Just back from cruise on the Triumph

We just returned from a five day cruise on the Triumph with stops at Cozumel and Progreso. We had a great time, and I'm happy to answer any questions. Some overall observations:

--Leaving from New Orleans gave us the opportunity to visit NOLA for a few days first (which is why we selected this cruise) and it did not disappoint. What a wonderful place to visit!

--The cabins (we had both an interior and a balcony) were well set up, with plenty of storage space, and an overall spacious feeling to them compared to some other ships we have been on. Colors are outdated, but the bedding was very comfortable, and even the bathroom felt spacious relatively speaking.

--The formal dining room (we were in Paris) was very pleasant, and the food was pretty good, similar to other cruise lines.

--The buffet, on the other hand, had more limited options and a claustrophobic feel. Also the outdated color scheme really showed here. It felt more like a cafeteria than what you might find on a bigger or newer ship.

--We loved watching movies out on deck at night. They had blankets at the towel station, and popcorn, but you have to know to ask/look for them.

--It took us until the last day to discover the nice promenade type area on deck 3 (which isn't called the promenade deck).

--I really missed having an adults only pool, as is found on some ships.

--Docking in both ports was easy. Getting off was a bit of a mess the first time, there wasn't any announcement when the disembarkation could begin. If you want to avoid waiting in a very long line, either get there 20 minutes before the time the ship is supposed to arrive, or don't try to get off until an hour after it is supposed to arrive (in the ports, not your final destination).

--We had a picture perfect day at Nachi Cocum - happy to answer more questions about it. It was one of the nicest days I've ever had in the Caribbean.

--We did a private tour with Lawson's in Progreso. Man, was it hot and buggy at Uxmal. But our tour guides did the best they could to keep us comfortable. I would recommend them highly (just maybe don't go to Uxmal in the summer, or if you do, be forewarned). Also let them know when you get hungry - we did have really good snacks/lunch, but not until the ride back to the ship, and by then some of us were long past grumpy. Our fault for not speaking up.

The trip really exceeded our expectations in lots of ways - it's so hard to be back home!

Progreso at tĥe port debarkation area, have any changes been made to the area ?

Welcome home .

Glad you had a great time! Thanks for the feedback.

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I am glad you had such a nice cruise. I know how hard the first few days afterwards can be. It helps to start planning your next one right away.

Thanks for posting.

This is the first time I've been to Progreso, so I don't know if changes have been made. There's a bit of a walk, then a group of shops, and then an area where you can catch a free shuttle to the bus terminal in town. We had instructions from Lawson's to take the free shuttle and then walk a few blocks to where they met us (this was a tad confusing, but we figured it out). Carnival run tours met people right after walking off the ship, and other tours were available as you walked through or when the shuttle dropped you off. The pier itself is very, very long - you can't walk into town. Apparently it was built about 10 years ago and Carnival is the only cruise line that uses it. There doesn't seem to be anything to do in Progreso itself, I'm assuming it's just a convenient/cheaper place for the cruise line to run tours to the ruins and other places from.

We are on the Triumph the end of Aug. I keep hearing how hot and humid it is going to be. Was it too hot to do any kind of walking around NOLA midday? Does it get cool at night on the ship...should I pack a sweater?

Thanks.

We are on the Triumph the end of Aug. I keep hearing how hot and humid it is going to be. Was it too hot to do any kind of walking around NOLA midday? Does it get cool at night on the ship...should I pack a sweater?

Thanks.

We are on the 8/28 cruise, is that the one you are on?

We did the Triumph many years ago out of Charleston (one time stop) and are doing it because of going out of New Orleans. We are flying in Sat. for a couple of nights before and then staying one night after the cruise.

I remember going to NO many years ago in August, it can get very warm and muggy! I hear it's quite nice in the casinos!

We just returned from a five day cruise on the Triumph with stops at Cozumel and Progreso. We had a great time, and I'm happy to answer any questions. Some overall observations:

 

--Leaving from New Orleans gave us the opportunity to visit NOLA for a few days first (which is why we selected this cruise) and it did not disappoint. What a wonderful place to visit!

--The cabins (we had both an interior and a balcony) were well set up, with plenty of storage space, and an overall spacious feeling to them compared to some other ships we have been on. Colors are outdated, but the bedding was very comfortable, and even the bathroom felt spacious relatively speaking.

--The formal dining room (we were in Paris) was very pleasant, and the food was pretty good, similar to other cruise lines.

--The buffet, on the other hand, had more limited options and a claustrophobic feel. Also the outdated color scheme really showed here. It felt more like a cafeteria than what you might find on a bigger or newer ship.

--We loved watching movies out on deck at night. They had blankets at the towel station, and popcorn, but you have to know to ask/look for them.

--It took us until the last day to discover the nice promenade type area on deck 3 (which isn't called the promenade deck).

--I really missed having an adults only pool, as is found on some ships.

--Docking in both ports was easy. Getting off was a bit of a mess the first time, there wasn't any announcement when the disembarkation could begin. If you want to avoid waiting in a very long line, either get there 20 minutes before the time the ship is supposed to arrive, or don't try to get off until an hour after it is supposed to arrive (in the ports, not your final destination).

--We had a picture perfect day at Nachi Cocum - happy to answer more questions about it. It was one of the nicest days I've ever had in the Caribbean.

--We did a private tour with Lawson's in Progreso. Man, was it hot and buggy at Uxmal. But our tour guides did the best they could to keep us comfortable. I would recommend them highly (just maybe don't go to Uxmal in the summer, or if you do, be forewarned). Also let them know when you get hungry - we did have really good snacks/lunch, but not until the ride back to the ship, and by then some of us were long past grumpy. Our fault for not speaking up.

 

The trip really exceeded our expectations in lots of ways - it's so hard to be back home!

Thanks so much for the info! Will be on her in a couple of months.... Nachi Cocum was wonderful about 10 years ago, gload to hear you had a great time! Do you remember what it cost and did you do this on your own or thru the ship?

If you did not want to do the ruins in Progreso what else was available?

We are on the cruise before you and will take care of her for you. First time to NOLA and only have the day after the cruise to see some of it.....vacation conflict at work.

Enjoy your cruise!

We are on the cruise before you and will take care of her for you. First time to NOLA and only have the day after the cruise to see some of it.....vacation conflict at work.

Enjoy your cruise!

Have a wonderful cruise and save some RUM!

Does anyone have a suggestion for a hotel in NO? We are arriving two days before the Cozumel - Progreso cruise. Not looking to break the bank, but we do not want to stay in a dive.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a hotel in NO? We are arriving two days before the Cozumel - Progreso cruise. Not looking to break the bank, but we do not want to stay in a dive.

Well do you have a car or are you relying on cabs, etc.

That makes a huge difference when trying to book hotels in NOLA area.

If you have a car, stay in Metarie

Does anyone have a suggestion for a hotel in NO? We are arriving two days before the Cozumel - Progreso cruise. Not looking to break the bank, but we do not want to stay in a dive.

My favorite NOLA hotels are The Prince Conti and the French Market Inn. Should have reasonable rates in August since it's usually pretty hot and muggy there. We leave on Aug 5th for our cruise out of NOLA.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a hotel in NO? We are arriving two days before the Cozumel - Progreso cruise. Not looking to break the bank, but we do not want to stay in a dive.

I visit NOLA even when I'm not going on a cruise and I always stay at one of these Valentino Hotels.

They have other properties but I love the ambiance and locations of these two.

I don't know what you consider not 'breaking the bank' but I find the prices of these hotels to be reasonable.

If you're a member of an affinity group like AAA or AARP, you can get a discount rate of 10%.

Place d'Armes - My favorite hotel, a 1/2 block from Saint Louis Cathedral and 1 short block from Jackson Square and Cafe du Monde.

The French Market, which is always a destination every day for me, is right there too - I love the location.

The French Market Inn - This hotel is on Decatur St. across from the river and a few blocks away from Canal St. It's also in a great location. If you do Bourbon St. (I don't) it's 3 block walk to the revelry.

Use Street View on Google Maps and walk the area to get a feel for it.

Here's Street View from The French Market Inn, if anyone's interested.

This is the front of the hotel, go to the right and follow the arrows to The French Market area, go to the left to Canal Street.

Well do you have a car or are you relying on cabs, etc.

That makes a huge difference when trying to book hotels in NOLA area.

If you have a car, stay in Metarie

We will rent a car and drop it off the night before the cruise. We are hoping we can find a hotel with shuttle service to the port.

You would be better without a car in NOLA. Very expensive to park at all hotels. Usually around $40 a day. It's a very walkable city.

The Holiday Inn on Loyola has a cruise and park option. Drury Inn used to as well and its closer to port and a better area.

Thanks for the advice.

We stayed at the Olivier Hotel, right around the corner from Bourbon St., and loved it. Very charming.

It was crazy hot and very humid in NO. We walked around anyway - we had three days and made the most of them. But it was fairly uncomfortable in the middle of the day.

On the ship I did use a sweater a few times, in the dining room or at night on deck. You could get by without it, but it was nice to have. You won't need it in NO though!

Nachi was great. We went on our own, reserved ahead of time on the website (I think it was $55 or $60 per person, I'm not sure). $17 for the cab each way.

The cruise runs lots of excursions out of Progreso, as does Lawson's and other tour companies. You could do the usual beach type trips, boats/snorkeling, a tour of Merida, some food related tours... really anything you can do at many other ports. Just be prepared for it to be very hot. One big advantage of the private tour is that we were all in a spacious, well air-conditioned van.

Nice! We are staying at Nachi Cocom on our Triumph cruise too! Can't wait. How did check-in and embarkation go? We get into town really early and our checkin isn't until 12:30. Purchases FTTF (faster to the fun) package. I hope this helps us at least get into the terminal early.

We will rent a car and drop it off the night before the cruise. We are hoping we can find a hotel with shuttle service to the port.

Most New Orleans hotels don't have a port shuttle. I believe Hampton Inn Convention Center does. You may check out Hilton Riverside. They have a rental car place in the hotel. The hotel is connected to the Riverwalk Mall which you can walk through to get to the port. Embassy Suites is about a two block walk to that Mall. What nights are you staying?

Embarkation was a long line... my husband clearly wished I had signed up for FTTF. We got there about 12:00. Maybe if we were there later, it would be less crowded?

Disembarkation was fairly painless. We did the early one, where you roll your own luggage off the ship. This cut down on the stress of packing your bag and letting it go the night before - although we've always done that in the past (for many cruises) this time we decided to try the take-your-own luggage option, and liked it a lot.

It was very easy to get around NO in a cab or Lyft (except for when the traffic was bad, in the evening when the music festival attendees came down to the French Quarter). When it was time to leave our hotel we just told the front desk guy and got us a cab within minutes. I didn't miss having a port shuttle.

Lots of fun trips on the Triumph when she was here in Galveston.

Progreso has a collection of shops right at the pier that offer the same or better than going into town.

We've had a blast doing Salsa and Salsa, Foodie Tour, Jaguar Bike and Beach and Merida.

Nachi Cocom is the sure thing in Cozumel.

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We loved Uxmal, and you're right, it's hot!

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