Dec. 2-14: New Orleans Vacation and Serenade Cruise Review

[PaulInPGH]

Looking forward to more of your review. It brings back fond memories. We did this a couple years ago on the Voyager. Hope you had a chance to try Mothers in NO.

 

We can relate to what an adventure it it can be getting out of Pittsburgh in the winter.

 

Go Pens.

 

No Mothers this time, unfortunately.

 

Definitely an adventure getting out of PGH. We almost missed our cruise on Indy last December due to a snow storm. Now we book with at least a couple days between the flight and the cruise, just to be safe.

 

Cheers!

[SRV FAN]

Looking forward to the rest of the story.... As we will be in NOLA & on Serenade in Jan!! I get you're blind.... But could you type faster? LOL! Just kidding!!

 

 

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[PaulInPGH]

Looking forward to the rest of the story.... As we will be in NOLA & on Serenade in Jan!! I get you're blind.... But could you type faster? LOL! Just kidding!!

 

 

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Lol, I'll see what I can do:) Hope to have a nice chunk up later this afternoon.

 

Cheers!

[PaulInPGH]

I was in charge of our pre-trip planning, so that meant I ended up choosing all of our New Orleans activities. The first of these was to be a French Quarter Ghost and Vampire Tour provided by French Quarter Phantoms.

 

Our tour was to leave at 6:00, but we got to the meeting spot about half an hour early in order to take advantage of the buy one hurricane, get one free coupons which were part of the tour package.

 

Our group of about 15 set off on a very informative and spooky walking tour of the Quarter. The tour lasted about 2 hours, though due to the frequent stops, the walking only added up to a little over a mile.

 

I chose French Quarter Phantoms because they have a reputation for offering tours based on historical facts rather than anything gimmicky or silly. No one jumped out and tried to scare us, in other words. By "facts," I mean anecdotes about the historic buildings and residents of the French Quarter. We stopped outside some of the most (reputedly) haunted buildings in the Quarter, like the Bourbon Orleans Hotel, the Lalaurie Mansion, the Old Ursuline Convent, the Andrew Jackson Hotel, and Muriel’s—a restaurant that always sets a table, complete with bread and wine, for its ghost. As a bonus, we walked by our hotel and, while not part of the tour, got to hear about how our hotel is haunted! Sadly, we didn’t encounter any ghosts on this trip.

 

If you’ve ever stayed in any of these hotels, I’d love to hear if you’ve ever encountered any ghosts!

 

Whether you buy any of the ghost stories, I’d highly recommend the tour for its historical content. We found it to be very enjoyable and yes, a bit spooky, as well.

 

Very tired after our long day of walking, we grabbed a quick bite back at the Willie’s Chicken Shack and then a hand grenade for each of us, which we sipped on our walk back to the hotel.

 

Up next in day three: you guessed it, more walking!

[PaulInPGH]

Day 3: Another Walking Tour, a Repeat Performance, and Jazz on Bourbon

 

We decided to forego breakfast at Café Du Monde (stupid move, I know) for the free hotel breakfast. Tip: don’t do this.

 

Our first activity for the day was to be a French Quarter history tour. This tour was provided by Free Tours By Foot. Instead of a set price for the tour, FTBF allows guests to pay based on what they believe the tour was worth. Most people seemed to pay between $10 and $20 per person, to give you a rough idea of what’s typical.

 

We enjoyed the tour, though after our epic day of walking, another 2 hour tour seemed a little more like torture than vacation. We had walked enough around the Quarter by this point that we had already learned a fair bit of what our guide covered. If you are considering doing multiple FQ tours, I would suggest starting with the more general, followed by the more specific (haunted history, food tour, voodoo, etc.).

[PaulInPGH]

By noon we were all pretty hungry, so we walked a couple blocks over to the French Market to grab a quick lunch. The fried alligator bites we had were delicious and I would definitely recommend trying some if you’ve never had gator before.

 

Since we were back at the French Market, we decided to go pick up the items we eyeballed the day before. In addition to the cool retro ad wall hangings we picked out, we grabbed some Pat O’Briens hurricane mix and a New Orleans shot glass for my collection. MIL and FIL picked up various items as well, like jambalaya and etouffe mixes, Café Du Monde coffee, and some gift items for relatives back home.

 

Because of our aching feet and legs, we decided to take an early afternoon break. A couple hours of relaxation at the hotel, while not a complete cure, did help us get our energy up before heading to dinner.

[SRV FAN]

Hint... Mix up the tours with the carriage ride tours & utilize the bike taxis... I am not into ALL that walking!

 

 

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[PaulInPGH]

Hint... Mix up the tours with the carriage ride tours & utilize the bike taxis... I am not into ALL that walking!

 

 

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Excellent tip. I would have liked to do that,, but other members of our party are fitness enthusiasts, A.K.A. insane people, so we walked.

 

 

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[Raxter54]

excellent tip. I would have liked to do that,, but other members of our party are fitness enthusiasts, a.k.a. Insane people, so we walked.

 

You hit the nail on the head :-)

Edited December 23, 2014 by Raxter54

[PaulInPGH]

Some photos from earlier in the trip.

 

 

Our hotel.

[PaulInPGH]

From the ghost tour: The ghost table at Muriel's.

 

[PaulInPGH]

From the ghost tour: the Lalauri Mansion.

 

[Raxter54]

Thanks for the trip review, and Merry Christmas to you and your family....

[PaulInPGH]

From the ghost tour: the Old Ursuline Convent.

 

[PaulInPGH]

Thanks for the trip review, and Merry Christmas to you and your family....

 

It's my pleasure, I'm having a blast writing it. Merry Christmas to you as well!

 

Cheers.

[PaulInPGH]

You might think that, with all the amazing restaurants of New Orleans at our disposal, we wouldn’t have a hard time deciding what to eat for dinner. Well, it turned out to be a little tougher of a decision this particular evening. We wanted to stay in the French Quarter and we ruled out a lot of the pricier options in a seemingly futile attempt to go easier on the wallet. With po’boys on tap for tomorrow, we ended up deciding to head back for another round at Acme Oyster House. It may seem insane to eat two meals at the same place in New Orleans, but in our defense, that place is really freaking good.

 

One of our goals for New Orleans was to find some good live jazz. We considered walking down to Frenchman Street, which is where you’ll find many live jazz options. From reading reviews though, it seemed like many of the jazz clubs on Frenchman were standing room only or charged a cover, both of which we were hoping to avoid.

 

We ended up stopping at Maison Bourbon, a live jazz club right on Bourbon (near the intersection of Bourbon and St. Peters). This place is quite the welcome change from the average Bourbon Street bar. There was no cover, the drinks were delicious, and the jazz was excellent.

 

After enjoying a couple sets of jazz, we took a stroll across the street and checked out the famed Pat O’Briens courtyard, complete with fountains with fire shooting from their tops. We stopped in the piano bar for a quick hurricane and then set off for the hotel, and sleep.

 

Up next, our last day in New Orleans. One last epic night of drinks? You bet!

[PaulInPGH]

Maison Bourbon:

 

[PaulInPGH]

Pat O's fire fountains:

 

[PaulInPGH]

Day 4: Gumbo, Po’boys, and Voodoo Daiquiris.

 

After doing the hotel breakfast yesterday I was not going to be denied, so off we went back to Café du Monde. Did I sneak in one more trip later that night? You know I did.

 

After breakfast we quickly poked our heads in the Pepper Palace, a must-stop shop for anyone interested in the spicier side of New Orleans. My wife picked up some po’boy sauce she found to her liking, while I sampled and purchased a fantastic honey habanero barbeque sauce. My wife was brave enough to sample their hottest sauce, but, as I am a wimp, I passed.

 

We decided to take a walk down Royal Street and peak in a few of the many art galleries. Obviously, as a blind person, this did little for me. I did enjoy the many street performers that frequent Royal during lunch hours. One performer, known as the human transformer, was particularly amazing. He’s a man who folds himself into and out of an actual moving, battery-operated, car suit. He’s quite the YouTube sensation, so look him up.

[PaulInPGH]

Human Transformer:

 

[PaulInPGH]

[PaulInPGH]

We skipped lunch so as to arrive hungry at our next activity, a cooking demonstration at the New Orleans School of Cooking. This turned out to be a lot of fun, not to mention delicious. We watched our chef (Kevin) make gumbo, jambalaya, and pralines. The demonstration was very entertaining, with interesting New Orleans history and stories sprinkled in between some excellent cooking tips. And, of course, the best part: eating all the food at the end of the demonstration! I would absolutely recommend this outing for anyone visiting New Orleans.

 

It was 4:00 P.M. by the time we left the cooking class and we felt the time was right to begin our last night party. MIL and FIL decided to go do their own thing, as they aren’t much for bar hopping, so we bid them farewell and set course for Bourbon Street one last time.

[mtgourmet]

I am intrigued by your review, as we did this exact vacation in April of this year. We tried some slightly different tours and activities, so if it's OK, I may pepper your review with some of our favorite New Orleans must see adventures.

 

I am also amazed at your incredible ability to get around in New Orleans. I am an Ophthalmology nurse, and would love to hear about how much if anything you're able to actually see.

Are you truly no light perception, or are you closer to the 20/200 legally blind end of the continuum. Either way, great review and insight.

Veronica

 

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Edited December 27, 2014 by mtgourmet

[crusinot]

I am enjoying your review! Looking forward to the rest!

[PaulInPGH]

During our afternoon break the day before, we attempted to find some reviews of the bars on Bourbon. We wanted to hit a couple less-frequented (i.e. less insane) or more interesting spots on our last night in town. We found a fantastic rundown of all the bars on Bourbon which can be found right here: http://www.thrillist.com/drink/new-orleans/rating-every-bar-on-bourbon-street

 

Our first stop was at Rita’s Tequila House, not to be confused with the Rita’s which we would later frequent on the Serenade. The margaritas were average, but a short walk through the bar took us to an empty courtyard where we were able to enjoy a couple rounds in the very comfortable evening air.

 

We took a longer walk down to the less inhabited section of Bourbon to have a drink at the famous Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, the oldest structure that’s served as a bar in America. Again, we had a couple rounds under the stars, which is a popular option with a lot of French Quarter bars. I fell in love with the Voodoo Daiquiri, an amazing (and potent) grape slushy drink with a lot of alcohol in it.