Just booked first NCL cruise for Thanksgiving week 2017 out of New Orleans

[jenboyd29]

My family and I just booked our first ever cruise :D

 

We are set to sail out of New Orleans, Nov 19th 2017 and visit Cozumel, Roatan, Harvest Caye and Costa Maya

 

I've been lurking on these boards for sometime now and my whole family (there are 9 of us) decided our next family vacation would be a cruise during Thanksgiving!!

 

None of us have ever cruised. There are 5 in my family (Me, my husband and our 3 kids 13,10,8), my In-laws and my sister-in-law/her husband.

 

I've researched the ship (which now I know is getting refurbished) and have researched the ports. I cannot decide what we are going to do in Costa Maya. Any ideas??

 

So far this is my plan:

 

Cozumel- Dolphinarius

Roatan- Little French Key :) (I'm most excited about this one)

Harvest Caye- possibly river tubing

Costa Maya- ???

[rjm11]

Great! Which ship are you on? spend time researching on these boards- it will help with your cruise.

 

In Costa Maya, we really like Maya Chan- it's an all inclusive beach club that caters to cruise ship passengers- you can search the name and get the details, but we've always had a great day there. It includes transportation from the cruise dock, food and drinks. Lovely beach. And they limit the number of people who are there, so it's not too crowded. They give each family their own palapa area.

 

Also check out the Costa Maya page under ports of call on here- lots of info on what to do.

have fun planning~

[BirdTravels]

My family and I just booked our first ever cruise :D

 

We are set to sail out of New Orleans, Nov 19th 2017 and visit Cozumel, Roatan, Harvest Caye and Costa Maya

 

I've been lurking on these boards for sometime now and my whole family (there are 9 of us) decided our next family vacation would be a cruise during Thanksgiving!!

 

None of us have ever cruised. There are 5 in my family (Me, my husband and our 3 kids 13,10,8), my In-laws and my sister-in-law/her husband.

 

I've researched the ship (which now I know is getting refurbished) and have researched the ports. I cannot decide what we are going to do in Costa Maya. Any ideas??

 

So far this is my plan:

 

Cozumel- Dolphinarius

Roatan- Little French Key :) (I'm most excited about this one)

Harvest Caye- possibly river tubing

Costa Maya- ???

 

Congratulations! And welcome to CC.

 

I hope you plan to spend a day or two in New Orleans before your cruise. The port is just outside the French Quarter.

 

We sailed out of NO last year. Sailing down the river is fascinating.

[TheDougOut]

We sailed out of NO last year. Sailing down the river is fascinating.

 

Do tell! I'm sailing out the Mississippi for the first time on the Dawn 11/27. What are the sights - and how far out from sailaway? I'm clueless as to the timeline - it looks like a short jaunt out.

[jenboyd29]

Most definitely!! We are driving down from Nashville Friday afternoon to spend time in New Orleans. Any suggestions on where to stay?

 

 

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[jenboyd29]

We will be sailing on the Pearl

 

 

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[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

My family and I just booked our first ever cruise :D

 

We are set to sail out of New Orleans, Nov 19th 2017 and visit Cozumel, Roatan, Harvest Caye and Costa Maya

 

I've been lurking on these boards for sometime now and my whole family (there are 9 of us) decided our next family vacation would be a cruise during Thanksgiving!!

 

None of us have ever cruised. There are 5 in my family (Me, my husband and our 3 kids 13,10,8), my In-laws and my sister-in-law/her husband.

 

I've researched the ship (which now I know is getting refurbished) and have researched the ports. I cannot decide what we are going to do in Costa Maya. Any ideas??

 

So far this is my plan:

 

Cozumel- Dolphinarius

Roatan- Little French Key :) (I'm most excited about this one)

Harvest Caye- possibly river tubing

Costa Maya- ???

 

Just be warned cruising is addictive! :D

We are driving down from Nashville & are booked on this cruise too. New Orleans is a great port to cruise from.

Juli

[lovebears]

Yes it is Juli💖💖💖yes to addictive and yes to a great port

 

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[NHL Philly Fan]

My family and I just booked our first ever cruise :D

 

We are set to sail out of New Orleans, Nov 19th 2017 and visit Cozumel, Roatan, Harvest Caye and Costa Maya

 

I've been lurking on these boards for sometime now and my whole family (there are 9 of us) decided our next family vacation would be a cruise during Thanksgiving!!

 

None of us have ever cruised. There are 5 in my family (Me, my husband and our 3 kids 13,10,8), my In-laws and my sister-in-law/her husband.

 

I've researched the ship (which now I know is getting refurbished) and have researched the ports. I cannot decide what we are going to do in Costa Maya. Any ideas??

 

So far this is my plan:

 

Cozumel- Dolphinarius

Roatan- Little French Key :) (I'm most excited about this one)

Harvest Caye- possibly river tubing

Costa Maya- ???

 

 

1) You will love NCL.

2) NOLA rocks!

3) No need to do an excursion in Costa Maya (unless you really want to) there is a great pool with a swim up bar right there as you get into the port.

4) If you extra time in NOLA make a point to go to the Gumbo Pot and have the Pepper Jelly Oysters!

5) Be prepared to be hooked on cruising and perpetually either be on a cruise or planning your next one.

[GORDONCHICK]

Do tell! I'm sailing out the Mississippi for the first time on the Dawn 11/27. What are the sights - and how far out from sailaway? I'm clueless as to the timeline - it looks like a short jaunt out.

 

It's just really cool. You can stay outside and watch as you pass the lazy little towns. When it's dark, you see the cluster of lights of towns. There are some sharp turns, one being shortly after leaving the pier. The ship doesn't hit the gulf until near midnight, and if you're up and paying very close attention, you can actually feel it when the ship hits the gulf water because it's different water. It's a cool sail away.

[Isla's Mom]

Do tell! I'm sailing out the Mississippi for the first time on the Dawn 11/27. What are the sights - and how far out from sailaway? I'm clueless as to the timeline - it looks like a short jaunt out.

 

 

As you sail down the Mississippi toward the Gulf, you will have a beautiful view of the French Quarter & Jackson Square. After you pass the French Quarter you will see an area of the city called Faubourg Marigny. Soon you will pass the Battle of New Orleans site with an old plantation home on the river. It takes several hours to reach the Gulf... I have never been able to stay awake long enough to witness it. On the way back up the river, I love to wake up early enough to see the sail in... It's beautiful to see the city in the early morning! Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

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[jenboyd29]

Oh wow...I can't wait to see New Orleans and sail away down the river. What a fun adventure!!

 

Any recommendations on where to spend the night in New Orleans near everything? We want to take a haunted ghost tour that Saturday night around town.

 

I've wanted to cruise for a long time but we wanted to wait until our kids were a little older. They are at the perfect age now and feel comfortable with them on the ship and playing in the kids area without us in there with them. They are super excited about all of it :)

 

Happy Planning everyone!

 

 

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[jpcdds6]

Check out Maya Chan beach resort in Costa Maya.

[haply]

This will be our second Thanksgiving sailing out of NO (currently the Dawn) with our kids and we love it! We like the medium-sized ship of the Dawn and Pearl. The Dawn has a great dinosaur pool/slides area in the back, and really hoping that they will put back in the pool slide for the Pearl during their refurbishment. Our kids really enjoyed the kids club also!

As far as Costa Maya, we chose to do our own beach day vs. Maya Chan. The Costa Maya port area is nice, with a large pool, but very touristy. It is really easy to take a $ 3 trolley (at the very end of the port area/exit) into town (About a 5-minute trolley ride. Not an option to walk as it is a busy high-way, etc.). There are many beach clubs along the beach walk-way in town. They will set you up with shaded tables/chairs, food/drinks, and beach activities. Some of the popular beach places include Blue Kay, Tropicante, Krazy Lobster, Pez Quedro (many reviews here and on trip advisor). We have not booked in advance, as we were the only ship in port both years. Maya Chan seemed nice, but we wanted the flexibility to "come and go" for our larger group (Maya Chan is a bit of a drive, but good service from what I hear).

New Orleans is a great city. Also a lot to do for kids such as the Aquarium of the Americas and Insectarium right downtown, Children's Museum, Audubon zoo, and City Park amusement park.

[oregonian123]

Do tell! I'm sailing out the Mississippi for the first time on the Dawn 11/27. What are the sights - and how far out from sailaway? I'm clueless as to the timeline - it looks like a short jaunt out.

 

Hi, I have a document from a thread in 2015. It has a description of the sights in detail, including the times it takes the ship to get there. Unfortunately, it was dark when we left NO due to loading of lots and lots and lots of new carpet.:mad:

I don't know if I am attaching this document correctly. If not, I will copy and paste it all in here.

 

River trip.docx