cruiselovingpair

I write to you from the Marriott Pinnacle Downtown. We stayed 3 nights pre-cruise and are here 1 more night post cruise. Good location for sure.

We are booked on the Millenium sailing out of San Diego on October 11. I have also purchased the at home tests but am very worked up about using them. We are flying out in Saturday the 9th. The goal is to do these tests early in the morning ..like 5 am…before leaving for the airport by 9am. I have booked rapid tests at CVS for Sunday, but I don’t think the location is close to our hotel , the US Grant. The fourth street location mentioned does not do the testing. This is such a nerve wracking mess. I never would have booked this trip if I had been made aware of all these requirements 

Originally, I was very taken by the concept of the Hop-On/Hop-Off buses provided by AQSC. Now, after more study, I'm a bit puzzled. The extra-cost Shore Excursions described by AQSC look quite nice and relatively reasonably priced. Additionally, in ports like Oak Alley or St. Francisville, I'm unsure of what else there is to see in town. Will there be HOHOs in these little ports?

 

Also, in 5 of our 6 ports (excluding NOLA and Memphis on either end), we are only in port from 8:00-1:00, 5 hrs. The MQSC Excursions in those ports take 4-4.5 hrs. Not much time to also do HOHO. Am I missing something? Maybe because we're going upriver, against the current, we have less time in port and more time "paddlewheelin". Maybe the folks coming down the river have more time in port?

 

Here's my summary of the ports and excursions timings:

Laura….A Creole Plantation

Port: Oak Alley, LA In-Port 8:00-1:00 Tour Timing: 8:00-12:30

.

Life in the Bayou: Cajun Swamp Tour

Port: Oak Alley, LA In-Port 8:00-1:00 Tour Timing: 7:45-12:15

.

Redemption and Rehabilitation at Angola Prison

Port: St. Francisville, LA In-Port 8:00-1:00 Tour Timing: 8:00-Noon

.

The Story of Cotton in the Antebellum South

Port: Natchez, MS In-Port 8:00-5:00 Tour Timing: 12:30–4:45

.

Entertaining in Southern Style with Ginger Hyland

Port: Natchez, MS In-Port 8:00-5:00 Tour Timing: 1:30-4:00

.

On the Front Lines of the Civil War

Port: Vicksburg, MS In-Port 8:00-1:00 Tour Timing: 8:00–12:30

.

Mississippi Delta Gospel and the Birthplace of the Blues

Port: Helena, AR In-Port 8:00-1:00 Tour Timing: 8:00–12:45

 

Anyway, looking for input from those who have taken this cruise.

 

Gary

We did this trip last April/may. We didn't do optional excursions in Helena...big mistake..the town is dead, ...And people raved about the music option, it was bb king on our trip. Nor did we do the prison in st. Francisville, which is a sweet town with plenty to offer on the HOHO. We loved this trip so much, that a relative booked it for September but going Memphis down to New Orleans. You get an extra stop in .Boston rouge.