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Dream October 12th - October 19th Cruise & New Orleans Vacation

Dadzgirl

By Dadzgirl,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Dadzgirl

Dadzgirl

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This was a 12 day vacation. I've never shared with you all before, so I thought why not. I don't have pictures to share right away, but eventually I will try to post some.

 

Our vacation started out by flying to New Orleans on a Thursday from California, cruise departs Sunday. It was just my husband and I this time. We left our two boys with Grandma. I've been on 9 cruises since 1995, the majority of them Carnival.

 

We collected all our luggage from the baggage area and found that it was a very easy airport to get a taxi to the Garden District area. It's a standard price of $33 for 2 from the airport to any hotel towards the port area. We chose Prytania Park Hotel in the Garden District for 3 nights. We wanted to enjoy New Orleans and adjust to the time difference before we left on the ship.

 

Arriving Thursday, it was raining, a very hot, humid rain, but it didn't last long at all. Hotel check in was a breeze. Cheap accommodations, nearby the streetcar, with about a 15 minute ride to the French Quarter. It is a nice place to stay that is very "New Orleans". It's an older hotel, but nice. Staff treated us great and made several recommendations for us, including giving us a wonderful map of the city.

 

We arrived at the hotel about 8:00pm and needed a quick bite to eat. The hotel staff recommended Zea's, which was just a block away. She gave us a card for a free dessert. We walked over and sat for a great dinner! Fantastic food, wonderful first meal in New Orleans. My hubby had southern fried chicken with red beans and rice. I had a half roasted bbq chicken with veggies and dessert we shared sweet potato bread pudding. Wow was that bread pudding good. After dinner we walked around the area a little and then went back to turn in. The bed was very comfortable.

 

Our first full day in New Orleans! Picked up our map, and off we went. We headed towards the French Quarter and enjoyed going through the Garden District, Warehouse/Business District and ended in the French Quarter. My hubby and I walked Bourbon Street (big difference at night verses the daytime), then headed over to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee. 5 stars, but remember to bring cash, credit cards not accepted. We walked the Mississippi River all the way to the Riverwalk which we could see in the distance. we walked past the Aquarium & IMAX Theatre, very busy. It appeared that there were a lot of school children there on field trips. Once we arrived at the Riverwalk, we went inside to see what it was. It was an outlet mall, type place! Awesome. We enjoyed the cool, air conditioning. My husband bought two new shirts from the Gap, because he was sweating so bad. I was too, but I settled for a new Coach purse :)

 

At the opposite end of the Riverwalk, we saw a sign inside that said cruise port with an arrow, so we went to investigate. I know we probably walked a few areas that we shouldn't have, but we took bets where we would enter, saw where all the taxis would go the day we board and just got comfortable with the area. We also got to see big trucks bringing goodies, we assumed for our cruise, into these big warehouses. Pretty neat to watch!

 

I pulled my map out to determine where we were and off in the distance I saw Harrah's so off we went for a drink and a little gambling. Casino odd, they search you before you enter, but eh, I was on vacation, search away! We lost a little, but again it was cool and the drinks were good and the bathrooms were clean.

 

Our friends flying in from Nevada texted! they've arrived, so we took the streetcar back to the Garden District and did some investigating in that area. The homes were beautiful. Went back to the hotel to freshen up for a fun night!

 

Our fun evening began back on Bourbon Street which was completely different after dark! Wow! Not a place I'd ever take my children, but had a drink at the Hard Rock bar and that helped loosen me up for a Friday night. Headed towards The Court of Two Sisters, our dinner spot for the evening. The food was phenomenal. I highly recommend it. After dinner we walked along Bourbon Street and took in the sites. We had an early morning planned for Saturday, so we headed back to our room around 10pm.

 

Saturday was going to be a long, long day! Woke up at an early 6am (CA time 4am) and jumped on the streetcar to get to Mother's for breakfast. This place was highly recommended by a coworker of my hubby's and I've heard about how long the lines get the later you go. It was so popular that the streetcar driver said "have fun at Mother's", not ever telling him where we were going. My husband asked him how he knew, he said "where else would anyone be going this early on a Saturday morning in New Orleans". I was excited to try somewhere new! My hubby was in heaven. He had black ham, scrambled eggs, grits and a biscuit. I was silly...I didn't try anything new, I went with pancakes. I wish I had ordered what he did, but oh we'll, ya live and learn. He did let me try it and oh my, the black ham was delicious.

 

After breakfast we had a cemetery and voodoo tour through Grayline planned. It was good. Very informative about the area and cemetery. They explained the history of burials, where voodoo started and why they bury above ground. We were there early and it was a ghost town, really nice. Towards the end of the tour it got really busy and hot/humid. Weather felt like a repeat from the day before. After the tour, the tour guide made several recommendations in the area, but we wanted to take our friends back to Cafe Du Monde. We walked by the Mississippi River down to the Cafe...long, long line, but no worries, we sat really quickly and enjoyed more Beignets and this time a coke!

 

I promise more to come. Hope those reading are enjoying and finding this useful so far. Dinner awaiting...

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ch27088

ch27088

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Thank you for your review. We were on the Dream out of New Orleans earlier this month. We stayed in Metairie, but next year we plan on staying downtown. There is nothing close by in Metairie, and the cost of the cab is just too high to go any where. Glad you had a good time, and can't wait for the rest of your review.

 

Thanks for sharing.

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Island Hopping

Island Hopping

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Enjoying your review, brings back great memories. We did the New Orleans/cruise vacation back in February. What a blast. We tried the beignets at several places including Cafe Du Mundo. All were good, but we liked the Cafe Beignet on Bourbon street best. Also agree on the Court of Two Sisters, great food. Never made it to Mothers. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

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wrigley80

wrigley80

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Nice start to your review. We cruise on the Dream on December 7th and we are also coming in on the Thursday prior to our cruise. We have a big list of places where we want to stop.

Will you be posting any pics from your adventures in New Orleans??

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marci4tony

marci4tony

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Please, would love to hear more about New Orleans and the dream! We are there in February. Thanks!

 

I will be on the 11/9 Dream to Western Carrib. I will do a very substantial review:D

 

Looking forward to any pointers before hand as well though...

Edited by marci4tony
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LREcruise02

LREcruise02

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I will be on the 11/9 Dream to Western Carrib. I will do a very substantial review:D

 

Looking forward to any pointers before hand as well though...

 

 

Almost cruise time for you! Can't wait for your review we are doing this itinerary in the spring! :) are you sailing with any kids? I am hoping someone can post the 2-5 and 6-8 camp carnival schedule for this cruise!! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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