Traffic into New Orleans on Departure Day?

[we3travelers]

Good morning,

 

We have cruised from NOLA previously, but have always stayed in town, near the port. We are cruising in October on the Dream and the hotel prices are extremely high due to a festival on the weekend we depart.

 

So.... we are thinking of staying in Slidell and driving in on Sunday morning. Is traffic horrible coming in to town on the morning of? Our check in time is 10-1030am, so we'd be coming in to town fairly early. Probably would leave Slidell around 7. Supposed to be a 45 minute drive to port.

 

Has anyone done this? Do you have alternate suggestions? We thought about Metairie but the hotel reviews for that area are too varied.

 

Thanks in advance.

[jgmpuma]

Sunday morning traffic is fairly light, especially in the morning. You should have no problems.

[nolatravelgirl]

Are you driving or flying to NOLA? Agree that traffic should be fairly light on a Sunday morning.

[we3travelers]

We are driving down from TN.

 

It's good to hear that traffic is usually light on Sunday mornings coming in to town.

 

We just don't want to spend $250-$300 for a quick hotel stay this time around. We aren't going to be in town long enough to do anything other than sleep pre-cruise. That's why I wanted to look at Slidell for this trip.

[nolatravelgirl]

I think Slidell is a good choice rather than Metairie as you would be overshooting the port to get to Metairie.

[we3travelers]

Thanks! That's what I thought, too. Just made more sense.

 

Also, the hotel reviews in Metairie are very inconsistent. Not being familiar with the area, I'd rather not take a chance.

 

Hotels reviews in Slidell seem to be fairly consistent in that they are usually pretty favorable, or not at all.

[nolatravelgirl]

Thanks! That's what I thought, too. Just made more sense.

 

Also, the hotel reviews in Metairie are very inconsistent. Not being familiar with the area, I'd rather not take a chance.

 

Hotels reviews in Slidell seem to be fairly consistent in that they are usually pretty favorable, or not at all.

I wouldn't hesitate recommending hotels in Metairie if you were flying in. The absence of reviews in Slildell is not an indicator that the hotels are better.

 

I made my recommendation for Slidell based on the direction you were driving from and the fact that you had no interest in seeing the city the evening of your arrival. Slidell is more of a "big" small town that will satisfy the requirement of easy interstate access, plus all the typical budget chain hotels (Courtyard, Fairfield, Hampton, etc) along with a Wal-Mart and other grocery chains to pick up any last minute forgotten items at a reasonable price.

[cosmosmommy]

Be aware that if it's a Saints Sunday, you'll encounter a lot more traffic than on any other Sunday. Normally, the trip from Slidell to downtown on a Sunday is a breeze -- I do the Broadway Across America at the Saenger Theatre Sunday matinee and only have problems on Saints Sundays. Slidell is much easier to navigate than Metairie. If you do stay here, eat at one of the local restaurants, not the chains. I recommend Restaurant Cote in Old Towne Slidell.

[nolatravelgirl]

Be aware that if it's a Saints Sunday, you'll encounter a lot more traffic than on any other Sunday.

The OP is sailing on 10/9 which is a Saint's bye week.

[2wheelin]

Any predictions for traffic Thanksgiving Sun around noon? We need to drive from Memphis (plan 7 hours?)

Have read that sometimes people have used the "back streets" to get to Fulton Garage due to backed up traffic for the usual exit. Don't know know what the back streets would be.

[Kethry88]

Looking at the schedule, the Saints have a home game that day at 1:00PM. You might want to plan to arrive a bit earlier than noon to give yourselves extra time.