crime. The honest to goodness truth is that horrible things can happen ANYWHERE! Visitors to any city must be on gaurd. (As one must be in their small town or suburb!)

 

IMHO the media is doing a huge disservice to NO! Several "friends" saw TV reports and felt obligted to inform us of how dangerous NO was. I posted a few questions on NO port of call , asked a couple of friends who visited recently, and asked our trusted TA. We feel very secure that we are in no more danger than visiting any big city!

 

 

Looking forward to dropping some money into your local economy and enjoying every minute of it!!:D

[JudyKa]

New Orleans is having it's problems with crime like every other big city in the U.S. is right now. You just have to know where NOT to wonder into....you will be fine. Do alot of research on line about New Orleans before you go and you will find honest answers and good info on how to visit New Orleans safely. Heck, I live near Jackson, MS, and see the same kind of crime rampant there nowdays.....you just have to know where to stay away from and how to move around safely there also to enjoy the area.

 

There are alot of boards including this board and Trip Advisor that give alot of helpful info from travelers that have experienced New Orleans. I found many sites dedicated to New Orleans that gave plenty of safety info on visiting there.

[Cotton]

........Heck, I live near Jackson, MS, and see the same kind of crime rampant there nowdays......

 

Judy, I have a second home in V'burg, and I read the Jax paper and watch the news when there. I've never seen such a rapid increase in murders, plus other crimes, in Jax in the past year!!!:eek: I think, per capita, it's MUCH MUCH worse than N.O.

 

Now - About this thread - I haven't checked it in several months....I wish I could read ALL the replies, but time doesn't permit. I want to thank everyone for their kind thoughts on our recovery! Keep on visiting N.O.!:)