Jump to content

New Orleans Review


twotall
 Share

Recommended Posts

TIP: If you're visiting the zoo be sure to take some extra time to walk through the adjacent Audubon Park. Audubon Park is certainly one of the nicer urban parks that we've visited. Most of the below photos were taken by Emma. She enjoys taking pictures and does a very good job for her age.

 

P1050998.jpg

 

GEDV0057.jpg

 

P1060013.jpg

 

P1060020.jpg

 

The park is surrounded by many beautiful homes

GEDV0059.jpg

 

GEDV0063.jpg

 

Next up - the zoo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We took our time and really enjoyed the park. It took about 45 minutes for us to make our way down to the Magazine Street entrance. TIP: Research how to walk between the park and the zoo ahead of time. There are no signs at the Magazine Street entrance pointing the direction to the zoo. There's also no paved connection between the park path and the Magazine Street crossing. Luckily I had looked at aerial photos before we left and I knew what general direction we needed to head. We had to walk through some grass and cross Magazine Street to enter the zoo parking area. We ran across some other people and confirmed that we were headed in the right direction. There were no signs saying which way to go but it didn't take long and we were at the main entrance.

 

GEDV0072.jpg

 

I was able to print off a coupon before we left and was able to use it for the four of us. We saved a total of $11 off our three adult and one child admissions. Here's the coupon link:http://www.neworleanscoupons.com/coupons/attractions-audubon-zoo.html

 

We knew that we weren't going to spend the entire day at the zoo and wanted to focus on our favorite animals first. Emma has always been partial to elephants so we headed there first. The zoo is home to two female Asian elephants named Panya and Jean. We arrived just as Jean was getting a bath.

 

P1060027.jpg

 

The head zoo keeper was explaining the differences between Asian and African elephants when we walked up. He was very interesting to listen to and provided a lot of information. As he was talking the other keeper finished Jean's bath and lead her up to the edge of the enclosure. Everyone was then invited to walk up and touch her. The head zoo keeper stated that only a few zoos in the world allow visitors to touch their elephants and encouraged everyone to take advantage.

 

P1060063.jpg

 

We took several minutes to talk with the zoo keeper while others were touching the elephant. It turns out that he volunteered for several years before joining the zoo as a paid employee. He received his bachelors degree in biology. Another zoo keeper indicated that she had her degree in zoology. It was good for Emma to hear about their experiences and what education they had. I won't be a bit surprised if Emma volunteers at a zoo when she gets older.

 

We walked around the Asia section and saw some of the big cats including the rare white tigers.

 

P1060045.jpg

 

We also ran across this really cool elephant fountain.

GEDV0076.jpg

 

We left the Asia area and went in search of hippos, Emma's other favorite animal. Unfortunately, the zoo got rid of their hippos back in 2009. Emma was disappointed but we still got to see some other cool animals including the rare white alligator. Emma was hungry so we decided to take a break and sit down for awhile. She got chicken tenders from the cafe in the swamp area. They were actually pretty good. The rest of us just had some water as we were planning to grab a late lunch in the Garden District. We walked around for a while longer and then headed for the gift shop and front gate.

 

We decided to take the shuttle van back to the streetcar stop in order to save some walking. I waited at the stop while the girls shopped in the gift store. The van arrived withing a short amount of time and we headed back to the streetcar line. We then rode the streetcar to the Garden District and hopped off near the intersection of St. Charles and Sixth Street.

 

Next up – Lunch and the Garden District

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had an aft balcony on the Voyager and it was great to see the sites. We printed out this guide and found it to be very helpful.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1211622

 

Enjoy the aft, it was the best cabin we've ever had.

 

I saw that thread and did print the guide a few weeks ago, it's in my "cruise folder" already. :)

 

Yes, I'm so excited about the aft balcony. :)

 

As far as needing a car while we at the Drury the night before the cruise, no we probably wouldn't "need" it but I don't like valet parking, and there would be things in the car that I would worry about being taken. :(

 

The bugs "coming out of the manhole cover" was interesting, as was the sidewalked repaved with pennies! :)

 

Can't wait to hear about lunch and the Garden District!

Edited by Yvonne
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were all hungry by this point (except for Emma) and were ready for lunch. It was about 2:30 and we knew that we were going out for dinner later on so we decided on a light lunch. I had researched several restaurants in the area including Domilise (which had good reviews and is relatively close to the zoo) and Casamento's, Mahony's and Joey K's (which are all on Magazine St. pretty close to our walking tour). In the end we chose The Grocery at the corner of Sixth and St. Charles. This is a very casual hole-in-the wall neighborhood joint which specializes in hot pressed po'-boy sandwiches. Certainly nothing fancy but the sandwiches were great. Kristen, Katelyn and I ordered a tuna melt and a chicken pesto to share among the three of us. It did take slightly longer than expected to get the sandwiches after we ordered but the wait was worthwhile. Both sandwiches were excellent and we would certainly go back again sometime. It should be noted that there is limited seating inside. Maybe enough seats for about 20 people or so. There are a few tables outside for maybe another dozen. I would imagine that it may be hard to find a seat during the lunchtime rush. Don't let that discourage you though because the food is great.

 

Similar to the previous day, I had e-mailed the text from a Garden District walking tour to Kristen's phone. I pulled up the e-mail and off we went. The Garden District is really amazing. The homes are all beautiful.

 

GEDV0085.jpg

 

GEDV0083.jpg

 

GEDV0086.jpg

 

GEDV0084.jpg

 

P1060078.jpg

 

I will say that the walking tour of the Garden District was not nearly as informative or entertaining as the tour of the French Quarter had been. It was still worthwhile to have but just not as good. Towards the end we just ignored the tour and explored on our own.

 

We were planning to stop into Layfayette Cemetery No. 1 to have a look around. We had read several times to be careful in the cemeteries as they are often the target of petty thieves. We were going during the busy daylight hours so we weren’t really that concerned. It turned out that the gates were all locked and we weren’t able to go in. We peeked in from the outside and then walked back towards St. Charles Street.

 

We rode the streetcar back to Poydras and hopped off in front of our hotel. It was about 5:30 and we grabbed a very small snack before heading up to our room to relax for awhile. It had been a long but enjoyable day visiting the park, zoo and Garden District. We rested for about an hour or so before getting ready to head out for dinner.

 

Next up – Mid City Dinner, Italian Desserts and Our Second Night Out

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did you find out why the cemetery gates were locked?

 

We'd like to take a tour of a cemetery while we're there. I've heard they aren't all that safe, so rather than going on our own, just the two of us, I think a tour might be the way to go for us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did you find out why the cemetery gates were locked?

 

We'd like to take a tour of a cemetery while we're there. I've heard they aren't all that safe, so rather than going on our own, just the two of us, I think a tour might be the way to go for us.

 

No, we never asked why the gates were locked.

 

The same company that offers the vampire tour also offers cemetery tours. Their daily tour takes place about the same time as we were eating lunch. I was hoping that we could be in the cemetery at the same time (for safety reasons) but our timing didn't work out.

 

I would agree that its probably best for you to visit with a tour group.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What a great review....I'm loving it.

We are looking at cruising out of New Orleans in August on Carnival ..... The last time I was in New Orleans for in 1984 during the World's Fair and it was not a great experience. After reading your review I must say that I am now looking forward to sailing from New Orleans.

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

OceanDreams

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By the time we left our hotel it was almost 7:00. We walked to the corner of Carondelet and Poydras just as a streetcar was arriving. We decided to catch a ride over to Canal just to save some walking. At first the conductor didn’t want to let us board. She indicated that we needed to walk a block down to St. Charles because the car was only going to Canal. We told here that’s where we wanted to go and showed her our day passes. She understood and welcomed us aboard. We did have to stand for the few blocks but it saved a bit of time and walking.

 

We hopped off the streetcar at Canal and walked just a few yards over to the Canal line stop. Once again Bourbon Street was hopping. There were lots of people filtering into the area. We waited about 5 minutes or so for the streetcar to come along. We jumped on and easily found seats. It turned out that Katelyn had the pleasure of sitting next to a gentleman who was quite inebriated. She looked over towards us and held her nose from the smell of alcohol. He was really more humorous than anything else. He pulled out his phone and showed her pictures of his dogs and in slurred speech asked if she thought they were cute. At least he didn’t show her pictures of anything else:eek:. About half way through the trip the conductor announced what street we were approaching. Upon hearing this the gentleman got up, screamed a profanity, and then ran off the streetcar and headed back in the direction from which we came. Apparently he had missed his stop:).

 

There were actually several interesting characters on the streetcar as we headed up town. In addition to “drunk man” there was “drummer man”. He had on a pair of headphones and proceeded to play air drums quite vigorously throughout the entire trip. I’m guessing that he must have real drumming experience because his feet and arms were flailing about as if he was playing real drums. He was oblivious to the fact that he came close to whacking several people with his arms. There was also “sleeping man” aka “standing man”. This gentleman hopped on shortly after we left downtown. He proceeded to stand up front near the conductor in the center of the aisle. He wasn’t holding onto any railings or handrails. Almost immediately after staking out his spot his head lowered and his body began to sway as if he’d fallen asleep. As others exited or entered they had to shuffle around him. He really did a good job of balancing despite not holding onto anything. His head remained down the whole time. I’m guessing he must be a regular because the conductor didn’t say a word about him partially blocking the aisle.

 

As the streetcar progressed uptown away from Bourbon Street the neighborhoods began to get a little rougher. There were a few stretches with some abandoned buildings and wrecked cars on the street. Kristen asked if we were going to a safe neighborhood. I assured her that according to what I had read it should be fine. It wasn’t too long after that when the neighborhoods started to improve again. By the time we reached Telemachus St. the neighborhood seemed perfectly safe. We hopped off and walked up one block to Mandina’s Restaurant which is on the corner of Cortez and Canal.

 

We chose Mandina’s because of the diverse menu offering both Italian and Creole cuisine. We walked in and noticed there was no hostess station. There were also no signs saying whether to be seated or not. We walked somewhat aimlessly towards the far end of the bar and were eventually greeted by a gentleman with a clipboard. He took our name and said it would only be a few minutes. We grabbed a couple of drinks and waited patiently at the end of the bar.

 

The system for seating in this restaurant is somewhat unique. When a table is cleared the gentleman with the clipboard shouts out a name. When he makes eye contact with the selected party he simply points in the general direction of the open table and then moves on to other business. The selected party is left on their own to walk and find their table. To be fair the dining room isn’t very big and this system actually works really well. We just found it to be unique and somewhat entertaining.

 

It wasn’t very long before our name was called. We managed to find our table and our waiter quickly asked us for our drink order. Kristen and I both had items from the bar so we just ordered ice waters. Katelyn and Emma both had sodas. The menu offered something for everyone. I chose the fried catfish and shrimp basket with a cup of turtle soup as an appetizer. Kristen ordered the chicken parmesan. Katelyn ordered the eggplant parmesan and Emma once again had chicken tenders. The turtle soup was outstanding. The girls were all somewhat hesitant but they each tried a spoonful and thought it was good. My catfish was very good. The shrimp were a little bland but I added some of the local hot sauce which was on the table and it really helped. Kristen’s meal was really good. I sampled a few small pieces of her chicken and it was great. Katelyn said that her eggplant was also good. Emma enjoyed the chicken tenders:). We all left the restaurant feeling full and satisfied. We would definitely recommend this restaurant to others.

 

We headed up Canal a few blocks to Carrollton Ave. On our way we passed by a small pizza restaurant – the sign outside said Theo’s. We’d obviously just eaten but the smells coming from the restaurant were amazing. There were a fair amount of people inside eating and a steady stream of customers coming and going with take-out orders. While we didn’t stop in it sure looked like a good place to check out in the future. We turned right on Carrollton and walked down a block or so to Angelo Brocato’s. One item of note if you are unfamiliar with the area and approaching from the direction of Canal, that is that the restaurant next door looks very similar to Brocato’s from the outside. I actually stepped out to the edge of the sidewalk and looked at the roof mounted signs to make sure we were going in the right place.

 

Angelo Brocato’s was one of the highlights of our trip. They really have amazing Italian desserts. Between the four of us we must have sampled a dozen different items and every one of them was outstanding. The Cannolis were a highlight as were several of the cookies that we tried. Emma had a small vanilla ice cream that was also very good. We will definitely go back again someday.

 

It was after 9:00 by the time we left Brocato’s and headed for the Canal St. streetcar stop. I mentioned the rough neighborhoods earlier. Never once did we feel unsafe in area between Mandina’s and Brocato’s. We walked several blocks and sat at the streetcar stop and were never once concerned. Anyway, we were sitting at the stop for about 5 minutes or so and there was no one else there. Looking up and down the tracks I saw no sign of any streetcars. Before we’d left for the trip I had researched and the Canal St. line was supposed to run into late in the evening. I started to doubt myself and grabbed Kristen’s phone to look up the schedule online. Sure enough the streetcars were supposed to be running. It was a few minutes later before another passenger came and sat down by us. We waited another 10 minutes or so before the streetcar heading uptown passed by. It took about 5 more minutes or so for the streetcar to return on our side of the tracks. By this time several people had joined us at the stop. TIP: check the streetcar schedules before you leave and be prepared to wait a bit during the late evening hours.

 

We boarded and began our trip downtown. Once again we had some interesting characters on board. “stoner man” was sitting in the first seat behind the conductor on the right side:eek:. He appeared to be completely out of it the entire trip. He seemed dizzy and somewhat incoherent. We were all surprised when his street was called and he sprang up and ran out the door as if he were completely sober. The last we saw him he was running at a full sprint up the street away from the streetcar. We also had “roly poly police man” on board. I must first say that our family has nothing but respect for police officers. They place themselves in harm’s way every day in order to keep us all safe. So my comments are certainly not meant to apply to all police officers. Let’s just say that this particular police officer never saw a doughnut shop that he didn’t like. He fulfilled all of the poor stereotypes. He was shall we say rather robust and boarded with several snacks that he ate as we traveled downtown. I’m guessing that he hasn’t been involved in a foot pursuit in a loooong time;).

 

We reached Bourbon St. and hopped off. Music filled the area and the intersection was crowded with people. We needed some band-aids and made a quick stop into CVS which is located on the corner. CVS was filled with interesting folks including several women whose outfits were better suited for a gentleman’s club than a pharmacy:o. We quickly got what we needed and headed back to the hotel.

 

Kristen and I planned to go back to Bourbon St. for a little bit while the girls showered and got ready for bed. We basically dropped them off at the room, made sure they had everything they needed and headed back out to return to Bourbon St.

 

Next up – Our Second Night Out

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was almost 11:00 by the time we made our way back to Bourbon St. We walked about a block in from Canal and encountered a marching band playing in the center of the street. They were surrounded by the crowd and were slowly working their way back towards Canal. They were playing festive jazz music and were quite entertaining. Kristen spotted a daiquiri shop and decided that she wanted a banana daiquiri. It tasted pretty good but at $9 was pretty expensive considering it contained very little alcohol.

 

There were significantly more people out and about then there had been the previous night. We did not see any children as we had the night before. We worked our way up a few blocks and heard a band approaching from behind us. We stopped to listen and quickly realized that it was a wedding procession. There was a small 4-5 piece band in front followed by the bride & groom and the entire wedding party and guests. Everyone was holding little white parasol umbrellas. The crowd parted and let them all march through. Everyone was cheering and clapping. It was really a pretty cool experience. Not sure that I’d want to spend my wedding day on Bourbon St. but I can see why others would.

 

We had seen another wedding party the previous day while on our tour of the French Quarter. We’re actually not sure if it was a real bride and groom or if they were just part of a photo shoot. We encountered them at the corner of Royal and St. Peter St. There was a photographer, assistant, bride & groom and several members of a wedding party all dressed up. We assumed that they were a real couple but became skeptical when the bride struck a few very provocative poses. I don’t know of many brides who aim for an R rated wedding album….but I suppose to each his own.

 

Anyway, we made our way several blocks down Bourbon St. to where there were only a few bars and clubs. We turned around and started heading back towards Canal. Up and down the street we saw several women who were scantily dressed. Apparently it is the required dress code:D. Given all of the suggestive clothing, we actually saw very little behavior that crossed the “adult” line. Most of the women seem to simply enjoy the attention they received by teasing the crowd. Very few took it to the next level. Overall the crowds were well behaved and people were just having a good time. It was almost midnight by the time we made it back to Canal St. Kristen wanted to stop in CVS again to get a different type of sunscreen for the cruise. We made our purchase and were booted out of CVS as they were closing at midnight.

 

We walked back down Carondelet towards the hotel. Once again we felt perfectly safe walking even though it was midnight. There were plenty of people around and the sidewalk is generally well lit. The girls were both in bed reading by the time we got back. Emma had showered but Katelyn was going to wait until morning. I decided to shower and we all got to sleep by around 1:00 a.m. or so.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our original plan for Saturday was to get up early, have a small breakfast at the hotel, walk around the French Quarter for a few hours, catch lunch at Mother’s and then head back to the hotel to gather our luggage and leave for the port. Given that we were out so late the previous night we decided to change our plans a bit and sleep in a little longer.

 

Just like the previous day I arranged for a wake up call at 8:30. Emma and I repeated our routine of going downstairs for breakfast while Katelyn and Kristen showered and got ready. We took a slight detour on our way to breakfast. We went upstairs to the pool deck and were able to see our ship from the top floor. Emma was very excited to go to the ship.

 

GEDV0095.jpg

 

We ate breakfast and then brought some food up for the girls. They ate while I piled our suitcases onto the luggage cart. I had asked the night before if we could store our luggage while we went out. The person at the front desk said that it was no problem. We left our room and I rolled the overflowing luggage cart down to the front desk. The clerk said that she would just leave everything on the cart and pulled it in the office behind a locked door.

 

We walked down to St. Charles turned left and headed towards Canal and the French Quarter. We slowly made our way along Royal St. as we had done two days prior. Kristen happened upon a bracelet in a jewelry store window. The bracelet had a simple black band with a fleur de lis covered with diamonds. Kristen assumed that they were fake diamonds and went inside. I strolled in a few minutes later just in time to hear the clerk tell her that it cost “thirty-two fifty”. Kristen was thinking $32.50 but I knew right away that the clerk meant $3,250.00. I walked out and it took a few minutes for Kristen and the girls to follow. Kristen was laughing and said that she had to pretend not to be shocked when she realized the actual price. She said that she told the clerk that it was very nice and that she wanted to think about it some more.

 

Having avoided spending a few house payments on a bracelet, we continued our way down Royal. We reached St. Peter and turned left. The girls wanted to go back to the same gift shop they had been in on Thursday. Both Emma and Katelyn wanted to purchase masks as souvenirs.

 

P1050969.jpg

 

It took a good amount of time for the girls to decide on which masks they wanted. When they were finished we made our way down St. Peter towards Jackson Square. The atmosphere in the square was really cool. There was a group of street musicians playing jazz and they were very talented. There was a clown near St. Peter St. making balloon animals for the kids. Emma waited there with Katelyn so that she could get an animal.

 

GEDV0103.jpg

 

Kristen and I worked our way around counter clockwise all the way over to Decatur St. by Café du Monde. Many local artists were displaying their works for sale. Some of them were very talented and had some really nice pieces. We doubled back and made it all of the way to the front steps of St. Louis Cathedral before encountering the girls. We decided to go inside and have a look at the church. Unfortunately the only photos I got were very blurry. It is a beautiful church and certainly worthwhile spending a few minutes to visit.

 

GEDV0105.jpg

 

GEDV0108.jpg

 

We made our way back outside and headed along the final leg of the square that we had not yet seen. About half way down towards Decatur we ran across a local artist that created paintings for children. Emma decided that she wanted to spend some of her allowance money and purchased a very nice painting of a circus elephant for her bedroom.

 

We reached Decatur and turned right towards Canal St. As I said earlier our plans changed a bit this morning. Instead of stopping for lunch we chose to eat a bigger breakfast at the hotel. The girls decided that they would rather stop into to the Riverwalk Mall and do some shopping before we had to board the ship. We walked along Decatur to Peters St. and then crossed over Canal. Peters turned into Tchoupitoulas St. We stayed on Tchoupitoulas until we reached Poydras. We could see the entrance to the Riverwalk Mall from where we stood. TIP: Consider splitting up your party to retrieve your luggage. By splitting up the girls were able to do a little shopping and I was able to retrieve the luggage. This saved on cab fare as the standard downtown rate is $7.00 per person. We thought there was no reason to pay for everyone to ride in the cab if it was just a short walk to the pier. The girls headed towards the mall and I headed up Poydras back to the hotel.

 

Passing by Mother's I noted that there was a long line outside. This restaurant admittedly caters to the tourist crowd but they are supposed to have good sandwiches. Its probably a place that we will try the next time we're in town.

 

I made it back to the hotel and the front desk clerk called for a cab. I wheeled the luggage outside and waited about 10 minutes for a cab to arrive. The driver helped me load the luggage and we left for the pier. While we were driving I got a text from Kristen saying that they had walked through the mall and were ready to meet me. In my mind I thought this was pretty quick. I thought the girls must not have shopped very much. I replied back and told her that I was on my way but it would be a little bit before I got there.

 

The vehicle entrance to the pier is quite a ways further up river than I had envisioned. Luckily there was no traffic and we quickly made our way back down river to the Julia St. pier. I verified the fare with the driver and gave her a $20 for helping with the luggage. This was a lot cheaper than what it would have been if we had all ridden over in the cab.

 

TIP: Treat your porter well and your porter will treat you well. I know that there's a long standing debate on CC about tipping porters at the pier. My opinion is that you do get better service if you tip well. I gave the porter $20 for handling our 7 bags of luggage and I kept the remaining bag with me. I asked the porter for directions to the Riverwalk Mall and he pointed me in the general direction.

 

I walked inside the building first to check things out before heading over to the mall. The line of passengers extended beyond entrance door #4. I walked down towards entrance #1 and was told by more than one person that the end of the line was in the other direction. I asked another person for directions to the mall and he provided better details than the porter had.

 

There is a staircase along Julia Street near the whale lot on the far side of the railroad tracks from the pier building. In order to get to the mall you simply walk out to Julia St., head up the escalator and walk straight into the mall. This brings you into the mall food court.

 

I texted Kristen and told her that I was in the food court and asked where I could find her. This is when I realized that there was a miscommunication. Kristen indicated that she didn't see a food court. It turns out that she and the girls were still in Section A of the mall. They didn't realize that there was an escalator at the far end near the Gap and that the mall continued upstairs. This explained how they had “finished” shopping so quickly. It was about 1:00 at this point so I told them to take their time. We had a little over an hour before we needed to head over to the pier. I went outside on the upper patio and took a seat looking out towards the ship.

 

I spent the next 45 minutes or so just watching the activities on the ship. The girls finally arrived with a Cafe du Monde bag in hand. They explained that they didn't realize about the continuation of the mall. They also stated that surprisingly Cafe du Monde in the mall was a lot better than the location on Decatur. The beignets were hot out of the fryer and there were no long lines. They had brought a beignet for me and I concurred that it was better than we had a few days prior. After I finished eating we made our way back through the food court to the escalator and back down to Julia St.

 

By the time we made it back to the pier building the end of the line had progressed to entrance #1. We were on the ship about 20 minutes later ready to begin our cruise.

 

Next up – Our Cruise

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We worked our way up a few blocks and heard a band approaching from behind us. We stopped to listen and quickly realized that it was a wedding procession. There was a small 4-5 piece band in front followed by the bride & groom and the entire wedding party and guests. Everyone was holding little white parasol umbrellas. The crowd parted and let them all march through. Everyone was cheering and clapping. It was really a pretty cool experience.

 

SECOND LINE!!!! Love those!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As I said at the beginning there are many great cruise reviews on this site and I really wanted to focus on New Orleans and not the cruise. So I'll just make a few brief comments.....

 

We ended up boarding the ship about 2:30 or so and went straight to our rooms. We were pleasantly surprised by the fact that all of our luggage had already arrived. It certainly may have just been a coincidence but I think it did benefit us to tip the porter nicely at the pier.

 

Our First Day at Sea

We had an aft balcony and were enjoying reading our books while at sea on the first day. We had a direct view of the ship's wake and noticed shortly after noon that we were turning. It wasn't much longer after that when the captain came on the ship-wide intercom system and announced that there was a medical emergency. We were turning around back toward New Orleans so that the Coast Guard could meet us and evacuate the sick passenger.

 

I need to hop on my soapbox for a moment..... I was disappointed by the fact that the captain felt the need to apologize for impacts to our itinerary due to the medical evacuation. I cannot believe that anyone would complain over a matter such as this. Certainly the well being of the passenger and the passenger's family were much more important than any port stop or shore excursion. I'm thinking the captain apologized only because he had received complaints or he was anticipating that he would receive complaints. Its sad that people can be so inconsiderate.....hopping off now.

 

The captain and crew of the Voyager handled the situation in a very professional manner and did a great job. The members of the Coast Guard who flew out to the ship and made a textbook evacuation also did a great job.

 

We never found out the fate of the passenger that was evacuated but we certainly hope that they made speedy recovery.

 

Just a few pictures:

 

The view from our balcony. We were very lucky in that we experienced calm seas throughout the entire week. These were about the roughest seas we encountered. If you really focused you could feel some movement on the ship - but it was hard to detect.

GEDV0127.jpg

 

One of many beautiful sunsets. We experienced some showers for a few hours while in port at Cozumel. We were swimming in the ocean so it didn't really bother us at all. Besides that we basically had sunny and 80 degrees all week long.

P1060134.jpg

 

Empty pool deck. The ship was full but surprisingly there were many times when the pool deck and hot tubs were near empty such as this day while in port at Falmouth Jamaica.

P1060101.jpg

 

Pictures of the Voyager. She is a beautiful ship and very well maintained.

P1060212.jpg

 

P1060180.jpg

 

Next up – Our Final Day in New Orleans

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll say it again, Great review!

By any chance are you posting a seperate review on the RCCL site? If so, would love to read that as well.

OceanDreams

 

Thank you very much.

 

I don't plan to post a complete review of our cruise but I'd be happy to try and answer any questions you may have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The ship was docked at the pier when we woke up. We had packed and showered the night before so getting ready was easy. We had a nice breakfast at the buffet and returned to our rooms to grab our bags. We chose to self-disembark and carry off our own luggage. We were off the ship and through customs by 8:00.

 

We had arranged for a rental car from Hertz. Hertz is located on Convention Center Blvd., very close to the pier. I had originally reserved with Budget on Canal St. because their rental rates were cheaper; however, when I factored in cab fare from the pier to Budget the cost was higher. It would not have been practical to walk with all of our luggage. I suppose we could have called and waited for Budget to pick us up from the pier but we didn't know how long that would take and we didn't want to waste time waiting around. In the end Hertz proved to be a good choice.

 

We walked through the cruise terminal building following the same path that I had walked a week earlier on my way to the Riverwalk Mall. We headed out to Julia St. and instead of going upstairs to the mall we kept going straight out to Convention Center Blvd. We could see the Hertz location from the corner. Even though I had 3 suitcases, Kristen and Katelyn each had 2 and Emma had 1 the walk was easy. There are sidewalks the entire way.

 

We arrived at Hertz at about 8:10. We had to wait about ten minutes before our vehicle was ready. We got a Nissan Pathfinder which was great for holding all of our luggage. The rental cost for one day was $135. This might seem expensive but when you consider the cost of a cab to the airport ($70 or so for the four of us) and the fact that we got to tour all day by ourselves, we felt it was quite reasonable.

 

We went around the block real quick and headed up Peters St. towards the French Quarter. Interestingly, Peters St. does not change names when it crosses Canal. We continued on Peters to Decatur St.

 

GEDV0112.jpg

 

We turned right into a parking lot just before reaching Cafe du Monde. The parking lot was actually between Cafe du Monde and the river.

 

Our agenda was to split up. The girls wanted some beignets and I wanted one of the famous muffaletta sandwiches from Central Grocery. We walked out to Decatur and the girls turned left towards the cafe. I crossed the street and turned right. Central Grocery was only about a half block up the street.

 

Officially Central Grocery opens at 9:00 on Saturdays but the door was already open when I got there. There are signs directing you where to stand in line. I followed the signs up to the counter. Then I waited and waited and waited. There were a number of people behind the counter making preparations for the day. Not one of them acknowledged my presence. It didn't take long for others to join me in line. After about 20 minutes there were maybe a dozen of us waiting in line. It was just a few minutes before 9:00 when a person behind the counter asked me to step forward and began taking orders. I ordered a ½ muffaletta because I had read that they were huge.

 

I walked back towards the parking area and the girls were already waiting for me. We sat in a little courtyard while I ate my beignet.

 

P1060349.jpg

 

P1060348.jpg

 

After finishing we hopped back in the car and headed for the exit. The parking lot exited onto Peters St. just south of Esplanade Ave. It cost $5.00 for the hour or so that we were parked there.

 

Next up – The Ninth Ward

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you remember how long was the trip going down the Mississippi River?

 

OceanDreams

 

It takes about 7-8 hours to reach the Gulf. The first hour or so is interesting as there is quite a bit to see. Check out this virtual tour that was posted on another board. We sat on our balcony and followed along and thought it was great. Note that most everything listed is on the port side as you are sailing towards the Gulf.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1211622

 

After the first few hours there's not much to see until you reach the Gulf. In the Gulf you can see many oil rigs - especially at night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It takes about 7-8 hours to reach the Gulf. The first hour or so is interesting as there is quite a bit to see. Check out this virtual tour that was posted on another board. We sat on our balcony and followed along and thought it was great. Note that most everything listed is on the port side as you are sailing towards the Gulf.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1211622

 

After the first few hours there's not much to see until you reach the Gulf. In the Gulf you can see many oil rigs - especially at night.

 

This is one thing I'm really looking forward to, especially since we have the aft stateroom and we'll be able to see on both sides. :)

 

It will be so different than leaving from Port Canaveral or Ft. Lauderdale. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It takes about 7-8 hours to reach the Gulf. The first hour or so is interesting as there is quite a bit to see. Check out this virtual tour that was posted on another board. We sat on our balcony and followed along and thought it was great. Note that most everything listed is on the port side as you are sailing towards the Gulf.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1211622

 

After the first few hours there's not much to see until you reach the Gulf. In the Gulf you can see many oil rigs - especially at night.

 

Thanks for the link - just like your review it is very informative. We are looking at an AFT cabin.....but since it takes a few hours, we will wonder up to the front of the ship.

OceanDreams

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry for the delay. I am working on an update and hope to post within the next few days. Just a busy week at work and home. Thanks again to everyone for your kind comments. Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We headed up Esplanade Ave. and turned right on N. Rampart St. which turns into St. Claude Ave. We followed along St. Claude, drove through the Upper Ninth Ward, crossed over the Industrial Canal, and proceeded to the intersection of St. Claude & Angela Street. This placed us in roughly the center of the Louisiana National Guard complex. We turned left on Angela and left again on Claiborne Ave.

 

This is one of several brand new National Guard buildings that were constructed after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

 

P1060355.jpg

 

After this I don’t remember specifically which roads we traveled. I do know that we drove through much of the neighborhood bounded by Claiborne on the south, Delery on the east and the industrial canal on the west. We tried to make our way up to Florida Ave. on the north but found many of the roads impassable. I just can’t remember how far north we got.

 

As I said at the very beginning of this report Kristen has for years been fascinated by New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina had a big impact on her even though she had no real ties to the city. Many tears were shed over the devastation that affected nearly all parts of the city in one way or another. The Lower Ninth Ward struck a special chord with both her and I. We were deeply moved by the many stories of tragedy and survival. Kristen desparately wanted to go to New Orleans during the aftermath to volunteer and help out. Unfortunately, Emma was only 3 at the time and we didn’t have the financial means to make it happen. We knew that during this trip we had to visit the ninth ward.

 

Prior to leaving I searched for self-guided driving tours similar to the walking tours that I had found for the French Quarter and Garden District. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find anything. I knew that we weren’t interested in any type of commercial tour. We simply feel that those types of tours capitalize on the tragedy of others and we don’t feel comfortable with that. In the end we chose to rent our own car and find our way around on our own. Another one of our thoughts was to keep our impact on the neighborhood to a minimum. We did not get out and take pictures nor did we stop and bother the neighbors. We really tried to slip in and slip out without being noticed. I know that if I lived in the neighborhood I wouldn’t want cars parading through all of the time.

 

P1060358.jpg

 

P1060357.jpg

 

P1060372.jpg

 

P1060393.jpg

 

P1060365.jpg

 

One final thought… We saw a sign during our travels which said something along the lines of “This is a neighborhood not a landfill – please no dumping”. It served as a reminder that these were and are people’s homes and their neighborhood. It’s something that needs to be respected if you visit. Jumping off my soapbox.

 

Continued…..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More importantly, here are several photos of newly constructed homes. It’s evident that the neighborhood is struggling to come back to life. Despite the poor economy we saw several new homes under construction. It was encouraging to see signs of life.

 

P1060384.jpg

 

P1060379.jpg

 

P1060376.jpg

 

P1060361.jpg

 

P1060362.jpg

 

After completing our “tour” we headed back along Claiborne Ave. and crossed over the Industrial Canal. Our original plan was to drive through the Upper Ninth Ward as well. Traveling along both St. Claude Ave. and Claiborne Ave.

 

We were struck by the high density of housing in the area. The side streets were very narrow and crowded with parked cars. Unlike the Lower Ninth Ward, the devestation caused by Katrina was not evident from the main roadways. The Lower Ninth is wide open with many vacant parcels of land (which of course used to be houses). The Upper Ninth is very closed in and dense.

 

Even though it was a Saturday morning we did not feel comfortable getting off of the main roads and traveling through the neighborhoods. This was the only time throughout our entire stay in New Orleans that we altered our plans due to safety concerns. We realize that our perception was probably a lot worse than reality. But still it was our perception and we acted accordingly.

 

We stopped at the corner of Franklin Ave. and Claiborne to pick up some Subway sandwiches for the girls. I had my muffaletta but they did not have anything for lunch. It was actually a nice Subway shop located in a fairly new strip mall. We headed up Franklin Ave. to the I-610 exit and turned to head west out of the city.

 

Next Up – Plantation Tour

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...