sunbum1961

I live in NOLA, I'm happy to email you a list of "not to miss" that I send to friends coming here for the first time. Plantations, swamp tours, French quarter, and D-Day museum are definitely top contenders.

Too many great restaurants to list! Happy to send you that email if you'd like.

-Alaina

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Hello Alaina, if you are still doing this I would love to see your "not to miss" list. Thank you! coryrothrock@yahoo.com

Hi Dana! It was great to meet you and I'm sorry our paths didn't cross again. We also had a fantastic time. We loved the ship and the people we met, and thought the staff we encountered were wonderful.

 

 

 

 

We used a guide (Marelvy Pena-Hall) Sunday night and Monday in Cartagena and were blown away. We had 2 fantastic tours and thought Cartagena was one of the most beautiful cities we've visited. The walled city reminded us of a much hotter/more humid (if that's possible:eek:) and MUCH cleaner version of New Orleans. If you want to walk on the wall, do it after dark when it's cooler and you have a nice breeze. We also visited the Getsemani neighborhood in the walled city where not too many tourists go and thought it was great to see the "real" Cartagena. Some of the vendors at the "Dungeons" were a little persistent, but if you just say "no thank you" and keep walking they don't harass you. It's really no different than walking through the shopping area in any port.

 

I never saw a mosquito, and that includes during our jungle walk in Costa Rica. Somebody said they saw one mosquito on a t-shirt in a port, but I never even had to use any of the spray I brought.

 

We did the Celebrity ferry excursion through the Panama Canal. I'm glad we did it because we had never been to the Canal, but it was an unbelievably long (and honestly) boring day. We went through the Gatun Locks. The first chamber was very interesting, the second one I spent looking at the viewing stands to see if I could spot people I knew, and by the third I was just wondering if they could speed up the process so I could get back to the ship!:o Our tour had no real delays and probably went as well as that particular tour can, and it was still 8 & 1/2 hours long. If you've seen the Canal before, there are many shorter excursions that would be a great experience. If I ever go through the Panama Canal again, it will be from the deck of a cruise ship, not a ferry!:rolleyes:

 

I second Dana's comment about the Martini Bar...great fun! We also really liked the World Class Bar, but they never seemed to be doing much business. Everything on that limited menu was available on the Premium Beverage Package.

 

We did the three Specialty Restaurant Package, and loved Murano and Tuscan Grille. We thought Silk Harvest was OK, but it might be by that time we were about "fooded out". We also did a Progressive Dinner that they don't advertise. It was on the third night (Cozumel), and there were 8 of us. We had appetizers in the Gastrobar and Silk Harvest, our entrée in Tuscan Grille, and dessert in Murano. It was an expensive but wonderful meal with wine pairings, so if you're looking for something a little different it might be worth looking into.

 

Have fun! I would go back tomorrow and do it all over again.:D

Hi Cindy,

Where do I get information about the Progressive Dinner? We did a "chef's table" on Princess which sound similar and it was amazing!

We will be in St. Thomas on the Emerald Princess on Friday, March 11, 2011. Wanted to verify that we'll be docking at Crown Bay and would love to find out how many other ships will be in port that day. Don't know how you do it... but love it! Thanks!