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First time cruise 'Elation'

Gigawhat?

By Gigawhat?,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Gigawhat?

Gigawhat?

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This will be our first cruise and with it being 4 months away, June 23, we are starting to get excited. We are staying 2 nights in the French quarter before we sail out and I pretty much have our morning planned but not the afternoon. We plan on hitting up the French market and catch lunch there but after that it's blank. What restaurant do you recommend? I thought about doing the royal house but if anybody has a better choice let me know. Also I have a question about the best price guarantee on the shore excursions. I plan on doing the dziblchaltun tour and through carnival it's 60 a person. Going through auto progresso http://www.autoprogreso.com/DzibiEn.html it's 29 a person. Will carnival compete with auto progresso prices? Also any tips on the elation?

 

Thanks

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trvlqueen

trvlqueen

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The tours match exactly, so, yes - book the Carnival tour and then submit the price protection form and you'll get 110% of the difference back.

 

As to the French Quarter, there are dozens of great restaurants there. You can't go wrong - We have our personal favorites, but I think if you're going to be there for the day, I'd just pay attention to what's around while you're exploring and check the menus to see what sounds good. If you want a nice, quiet place, try Commander's Palace (in the Garden District but you can take the streetcar). We like Pere Antoines - but recent Trip Advisor reviews are mixed - I think it comes down to expectations - it also depends on your budget and what kind of food you like.

 

New Orleans is one of my favorite places - and it's far more than Bourbon Street ... take your time, enjoy the sites, and do your shopping at the French Market - you'll find the best prices there for sure! Don't miss the fresh pralines or cafe DuMonde for coffee and beignets!

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Nadersmom

Nadersmom

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We've cruised out of New Orleans for our first and second cruise.

Food really comes down to personal taste as well as how much you want to spend I suppose. That said, The food in New Orleans was one of my favorite parts of the entire vacation.

 

Again, it comes down to how much you want to spend. We didn't go anywhere fancy. But I've listed below where we did go between the two vacations and you can check them out online for pricing.

 

Acme Oyster House - I really liked it. Tried chargrilled oysters for the first time and loved them. Shrimp poorboy was good. Loud atmosphere so don't go if you are expecting a quiet relaxing meal :) Also, get there early or expect to wait

 

Felix's Oyster House (across the street from Acme). -- We went here on our second trip because people said it was cheaper, less of a wait and better food. Most people prefer it over Acme. My PERSONAL opinion? - I liked Acme better. We didn't have to wait, but I found Acme's food better and I liked Acme's atmosphere better

 

Café Du Monde for Beignets and coffee. - went both trips. A nice little snack that everyone should try once. Just don't breath in when you take your first bite or you'll inhale a ton of powdered sugar.

 

Katies - Mid City - Had to take the Canal Street trolley to get there, about 10 or 15 minutes maybe including all the stops along the way. Totally worth it. Tiny little place the locals go to. Had Excellent Food. Loved the Crawfish Beignet. Look them up on line. Wonderful little place if you want to step away from the masses on Bourbon Street.

 

Ruby Slipper - Went here fro breakfast. Get there early. We got there just before 8 and got lucky enough to get 3 stools at the counter. I would go back here for breakfast for certain if we are ever back in N.O. Had the best darn bloody mary I've had in a long time. The Eggs Blackstone was wonderful as well. They are online as well.

 

I've heard great things about Mothers for breakfast and Drago's for dinner, but we didn't make it to either place.

Good luck!!!

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maldenmusic

maldenmusic

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My daughter and I will also be on the June 23 cruise, my 5th time on the ELation and her 4th. We love the ELation because it's a smaller ship and not so overwhelming to learn your way around. I do wish it had the waterpark like the Fantasy but with it being out of NOLA, it's conveneinet for us to drive there. We have done the Dzib ruin tour with AP twice now and enjoyed it very much. This time we are taking the tour to Uxmal.

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Gigawhat?

Gigawhat?

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OMG it took me forever to find my post! I had to do the Google route to find it!

 

trvlqueen - So they'll match it? good ill book it today!

 

Nadersmom - Ive been on yelp/trip adviser looking at the reviews of restaurants and was wanting to try ACME or Felix's but was worried about wait at ACME and also......Ive never had oysters :) I love seafood so I'm open to anything, I'm not picky. As long as the foods good it doesn't bother me about the price!

 

maldenmusic - So the Dzib tour is fun? I was looking for a fun/quick tour so we would have time to do other things, like shopping or something.

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Nadersmom

Nadersmom

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I am a member and have reviews on trip advisor of all of them we went to I think. I love seafood also. I don't think I could do the raw oysters but I was pleasantly surprised at the chargrilled. Canes wait depends on when u get there and the size of your party. We sent someone inside to get us drinks while we waited in line. That's one nice thing about new Orleans. You can have a drink while you on the sidewalk waiting to go in. Just be sure you get the drink there because they won't let in with a drink from elsewhere.

 

My Sis in law had the shrimp platter and LOVED it.

 

I would return to acme, Katie and ruby slipper for sure. Nit sure about Felix. My shrimp poorly at acme was overflowing with shrimp. Felix's had 6 small shrimp on it. I was really surprised by that. To be fair...could have been a fluke that day I supose.

 

Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk

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Gigawhat?

Gigawhat?

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I think we will give ACME a shot for dinner if the lines not around the block. Another thing I would like to give a try is crawdads/crayfish/mud bugs :) Everything's within walking distance so that's a big plus, I would hate to drive anywhere :(

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Nadersmom

Nadersmom

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No need to drive. There's TONS of choices everywhere. Trolley comes in handy for getting around as well. Thats the only way we managed to get to katies

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

 

I forgot....our first trip we had time for lunch post cruise pre flight and found ourselves in STAR STEAK & LOBSTER HOUSE. I saw mixed reviews afterwards but we enjoyed it very much

 

Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk

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krisbtr

krisbtr

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Whenever I go to NOLA, my husband and I refuse to go anywhere that's a chain! or touristy. We stay away from acme, instead going to Felix's. And cafe du monde is way too crowded...try cafe beignet on Royal. We loved Irene's, Mena's is a cozy little place. And there's a wonderful German place (forgot the name, but google it!). Port o call has great burgers, and mothers is yummy. Have fun!!

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kybluecruiser

kybluecruiser

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This will be our first cruise and with it being 4 months away, June 23, we are starting to get excited. We are staying 2 nights in the French quarter before we sail out and I pretty much have our morning planned but not the afternoon. We plan on hitting up the French market and catch lunch there but after that it's blank. What restaurant do you recommend? I thought about doing the royal house but if anybody has a better choice let me know. Also I have a question about the best price guarantee on the shore excursions. I plan on doing the dziblchaltun tour and through carnival it's 60 a person. Going through auto progresso http://www.autoprogreso.com/DzibiEn.html it's 29 a person. Will carnival compete with auto progresso prices? Also any tips on the elation?

 

Thanks

 

The elation was my first cruise wAy back when. Enjoy your first! Be sure to try the magolian wok and just take it easy. Take time to watch the ocean pass by exp at night. It is very relaxing. Oh and hello to another kentuckian GO BIG BLUE! Glad we can represent bbn here lol.

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