Need Your Tips for: NCL PEARL & New Orleans To Seattle 21 day April Panama Itinerary

HI, we are going on the longest cruise we have done so far: 21 days on the Pearl (starting April 8 )

I would love your tips on the PEARL and for the places we will visit !

Will be traveling with my wife and 7 year old twins (son & daughter)

We are going to start with 5 days in New Orleans before we board the ship.

the places we will visit are:

New Orleans

Cozumel, Mexico

Costa Maya, Mexico

Harvest Cay , Belize

Cartagena , Columbia

Panama Canal

Puntarenas, (Puerto Caldera) , Costa Rica

Corinto, Nicaragua

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

Acapulco

Cabo San Lucas

Los Angeles

Seattle

Wow, that's quite a trip. Looks like you have a lot of research ahead of you. I would start with the Ports of Call section. There is a ton of information for all those places. Here is the link for you:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

Just a bit more info about us:

We are the adventurous type , that like to do and see as much as possible each day we are at port, (we can relax on sea days).

The twins are looking forward to snorkeling for their first time on the trip, they are good swimmers now.

We love hiking, biking, walking, Snorkeling, trying local transportation, local foods etc.

At places it is feasible, we enjoy renting a car and just doing our own tour, activities and sightseeing.

LIke Cole said, check out the Ports of Call forums. You'll find a treasure of info that will ensure your family will have a great time.

I'm not an expert by any stretch but I have a couple suggestions for eating in New Orleans. There is a restaurant in the French Quarter and the corner of St. Ann & Royal called Pere Antoine. EXCELLENT! They have a cajun/creole type menu. The "Mushrooms Tchoupitoulas" appetizer is awesome! I've sent several people there who have all let me know they loved the place. If you like barbecue there's a place called "The Joint" at Royal & Mazant. Also very excellent! It's in a regular neighborhood so you would want to take a cab there - the wait for a ride back might be a little long because you're away from the tourists. But the food makes up for it. EXCELLENT RIBS!!! Emeril's Delmonico restaurant has a fantastic dry aged ribeye. They also have an odd appetizer called "Panchetta Wrapped Dates" - very, very good. (It was too odd sounding so I had to try it - I've had it several times since.)

On the Pearl I would highly suggest getting a pair of spa passes for you and your wife. That is a great place for at-sea days when you could have your twins occupied with a kid's activity. The spa is excellent!

Enjoy!

5 days in NOLA - that sounds divine! We personally loved Mulate's (corner of Julia St. and Convention Blvd.) as a restarurant - DH and I ate there twice during our visit to the lovely city. Certainly what you would call a "tourist" restaurant, but the food was good/great, it's a very laid-back atmosphere, and there's a live band that plays music (old guys on instruments - fun stuff and very kid-friendly). With 7-year olds, definitely ride the streetcars, and the zoo, aquarium, and city park are all good options. Haven't been yet, but the WWII museum is always highly recommended even for kids.

Can't help with the ports, but I would advise looking at the ports and seeing what's available at each, then deciding on what you want to do. I actually made a chart of my must-dos and was able to determine what to do at each port based on what they had available/what I wanted to do. (Ok, I'm a nerd, but it WORKED.)

The Pearl is a wonderful ship.

All the way to the front of the ship on Deck 11 is a room that allows you to look into the Bridge.

All the way forward on Deck 13 is Spinnaker Lounge. Windows across the front of the ship.

I'm not an expert by any stretch but I have a couple suggestions for eating in New Orleans. There is a restaurant in the French Quarter and the corner of St. Ann & Royal called Pere Antoine. EXCELLENT! They have a cajun/creole type menu. The "Mushrooms Tchoupitoulas" appetizer is awesome! I've sent several people there who have all let me know they loved the place. If you like barbecue there's a place called "The Joint" at Royal & Mazant. Also very excellent! It's in a regular neighborhood so you would want to take a cab there - the wait for a ride back might be a little long because you're away from the tourists. But the food makes up for it. EXCELLENT RIBS!!! Emeril's Delmonico restaurant has a fantastic dry aged ribeye. They also have an odd appetizer called "Panchetta Wrapped Dates" - very, very good. (It was too odd sounding so I had to try it - I've had it several times since.)

 

On the Pearl I would highly suggest getting a pair of spa passes for you and your wife. That is a great place for at-sea days when you could have your twins occupied with a kid's activity. The spa is excellent!

 

Enjoy!

Thanks !

I love trying cool local restaurants and even food trucks and street foods etc.

Was thinking of perhaps renting a car for part of the stay in NOLA and driving to the swamp and plantation area(s) as a day trip or two.

Also starting to make a list of all the things I want to see in the city , as there is so much to do it seems.

HI, we are going on the longest cruise we have done so far: 21 days on the Pearl (starting April 8 )

 

I would love your tips on the PEARL and for the places we will visit !

 

Will be traveling with my wife and 7 year old twins (son & daughter)

 

We are going to start with 5 days in New Orleans before we board the ship.

 

the places we will visit are:

 

New Orleans

Cozumel, Mexico

Costa Maya, Mexico

Harvest Cay , Belize

Cartagena , Columbia

Panama Canal

Puntarenas, (Puerto Caldera) , Costa Rica

Corinto, Nicaragua

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

Acapulco

Cabo San Lucas

Los Angeles

Seattle

Our Panama Canal itinerary was not exactly the same as yours but we did have several of the same ports as you will. Below is a link to my review which also has a lot of photos and information as to what we chose to do in each port (we were on the Sun).

In Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala we went to the city of Antigua, probably our favorite excursion of the entire cruise. A beautiful place with well preserved architecture and some ruins of colonial churches. And the ride out there and back is through beautiful countryside.

Also loved Puntarenas, Costa Rica. We went to the Pura Vida Botanical Gardens as our excursion. An amazing day viewing beautiful gardens and tropical foliage with a sweeping view at the gardens and also saw toucans, monkeys and crocodiles in the wild on this day.

And Cabo San Lucas is also a great place.

And your cruise will be ending in my home town, beautiful Seattle! I still live nearby.

And of course the day spent going through the Panama Canal itself is unforgettable! An amazing experience! Enjoy your cruise.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2420223

Thanks !

 

 

 

I love trying cool local restaurants and even food trucks and street foods etc.

 

 

 

Was thinking of perhaps renting a car for part of the stay in NOLA and driving to the swamp and plantation area(s) as a day trip or two.

 

 

 

Also starting to make a list of all the things I want to see in the city , as there is so much to do it seems.

A car rental isn’t necessary for plantation or swamp tours. They can be booked with hotel pick up or a meeting place in the French Quarter.

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thanks for the info

we will also be on this trip & staying on for the 7 day Alaskan trip

The first vacation we did after our twins were born was the Alaska Cruise , the twins were 1.5 years old at the time , and by the second day it seemed like most of the passengers new their names as they would give out lots of high 5's to everyone . (plus they are very outgoing & the only young twins (or kids) , on the whole ship LOL)

This will be our twins 4th cruise : (I wish I had been this lucky as a kid LOL)

1) Alaska

2) Vancouver to Hawaii to California

3) 2 week Atlantic Canada and New England

4) this one from NOLA - to Seattle

I did not do my first cruise till I was in my 30's , and they will have done 4 cruises and only 7 years old now.

thanks for the info

 

we will also be on this trip & staying on for the 7 day Alaskan trip

Great !

Will be nice to meet you on the ship , and you can perhaps give me some advice about visiting your country , as I have always wanted to take a month long trip down under .

We live in New Orleans and i offer a lot of opinionated suggestions about where to eat and things to do. Please by all means walk around in the French Quarter, but get out and see other areas of the city as well.

Among the things not to be missed are the National WW II Museum and a ride on the street cars—especially the St Charles Line. Stop along the way and do a self-guided walking tour, one of which is here, http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/self-guided-garden-district, passing by Archie Manning’s home, Anne Rice’s former home, Lafayette Cemetery. Have lunch at Commander’s Palace, the flagship of the Brennan family restaurants, where Paul Prudhomme, Emeril Lagasse, and Frank Brigtsen, among others got their starts. Martinis are only 25cents each here during weekday lunch and be sure and have the bread pudding soufflé for dessert.

As far as choosing other restaurants, I have three local web sites that I recommend. The first is the most comprehensive and is run by a local food critic who has been in business around 40 years: http://www.nomenu.com. Restaurants are listed alphabetically, by area of the city, and by cuisine. Recommendations tend to lean towards old-school New Orleans, but you can’t go wrong with any place rated 3 stars or higher.

http://Www.nola.eater.com, tends to be more trendy and reports on what’s hot at the time. My daughters’ generation tend to use this pretty heavily. Finally, the local newspapers are good sources for restaurant references. Brett Anderson, who is the restaurant critic for the Times-Picayune compiles an annual Top 10 list. And while all such lists always omit favorites, this is a very solid ten: http://www.nola.com/dining-guide/index.ssf/2017/11/best_restaurants_new_orleans_2.html.

My favorite restaurants and/or quintessential dishes would include:

Brigtsen’s, Clancy’s or Upperline: Great examples of neighborhood Creole Bistros. Among the best in the city.

Commanders Palace: mentioned above and in top 10

Parkway Bakery —Go here for a roast beef or fried shrimp poor boy

Liuzzas By the Track—bbq shrimp Poor boy and gumbo

Katie’s. A casual neighborhood fave

In the warehouse District: Peche or Cochon. James Beard winners and unique.

In the French Quarter:

If you want fine dining one night One of these 100-year old institutions (jacket required for dinner): Antoine’s, Arnaud’s or Galatoire’s

Bayona, K-Paul’s or Nola for casual upscale dining, esp at lunch

Acme Oyster House (oyster poboy or bbq oysters), Johnny’s Poboys, or Gumbo Shop. I also like Coops Place (a dive, but the only place in the entire city where I’ll actually order jambalaya).

Among some of the earlier recommendations:

I’m sorry but I would never recommend Mulates. It’s a Tourist Trap for conventioneers and cruise ship patrons. Think Bubba Gumps with a Cajun Band. You will Never, Ever, at no time find a local recommending the place.

The Joint is great, solid bbq, but New Orleans isn’t really known as a bbq city (though this is one of the places that started the trend to change that).

Pere Antoine: never heard of it and it’s not among the hundreds of restaurants that Tom Fitzmorris has ever reviewed, so I’d tend to leery myself. There are a lot of places in the quarter that strictly cater to the tourists. I suspect this may be one of this, but looking at some of the pictures in Yelp, it looks worth a try at lunch if you’re close by. Otherwise, there are many other solid places to visit

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NolaFrank , Thank You !

Some great info ! I will check out some of the places for sure on my trip !

Does anyone know of a place in New Orleans that is like a restaurant I went to in Vegas and a few other cities , called - Hot n Juicy ?

Hot N Juicy , is a cajun seafood-in-a-bag joint, with an amazing sauce marinade within the bag , the bag also can have things like sausage, corn, potatoes etc

https://www.yelp.com/biz/hot-n-juicy-crawfish-new-york-3

See link above for the type of food I am talking about if you do not know .

One of the best lunches of my life was at this place .....

Antoine's for lunch is one of the best deals in New Orleans. Monday - Saturday, 3 courses (3 choices in each category) for $20.18. Drink of the day 25 cents. Dress code for lunch is more casual. No flip flops or chaco/teva type sandals and no tank tops. We've worn shorts and tennis shoes with no problem.

Also for a funky New Orleans vibe - Port of Call has some of the best burgers in town.