NikiPinkston

Hi, Yvonne, There are some great ideas here! New Orleans is the kind of place that gets people excited remembering the great times they had there, and I'm sure it will be the same for you. I ran across this link I had saved before one of our visits and it has some good info about things to do in NOLA. https://www.viator.com/New-Orleans/d675 I'm excited for you and a little bit jealous!😊

I second the WWII Museum. If you like history, it is amazing. NOLA actually has some great museums, including the Cabildo and the Presbytére on Jackson Square in the French Quarter, several Mardi Gras museums, a Pharmacy museum, and many others. The cemeteries are also fascinating; St. Louis I in the French Quarter and Lafayette in the Garden District are quite unique. In St. Louis I, you'll take a guided tour and learn about Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen (who actually had quite a big heart) and how you (or your family) kind of rent your space in the cemeteries in NOLA. There are also quite a few cute little shops and restaurants around Jackson Square as well as St. Louis Cathedral that dates back to 1794 - it's the big white church that you always see in photos of NOLA. And, for beignets, Cafe Du Monde is right across the street. There is a HOHO bus that will take you all around town and makes stops at all of these places and more. With just a couple of days, I might do the HOHO bus one day and then spend the next day exploring the French Quarter. Royal Street is my favorite but every street in the French Quarter has its delights. If you have time, I'd also highly recommend a tour to Oak Alley Plantation as it's a real, preserved, intact plantation from 1837. Just a word of warning, because this happened to us: I had read that groups of young men approach tourists and say, “I bet I know where you got dem shoes” and point to your feet. The only correct answer is, “On my feet.” Otherwise, they’ll vigorously press you for money because you "lost the bet!" Other than that, we always felt quite safe walking around the French Quarter. If you haven't selected a hotel yet, I highly recommend the French Market Inn on Decatur Street as it's a beautiful historic property and centrally located. Whatever you do, you are going to have a wonderful time!

Yay, another @YVRteacher review! So excited to hear about your adventures. Glad to hear that you love your new job and that your Dad is doing well. New Orleans is one of my favorite places on earth!

I love this post @cruiseny4life as you've expressed exactly how I feel. (Also, kudos to you for your fun “lives,” which are always entertaining!) We are huge fans of the freestyle life and have, so far, been very happy with our experience on NCL. Has every cruise always been perfect? No, of course not, but when I look at other lines and I see assigned dining times and how much their drink packages cost, we keep coming back to NCL, who delivers the ports and onboard experience that we’ve come to love (and we have tried those other lines). To be honest, most of the “reductions in service” don’t affect us and I realize that YMMV, so I’m not criticizing others' priorities, just expressing my own opinion. We did enjoy the Broadway productions but, once you’ve seen them, how many more times do you need to do so? We’ve actually been extremely pleased with most of the production shows by the NCL onboard entertainment staff, whom we’ve found to be incredibly talented. Also didn’t like the paper straws onboard but they’re now made of agave, which holds up a lot better. Everywhere we go these days, the economy is tight and we’re getting less for our money, and I understand that companies have to make hard business decisions and raise prices & eliminate expenses where they can, as much as we may not like it. To us, cruising is a privilege and we feel blessed to be able to do so. We have another cruise on NCL coming up soon and I’m confident and hopeful that we’ll have another wonderful experience.

I second wearing sunscreen every day! I'll have to add the Shiseido sunscreen to my list - I do love their products. I have and love this Eric Javits Squishee Sun Hat with a bit wider brim. It also packs and travels well. https://www.nordstrom.com/s/eric-javits-hampton-squishee-sun-hat/3925979 Editing to add: Yikes, it did not cost that much when I purchased it five years ago, but I guess everything has gone up. I have seen them on ebay and Poshmark, too, which is probably the way I would go now.

Oh no, you're right, I can't find it, either. Hopefully, she'll come up with something just as good.

Sorry to hear about your subpar steward. On our first POA sailing in 2016, our steward was less than stellar, too, so I wasn't expecting much the next time. However, in 2022, he was one of the best we've ever had. You sometimes hear about problems with the all-American crew, but I guess it's just the luck of the draw.

Captain Jozo was the one who took our picture on our sailing in November, 2022! He not only rocks at sailing a ship, he was a pretty good photographer, too. All of the staff were amazing .

You can definitely save some money using the BOGO airfare, but our experience last year with undesirable flight times made us swear off ever using it again, too. We really like picking our own flights and didn't enjoy the lack of control over our travel plans. We always fly into our embarkation port the day before, and we didn't get in until the evening, losing the opportunity to explore. Conversely, after disembarking, even with participating in a ship-sponsored shore excursion, we had to wait hours at the airport for our very late flight home. This year, we're again doing the same itinerary (Alaska), and we've booked our own flights. It's just not worth it to us.

So glad you had a wonderful time! We love the itinerary and the POA; we've sailed on her twice and our experience was the same as yours. The crew and officers were amazing - the Captain even took our photo one day when we were sitting in the hallway by the MDR and he happened to pass by! Last time we sailed was 11/22 and there was a White Night at that time. Would love to go again one day soon.

I had melanoma in-situ 20 years ago so am diligent about wearing sunscreen everyday, but hate the greasy feeling some of them give me, so I'm looking forward to trying some of the sunscreens y'all have recommended. However, I've been really happy lately with Sunday Riley Lighthearted SPF30. I always wore SPF50 until I learned that SPF30 blocks 97% of rays and 50 only blocks 2% more, or 99%. Thank you for the great recommendations!

Sorry, I just realized that you wanted to do a carry-on, so I would just cut back on quantities and leave-out the dress and gold sandals and other "dress-up" items, as you'll be fine wearing sweaters and jeans onboard for the most part.. I do want to add that some of those socks are knee socks, to be worn with boots and jeans if it's rainy and/or cold in port or outside while viewing the glacier. (I've never felt the need for waterproof pants as some folks suggest.) Hope that you may have picked up on something from my list that you might have overlooked. Happy sailing!

Layering is a great idea, as well as checking the weather forecast before you go. We’ll be going on our 4th Alaska cruise this coming May, but we’ve also sailed in July and August. Here’s my exact packing list: 2 pr. Dark blue jeans – 1 slim and 1 straight 1 pr. Eileen Fisher washable crepe pants-black – Almost like leggings but a bit dressier, & these are really comfortable & can be dressed up or down. (I know that they’re an investment but they last forever.) 1 pr. Chico’s Travelers pants-black 2 long sleeved cashmere sweaters 2 3/4 slv. cashmere sweaters (I wear these a lot while onboard-I may have to add one more) 2 Chico’s long sleeve tees 1 Chico’s Travelers dressy top 1 Chico’s Travelers tank & kimono 1 Chico’s Travelers black dress (I love this line for travel!) 1 short sleeve sweater tee (to wear on the plane with jeans, sneakers and bomber jacket – traveling from Southern California to Seattle YMMV) Rain jacket, black puffy vest, quilted bomber jacket Soft 7 metallic slip-on sneakers, Sporto rain boots, black Rothy’s points, gold wedge sandals for dress-up/dinner (we're on NCL so only one dress-up night) MZ Wallace quilted bag for the plane, small leather crossbody for onboard, Travelon crossbody for ports 2 or 3 bras, 10 undies (it’s a 9-day cruise), socks, Sheecs low-cut socks 1 Hanro camisole (love these are they’re warm & lightweight) Beanie, tech-friendly gloves, two scarves Ballcap (good in the rain if it’s not too cold & I can just pull up the hood on my raincoat) Jewelry I think something similar to this will serve you well in just about any weather situation and onboard event. I'll admit that I do like to dress-up a bit when given the opportunity. On past Alaska embarkation days, I’ve worn a ¾ sleeve cashmere sweater, with and without a jacket, with jeans and sneakers. This time, I’m planning on wearing a long sleeve tee with the vest and a sparkly pin! We'll see if the weather cooperates. Have a wonderful cruise! Hope this helps in some small way. Alaska’s beauty is breathtaking!

I read somewhere that there's a shuttle from Berth 3 to the main part of town. Can anyone confirm that? DH has a back issue that sometimes makes it uncomfortable for him to do a lot of walking.

I'm a little late to the party here, but I've worn my Rothy's Points on our last few cruises and felt that they were a great addition to my onboard wardrobe. I'll be taking them with me again next month, in fact. When I purchased my first pair, someone told me to size up and add a supportive insole, which I've always done and it really helps comfort-wise. I also recently purchased the "new model," the Rothy's Point II, which I can verify has "improved fit, feel and comfort."

Hey, @shadowmeboyI always enjoy your reviews but this one is especially appreciated as we just booked the Sun to Alaska for this May. It will be our 4th time cruising Alaska, previously on the Encore, the Bliss and the Jewel, but I'm so excited to be doing 9 days and looking forward to cruising on the Sun. Your review has been so helpful and I'm now reading your review of the Sun from 2017. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us and for all of the great photos. I've gotten some great suggestions from you. I'm really looking forward to hearing about your Hawaii cruise this year. Are you sailing on the POA? We've cruised on her twice, once on the cruise tour, and loved it both times.

We do love the "freestyle" dining on NCL as well as the Broadway production shows - we've seen Jersey Boys, Six, Choir of Man, Kinky Boots, etc. - in fact, all of their production shows have been pretty amazing. However, we've never been inspired to attend a comedy show onboard, so we're looking forward to doing that on Carnival, and the Panorama also seems to have more included dining venues. Your review was so helpful and I felt like I was right there with you! Hope that Ian is adjusting to life at home; he was a very good cruiser for such a little guy and, boy, is he is a cutie!

Thank you so much for your excellent review! Your little munchkin is adorable and I loved all of your photos and the great info about the ship and hearing what you did in port. We're Platinum on NCL and have only sailed on Carnival once before, but I've had my eye on this cruise as we've been looking at Carnival again as it seems like there's more to do than on NCL. Even though we've already done the Mexican Riviera a couple of times, L.A. & Long Beach are ports that are an easy drive for us, and the Panorama sounds like it would be a great choice to try something new! You have a lovely family and I really appreciate your time in doing this!

Loving your review, @willdra. You crack me up!

I really enjoyed Megan's and Sid's lives, and now I'm loving your review, @Jamman54. I appreciate hearing about your pre-trip hotels, luggage, flights, etc., so don't ever change a thing. Thank you for your awesome narrative and Patti's pic's. You are really a class act!

I once sold a fancy hair curler thingy on eBay and the buyer insisted that I hadn't sent her the correct item (even though it was brand new in the original packaging) because she wanted the LARGE one shown on the front of the box, which was an enlarged image of the actual item!

Hi, there, @BermudaBound2014! So glad I found your live. We sailed on Carnival years ago but have been pretty much loyal to NCL since then. However, I really want to do an L.A. to Hawaii trans-Pacific and have been looking at Carnival and Princess, so I really appreciate your comparisons and insights. Thank you for taking the time to do this. Happy cruising!

I think this review of the POA by @mooline is the one I was thinking of:

Having sailed on the POA twice and also on the Bliss & Encore several times, I will tell you that the POA is an older and smaller ship (e.g., no go-karts or laser tag), but last time we sailed (in November, 2022) it was immaculate, most of the food was very good, and the staff was great. Of course, the Islands are the main show, but we really also enjoyed the entertainment on board. Keep an open mind and you'll have a great time! There was a coffee maker in our room at that time, but I know that you can't bring your own extension cord because one of our suitcases ended up in the "naughty room" because Security thought one of our charging cords was an extension cord. You just have to ask your room steward if you don't see the coffee maker - it might be in the closet, too. S/he will bring you the coffee, creamer and sugar - just ask. Here's my review from our cruise if you're interested, Just skip to #20 if you're not interested in reading about our time in Waikiki pre-cruise. (I know there's another, more recent, review from this past fall, but I can't find it right now.) Have a fabulous cruise!

Loving your review as this cruise is on our list! Thank you for taking the time to do this, and happy anniversary!