Carriecruises

First time to Costa Maya. We are looking for an all inclusive resort/beach club. Which is the best? And really preferring one that has a pool, if any Have one.  TYIA

You mentioned that they have your S&S card at your room.  So are the cabins open?  And how does it work if you have the Cheers package?  Do you have to go to your room first to get your S&S card?

On 1/7/2020 at 8:10 AM, scuba_ninja said:

I'd love to spend several posts talking about New Orleans, but this is cruise critic and I'll probably get flack for it. At the end, if people want I'm happy to post more about NOLA including great places to go and pictures. 

 

We got a great Airbnb on St. Charles Ave. Much cheaper than a hotel, great location. For sure the way to go if you don't have a big group. 

 

Getting to Port couldn't be easier. We took a Lyft, and from where we stayed (basically corner of St. Charles and MLK highway) I think it was $13. Once at the terminal things were not as easy. The terminal staff/security (NOT Carnival employees) were neither happy to see us nor kind and helpful. We arrived at 12:50 (10 minutes before our appointment) and they made a big stink about how we had to walk to the early late/late lane and how we'd have to wait now blah blah blah. Well, we walked 50 feet down, into the door, up the escalator and the carnival employees couldn't be nicer. We were on the ship eating at Blue Iguana by 1:15. Later arrival times are apparently a lot better in this port. Last time we waited on benches for a really long time hoping to be in early thanks to our FTTF pass. Late arrival for the win. 

 

By the time we finished our taco salad the rooms were ready and most of the cattle herd had already left lido for their rooms, so we didn't have a huge crush waiting for the stairs. It was early in the cruise, so I could still walk down two flights. 

 

We had cabin 7201 and I have y'all's to thank for it. I was originally booked steerage, but due to some tips I read here I called the day of the deposit deadline and was able to upgrade to this room for only $100 more!! Way less than it was when I booked originally. They classify this as interior for some reason (4K I believe) but it's actually obstructed picture window. It's a great view straight out of the ship. Would absolutely book it again. LOVE having natural light. And the blackout curtains worked great. The balcony right outside is technically public (so no changing with curtains open) but it is so seldom used that it is like having a private balcony. And boy did I use it a ton. Being right under the bridge never gave us any issues. It's pretty quiet up there. Our S&S cards were in a sealed envelope waiting for us when we got to the room. 

 

It's cruise critic so I'm legally not allowed to make a post without a complaint. My only complaint for now is that the art in my room was pretty ugly (clearly, it ruined my vacation. I regret not complaining to guest services and demanding compensation). But the trim in the room was pink and that made my wife happy. 

Thank you all so very much!

Does anyone know of a map of the terminal?  I am curious as to where to have lunch.  Any favorite restaurants for local food?

Thank you so much!

Saint Greg!  You have helped me tremendously over the years with hotels through hotwire.com.  I was hoping you could help again.  I just need to know which hotel is which.  This is what I am looking at.  NOLA River.  Thank you in advance!  Looking for 1 night, 2 rooms River.  February 1, 2020.  3stars and up.

We cruise 2/2/20-2/9/20 on Glory.  Which nights will be elegant night(s)?

We flew in to NOLA and staying in the FQ. We would love to take the street car to the Garden District. Is this possible and if so, where do you get on at?

Our flight home isn't until 6:15pm. Our group of 6 really would hate to waste a day at the airport. We looked at advance check in but that is going to be well over $200 just to take our luggage to the airport. Any suggestions? Any place to store the luggage? Are there any city tours that would carry our luggage along with us? TYIA

Thank you Saint Greg. Last time... Do you have an idea what hotels these are. These are French Quarter - Bourbon Street.

February 24 - 26

4.5 star boutique hotel

95% recommended Amazing! Love it!

Free Internet

$230 $294

4.5 star Hotel

85% recommended Great!

Bed Choice

$399

4 star Hotel

80% recommended Good

Free internet Bed choice

$158 $239

4 star Boutique Hotel

85% recommended Great!

Bed choice

$328 $419

3.5 star hotel

85% recommended Great!

Free Internet

$135 $216

3 star Boutique Hotel

85% recommended Great!

Bed Choice

$117 $188

3 star Hotel

80% recommended Good

Free Internet

Bed choice

$144 $241

3 star All-suites Hotel

90% recommended Favorite! Love it!

Free breakfast

Free internet

Bed choice

$180

2.5 star hotel

90% recommended Favorite! Love it!

Free internet

$183

I've had good and bad experiences on hotwire. But as I've gotten better at it I've really minimized the bad experiences. Most of the time I can figure out the hotel ahead of time and do my own research on it. If I am going in blind, I've found that I've never had a bad experience with a hotel that has at least 85% recommendation. Don't fall for higher stars and lower recommendations. Most of my problems have been when I've booked say a 3* with something like a 65% recommendation. You'll find a 2.5* with 95% recommendation will be a lot better. It'll be a nice comfort suites or something.

 

Check out the Hilton Garden Inn Convention Center and see what you think about it. It's one of the closer hotels to the cruise port. It's also right by Fulton Parking garage which is the facility I use for cruise parking. But it's not the closest to the French Quarter. You'd be looking at a 10-12 block walk to the French Quarter..or a 3-4 block walk to the Julia Street Streetcar stop. That hotel is $76 for your night. It's the 3.5 star warehouse district with 85% recommendation.

 

I'll give you the other ones that are under $200. You didn't say if you needed one bed or two. I'll look at both. For some hotels the price goes up for two beds. You can ensure two beds by searching for 2 adults, 2 children. If you just need one bed just search for 2 adults no children. The Hilton Garden Inn price stays the same with either search.

 

Here are my best guesses on the under $200 hotwire hotels.

 

2 adults (one bed)

 

$76 Warehouse District 3.5* 85% recommendation - Hilton Garden Inn Convention Center

$141 Warehouse District 4* 85% recommendation - Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery

$157 Downtown/Superdome 4* 75% recommendation - Le Pavillion

$180 French Quarter/Mississippi River 4* 90% recommendation - Omni Riverfront

$187 Warehouse District 3* 95% recommendation - Hampton Inn Convention Center

$191 Downtown/Superdome 4* 90% recommendation - Renaissance New Orleans Pere Marquette

$192 French Quarter/Bourbon Street 4* 90% recommendation - Sheraton

2 adults 2 children (two beds)

$76 Warehouse District 3.5* 85% recommendation - Hilton Garden Inn Convention Center

$157 Downtown/Superdome 4* 75% recommendation - Le Pavillion

$187 Warehouse District 3* 95% recommendation - Hampton Inn Convention Center

$191 Downtown/Superdome 4* 90% recommendation - Renaissance New Orleans Pere Marquette

$192 French Quarter/Bourbon Street 4* 90% recommendation - Sheraton

$180 French Quarter/Mississippi River 4* 90% recommendation - Omni Riverfront

 

$192 French Quarter/Bourbon Street 4* 90% recommendation - Sheraton

Is this Sheraton (Four Points on Bourbon)?

Saint Greg you helped me tremendously in the past and wonder if you can help again on rooms for hotwire.

Riverside or FQ areas

$200 or less

February 24 & 25, 2018

2 adults

Last time I got Hilton Riverside for me and hubby. I got Sheraton Four Pointe for mom. Thank you so much!!!

If anyone has any questions, let me know. Or how to post pictures.

Day 2 Sunday 2/14/16 Valentine’s Day NOLA

DH rose very early the next morning. He went out to the Riverwalks to check things out while I stayed in bed. He sent me a picture of Norwegian Dawn so that made me hop right out of bed with a text that I would be right down.

Riverside Hilton is probably the closest hotel to the terminal and the ships are right there! The morning was beautiful. It was a little chilly the day before but not this morning. There was fog on the river and it looked like a great day.

When we walked through the mall the night before we saw Café du Monde and decided we would go there and pick up beignets (again) and I wanted him to try the “chicory” coffee. (I don’t drink coffee.) The beignets were 3 for $2.73 there. We got it to go and went up to the room. He didn’t find that the coffee was much different. These beignets had twice as much sugar but he enjoyed them while I had a few bites.

We were to meet our friends at their hotel in the French Quarter at 9:45am. I booked their room through Hotwire as well. It was The Four Points Sheraton and I believe it was $127 for 1 night. This room was originally booked for my mom and aunt but since my aunt couldn’t go, I asked them to take that room and put my mom with me.

This morning we decided to take the street car. We walked from our hotel to the other side of Harrah’s on Canal St. They were parked and we asked a conducter. He pointed us to our street car. We purchased a “Jazzy Pass”. It is $3 for 24 hours. You can get on and get off all you want. My intentions was to do A LOT including taking the St. Charles street car to the Garden District. The streetcar does not make change so have correct change. It took cash. I am not sure about credit cards. I know you can buy it from their website in advance as well. Otherwise it is $1.25 per ride.

Since Four Points was on Bourbon St. (about 4 blocks from Canal St.) we got off and walked to their hotel. They were being delivered by cab. It cost them the same $36 from the airport to the French Quarter. Very lovely hotel!!! Just gorgeous. Check in went fine but they didn’t have the room ready. (It was only 10 am and check in wasn’t until 3pm). The hotel took their luggage for storage. They were going to call me when it was ready.

We headed out to explore. The first thing was a drink! Yes it was early but vacation had begun! We stopped just a block down at a place that sold pizza and different frozen drinks. It looked like a dozen ICEE machines but stuff like Hurricane’s, Margaritas etc. DH and I went for Pina Coladas, She got a Hurricane and He got a beer. It was I believe $36 for the 4 of us. We sat, chatted, took pix and decided to order beers. We walked back down to Legends Park and sat some more but became hungry. We decided to go to Bubba Gump’s since my DH was really set on buying something there and it is our favorite movie. It was about 5 or 6 blocks and on Decatur. We had to take a few breaks on the way there but it was a good time to take pictures and look in shops.

We got there and was seated right away. Everything on the menu sounded fantastic! DH & I started off with Mama Bump’s Garlic Bread. It was boring and 1 piece was burned. (Comes with 2.) Not worth $4.99. We shared Net Catch Entrée. Which was basically shimp, andouille, corn, potatoes boiled with seasoning. It was so good. Yes a little spicy but very good. We both had tea and we were full. She had a fish sandwich and he had Shrimper’s Heaven. DH & I paid $40 which included our tip. The restaurant was really neat. They play the movie on one screen. Lots of signs and cute things. Our waitress even did trivia with us. After we were done (stuffed). We shopped and found the clearance section. Score! I got a hat and a t-shirt (shimp gumbo, shrimp kabob etc). Too cute. I spent $10 for both. DH husband got 2 t-shirts for $10.

We basically rolled back towards Bourbon St. but not without getting some beers. (We knew we would have to wait and needed to rest after eating). Oh don’t buy cigarettes in the French Quarter. He paid I think $9 for a pack. When we made it back to the lobby of their hotel we barely sat down and my phone rang letting us know that the room was ready.

The room was small and it did have a view but not of the street below. I thought it was very charming. It was very clean and in great shape. The beds looked wonderful as well. They were glad they stayed there and I will remember that hotel next time.

We decided to let them rest and we headed back to our hotel because my mom was due in at 4:30pm. But not before we hit some gift shops. 5 t-shirts for $20! I got lots of cute things for cheap.

We walked back to Canal and took the street car back. We waited and waited and waited. My mom flew standby so she actually flew from Tulsa to Lafeyette. Then took Amtrak to NOLA. The train was really delayed so she actually didn’t show up at the hotel until 6:30pm. I felt bad for her because she travelled alone but she insisted. She had so many plans in NOLA but time just went by so fast! But sure enough she was ready to hit the French Quarter. She was starved so grabbed a bag of chips from the store in our hotel ($4). My mom uses a cane because of a knee replacement so it was tough on her but she handled it like a champ. We walked out the back way of our hotel (Riverwalks). We were really getting to know our way around at this point. We took her down to the Riverwalk street car. We had called our friends to meet us at Jackson Square. They had napped and were ready to get back out again. She got her jazzy pass but I didn’t realize they have a seniors pass. Once we were off the street car we crossed Peters St to Jackson Square. Here is where something silly occurred. There was a street performer dressed as a jester and painted up. He asked my DH if he could buy a cigarette from him. He was trying to give us $1 for this cigarette. I said, “let me just take your picture with my husband instead of paying for the cigarette.” He refused! He said he only takes $3 to $5 tips. I thought he was joking at first but he would not take a picture with my husband without at least a $3 tip. In the end, DH just gave him the cigarette. SMH.

We met up with our friends and walked around the St. Louis Cathedral. It was breathtaking at night. You MUST GO on the other side on Royal St. at night. Unbelievable. My mom was set on seeing Marie Laveau’s place and I wanted to take them to Lafitte’s Blacksmith Bar. But earlier one of our other friends said we had to try a “hand grenade”. Found it! Mom doesn’t drink much but the 4 of us got one each. ($8) Let me just say that things were a little blurry after that. Lol We did go to Marie Laveau’s and Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop. We were going to try to walk further down to LaLaurie Mansion but it was getting later and the crowds were getting smaller. We weren’t afraid or anything but didn’t want to push it. Everyone in NOLA was super friendly and helpful. We had spent a lot of time on our feet plus had drank so we were ready to head back. We stopped and grabbed a slice of pizza. I didn’t even realize that my poor mother hadn’t had anything to eat all day other than chips and breakfast. She didn’t even get any Cajun food! We were near their hotel so we stopped there so my mom could see and then headed back to the street car.

When we arrived DH was ready for bed. I stayed up and watched my mom watch “The Walking Dead”. Now THAT was entertainment. Finally off to bed. We want to go on a cemetery tour in the morning.

Next: Day 3 Cruise Day!!!

Good afternoon. I will be posting as fast as I can but work is holding back. Please forgive my spelling and grammar.

Cruise background. My 5th or 6th. All Carnival except once with Royal Carribean. I am 41 and DH is 43. (His first cruise and first time to NOLA). My mom 54 (first cruise) and aunt (which was unable to make it.) Two friends her 45 and her DH 52 (both have cruised).

Day 1 Saturday 2/13/16 Oklahoma City to New Orleans

We got up at 3:30 for our flight at 7:35am. We wanted to make sure everything was ready for the house sitter, to get there early and enough time to grab breakfast. Nothing was open but a donut shop so we were on our way. Parking at the airport in OKC is $7 a day. Our first flight was to Houston and we didn’t get to sit together (Southwest). We had a short lay over for our flight to NOLA.

When we landed in NOLA. I was overjoyed. I love NOLA and couldn’t wait for my DH to experience it. It was fast to get our luggage and to the cab stand. We only checked 1 large suitcase each. I had my purse and he had a bag for our carry on’s. Both well under the weight limit. We walked right to the taxi stand and there was a long line. I saw they offered a shuttle service but didn’t take the time to look since I knew how much it was in a cab. The line went fast and we were well on our way. The cabby was funny because he asked where we were from and turned the radio to country music. Lol I pointed out a few things on the way to the hotel. I asked the driver for a recommendation for dining. He suggested “Drago’s” which was in our hotel (Riverside Hilton).

Let me mention that getting a hotel that was reasonable for this weekend seemed impossible. I took the advice of another cruise critic person and booked through Hotwire. It was $175 per night plus tax. There was a huge real estate convention, it was right after Mardi Gras, Valentine’s Day weekend and a 3 day weekend. I couldn’t get anything less than $250 per night close to the terminal otherwise for.

Our cab was $36 for the two of us plus tip. We arrived before noon and we were lucky to have our room ready instead of storing our luggage because we were starved. Our room was in building 3 with no view but it served its purpose. (Rooms directly booked were $441 per night.) We dropped our suitcases, put our documents and extra stuff in the safe and we set off on foot. Our room was nice. It did need some paint because there were a lot of scuff marks on the walls. No microwave but it did have a fridge and coffee maker. The bed was comfy. AC and TV were great. The pop machine was $3.00 for a bottle of water.

We left through the front entrance and walked across to Harrah’s. We knew there was no smoking in our hotel and didn’t see anyone smoking until we got to Harrah’s and my husband took a smoke break. We found Canal St and started our walk until we could find something that caught our eye. We both wanted Cajun food but not pricey or all about the name. We looked at different menus and couldn’t find what we were looking for. (Most restaurants in the French Quarter posts their menu outside the door.) We got to Chartres and found Daisy Dukes. We both agree it was the best food we had while in NOLA. He had ½ fish Po-Boy and cup of red beans. I had ½ shrimp Po-Boy and a cup of gumbo. Both had iced tea. Our bill after tip was $31.84. We talked to our waitress outside and she explained that he could smoke anywhere in NOLA except inside some places. She mentioned that open container as long as it was in plastic can be carried anywhere and in anywhere. We were much more relaxed and felt good because we certainly didn’t want to be rude or be jerks.

We walked around for a bit and saw some street performers. There were little kids tapping for tips. We walked to Bubba Gump’s and looked at souveniers. I showed him Bourbon Street but right before we stopped at a “walk up” bar and I got a 32 oz Hurricane for $4.99 and he got a bloody mary for I think $6. We made our way down to Music Legends Park and sat watching a performer. I wanted him to try beignets so I went up to Café Beignets in the park and placed my order. $3.99 for 3. I wanted him to try them while they were hot and he was hooked. I took a bite but wasn’t really in mood for sweets after that Hurricane. We got another beer and headed back towards our hotel. Our feet were killing us. We stopped at the riverwalks and checked out the river. Watched the Creole Queen. We went back to our room to rest.

We discovered that our room didn’t offer Wifi unless we wanted to pay $10 a day so we put our tablets away. He took a nap and I watched the NOLA channel which of course made me hungry. I woke him about 6:30 for our next tour.

I wasn’t quite ready to tackle the street car yet and I was tired from the early morning and the walking. We were out to find another good place to eat but something lighter and we didn’t want to spend a lot of money. Maybe because I was tired or whatever I just couldn’t figure out what I wanted and the lines were sorta long. (It was Saturday night.) I hit a liquor store for the wine we would take on the ship. I found the prices were no different than home. We went in a few stores. Sampled candy and pralines. Since we couldn’t find anything to eat we decided to head back towards our hotel and see what was around there. We found The Crazy Lobster but the line was long again. We walked to the mall which was attached to our hotel. It was getting close to closing by the time we made it to the food court so I ended up spending $8 on 2 pretzels and him $7.50 on a smoothie. So much for being cheap. We know better now. Went to the room and went to bed.

Day 2: our friends and my mother arrive in NOLA.

PS. I don't know how to post pix but if someone can tell me, I would be glad to.

We booked over six months ago. My party is me and my husband in one room and my mom in one room. Both of them are new cruisers and this my 6th. Yet with work and everything in life I don't know all of the major reminders and needs. Help. I feel like I am going to be overwhelmed.

I just realized that I have never taken any I'd or anything with me. Lol. I would leave your passport in the safe and just bring your id. Nobody ever asks.

What time is your cruise Sunday? I am squeezing our Café du Monde on the morning of the cruise and our cemetery tour.

Does anyone know of the names of the restaurants that serve there? I know Elidio, Flamingo and Le Saint Bonnet?

I want to eat on the beach and not in doors. Just wondering who serves on the beach.

Pardon my ignorance. Where can we go in or around the French quarter that has a shrimp or crawfish boil?

We are a group of 5. 2 in their 60s & 3 in their 40s. Looking for a relaxing beach with good food & good drinks.

I have been to Playa Mia twice but it seems the food isn't as good. However I love the snorkeling and the hammocks.

I have been to Nacho Cocom and love it. Being served on the beach was a huge highlight. I enjoyed that it wasn't over crowded too. Downside is the drop off in the sand/water. I worry the ones in their 60s will have trouble.

Any suggestions?

This only applies to going out of TX?

My mother is going on the ruins tour and I have read a lot about how the "sack lunch" isn't all that and people have said to bring their lunch. Can you bring something off the ship?

I would like to know as well.