rgg

We were on board with Captain Alex last summer. He has a young daughter, who was on board. He totally charmed my daughter and always remembered her name. Also, all the waiters in the dining room doted on her. Many of the crew are away from their own children, and are happy to engage with little ones.

I was on the Summit last summer with my daughter. She was 6 at the time and had a blast at at the kids club. There were lots of kids on board.

Thanks.

Can anyone tell me what they are? Thanks.

My daughter and I will be on that sailing. We have a Lido balcony, and I would have turned down the offer as well. I'm excited about our balcony and location. $350 would go along way for our two days before and two days after in NOLA. Can't wait! We fly in on Thanksgiving!

I just came back from NOLA this past Thursday!!!! Look on Livingsocial for deals! We got a 2 for one deal for Mardi Gras World where they make the floats and store them, they still have the set that paraded Tuesday befor last. We also got a 2 for one cemetery tour which included a tour around the Quarter and was extremely informative and interesting. Johnny's Poboys was amazing, Court of 2 sisters, Deanies Seafood (the bbq shrimp!!!) The Ruby Slipper Cafe for breakfast, Cafe Du Monde, The Praline Connection. Avoid Bourbon st. It smells like garbage and vomit and all the creepy dudes in NOLA seem to hang there. Do Royal street instead. The shops are nicer, tons of art galleries. Frenchman street is good for jazz clubs. There is a homeless problem around the Quarter, no one was overly aggressive but I live in NYC and I'm used to shaking off beggars but I know it can turn some people off so be wary

Thanks! Just purchased Mardi Gras World tickets on LivingSocial. Paid $17 with promo code NEWDEAL. Would have been $33 for me and my daughter at full price. Planning on boarding around 1:30, so this will be a fun thing to do the morning of our cruise.

I sailed on the summit last summer with my six-year-old. She loved the fun factory. If she wasn't there she wanted to be in the pool. Seem to me like there was plenty of staff, and they all seemed very engaged with the children. The teens had their own area and they seemed like they were having a blast.

Traveling as a single parent with my daughter, we did occasionally stop at the martini bar for me to get a drink on the way to a show or dinner. My daughter knew she had to be on her best behavior, and enjoyed herself writing our names and drawing designs on the ice bar. The bartenders gave her juice in martini glasses, and we didn't linger long.

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After you're seated,tell hubby you need to go to the restroom. Then you can check up on the cake without him knowing.

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Just FYI, "drunken violent crowds and shootings" are NOT part of the Bayou Classic.

 

My wife and I spend just about every Saturday in the French Quarter, including Bayou Classic weekend, and have never seen any problems. There is a heavy police presence and most of the action is around the Superdome. The French Quarter is very quiet.

Interesting. I don't scare easily. I live in NYC, and travel all around the city on the subway with my daughter, but the things I have heard abut this event give me pause. We were in NOLA last December, and the news was still buzzing about the shooting that took place during the Bayou Classic weekend. There are many threads on Trip Advisor about avoiding certain areas that weekend, and a quick google search brings up many articles about the problems.

Just a few:

http://www.themindofmyron.com/the-life/bayou-classic-tradition-or-trouble

http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_144ceac4-6f96-5d00-a3c9-495c949307c6.html

https://www.change.org/p/mayor-mitch-landrieu-move-bayou-classic-out-of-new-orleans

We have 2 more days in NOLA after our cruise, and will be staying in the FQ then. I'd rather be safe than sorry, especially traveling with a child, so we will use this opportunity to explore the Garden District.

There is a Martin Wine Celler, 3827 Baronne Street in the Garden District. You can get off the street car and it's a couple of block walk. Or if you want to walk a few blocks from your hotel, there is a Rouse's Supermarket (also on Baronne), but nowhere near the other one, that has a fantastic wine selection.

Perfect! Thanks.

My daughter and I are sailing on the Triumph on November 26th. That's two days after Thanksgiving. We are flying in on Thanksgiving day and staying at the Hilton Riverside pre-cruise. Since the 26th is the day of the Bayou Classic, about which I've heard scary stories (violent drunken crowds and shootings!), I'm planning to steer clear of the French Quarter until we return from the cruise. (We'll have two more days in NOLA after the cruise.) The day before we sail (black Friday) I'm planning on getting streetcar passes and heading to the Garden District and maybe Audubon Park and the zoo. Any suggestions of where to buy a nice bottle of wine either near the hotel or in the Garden District? Thinking about an early dinner at Casamento's, so maybe near there?

Thanks!

Never mind. It's the Hilton Riverside. Got it for $5 a night less than the Express Deal. Not much savings, but hey, that can go to housekeeping. So odd that they leave out that it has a restaurant. Been wanting to try Drago's chargrilled oysters! YAY!

Saint Greg, I've been reading this thread with much interest. You are such a wonderful asset to this board! I know you prefer Hotwire to Priceline, but it's just me and my daughter, and bed configuration doesn't matter. I've used Priceline's Name Your Own Price option in NO before, getting the rooms for $10-20 below what I've seen on the Express Deals. I've also been pretty successful at figuring out the hotels with the hotel lists on better bidding and bidding for travel, but I can't figure out this one. Hope you can help. Nov. 24-26, 4 star, Convention Center and Warehouse - Arts District, 8/10 guest rating, business center, pool, gym, and bed choice for $103. The lack of restaurant is confusing me. Normally I would wait until closer to the date, but with Thanksgiving and the Bayou Classic that weekend, I'm getting nervous. With the Bayou Classic around that time I want to stay away from the Downtown/Superdome area and the Quarter for safety. We sail on the Triumph on the 26th for 5 nights. We'll stay another 2 nights after the cruise, but I'll feel more secure bidding closer for those dates. And for those nights, I will want the convenience of the Quarter.

Thanks in advance!

Jimmy J's Cafe. Great breakfast. Their bacon infused Bloody Mary is amazing! http://jimmyjscafe.com

Nice that even though you had a Hotwire rate, they gave you a river view room!! That's just great!!

Thanks for writing!

I've always gotten good rooms by being pleasant to the person checking me in. I use Priceline name your own price frequently, and the front desk staff doesn't care how much you paid for your room, they want to be treated pleasantly, without an entitled attitude. (I also tell my young daughter to smile a lot when we check in. ;))

"unless" not "in less" autocorrect

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Better bidding dot com is very helpful for Priceline. I've used Priceline name your own price several times in New Orleans. Three times I've gotten the New Orleans Marriott, and once the Doubletree. Both on Canal. The Marriott is a great hotel, the Doubletree was fine. All under $100 a night. I usually bid on 4 star, but if I see 3 or 3 1/2 star hotels on the better bidding hotel list that suit my needs, I will do that. I usually start by looking at the Priceline express deals, checking them against the better bidding list, then start my bidding about $25 below the express deal. New Orleans has so many hotel rooms, that in less there is a big event like Mardi Gras or a big festival going on, there are always going to be rooms that the hotels would rather fill then leave empty, even at a much reduced rate.

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I just got my daughter's first passport a few months ago. Mine is up for renewal next year, so I asked the woman who handled the application the reason to get the card, and she said that if your passport is lost or stolen, the passport card will enable you to get a new passport more quickly and easily.

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Ohhhhh!! Scrabble for the adults. LOL!!!! :D Love it! Might require too much thinking whilst on vacay mode, though. We will go with the flow. See you on the boat!

Lol! And I was thinking I wouldn't do well against a teacher. Maybe we could make it a drinking game. Shots for double word scores? [emoji6]

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Hi rgg, I think your 6-year old will be very nicely occupied by the Fun Factory aboard the Summit. :) Teenagers seem a whole other kettle of fish....depending on the age, gender and personality, they can be mercurial in every aspect, swinging from moodiness to pure joy with stops in between along the pendulum. Shakespeare said, "Expectation is the root of all heartache." So, I am not setting high expectations but knowing my kids, I am simply doing my research to be prepared. :) So thankful for people here who share their experiences.

 

 

 

I've read through our roll call. I did not see many families represented, there seemed to be more couples.....so, I will keep my ears and eyes opened for options and I'm pretty sure I will see you and your daughter. :)

Dreamer68, I'm sure she will have fun at the Fun Factory. I guess I wasn't clear. I meant adult Scrabble games. [emoji4]

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Thanks!! Great idea! Note to self: get to know parents of other teens our kids hang with. (Invite them to board game. Nah...just kidding ;) )

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Dreamer68, I don't have a teenager, my daughter is only 6, but this thread is making me consider tossing the travel Scrabble set in the suitcase. Maybe we can put together some games from the rollcall. [emoji41]

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My child was 6, not two on our first cruise and I had the same concerns even at her age, but 10 minutes in Camp Carnival and that was the only place she wanted to be the rest of the cruise, so someone was making it a cool place for them. I also give my children $20 at the end of every cruise to give to someone who made their cruise special and she took hers straight to the counselors at Camp Carnival.

 

Of course it all depends on the staff on duty at the time when you cruise.

What a lovely idea! I'm working on teaching my 6 year old the value of money. I think I'll do this!

Love your thought process.:)

Well said and Thank you...It would be a privilege to be your table mate!

I would be happy to be your table mate, along with snowskier, GiftieEtcetera, tonit964, and any other reasonable posters in this thread. We can look around us to see if anyone looks APPALLED! :cool:

The MDR is banquet style and food is cooked in large batches. If it isn't taken out to the diners, it then becomes excess and is thrown out at the end of the evening, any whos. Galleys don't pack up left overs to serve the next night and food isn't "cooked" to order like in a high class restaurant so there will always be waste.

 

 

 

Order what you want...excess food at your table or excess food in the kitchen goes to the same place. I'm sure the fishes love it when cruise ships pass overhead.

THIS! Anyone who thinks cruise ships don't waste enormous amounts of food every single day is delusional. Just because you don't waste what's on your plate doesn't mean it's not tossed in the kitchen. The "clean plate club" mentality is responsible for many people's bad eating habits. Some people have never learned how to stop eating when they're satisfied, since they were taught they needed to clean their plates.

To the original poster, order what you want, it's your vacation.

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LOL! Just posted on my roll call about this. Every day! They could at least do a countdown in the email if they're going to send it every single day.