mbalmr71

It is an easy walk to the streetcar line and anywhere else you want to go. I would suggest either the Camellia Grill near Jackson Square or Oceana across from the Royal Sonesta. It is hard to find bad anything when it comes to food there. Enjoy, but leave yourself plenty of time. Everything in NOLA moves at a nice slow pace and that will apply to lines and service.

Yes, you would pay the tax... plus the fine for the open container violation. Bottoms up!! better to just finish... or share.

Each time I cruise with my kids I give them charging priv. on my SS card and go to guest services and assign a spending limit. They have been able to do it every time. I don't think they will do a daily limit as they just put a max on each individual card. With us it is not a credit to them that they have to use or lose, simply a maximum they can charge to the account.

For older "kids" If you want to contribute to their fun but not restrict it otherwise they will need to fund their own SS account and you can have guest services add funds to it. In this case it is a one time payment of sorts. I have never bothered to find out if or how they can claim any unused funds but it would be my guess that it would be similar to any other OBC.

Also want to add we love being right up by the (not so secret) door to watch the boat pull in and out of each port. And for some nice sunsets.

Ditto, also if you have not been up there on a clear night it is the best place on the ship to stargaze as there are no lights on for the bridge's visibility.

Where are you able to find these prices? We are a family of 5 so we need two rooms and would love it if breakfast was included as well. We don't sail until November of 2015 but I know New Orleans books up early so trying to decide now. Have you ever tried Priceline for the express bookings in the French Quarter on Canal street? The price looks reasonable but I am afraid of the little boutique hotels that may pop up in noisy areas. The 110 would be a great price if we can find it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Priceline is the way to go for hotels. However. For your family check out the local B&B listings on vacation rental by owner. My personal fav. is a place called maison de lagniappe. It's in the Marigny and they have rooms of different sizes. I know one we stayed in was a queen with a sofa bed and I know they have one that sleeps up to 10 I think. Last I looked even the largest room was less than $200 per night. Continental breakfast and the owners are super nice.

I have usually been the get there at 1pm and avoid the crowds guy and have rarely ever had to wait at all so I am clueless this go round. Boarding the Triumph Next Monday in Galveston with my two kids and got FTTF. Reading the runes here it looks like a 10:30ish arrival at the terminal.

Can any of you seasoned early birds tell me what time they start boarding or what time you get there in Galveston? Don't have to be first or knock anyone over but I would like to get the benefit of FTTF without having to camp out in the terminal too terribly long.

Not sure about the cabin but I have been on the bridge of several ships including cruise ships and on Carnival I can tell you the bridge is probably the quietest place on the ship. Most of the time you have only 2 officers and a helmsman on the bridge unless the ship is entering or leaving port. I would not worry about noise at all.

I have usually been the get there at 1pm and avoid the crowds guy and have rarely ever had to wait at all so I am clueless this go round. Boarding the Triumph Next Monday with my two kids and got FTTF. Reading the runes here it looks like a 10:30ish arrival at the terminal.

Can any of you seasoned early birds tell me what time they start boarding or what time you get there in Galveston? I would like to get the benefit of FTTF without having to camp out in the terminal too terribly long.

1st time on this deck and wanting to know if there is a door at the end of the hallway like on lido?

If what you are talking about is the door that leads to the forward observation deck(s) then yes there is. Actually since she was remodeled you can't access them from the lido (9) or deck 8. Deck 7 and 6 still have access though. When they remodeled Conquest they added cabins on Deck 9 forward including some suites with balconies that are on top of the bridge wings.

They are nice enough. Virtually identical to the Ocean (Junior) Suites just bigger by a few feet in width. Suites on Carnival in general don't compare much to other lines if you have done it and other than priority embark you do not really get any other perks. However, you don't spend what you do on other lines either.

I actually like the Grand suites on the Fantasy class ships much better and IMHO worth the extra $$ every time.

I like the Triumph. I will be boarding her a week from today. The Magic has more on the activity side which my kids prefer but I am neutral about. The difference for me is that I really love the Joe Farcus designed ships over the newer ones. While most all the ships have the same general layout, I really enjoy the fact that every ship Farcus designed is a new adventure in and of itself. Only on the Magic once and the overall décor left me kinda Blah. Of all of the ships I have been on, the décor on the Triumph has always been my favorite.

I also like the 4 and 5 day itinerary she does for taking the kids along which tends to be at kid heavy times and I find I reach my Ok, that's enough point sooner than I do when going without them. If you are close to Galveston they offer some pretty good last minute deals if you are flexible.

I have gone both ways. First time was a 5 day from Galveston so I found the one benefit of the silly Texas rule of no cheers on day one to actually be helpful. After checking my bar bill from day 1 I ran to by cheers and was glad to do it. Only got off the boat at Coz. so it was truly a bargain.

Next time on Conquest it was a waste. One $20 tip to my fav. bartender at the alchemy bar rendered pint glass sized old fashions the rest of the week and I was done after 2 at night.

YMMV but to anyone agonizing over this. Stop stressing it now, try it once and even if you don't drink as much as you think, at least you will have a fixed cost with no surprises.

Sailing on the Triumph on July 13, I originally booked a deck 7 balcony near aft. I booked online and paid in full. I have been getting a mild itch to book a suite but I have never initiated an upgrade after booking and final payment.

Has anyone ever done this or can give me any insight on how to make it happen?

With Carnival, I have been on the Destiny, Imagination and Conquest. The first thing I will tell you is that the layout of all Carnival's ships is pretty much the same and virtually identical within each class. The only real difference is in the décor. Personally, I prefer the older, Joe Farcus, designed ships. They where whimsical and full of surprises.

I have yet to sail on the Magic/Dream Class but they look like an inflated version of their predecessors. I was always interested in the Spirit class but they tend to be the longer voyages and I cannot get the time.

Overall, the Imagination is my favorite because of more open deck space and a much more nautical feel and appearance. I have had a suite on her both times though. The addition of tons of balconies has been the best thing to happen to cruising.

The other thing that Carnival always wins at is cabin size and layout. I have been on princess, RCI and Celebrity and I have to say the Carnival Cabins always seem larger and more comfortable.

First off... You need to know about NOLA is that hotel parking downtown or in the quarter is $30 to $50 a night. Parking at the port is easy and much cheaper. If you stay 3 star and above you have a lot of hotels to choose from. My fav. is the La Pavillion. It is closer to the Superdome but easily the nicest place for the $$ you can get most of the time.

Also, check out vacation rental by owner. There is a cool B&B in the Marigny called Maison du Laginappe that DW and I have stayed at many times. If they are not busy the owners may allow you to leave your car (no promises).

Thanks! What Ships? Does anyone know if that is a standard across the line? I would definately be in for a tourney to win a free cruise.

Love to play poker but not a huge fan of the poker pro computerized tables I have seen on my last 2 ships (Princess and Carnival). Does anyone know of ships that have live dealer games?

Complainers are too amusing. I wonder how many of them understand just how much fun it is to ridicule them with the poor person they just harrassed.

My own Dear Mother takes the silly cruise complaints. I know some of you have heard these in the cruise director's routine but as to where they got them, that is a chicken and egg discussion.

Anyways, Cruising Alaska on Princess for my brother's wedding and mom's first cruise. Went by their balcony cabin after we got settled to find her very dissapointed that thier view was obstucted by the other ship in port. She then Carped at my dad for not choosing the other side of the ship. My dad just smiled when I told my mom that I would get the ship moved for her within the hour.

While viewing the hubbard glacier from the ship she wondered about the altitude. Dad just shook his head and told her she was pretty high.

Carped at Dad again in Skagway because their balcony faced the mountainside and she wanted to see the water.

She is mostly harmless but gets annoying at dinner when she always wants something changed. Our poor waiter was gracious when she demanded a beef wellington without the liver paste. Of course she was dissapointed when he returned and very kindly told her that they had just run out. I slipped him a 5 on the way out and my wife and I had enough that night to slip the Maitre'd a 20 to get her and Dad "upgraided" to their own private table for 2.

LOVE to cruise but this was the last with dear old MUM.

I would never fault anyone for purchasing it or anything else that has value for them.

That being said, I find it a bit comical that standing in a line, waiting a bit for a room to be ready, or being the first to be able to leave your vacation paradise is anything anyone would pay for much less $50. Personally, I would rather be patient and drop the $50 in the first slot machine I see and hope for some ROI.

While not nearly as silly as the airlines who now sell spots in the first boarding group to people who are somehow afraid that their reserved seat on a plane that is not leaving until everyone boards, this is the same thing. I wonder if our sense of self importance and entitlement as a society has spun so out of controll that we eagerly pay for even the smallest sense of being better than the person next to us?

To each his own, but my preference is generally to arrive at the port city a day before sailing, sleep in, enjoy a late brunch and arrive at the port after 1pm. In nearly every case the lines were never much of an issue. Sometimes they seemed long but moved very quickly. I have always gone directly to my waiting stateroom and on only 1 occasion of 10 has my luggage not arrived prior to sailing. On my last cruise I had VIP because of a suite and 5 other staterooms full of family did not. We arrived at the same time and they were on the ship less than 10 minutes behind me.

NOW, hopefully some cruiseline exec sees this, What I would gladly pay for is a spot on a photograph free gangway. Which, regardless of your elevated status either earned or purchased, you will find yourself waiting in line just like all the folks in steerage.;)

Callm waters to you all.:)

EDIT: BTW If you want a sense of the true value of FTTF, take a look at the reviews here. My reasearch, while limited saw at least 6 people who did buy it that wished they had not. Two that mentioned they did and enoyed it but not one who did not or did not mention it that was overly frustrated or said anything about horrible lines at embarkation, exept the line to get on the ship that is created by the photo op.