Hotels during Jazz Fest

[minerva78]

I found a cruise for next April on the Dream out of New Orleans but when I searched for some possible hotels, almost all of them were already sold out! When I searched a bit more, I found out it was the first weekend of Jazz Fest. I know nothing about sailing out of New Orleans, as all of my research has been on cruises on the east coast, and now this complicates everything. While DH and I would love to check out Jazz Fest before this cruise, we'll have our young children with us, so I don't think we'd be able to do much.

 

If we do decide to book this cruise, would it make more sense to find a hotel outside of New Orleans? We would be driving in from I-10 I believe, and I found a Hampton Inn in Slidell - wouldn't we have to pass through this area to get to New Orleans anyhow? I would prefer a park and cruise, as we've done these on all of our other cruises, but there don't seem to be many options for this weekend. A lot of hotels seem to have blocked off rooms for Jazz Fest, and I found some availability when I used a special code when booking - however I don't think I'd want to prepay for a hotel this early! Any hotel advice? Would it be complete madness to try to sail out of New Orleans during Jazz Fest?

[thescot123]

Yes, you would pass near Slidell to get to N.O. I drive down from Alabama and always stay at Slidell. The hotel which I like is the Best Western Plus on Taos Street. It usually costs between $80 to $100 per night.

 

It is a 30 mile drive from Slidell to the cruise port which is easy to find. I find that N.O hotel prices are way too high and a issue when you have a car.

 

It is not too crazy to go out on Jazz Fest. We did it on April 14th this year. We sailed on NCL and decided to leave the car with http://machupicchutours.com/cruise-ship-parking/ . He offers to park your car in sheltered parking for $14 per day. They drop and pick yuo up at the terminal. His place is a few blocks down from the port near the new Walmart just off Jackson Ave. I liked his service so much so that I am using them again for my Oct cruise. NCL shares their parking with RCL in a open lot called the Whale Lot which charges $16 per day.

 

We didn't see much traffic as NCL leaves on a Sunday. Did see the Jazz Fest from the cruise ship as it was pulling away.

[World Gallery]

It is not crazy to do. We are local and have sailed many times Mardi Gras week because local kids have that week off. I would say that Mardi Gras week brings much more craziness and traffic to the city but it has never been an issue getting to the port.

Slidell is considered the Northshore of the New Orleans area and is a good choice for hotel stays. Another Northshore area to check out for cheaper hotels is the Covington/Mandeville area that located off of 1-12 and only about 40 to 45 minutes to the port. http://www.louisiananorthshore.com/ These areas are the suburbs of New Orleans. You can probably find newer (some very new) hotels for much less and even find some interesting attractions worth checking out. With kids, it may be worth looking into Global Wildlife.