A Couple of Weekend B4 Fat Tuesday Questions....

[ktpc2005]

Hi everyone,

 

My DW, a friend, and myself are on the Carnival Fantasy from Feb16th-Feb 21. We are then staying at the Hilton St Charles Avenue the night of Feb 21st and flying back to Rhode Island on Feb 22nd.

 

I see that its about a mile from the Erato St Cruise Terminal to Hilton St Charles. Is that walkable from the cruise terminal. If not how are the taxis when the parades are going on. I see that there are two parades that pass the Hotel around noon, the Krewe of Iris and the Krewe of Tucks go by then.

 

Also being at the hotel, where is the best place to watch the parades from?

 

Third Question: We are staying one night precruise at the Wyndham Riverfront hotel, is that walkable to the Erato St cruise terminal?

 

Fourth Question: We have a 2pm flight on Sunday out of MSY. I see that there are three parades headed down St Charles starting at around 11am. Am I going to have a problem getting a taxi right by the hotel to get to the airport or will I be ok.

 

Final Question: I get a corporate discount through work with Go Shuttle which makes 3 people $36 each way. Would you go with Go Shuttle or a taxi to and from the airport?

 

Thanks for all the help....

[map70065]

Hi everyone,

 

My DW, a friend, and myself are on the Carnival Fantasy from Feb16th-Feb 21. We are then staying at the Hilton St Charles Avenue the night of Feb 21st and flying back to Rhode Island on Feb 22nd.

 

I see that its about a mile from the Erato St Cruise Terminal to Hilton St Charles. Is that walkable from the cruise terminal. If not how are the taxis when the parades are going on. I see that there are two parades that pass the Hotel around noon, the Krewe of Iris and the Krewe of Tucks go by then.

 

Also being at the hotel, where is the best place to watch the parades from?

 

Third Question: We are staying one night precruise at the Wyndham Riverfront hotel, is that walkable to the Erato St cruise terminal?

 

Fourth Question: We have a 2pm flight on Sunday out of MSY. I see that there are three parades headed down St Charles starting at around 11am. Am I going to have a problem getting a taxi right by the hotel to get to the airport or will I be ok.

 

Final Question: I get a corporate discount through work with Go Shuttle which makes 3 people $36 each way. Would you go with Go Shuttle or a taxi to and from the airport?

 

It's about a mile from the terminal to the Hilton on St. Charles. It's walkable, but if you're schleping luggage I'd get a cab. If you get off the ship before noon I don't think you should have a problem getting a cab. Iris doesn't start until 11 and is followed by Tucks. They both start uptown past the Garden District, so shouldn't hit the hotel area for an hour or two after that.

 

The hotel may have viewing stands - can't remember if they do or not, if not you may want to get tickets for the grandstands which aren't far from there. Cost for those parades is $10 per person http://www.mardigrasgrandstand.com/ or you can just stand wherever you find a place on the street. If you do this the best places are usually at streets after they put the baracades up.

 

The Wyndham Riverfront is very close to the pier - in fact you may be able to see the boat from your window if it faces the river. Definitely walkable - again if you're not schleping a bunch of luggage. There are posts about walking to the terminal on here someplace.

 

The Sunday parades also start uptown, so if they start at 11 they shouldn't get to where you are until after noon. You should be able to get a cab or shuttle before then, but I'd go for 11 to be on the safe side - that's probably check out time anyway. I'd check with the desk when you check in just to be sure.

 

Taxi for three to/from the airport is gonna be $40-$42 ($28 for first 2, $12 for each additional plus fuel surcharge of $1-2), so the shuttle will be a little cheaper for you - but you may have several stops with it.

 

The parade you won't want to miss is Endymion, Saturday night. It will be traveling the opposite way of the other parades. Grandstand seats for it are $30 per person - and IMHO it's not worth that much.

[Gingermuffin]

If you can get grandstand tickets- The crowds are pretty intense at these parades. We went last year , went on the Fantasy prior to the last weekend of Mardi Gras, and got off the ship on a Thurs and stayed in NO for the weekend , left Sunday morning.

They start closing the streets on Canal and on the parade routes about 1-1/2 hour prior to the start of the parades, so It can be tough to get to the areas. You might want to check the New Orleans web site for the parade routes, to see what streets will be closed.

People start to line up for a good spot early , they make a day out of it, and by the time the parades get to the downtown area, there is no way to discribe how bad it was! Most of the people are pretty nice and polite, but it gets wild/and you are really packed in there! Sat night was so packed that we walked to the French Quarter to eat , get to get away from the crowd, as Canal and Bourdon streets were so packed we could not even get close to the evening parades to see the floats, we were barely able to get out of our hotel to stand on the sidewalks.

Mardi Gras is fun- but be prepared for the crowds on Saturday. ;)

[ktpc2005]

Thanks for the answers. I have been planning and was printing out maps of parade routes from http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com.

 

 

When it gets closer I am going to be calling the hotel because I have to talk to them about a few things.

 

The hotel does have a reviewing stand according to their website, but to get access you had to reserve this really expensive package. I am paying nothing to stay because I am using points for the night.

 

I am looking forward to it. We get to have a nice cruise, experience Mardis Gras, and meet up with some of my college friends who are attending medical school at Tulane.

[endymion6942]

Uptown parade barracades go up around 9:00 in the morning on Saturday.

Also keep in mind that the area around the Sheraton will be very a zoo since Endymion and some other Krewes use the Hilton Riverside for headquarters hotels with the other hotels used as overflow. Traffic will be very heavy from the locals getting downtown and trying to find a place to park.

 

My advice is to get off the ship as soon as you can, grab a cab and get over to your Hotel. Afterr that, start drinking heavy and start catching beads.

 

BTW: Make a "Cruise Critic" sign and you might get a large number of beads thrown at you during Endymion.

[cruisinmama0]

Also keep in mind that you might not be able to catch a cab back to the airport right in front of your hotel, but may be directed or walked by staff a block away to catch taxis where the streets are open for traffic. The hotel will have their "Mardi Gras Plan" in place.

 

Have a wonderful time. You won't forget it and don't do anything stupid and get arrested because the police are not tolerant at this time. They are overworked and very edgy by that weekend. They won't care if you are from out of town. You might end up a "resident" in a bright orange jumpsuit and a new girlfriend named Bubba.

 

No flashing and don't carry glass bottles around. Get a "go cup" that can be caught from any of the floats and a plastic hip flask and check out the sights and sounds.

[ktpc2005]

Thanks for the info.

 

 

Is there a place by the Wyndham Riverfront to pick up some soda and liquor. Keep in mind we will not have a car....

 

 

Thanks.

[cawffeetawk]

If you are staying at the Wyndom Riverfront of Convention Center Blvd there is a liquor store about a block away. They are open everyday even Sundays. There are also lots of places to buy drinks. If you like Oysters go accorss the street to the Hilton Riverside to Drago's. Great charbroiled oysters. The one in Metairie is one of Brad Pitt's favorite hangouts. They opened a location in the Hilton and it is just as good as the original. Don't miss Endymion. It is a big beautiful parade but long....one of the best. I am partical to Bacchus though because my husbnad rides in that one. You will ge to see Kid Rock ride though. I will try and wave to you becasue I will be at the Hilton Riverside all weekend with the Krewe of Bacchus.

[seastarxo]

about how long do some of these parades last for?

[cruisinmama0]

During the big weekend starting February 20 there will be 2-3 parades in a roll. Each parade usually last about one hour and on Saturday and Sunday you can be out there all day and night with a short break of an hour between the day and night parades. Get those portable folding chairs that sling over your shoulder.

 

Keep in mind that a lot of people stake their parade territory early, even camping out, so respect their space. Try to set up next to a nice group and you may end up getting to know them and getting fed, offered a drink and eventually adopted LOL.

 

Enjoy!

[ktpc2005]

Thanks for all the info so far, only days until we leave.....

 

 

My friend want to ride the streetcars while we there and he was reading that the riverfront streetcar goes right in front of the cruise terminal. We will not have much luggage and will be looking to take it to the Canal St streetcar or walk to St Charles. Is this possible?

 

I read that the streetcars run on different schedules on parade days but I cannot find the schedules on the NOLA bus/streetcar website. Is there one out there?

 

Thanks

[map70065]

Thanks for all the info so far, only days until we leave.....

 

I read that the streetcars run on different schedules on parade days but I cannot find the schedules on the NOLA bus/streetcar website. Is there one out there?

 

Thanks

Streetcars along any parade route (so Canal and St. Charles) stop running 2 hours before parades - and may or may not run at other times those days. I wouldn't count on them. Of all of them the Riverside would not be affected by the parade, so would probably remain running.

[ktpc2005]

Hello all,

 

Back from the Carnival Fantasy and NOLA.

 

Had a great pre-cruise stay at the Wyndham Riverfront. Was able to see the ship from my room in the morning. The front desk said that it was impossible to walk to the cruise ship from the hotel, and I was laughing inside as they said it. We had a quick 10 minute walk from the hotel to the cruise ship via the Riverwalk. We were also able to catch the Krewe of Carrolton parade on the Sunday afternoon.

 

When we got back, the taxi took us right to the Hilton St Charles. We were able to check in and then staked our place for the parades right outside the hotel's front door between their two balcony's. We saw the Krewe of Isis and Krewe of Tucks in the afternoon.

 

We then went inside, took a rest and came back out for the big Krewe of Endymion parade. The parade hit the hotel around 6:45pm and did not end until around 10pm. I caught many nice beads, a couple of footballs, Endymion dolls, and other things. What a parade, it just kept going and going. My wife and I filled two and a half bead tote bags with all the things we caught at the parades. She is now going to give a lot of them to the kids at her school.

 

On Sunday morning the airport shuttle came right on time to the front of the hotel, and we were on our way.

 

 

Thanks to all the CCers for their help!!!!!