cruisinsly

2 hours ago, mcgore83 said:

Loving this!  Thank you for taking the time to share!

Thank you!! 

2 hours ago, RenoNanaOz said:

Me too!

It’s the best!

3 hours ago, RockinRobin said:

What an awesome hubby you have!   Nice bling! 

Thank you. He did good. I think I will keep him around for a bit! 😁

4 minutes ago, mamiamjo said:

Congrats on the new house and the new job 🙂

I hope you have a great cruise & thanks for sharing your trip with us!

Thank you!  I’m enjoying sharing the trip!!

16 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Awesome bling!!  Antoine's is on my NO list!!

Thank you!!  Antoine’s is very good! Definitely suggest it!!

We left out of there and headed over to Pat O’Briens for a few Hurricanes. We met another family there that will be on the cruise with us. Had a great time and Missy, the bar tended was awesome. We ended up coming back to the hotel to relax. Not sure about dinner tonight! Just some pictures from today.

What a day! We started out with hubby getting us a big ole cup of coffee. I am not a huge breakfast eater- so we skipped this morning. We had reservations at Antoine’s Restaurant, which has been there (not in this location) since 1840. They supposedly invented Oysters Rockefeller. Well, that grabbed my attention and I had to try them.

let me just say- it did not disappoint. The service was impeccable. We had a server and an assistant. They said no t-shirts, cargo pants of flip flops. Well- hubby wore cargo pants.  They were a little lax because of the cool weather. 
 

we started out with the oysters- which were good, but not great. We also ordered bloody Mary’s!  After that, we ordered the bottomless mimosas!  Not once did our glasses get half empty!  Hubby got the shrimp and grits and OMGOSH- they were so good. I wish I would have gotten them, but I wanted something different. So I got the veal with grits. It was very good, but I liked the shrimp better. 
 

This was a jaz brunch and that did not disappoint!  The jazz band came to our table and sang a Nat King Cole song for us- Love!  Then our waiter brought us a gift for our anniversary.  We have been together 19 years!  So hard to believe- sometimes it seems like yesterday.

My hubby also gave me some new bling to replace my current wedding band. Very surprised and a huge upgrade! Lol. I am in love with it and him.

we spent what I had expected- $130 plus a tip!  Would I go again?  YES- for a special occasion.

14 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Sounds like a pearl necklace is in the making🤣

Indeed. Lol- but tiny tiny

42 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Cool piece of art!  You're lucky you didn't break a tooth on that pearl😲 I love Cafe du Monde!!

Very cool. Most of her art was just too gory. This was one of a few that wasn’t. She grew up in an abusive house when young and it comes through her art as a way of dealing. 
 

i am very surprised I didn’t break a tooth also. I’m becoming a pro at finding them though. Last time we had oysters- I found 4. Lol

Cafe du Monde is a must!!

We also stopped in Jackson Square and talked to this young girl and her dad. She is there every weekend selling her art. We decided to purchase one that spoke to us.

After we checked in, we walked over to the Riverwalk and saw that Radiance of the Seas was getting ready to depart. We went to Fat Tuesday and ordered two Panty Droppers! So good. We then went to Cafe Du Mondrian and I bet you all can’t guess what we got!! Stopped by the Mardi Gras store and picked up beads for our trip next year on the Mardi Gras.

We walked to the French Quarter and had a shrimp poboy and oyster poboy. We split them so we could both have a bit of each. As I was chowing down on the oyster poboy, I bit down on something hard. I found a pearl!!

we were going to do a ghost tour- but it was just too cold for us, so we made our way back to our room.  First day in New Orleans was nice. 

1 hour ago, RockinRobin said:

Awesome upgrade!!  We loved the Hampton, it was clean and everyone was so friendly.  Nice start on your home made mini bar!  Enjoy New Orleans!

Completely surprise at the upgrade and very grateful. Homemade mini bar is a must. Tomorrow will be great!

We rolled into New Orleans about 1230pm. Traffic is a nightmare. I am sure there is a concert tonight. We arrived at our hotel while navigating one way streets. Lol. Hubs was NOT happy with traffic and wanted a drink when we got into our room. Thankfully we stopped and picked something up.

while hubby dealt with valet, I went in and checked us in. As I was talking to the front desk awesome ladies, they upgraded us because it is our 19th anniversary.

After packing up the car last night, we could not close our eyes. After a few hours of tv, sleep hit both of us. When the alarm went off at 4am- I did. It want to get up. But I was spring loaded and jumped up anyway. We were finally out of the house at 450am. 
 

At 830am, we stopped for gas. Imagine my surprise as hubs came out with shakes for both. Ummmm- dude, who gets shakes at 830am AND in cold weather?

20 minutes ago, RockinRobin said:

We stayed at the Hampton Convention Center in April.  Not really close to the Quarter, but an easy Uber or a nice long walk if the weather is good.  You are just a few blocks and an easy walk from Riverside mall and also Mulates Cajun Restaurant.  Highly recommend you go there at happy hour and sit at the bar.  In the evening they have live music.  Lots of fun.  No reason to get into all that mess on Bourbon Street!   And on another note, cruising out on the Mississippi from New Orleans is fantastic.  Try not to go eat until after dark as you will want to be out on deck and watch the river roll by. Amazing.  Have fun!!

Thank you for the tips. We have a ghost tour tonight and a jazz brunch tomorrow. Did not want to stay near Bourbon!  Glad to know the location is good. Told hubby that I just want a po-boy!  Can’t get a good one where we are- just not like the po-boys in Biloxi and New Orleans!

Happy Birthday Marines yesterday!!  EEEKKKKK – getting excited.  I am all packed.  Hubby finished up his packing.  Today is Veterans Day and he has the day off. We have loaded the car.  Going to get to bed early since we are getting up early to be out of the house Saturday morning by 4:30am to travel to New Orleans.  I also have my cruise ducks ready to go!  Oh, and the job situation for me – I was offered a position and start mid-December. YAY!!

On another note, Hubs has had one skin cancer removed each week for the past 3 weeks. Looks like we will not be doing much fun in the sun!  No beach for us.

6 hours ago, Indytraveler83 said:

 

And I think it's a reminder that I'd something isn't right, it can be fixed.  I see a lot of reviews where people suffer through things like that the entire cruise.  Carnival is usually pretty flexible if you need something adjusted during the cruise itself. 

Absolutely. It is one of the reasons that they are my favorite cruise line.  It amazes me the people who complain but do not give Carnival a chance to correct it.

I went out on a limb and purchased the steakhouse for the first night. We normally do not go, but since it is just me and him – I reserved it!!  We usually have our son with us and we just never took him to the steakhouse. He was younger and could be, well, a kid and we just did not want to get in there and have a meltdown or anything. It was a pick and choose your battles kinda thing. Ok, so he mostly wanted to go to camp Carnival and we would have to nearly tie him up and drag him to dinner with us. Lol  Anyway -I am very excited to go to the steakhouse. It has been many years since we have been to it.

15 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Last time I was in NO my DDs were 3.5 and 1.5 years old.  Now they are 20 and 22.  Gotta hit NO soon.  Your hotel looks snazzy (thx cruisin*tigger for the pics) and the tour sounds great!!

Thats about how long it has been since we were there. lol  The hotel does look pretty neat. I cant wait to check in tomorrow!  Yes - thank you cruisin*trigger for the pictures.

10 hours ago, Indytraveler83 said:

 

Yeah, I wasn't happy.  Had the Maitre D been around, I would have handled it with him.  Not sure what was up with that server on that day.

 

I certainly don't want to characterize the entire cruise that way though.  We didn't always remember to ask for Mark during breakfast, and the other serving teams were up to normal Carnival standards.  Just a really weird day, and a really angry guy apparently.

So glad it was just that once and they redeemed themselves for the remainder of the cruise.

1 hour ago, MistyRo76 said:

Enjoy your cruise! She's a great ship! 

Thank you.  Hubby and I are getting away - its going to be nice.

Great review. Thanks for sharing.  So excited that we will be on the Valor next week.

5 minutes ago, cruisin*tigger said:

This is one of my favorite hotels.  The breakfast is awesome - make sure you go around the corner to the left - more yummy stuff!  (Hopefully its the same as precovid.)  Ask for a refurbished room with the huge wall of windows.😊

 

 

Nice!!  Thanks for the tip.  I will ask for the refurbished rooms.  I had reserved the Embassy Suites and decided to switch it to this one.  Needless to say - we are both very excited!  Last time we were in New Orleans, I was pregnant with our son!

7 minutes ago, pcvtmom said:

Enjoying this already, and you're not to the cruise part, yet!

Thank you!  As we travel, I plan on taking pictures that I can post too!  Stay tuned.

Well, we have moved into our new house (August 5).  Closing was quick and painless. Moving is not though. Lol  I am still unpacking boxes and stashing things away. UGH!! 

I continue to check and see if there are any more upgrades.  So far, none.  At the time that I wrote this, we have been in our house for a little over a month and everything has finally started to simmer down.  I am currently studying for a certification in my degree field so I can get back to working and help pay for this house.  I am also looking at our trip to New Orleans and trying to decide what to do while there, if anything.  We have decided to stay at the Hampton Inn Convention Center for two nights.  It is near the port and they have a special for stay and cruise.  We got it for $389 plus parking for $17 a night.  Breakfast is included.

I also reserved a New Orleans tour by foot of their haunted areas near the French Quarter.  It is a free tour, but I had to pay a service fee of $5.50 total for me and the hubs.  I am VERY excited about this.   We will pay a tip to the tour guide once we get there.