Luvmypups

We’ve sailed a good bit and NOLA has one of the poorest ports for cruising out of - the only one we found worse was Tampa. I think it has to do with the lack of space to handle the large number of people and having to show your cruise documents multiple times. It can be hit or miss on what time to arrive but we seem to have better luck eating an early lunch….around 11am and then heading to the port….so usually 12 or later. @nikkiw60looking forward to sailing along with you - we are schedule to board breakaway March 12th. Safe travels and happy sailing!

I know in the whale lot you just park and don’t leave keys. I was referring to the post where someone said they parked at Machu Picchu and someone took their car for a joy ride (implying someone working at the parking garage) when they parked there. Wasn’t sure if keys are left with an attendant there.

Someone in another thread posted that their vehicle was taken for a joy ride 2 times in this lot. Got notifications that his vehicle was being driven on 2 different occasions and had 12 additional miles on it from when he left it. This made me wonder if you leave the keys with them at this lot?

Hearing lots of issues with crime in NOLA these days, unfortunately. Has definitely made us decide not to park in this lot for our upcoming cruise. Here is the actual news report: https://www.wdsu.com/article/travelers-come-back-to-downtown-nola-from-norwegian-cruise-to-find-their-vehicles-broken-into/42358631?fbclid=IwAR2AHBjgwXSvgte4pc23MKcMaKkhxeVACwtuTtqgUSPa9fm3dORNDMDhGxs

Good question but I’m not sure and would like to know as well. We’ve always parked in the whale lot but hearing it is not the place to park these days. This is not a one-off either. Car break-ins are rampant in New Orleans and at this parking lot. https://www.wdsu.com/article/travelers-come-back-to-downtown-nola-from-norwegian-cruise-to-find-their-vehicles-broken-into/42358631?fbclid=IwAR2AHBjgwXSvgte4pc23MKcMaKkhxeVACwtuTtqgUSPa9fm3dORNDMDhGxs

We love Willa Jean for breakfast and there is a Rouse’s across the street.

The times seem pretty consistent from what I’ve seen posted recently on some Western Caribbean sailings. Breakaway and Prima.

Curious to know how Splash Academy worked out for you.

Bravo!! Excellent review, pictures, video, and details! Thanks for taking us along! I know it was a lot of work! 🙌🙌

Thanks for the feedback c-leg5. That was definitely some of my concern.

We have 2 cruises booked on different cruise lines, both have a stop in Costa Maya but one gets there at 11am and the other not until noon for some reason. We love going to Maya Chan but didn’t know how bad it would affect our time there. Anyone tried it?

Thanks for the reply, can you give me any more detail? So I would assume a noon flight would be the earliest we should attempt?

Wondering if this is too early. I know there are a lot of factors that “could” affect us but if there were no ship delays, etc. I know we have never run into an issue in FLL with early flights but haven’t come into MIA in a long time.

I did see a few people snorkeling but my guess is it’s probably too busy in this area. I can’t speak from experience but you may be able to go further down the beach where it isn’t as busy.

I think you will find plenty of places to eat on Las Olas. Though not low carb, one of our favorite places is Louie Bossi, great Italian food and atmosphere. They also have dry-aged steaks. You can also Uber easily if you want to go somewhere not within walking distance. I would also be curious to know how you like your hotel. Considering it for a future cruise. We usually stay on FL beach but end up taking an Uber to Las Olas 2-3 times.

Do you recall the price. We are looking to Uber from FLL to the Miami port and looks to be about $100. Does that sound right?

We just went on the Allure and had a stop in Aruba, one of the places we had never been. Finding a lot of information on this stop was not as easy as some of the other Caribbean stops but from the information I did find, we decided to go to Eagle Beach for the day on our own. We got off the ship around 9am and went to the taxi stand and got a cab for 2 to Eagle Beach, cab fare was $15. I told the cab driver we wanted to be dropped off at the beach by the Amsterdam Hotel (as this is where I understood, from the info I read, chairs/umbrellas could be rented. When we got to the beach, it was pretty empty, the Amsterdam Hotel’s beach area, bar/restaurant is in this location. We found the beach staff and told him we wanted to rent 2 chairs and an umbrella, it was $30. We had our choice of location and got a beach front spot. The beach was sandy, beautiful and the water was pretty calm. As time went by, the beach got busier and busier with vendors renting jet skis, parasailing, etc. The beach chairs eventually filled up but we were never crowded together. At one point, we counted almost 20 people out on jet skis. You can buy drinks/food from the Amsterdam bar/restaurant but you either have to be a hotel guest or use a credit card, they do not take cash. You can also walk down the beach and go to other places that will take cash. When we were ready to leave, we went to the shower, rinsed the sand off our feet and walked back out close to the bus stop and flagged down a taxi in less than 5 minutes and told him we wanted to go back to the cruise port ($15 again) and we were back in about 7 minutes. It was a great day, beautiful beach, and we would do it again in a heartbeat!

Hi All - We did end up booking the Marriott Resort through RFD, which included round trip transportation - included in that rate gave us about $80 each to spend at the pool-side bar/restaurant. Chairs/towels/cabanas/umbrellas poolside or on the beach were included. It was a very nice place and we had a great day, wasn’t crazy crowded and didn’t have to fight to find chairs. Our pick-up time at the port was 9am, so we did get to the resort fairly early. It was a nice relaxing day and I would do it again.

Happy Anniversary! Thanks for taking us along! One question- is the water in the suite lounge in cans or reclosable bottles or cartons?

Thanks Darcy. Hopefully whatever we do, it will be fun. Still trying to decide. Our cruise is on the Allure in a couple of weeks.

Does anyone have any input on Resort For a Day’s Marriott Beach Resort day pass in Curaçao? We’ve not been to Curaçao and we’re looking for a beach day.

I’ve heard a lot of people saying this on every ship!

We tip at the end of each meal. We’ve always had different wait staff each time.