nolatravelgirl

I am a New Orleans native and now have a real adult job so can't take off infinite amounts of time. 😄 My favorite days are Saturday and Sunday. Sunday has 4 scheduled parades which all pass the hotel we stay at on St. Charles Avenue. We drive/fly home on Monday afternoon to get back to work. Tuesday is great but I don't feel like I miss much by leaving on Monday. Saturday Krewe of Iris - Day parade - starts Uptown Krewe of Tucks - follow Iris Krewe Endymion (Super Krewe) - Nightime - Starts in Mid City Sunday Krewe of Okeanos - Day parade - starts Uptown Krewe of Mid City - follows Okeanos Krewe of Thoth - follows Mid City Walking Krewe of Box o Wine - Follow Thoth Krewe of Bacchus - Evening Parade - Uptown (Uptown) Monday Krewe of Proteus - Evening - small Krewe of Orpheus - Follows Proteus - (Super Krewe) All of these parades go down St. Charles Avenue which is just a casual walk from the ship. I will warn you that it is like tail gating for locals. We get out on the street by 6am to secure our spot for the day with ice chests, chairs, canopies, music, etc.

New Orleans has one of the largest convention spaces in the country. A sold out ship is a literal drop in the bucket of tourism. If you are traveling during Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest or the Sunday of a Saints home game then it might be a small wait.

Kitchens would have to be completely modified to accommodate sous-vide but SV has been a game changer for my large family holiday dinners. I am able to cook a large amount of my main dish (prime rib, rack of lamb, steaks) and have them come to temp in the SV. The SV allows things to continue to sit for up to an hour which gives me wiggle room in timing my other dishes. I can then just take the protein out of the bag and do a quick sear just before serving. Since the meat isn't coming out of super hot oven you don't need let meat rests.

This was us on the Disney Wonder for formal night. Fun times and we felt perfectly appropriate

I loathe the look of an adult man wearing a tie with no jacket. It always reminds me of sleazy used car salesman or what a little boy under 10 would wear. If a grown man has on a tie, then he should have the jacket to go with it. If you want to forgo one then ditch the tie and keep the jacket.

You completely missed my point. Reading is fundamental. An interior cabin that holds 3 people is no larger than a cabin that hold 2 people, it just has an extra bed. The point was that booking two rooms was less expensive than one room that just has an extra bed.

I was looking at some cruises this summer and this just seems to be completely backwards. Our party is 2 adults and 1 child. I tried pricing one interior and it come out to somewhere around $4,800 for a 7 day Harmony of the Seas GTY interior. If I book 2 room with 2 people per room (so adding an additional person!) then the price total for the two room for total of 4 people is now only $3500 for two rooms total. This just seems backwards. Any thoughts on how to get better pricing?

I would also just have someone else who is more tech savvy check in with your mom on your sea days. If there is a problem then they can text you.

There is an early and a late show. The only caveat is there are only 3 Disney shows, which IMHO are the only ones really worth seeing. The others are filler shows (comedian, magician, etc) that we didn't feel we had to see if we were enjoying other things. Also note that early dinner starts at 5:45 but the early show doesn't start till 6:15. That 30 minutes can make a difference. Not sure what ship you are on but the Wonder only has one Pirate Party that is sandwiched between early and late seating dining. If you had early seating dining you were at a disadvantage for getting prime viewing for the party. I know they rush dinner so people can make it out but rushing around is not my idea of fun. We had a prime spot on the 10 floor balcony which made for the perfect viewing spot of the whole stage for little kids without anyone having to hold them up. Also great spot to see Pirate Mickey ziplining and then fireworks. The servers seemed much calmer at late dining since they weren't trying to rush everyone out.

Loved late dining for all the reasons stated. It is nice to not feel rushed to get to dinner. We usually have a pool side snack and then popcorn during the show. Most of our party is used to eating an early dinner at home but everyone seemed to adjust nicely. Heck, even the kid who always gets up at the crack of dawn was sleeping in a bit more since we kept him out late as we would sometimes hit an adult game show after dinner while he enjoyed the kid's club for an hour, which he loved. The kid's club were still very full after late dinner so they won't be alone.

We really liked late dining even with people who generally eat dinner early. There is so much food around the ship that nobody was ever hungry. We slept in a bit and would always have an afternoon snack before we headed back to the room to shower and change for the 6pm show. Kids were alert and excited for the show verses if we had early dining where we would have to rush from afternoon activities to get everyone to the dining room for early dining. If you are one of the 7 day or more trips there are really only 3 Disney owned shows that are really worth seeing, the others were just filler shows that you could skip. On the days without the Disney shows we made a game day decision as to whether we would skip the show or continue to enjoy the afternoon activities and/or nap/relax in the room. Not having to rush around to be dressed for dinner was so nice. We would never do anything but late dining now.

I would bring something for the kids. I went with a "pirate-ish" outfit which was a red and white striped shirt, big gold hoop earrings and wore the provided bandanna.

I didn't find the sound levels to be any louder in Tiana's. It could have just been where your table was placed. Based on your description, it just seems like you weren't a fan of the theme (music and dancing) so you can always skip it. We loved Tiana's and had a blast. You aren't cheating your server out of tip if you have dinner that evening in Cabanas.

I find that there is always plenty of hanging space and one of these over the rod organizers is quite handy. It packs flat and can be used for other items as well as shoes. https://www.amazon.com/Ziz-Home-Organizer-Breathable-Anti-mold/dp/B011AMCFB8/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3BCSTTW3JAOQG&keywords=closet+rod+shoe+organizer&qid=1579816006&sprefix=closet+rod+sho%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-6 This one would fit on the lower bar on the double bar section https://www.amazon.com/Household-Essentials-311344-Hanging-Organizer/dp/B0041HNMSU/ref=sr_1_113?keywords=4+shelf+hanging+shoe+organizer&qid=1579816549&sr=8-113

I am not sure what your ports are since you didn't post your itinerary but I did a fun cooking school in St. Johns Antigua. It is very personal since you are in someone's home and you feel more like you are cooking with a friend. https://nicolestable.com/