cruising out of New orleans

[ale4692]

I too think it will be a wonderful ride down the Miss, so looking forward to seeing all the sites on the river and the city..It's been 46 years since I have been on the Mississippi. as for the smells if any-so what- have you smelled NYC?? or a country farm???

 

To- ale4692 can you post a link to the web page for the historical sites to see going down the Miss?

 

We are taking two newbies with us on this Crusin with the Gals trip and I think I am more excited to see their expressions when they see the ship and all the new sites to see..

 

Hope everyone has a great Monday..;)

We dodged the bullet from this storm..:)

 

Here is the link for the historical sites. I printed it to bring with me so I can reference as we go down the Mississippi :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=41184442&postcount=84

[dhdelrod]

We have always enjoyed sailing out of New Orleans. The river is a great sight to see. No smells for us.

[ale4692]

I have been living in new orleans most of my life and have known about the referenced items but not the history behind them. Great stuff.

 

Thanks goes to WLHyatt for putting it together and sharing with us!

[WLHyatt]

We sail from New Orleans for three reasons:

1. It's a cruise

2. New Orleans, stay a few days and don't be in a big hurry to get out of town.

3. Mississippi River. Much of my life has been tied to that river and I enjoy sailing down the river. Our favorite times are from Pilottown to the end of southwest pass. I wrote that write up listed above as a reference for everyone, the times will need to be adjusted for different ships, but they should be pretty close.

 

I love the extraordinary history of everyday things and places, and the more I learn the more attachment I feel to a place or thing.

[iluvcruzin]

I've cruised out of New Orleans 6 times over the years. I don't remember the smells but it's possible they existed as after all - it's a river. When it rains here the Ohio gives off a musty smell. So maybe it was the Marsh like someone above posted.

 

Embarkment / Disembarkment has varied but that happens in any port. But yes, like when RCCL came back we were on the 2nd sailing and it was disorganized. But the next time it was a breeze.

 

It is interesting going down the river but also coming back. You can see the shrimp boats at the mouth of the river all lit up at night. One thing we like to do is bring our GPS and watch the navigation of the river. There are lots of twists and turns. I don't think it takes 8 hours but more like 6 to get to the Gulf. Still, it's a while and many don't know that until they board the ship.

 

Our next cruise out of New Orleans is in December. :)

Edited March 3, 2014 by iluvcruzin

[WLHyatt]

The actual time is just a bit over 7 hours. I always laugh when I see the reports of it taking 10 or 12 hours to get down the river. I watch the AIS data pretty close and have not seen a ship take longer than 8, and the fastest was about 6 and a half. The time is pretty consistent between sailings and cruise lines. Even the Elation and Conquest times were within about 15 minutes of each other, and that's two different classes of ships that are noticeably different size.

[sun_belle]

My husband and I enjoyed sitting on our balcony sailing down the river seeing the lights, no smells. We are counting the days till our next cruise our of NOLA.

[TruckinMama]

We absolutely LOVED sailing down the river! There was a lot to see, and coming back all the lights were really cool. We can't wait to do it again in December!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[crmc]

We are new to cruising- soon we will be on our first cruise in San Juan, Puerto Rico but we are considering a future trip out of New Orleans. We assumed the port was on the Gulf and are surprised about the 8 hr cruise down the river so how far away from the airport is the cruise port and where is New Orleans in comparison to the cruise port? Just wondering how we would get to the cruise port after landing in New Orleans?

 

We stayed at the Marriot Convention Center in Jan. We walked to the French Quarter and Frenchman St (recommend Frenchman St. for great music). We also walked to the port, which was a couple of blocks. Lots of others were walking. We found the embarkation to be very smooth from this port and would sail from New Orleans again!

[CRUISE2062]

We sailed out of NO on the Conquest in January 2013. It was a great experience! It was dark for most of the trip but it was January and I expected it to be dark...but there were no refinery smells at all!

 

Also, if you happen to be by a window, on deck or your balcony when another cruise ship passes by in the opposite direction, all I can say is... WOW!:D

 

We will sail out of NO again at a time when it is daylight longer in the evening!

[mzloolue]

The CC member that wrote that is on my roll call for our May 11 cruise on the Dream. He re-posted the information for us. Here is a link to that post. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=41184442&postcount=84

 

This is a really good thing to have if you are interested in learning about what you are seeing sailing out of New Orleans.

I have referred folks to it several times.

It should be a sticky.

 

About smells.

 

The river does smell.

Sometimes it smells more than others.

It is part of the experience.

 

And sometimes Bourbon street smells.

Like on hot humid August mornings as the garbage from the last night's revels simmers in the heat.

The good thing is that they will pick up the garbage and wash down the banquettes and be ready to do it all again.

[RWolver672]

This is the only bridge you'll see.

 

It's real pretty after you go around the first bend and look back at the city with all the lights.

 

For our cruise, on the trip back to NOLA, there was a thunder storm and heavy fog. We crept up the river just barely crawling. We passed by freighters that were so close you could almost reach over and shake the hand of the guys on the freighters. It was neat that the captain kept blowing the horn.

 

To the person that ask when the casino opens, it was open after we got out of dinner at the first setting.

[maldenmusic]

Love, love the 7-8 hour trip down the Mississippi. There is a mile by mile guide somewhere here on CC that tells you what you are cruising by....old plantations, historical sites, etc. I've gone from NOLA 5 or 6 times and never noticed any kind of bad smell. A couple of times there were people on the levee south of NOLA shooting off fireworks while we passed and cheering us on and sometimes dolphins or porpoises will swim along side. Once it gets dark, the river navigation lights are kind of cool and then you start seeing the oil rigs. No bridges to go under but the ship is docked right beside the Hwy 90bridge. All in all, I enjoy this time on the river.

Edited March 4, 2014 by maldenmusic

[Granny1]

The you tube video of traveling down the miss was neat..Thank you but wished it would of been longer..Can't wait til we get to travel down the Miss.;)

[maldenmusic]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1211622

This is the guide to what you see as you go down the river

[WLHyatt]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1211622

This is the guide to what you see as you go down the river

 

This is another one. It was written to just point out things in New Orleans, but does not list anything down river from Chalmette.

 

I wrote the one I did to augment this one, and provide further background on the things you see further down river. You can find that one here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=41184442&postcount=84

[jetskier]

I was on the Sunshine 2 weeks ago and loved the new VIP lounge area. They are greatly expanding the terminal in anticipation of the Dream coming and the larger volume of passengers.

 

They need to work on the taxi drop off , pick up process. It's very confusing, porters aren't readily available and if I hadn't sailed from there before I wouldn't really have known where to go.

 

The Casino opened at 6pm and the shops shortly after that.

 

Janey,

The shops didnt open until the next morning. Also there is State/Parish sales tax charged while in port on drinks. Once the ship sails, it is reduced to just State sales tax. Once outside territorial waters, it drops off.

Dave

[jetskier]

A rare daylight exit into the Gulf of Mexico. We had a storm in the gulf which delayed the Triumph from getting into port. We did not leave New Orleans until 1am the next day instead of the 4pm departure. It allowed us to arrive at the mouth of the river while it was light outside.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

What a great picture! Thanks for sharing.

 

We sail from NO several times a year and have found that since the new terminal opened embarkation has been much smoother. But I can't say I ever found it very problematic before.

[ale4692]

A rare daylight exit into the Gulf of Mexico. We had a storm in the gulf which delayed the Triumph from getting into port. We did not leave New Orleans until 1am the next day instead of the 4pm departure. It allowed us to arrive at the mouth of the river while it was light outside.

 

Sorry to hear you were delayed; but happy it was daylight when you arrived at the mouth. Thanks for the picture. If you have anymore of the area, please post. I'd love to see them. Thanks again!

[christmas]

I personally like sailing out of New Orleans and have never smelled any bad odor. Shops are not open on embark day but the casino opens shortly after sailing.

[Mysticks1]

Here are a couple of New Orleans sail away videos that I like. The sunset one is pretty much what we saw on our cruise in 2006. The colors behind New Orleans were absolutely beautiful. The other video was taken by WLHyatt who put together the list of things you pass.

 

 

[ale4692]

Here are a couple of New Orleans sail away videos that I like.

 

Great Videos. BTW, I'm almost your neighbor! LOL ...30 mins west of mobile. :)

[Mysticks1]

Here are a couple of New Orleans sail away videos that I like.

 

Great Videos. BTW, I'm almost your neighbor! LOL ...30 mins west of mobile. :)

 

I grew up in Moss Point/Pascagoula, my mother still lives there. :)

Edited March 4, 2014 by Mysticks1

[ale4692]

I grew up in Moss Point/Pascagoula, my mother still lives there. :)

 

Small world. I'm north of there by 30 mins in Agricola. We keep our boat down there at a marina so feel like I live there in the summer! LOL