Wetescape2016

This was FABULOUS to read JW!! Thank you so much for all your time, effort and creativity with how you delivered your experiences! My wife and I sailed on the Escape Jan '16 as our first cruise with our best friends and had the most amazing time. We will board the dawn in a week so I'm going to hop over to that review of yours. Thank you again and hope one day we cross paths! All the best for you upcoming trilogy adventure and hope the 3rd time is as charming as the first!

Heather

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I have no answer but it looks like the exact same thing happened to someone else, NCL did not honour it despite the proof the op had

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2450903

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Yes! We used a lady named Carla for the cemetery and haunted tour. She was awesome and knew so much. You can do any kind of your with her. She only charged $20 per person for a private tour with her. That was the best part, just being my group of friends doing the tour. All the other tour guides had large groups and were more expensive. Her web site is http://www.phantomsfactsandfolklour.com or http://www.carlaboullion.com. Hope you give her a try [emoji16]

 

 

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Great! Thanks so much! [emoji16]

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If you are in NOLA for a day or 2 pre-cruise, be sure and buy the 24 hr day pass for the streetcar. Only $3 and saves the feet after all the wandering you will do. Also take the St Charles to the Garden District...ride it to the end, it turns around and comes back the same way. Get off where ever you like to explore a bit more on foot. All the hotels will give you maps etc to find your way around. Super easy!

 

 

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Great tip! We will definitely get the day pass and use the streetcar to tour the garden district, thank you!

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It's more of a history tour with the haunted folklore. My at the time 8 year old even loved it. If you ever watched American Horror Story (Coven) you'll see where that was filmed and parts of that show are apparently true stories. It's a very cool tour. [emoji16]

 

 

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It does sound intriguing and I did watch Coven! Do you have a specific tour company you would recommend?

Heather, be careful in New Orleans after dark. It can be a dangerous city if you wander too far off the beaten path. Don't wander off alone....stick with friends/family. Having said all that, NOLA is a wonderful, vibrant city that can be a lot of fun, and has a lot of history. If you're driving be careful of one way streets!

 

Enjoy the cruise.:cool:

 

Doug

Fantastic advice! Thank you for that! If out at night we plan to stick to the crowds, anything else will involve a public mode of transportation.

In Nola:

Get your beignets at a Café Beignet and save yourself a 90 minute wait at Café DuMonde.

Get lunch at Johnny's PoBoys. Oyster PoBoy and some gumbo will set you up.

Dinner at Acme or Felix and get some chargrilled oysters. Or go to Deanie's and get the BBQ shrimp, which aren't what you're thinking.

Crescent City Brewhouse has a great raw bar, bloody Marys and the seafood cheesecake will change your life.

Walk around the Quarter. Royal st has a number of gllaeries and a Café Beignet.

Boubon St is a zoo but you should scoot through it once because..... well, you just need to do it because it's .... Bourbon St in New Orleans.

WOW! You just planned a full day food tour for us! Thank you so much :D

Love New Orleans, one of my favorite cities. One thing - a little kitchy, but I love it and think it is definitely worth seeing -- is Mardi Gras World. It is an enormous warehouse -- think size of a football field -- and it is completely filled with Mardi Gras floats from past years. http://www.mardigrasworld.com/

 

ALso, for those into history, my husband loved the WWII Museum and iMax theatre thing. I was bored out of my mind, but the men in our group all loved it.

 

The French Market is fun. Lots of little tables with NOLA souvenier type stuff, fun to walk through.

 

And if you get bored, there is always Harrahs Casino.

 

Terry

Mardi Gras world looks great, thank you!! Bonus is the free shuttle pick up to bring you there :)

I would be bored out of my mind with the WWII too, I'll just keep that recommendation to myself :roll eyes:

The French Market will be a must do, thanks again!

We did the "haunted tour" of the French Quarter a few years ago. Absolutely loved it

 

 

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Ok so I'm a big wimp when it comes to paranormal stuff. How creepy is it? Or is it more a history of NOLA?

I have stayed at the Drury in NOLA before and loved it, don't miss the evening reception. Definitely stop in at Cafe Du Monde for beignets.

 

For Cozumel - I always go to Chankanaab, don't forget to go on the website and download the $2 off coupon. Swim with the Manatees, you will never experience anything like it again. There is so much to do in the park and it is a short taxi ride, they are plentiful. The tequila tasting is fun, the trails are informative, and the snorkeling is very good.

I will admit, all this free drinks and food offered at our hotel is so new to us! Where we live you are LUCKY if the hotel offers a free breakfast.

Yes I have already booked Chankanaab online and got a good deal, thank you!

We really enjoyed the Lagoon Mangrove Wildlife tour on Harvest Caye. 1.5 - 2 hours, guides were great without being "schticky".

Thank you for your reccomendation! I think we may skip booking anything for Harvest Caye. I'm not sure if it's more that I'm rebelling and don't like the idea of NCL forcing you to only use their excursions in Harvest Caye, or that a day of nothing and just going with the flow of what we feel like doing is appealing to what seems to be an already bustling vacation.

when we werent drinking in the Quarter we enjoyed the "free walking tours". We googled to find their website and then made reservations for the tour/time we wanted. Might have been a $2 charge to reserve, dont recall but there was a small fee to enter the cemetery and I dont think you can enter the one we toured unless you are with a guide.

 

You tip the guide whatever you feel the tour was worth. We did a cemetery tour as well as a french quarter tour and both were a great way to see the sites. Guide was very informative and pleasant.

 

Find a good local restaurant and enjoy. I had a sampler plate and really enjoyed some of the spicier local food including blackened gator sausage.

Also your signature seriously made me LAUGH! Because it is 100% accurate :)

You mention craving to eat.........Acme Oyster Company just off of Bourbon St. I don't eat much seafood and had the chicken/Sausage Jambalaya there and it was awesome. Other guests that like seafood though the seafood and oysters were great. I would make sure I stop there if I had a trip to NOLA.

I am such a picky eater when it comes to seafood. I've never eaten an oyster in my life because they look so unappealing to me (though i've usually seen them raw). But I keep hearing about these char grilled oysters, I may have to put on my loose fitting brave pants on this trip :D

Thank you! ACME is on the list!

when we werent drinking in the Quarter we enjoyed the "free walking tours". We googled to find their website and then made reservations for the tour/time we wanted. Might have been a $2 charge to reserve, dont recall but there was a small fee to enter the cemetery and I dont think you can enter the one we toured unless you are with a guide.

 

You tip the guide whatever you feel the tour was worth. We did a cemetery tour as well as a french quarter tour and both were a great way to see the sites. Guide was very informative and pleasant.

 

Find a good local restaurant and enjoy. I had a sampler plate and really enjoyed some of the spicier local food including blackened gator sausage.

Great advice!! I booked the french quarter, cemetery and frenchmen st tours. Hopefully all the walking will balance all the eating? Doubt it :D

I went to New Orleans for the first time a couple of years ago - it was a bucket list trip (a week) and it was GREAT!!!!

 

In New Orleans, you have to get to Emeril's restaurant. Go for the lunch specials if you are there during the week don't want to spend a lot, but you have to (ABSOLUTELY MUST) get the Banana Cream Pie for dessert. Heck - just go in for dessert and coffee - it is SO worth it!

 

You have to walk down Bourbon street at night - after dinner one evening. It's an absolute MUST DO. You can't possibly understand it or "appreciate" it if you don't see it and experience it for yourself :)

 

If you want more specific info on restaurants or other foodie stuff in NO, you can email me. We went everywhere from local breakfast joints to oyster happy hours.

 

It's been many years since I have been on the Dawn - but I loved it then, and I still love NCL - so you will have a great time!

So great when we get to cross destinations off our bucket list! New Orleans has been on ours basically since before we got together 9 years ago and shared our interests in travelling. We did Australia in 2008, now finally NOLA!

We weren't planning on going to any big name chef's restaurants since we know that a price increase comes with the name and we were confident we could find many restaurants with great food, but I just looked at the description of that dessert on the menu. We are going to go just for dessert for sure PRE cruise. That way we can justify going one more time post cruise! :D

Thank you so much for all your advice!

Join your roll call group.

 

Go to your Cruise Critic Meet & Greet.

 

Ask the NCL Group Coordinator @ the M.& G. to enter you into the ( Dinner with an Officer ) drawing.

 

 

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I was already on the roll call and wasn't planning on going to the meet & greet but just took your advice and signed up! Thank you for the tip on the dinner with an officer draw :)

I will be interested in the responses you receive. We are cruising out of New Orleans for the first time next year. We plan on staying a few days pre cruise. We will be on the Pearl instead although the Dawn will be our 2019 cruise out of San Juan so I can gather info for that ship too.

We are getting some great info! Love these boards and the helpful people on them. I'm so excited about one cruise, I can't imagine having multiple cruises in the books, enjoy!!

Ditto Cafe du Monde for beignets and chicory coffee. get there early tho, the line gets super long. you can sit down or take out. If you are there by 730, you should get a seat.

 

if you are a drinker, be sure to try teh "Hand Grenade" on bourbon street. its fun. lol

 

we too enjoyed the cemeteries as well as the historic district. we rode teh street cars it was great fun.

 

The Dawn is a great ship (we generally prefer the smaller ships). Ditto the Cagney Fries, and the meats at Moderno are great.

 

In Cozumel, i highly recommend going to Tulum. Its a long day but worth it.

 

In Costa Maya we did the water park if you are into that. Hardly anyone there (it was brand new when we went last year). its walking distance from the pier, and hte price is slightly cheaper than buying it thru the ship. it was a blast, there is a pool, slides, lazy river, zip lines (all included in ticket price) and a small restaurant (although we didnt eat there).

Early wake-up goals for delicious treats, CHECK!

Definitely will try the hand grenade and have read about a hurricane too, vacation is demanding :D

I am so excited about the street cars, we have them in Toronto but they are no where near as neat looking as the ones in New Orleans.

I really have to get my hands on some of these fries despite not being a red meat eater. Thank you for all your recommendations, they are appreciated!

Your excitement and enthusiasm is refreshing. My only tip is keep that perspective, it is all you need! Plus Cagney Fries, a must try you choose to dine there. ENJOY!!:)

Thank you!! Such a nice thing to say :) We are not red meat eaters, but I will definitely make it a mission to try their fries somehow!

New Orleans - Café du Monde for beignets - yummy

It was fun for me to watch the ships come in and turn around by the bridge.

Kind of weird, but we did enjoy walking thru the cemeteries.

 

Just Enjoy!!:D

Yes, I have heard a little something about these beignets, I'm thinking I could probably give this sugar powdered fried dough a chance :D I'm amazed at how they maneuver these huge ships! We will definitely do a cemetery tour, thank you!

In just a few short weeks we will be escaping the winter in Ontario Canada, sailing on the Dawn out of NOLA:cool: This will be our second cruise and our first time in New Orleans and on the Dawn. We will be staying at the Drury Inn 2 nights pre cruise as well as 2 nights post cruise and in a mid-ship balcony room on the Dawn.

Here's what I'm asking of all of you who have either been to NOLA and/or have sailed on the Dawn, I want to know what you know:D

Tell me what you loved, didn't love, can't wait to do again, wouldn't spend another minute of your life doing, what you've been craving to eat again and any secrets/tips you've discovered.

We are stopping in:

Cozumel-going to Chankanaab Park

Roatan Bay-going to Little French Key

Harvest Caye-no excursion

Costa Maya- Mayan Reality Tour (through NCL)

Do you know something I should know about any of those excursions?

Is there anything in those ports in the immediate area that we should see/experience?

We are easy going and we love absolutely everything about travelling. We consider ourselves blessed to experience this, we can only manage one trip a year if at all, so we don't sweat the small stuff.

I appreciate anything you have to share (though tips on what to ask of your buttler or concierge are useless to me;))

Thanks in advance,

Heather

Hello Fellow Cruisers! I will be one of a party of 10 cruising on the Epic on March 18th. About 2 weeks ago, we made various dinner reservations (Specialty and Main dining rooms) for each night; however, we've had to split up our party into 1, 2 or 3 seatings/reservations, some of which are 1/2 hour different time-wise. I've been checking daily for possible openings, but to no avail. I understand that the Dining Package is one of the freebie offers. However, can I hopefully assume that many people double-book or over-book and that Concierge can work things out for us to possibly be able to all sit together (or at least near each other) once on board? Or, that limited reservations are open for pre-reserving and more open up later? Or, is our ship that completely booked that nothing is available? We're all pretty much doing our own thing for breakfast, lunch, excursions, etc., but are trying to eat dinners together if possible. Just curious, as I sailed Epic on her inaugural year as a party of 4 and we had one heck of a time making all the reservations we wanted and were panic-stricken, but once on board there were many openings and things worked out well. Thank you for any input! Vakay

Same goes as your previous experience. They only open up a small percentage of reservations for online booking, leaving the rest for booking once on the ship. Just go straight to the restaurant to get your party arranged once on board.

Have fun!

The couch is next to the balcony door. It was a great setup.

Thanks so much :)

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Hi again Paul,

Totally not important but was curious if the bed or the couch in 9602 is by the balcony? I scanned through your review to see if there was a picture of the room, but all I came out with is a grumbling stomach :)

Thank you,

Heather

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Thank you for your review Paul! We are taking our first trip to New Orleans in just under 30 days. We will be sailing on the Dawn for our first time, and if you can believe it in room 9602!

I am taking note of all your New Orleans tips, so thank you for that!

Heather

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@wetscape2016 - Hi - and thank you!

 

 

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Hi cooncat_mom,

You are welcome! I knew exactly what you were saying :)

I am disappointed I can't bring my vanilla almond creamer, I'm hooked! Coffee won't be the same and I can't handle black coffee. Oh well, just the little things, nothing to get upset about.:cool:

As for the wet blankets, someone needs to throw them all in for a tumble dry, or hang them out in the hot sun :D

Oh my gosh! Cliffhanger!

How did this thread go from bringing liquids on board to questioning what meds someone is on (seems very personal and inappropriate to ask) and how they take them?:confused: A few people need to first, slow your roll- she refers to the soy interrupting absorption of thyroid meds (which is currently in testing), and second- mind your business! If she wants to take her meds while riding a unicycle all to the tune of a monkey playing a harmonica and it works for her, than who is anyone to question/judge it? :D

“Can you look without the voice in your head commenting, drawing conclusions, comparing, or trying to figure something out?” Eckhart Tolle

Thank you for your review. Will have our first experience on the Dawn in Feb. Can't wait!

Oh Kim, I am so sorry your day at the Baths was disappointing. I was so hoping you would enjoy it, and I think you're right- Given different circumstances (behaving camera) and just the 3 of you to worry about, you likely would have had a much different experience.

I hope the rest of the adventures went much better!

Hurray!!! I have been looking forward to hearing about how your week went! Looks like the ship wanted to live up to it's name from the get go and started you off with an EPIC line up. WOW!!! That would be -bad words, bad words, bad words- trying! Happy to hear there was a glowing angelic vending machine in the terminal after all that and you were able to load up!

So Angry Orchard is my drink of choice!!! Do you happen to know if they had in on tap anywhere or was it just bottled? I was spoiled on the Escape when the Brew House had it on tap :D Since it's an American cider, we can't find it on tap here, and it's SOO much better! First world problems, right?!

I am however, very pleased that Canada caught onto Black Friday Sales since we were all heading over the boarder to shop. So, hoping to snag a good deal on an Olympus or a Nikon as I also don't want to lug the DSLR with us in Feb. I did check out the one you just got in the store, did they tell you that when you change the lens its no longer considered waterproof??

Anyways, can't wait for more, and to find out how your fun excursions went!!! :D

As always, thank you SO much for all the time and effort you put into your reviews, it is SO appreciated!

Heather