DragonOfTheSeas goes LIVE to Mardi Gras on the Equinox 2.20.17

[cruise47]

To the OP and others Please Party Liked It Is 1997.

[lovinit2012]

Is the Casino closed the entire time that you are in New Orleans?

[DZalumni]

Is the Casino closed the entire time that you are in New Orleans?

 

 

Yes, Casio's are only open when in International Water. If you want to Gamble Harrah's is just a few blocks from the pier.

[DZalumni]

Dragon -- have they told you exactly where/when you're docking? Back when we were still booked on this cruise, I heard everything from:

-- Docking permanently at the new (unfinished) Poland Ave. cruise terminal (according to X's published itinerary);

-- Docking temporarily at Poland Ave, only to clear customs -- then moving to the Julia St. terminal;

-- Waiting until the Julia St. terminal was vacant, and docking there directly.

 

Needless to say, it was very confusing. And, it's not like Heritage Wharf and Kings' Wharf in Bermuda -- which are just steps from each other. Just the thought of having to figure out how to get to the festivities from the unfinished Poland Ave pier created some angst, on the roll call! :eek:

 

 

Hope that you guys have a great time in NOLA! :cool:

 

 

I though that the two different terminals are just down the street from each other. One at one end of the convention center, one at the other, unless I'm missing something.

 

 

http://www.portno.com/maps-directions

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I though that the two different terminals are just down the street from each other. One at one end of the convention center, one at the other, unless I'm missing something.

 

 

http://www.portno.com/maps-directions

 

 

No--the Poland street terminal is before you ever get to the French Quarter. The Julia Street is ~1/2 mile after.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

A little more about last night.

 

Here's a picture of a guy with a snake. I turned around one time and he was right beside me. Sorry the picture is not the best. But, I was not holding the camera very steady. LOL

 

 

Hereare 2 pics of our “haul” last night. 21 strands of beads, 6 beer cups, 6 coins, 2 stuffed animals, 3 blinking Baccus strands, a ball, and a blinking ring.

Here is a close up of the unusual things.

[hcat]

Thecraziness begins!

 

The parade started at 1pm from the Gastropub. There were lots of elaborate costumes. An organizer had made a banner and we wound our way through the ship. We went around decks 4 and 5 and then climbed to the pool decks on 12 and 14. There was lots of kazoo playing blinking lights. Several men along the way showed us their chest—but, they did not get any beads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Really looks like fun..Hope our friends on board are joining in the festivities..Love your pics..esp the sunrise!

[Stella777]

Wow!! Dragon of the Seas! Thanks for sharing your pictures and narrative of NOLA and Mardi Gras. I feel like I am experiencing this cruise along with you all in Spirit. Don't know if I will ever get to Mardi Gras but I will certain remember what you shared here in case I do get the opportunity to go one day....

[travelberlin]

Thanks for your review. We are taken the Equinox cruise for the Jazz Festival in NOLA at the end of april so your information is useful to us also.

[ClaudiaB]

Now try and get a coconut at the Zulu parade. That's the prize! You ought to get tons more beads today and tomorrow.

 

I'm enjoying reading this an hour away in peaceful Baton Rouge, knowing full well what's happening down in the big easy. We no longer go, been there, done that, for decades.

I do look forward to hearing how the cruise passengers enjoy the time here. Hope y'all have a good visit and plan to return to really see the city when it's not so crazy and everything is more normal. Well normal for New Orleans, ha ha.

Happy Mardi Gras! Well I guess today technically Happy Lundy Gras.

[hcat]

Now try and get a coconut at the Zulu parade. That's the prize! You ought to get tons more beads today and tomorrow.

 

I'm enjoying reading this an hour away in peaceful Baton Rouge, knowing full well what's happening down in the big easy. We no longer go, been there, done that, for decades.

I do look forward to hearing how the cruise passengers enjoy the time here. Hope y'all have a good visit and plan to return to really see the city when it's not so crazy and everything is more normal. Well normal for New Orleans, ha ha.

Happy Mardi Gras! Well I guess today technically Happy Lundy Gras.

 

 

That was our thought..We enjoyed NOLA on a non Mardi Gras visit. We were able to enjoy the top restaurants, paddle wheeler dinner cruise, old cemetery, trolley to Garden Dist..historic bldgs etc.. The excitement of being there for Mardi Gras itself was missing but the spirit was there just the same! And now we are getting a first hand live report.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Now try and get a coconut at the Zulu parade. That's the prize! You ought to get tons more beads today and tomorrow.

 

I'm enjoying reading this an hour away in peaceful Baton Rouge, knowing full well what's happening down in the big easy. We no longer go, been there, done that, for decades.

 

I do look forward to hearing how the cruise passengers enjoy the time here. Hope y'all have a good visit and plan to return to really see the city when it's not so crazy and everything is more normal. Well normal for New Orleans, ha ha.

Happy Mardi Gras! Well I guess today technically Happy Lundy Gras.

 

That was our thought..We enjoyed NOLA on a non Mardi Gras visit. We were able to enjoy the top restaurants, paddle wheeler dinner cruise, old cemetery, trolley to Garden Dist..historic bldgs etc.. The excitement of being there for Mardi Gras itself was missing but the spirit was there just the same! And now we are getting a first hand live report.

 

 

We have been to NOLA a number of times. DS went to Tulane for Law school. Some visits we very quick--but, we usually went to the Garden district or uptown for those. We were here once for Jazz Fest and I agree that is a good time. Everything is very festive, but not as much craziness. . . . but we knew that was what we would have.

 

Once we were her on a fall weekend when Auburn was playing LSU in football. Talk about a lively time. The Auburn fans rolled in with tiger tails hanging out of the trunks of the car. The dueling pianos at Pat O'Briens was terrific.

 

edit: I forgot to mention it really helps that we know where we are going. Some on the ship do not feel comfortable going out at night. When we got off after CBP last night we saw hundreds of people lined up to get back on the ship.

 

Celebrity distributed maps

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Today is Lundi Gras [Fat Monday]—the Monday before Mardi Gras. There are lots of celebrations today. The big celebration is held in the Spanish plaza on the river near the Riverwalk shopping area [outlet mall]. I though the prices of things I saw in acouple of stores were very good. I told DH I was going to go to Chico’s on my own in the AM.:D

 

Directly across from the exit from the terminal is an elevator that takes you up a level to the River walk. This is the shortest and easiest way to get to the French Quarter, Canal Street and/or Harrah’s Casino.It is a longish walk through the mall, but it is air conditioned, flat [except one escalator/elevator] and there is no way to get lost.

 

Here is the Lundi Gras festival on the Spanish Plaza. We first got there when it first opened. There were not too many people around. By our walk back to the ship t was packed.

There were some UNIQUE outfits there. Look at these women. I am not sure who thought that was a good look. I took a pic from the back because it did not want to poke fun at them if they can be recognized.

 

Tonight there will be two parades put on by the Krewes of Proteus and Orpheus. We bought grandstand access as part of a group for our roll call. All 200 tickets sold out in a very shorttime. I will take lots of pictures!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Here are a few more random shots from our walk. The Street car was running on Canal Street this morning.

 

 

One area we like to visit is this park.

 

 

Inside the park

 

 

There was a guy on Bourbon Street that had a Trump mask. He looked pretty realistic. People were paying him to take pictures with them. [Note the pose] I am not trying to make a political comment here. . . . but, he was getting lots of attention.

 

[Pier290]

How is the ship? Food, service, cabin?

 

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[Bedstemor]

How is the ship? Food, service, cabin?

 

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We are on this cruise with a concierge class. Booked it three years ago because it was such a good deal. Also got deck12 which is nice on a sold out cruise. Only previous experience with this class was our Alaska cruise, on that cruise our steward was our concierge ( made all our reservations, checked in with us often) very different experience this time. Don't see our steward much on this cruise and the ship has a main concierge. We also have gotten spoiled with royal Caribbeans concierges! We think the food is surprisingly good. Frustrating that they have a very good kendle-Jackson reserve Pinot noir printed on their dining room menu and they "ran out of it" after day 4 on an 11 night?!? Luckily know which bars still have it! We picked 5 night specialty restaurant package which is really too many for us since we lucked out and got awesome dining room service. (Celebrity select). Bar service is iffy and most are 2-3 deep at peak hours.we haven't really settled into one, which is unusual for us. Slipped some cash to a pool server so that service has been awesome. Passport bar on three is usually quiet but we are all the way on 12 and the elevators are packed during peak hours.

 

Mardi Gras is awesome!

 

Best advice I got pre cruise is not wearing good shoes around town. We both brought shoes to throw away and very glad we did! The black sludge on bourbon street this morning was an inch thick! Imagine what it is....

 

 

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[DragonOfTheSeas]

How is the ship? Food, service, cabin?

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Forums mobile app

 

 

I tried to post a few of these pictures earlier. If you followed the link to see them I apologize for the repeat.

 

I like a lot of things about this ship. The pool loungers are all padded and while there are ample places to get sun many loungers are in the shade. Note the covering even on the deck above the pool.

 

 

These loungers are along the side of the pool. On a windy day the curtains make it warmer. But, somehow seem to create a breezy even on a still day.

 

 

There is a real library on the ship rather than a book nook like on Royal Caribbean. I found two books to read. DH did, too.

 

 

 

I think the food in the MDR is very good. We have eaten there each night except a trip to Tuscan Grille [which was great].

 

Tonight I ate in the Ocean View Cafe after watching the parade. The had many dishes that were New Orleans themed.

 

This is my concierge cabin. I mentioned earlier we booked this because of the perks they offered when we booked.

 

 

This is the balcony. You can see the foot stools that are frequently mentioned whenever anyone talks about the advantages of this class of cabin. I like to put my feet up, but I could make it without them.

 

 

This is the bathroom.

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

How is the ship? Food, service, cabin?

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Forums mobile app

 

 

Continued--

 

I like that the casino is non-smoking.

 

Service as a whole is excellent. Our cabin steward is almost invisible. Yet, our cabin is always done. :)

 

Our MDR waiter is better now. Bar service can be iffy. It is not that they do not want to serve you, rather it is the number of people that have drink packages. The waiters are all busy serving drinks.

 

We get a voice mail message from the concierge everyday [i think it is a broadcast message] However, we have not seen her in the flesh.

 

Staff is very friendly and want to help. They were just as excited as the passengers to be here during Mardi Gras.

 

I have not gone to the gym. So, I can not comment on that.

 

The Solarium has a small buffet with healthy food during breakfast and lunch. . . . I have not tried that either. It looked good. Do you see a theme here? ;)

[TourDeCruise]

The Solarium has a small buffet with healthy food during breakfast and lunch. . . . I have not tried that either. It looked good. Do you see a theme here? ;)

 

 

Your Live review is so enjoyable. I don't know where you are finding the time to post though. We do appreciate it.

 

Did you know that the fruit smoothies in the Aqua Spa Cafe/Solarium are included with your drink package? The yogurt parfaits cost extra, however.

 

BTW, Equinox has a fantastic gym about comparable with the Jewel of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas' gyms and like the gyms on the other Solstice-class ships.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Your Live review is so enjoyable. I don't know where you are finding the time to post though. We do appreciate it.

 

Did you know that the fruit smoothies in the Aqua Spa Cafe/Solarium are included with your drink package? .

 

 

Thank you--I am enjoying it. I will have to try one of the smoothies.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

 

Did you know that the fruit smoothies in the Aqua Spa Cafe/Solarium are included with your drink package? The yogurt parfaits cost extra, however. .

 

Here are a couple of pictures of the breakfast at the cafe. I guess I will see if Cruise Critic will work while they are doing maintenance.

 

 

 

Here is a close up of the yogurt sundaes:

 

You can see it is just a small corner in the back of the Solarium [nearest the Spa].

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Maybe they have not started the scheduled maintenance on the site, yet. I better load a few more pics while I still can.

 

These will all be views of the Solarium.

 

 

It is always quiet and peaceful in there. They pipe in instrumental music i.e. flute solo, etc.

 

 

I had to include this picture. As you can see there is not one lounge hog in the crowd. That is a big difference from Royal Caribbean where almost all of these would be reserved already. LOL

 

[$ail$-Away]

We are enjoying your comments & pictures so much.....

We are booked on this cruise for 2018.....

How are the crowds for people over 65+...that is one of

our main concerns.....we are very able-bodied but don't

want to get into an area that is not safe!!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Moving on to another location--The Sunset Bar on deck 15 at the aft of the ship:

 

 

 

 

This bar is out of the way and is seldom crowded. It was packed at sailaway with our Cruise Critic roll call.

 

It is one level up from the buffet and there are stairs that connect it with the outdoor seating there.

 

[i took these in the early morning that is why there are no passengers there. ]:)

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We are enjoying your comments & pictures so much.....

We are booked on this cruise for 2018.....

How are the crowds for people over 65+...that is one of

our main concerns.....we are very able-bodied but don't

want to get into an area that is not safe!!

 

 

I have not found the streets make me nervous. On the way to and from the parades there are always people going. When DH and I came back from the French Quarter the first night we stuck to Canal Street until we got to Convention Blvd. Then followed that [a main street] to Julia Street. Last night we followed Julia street all the way back from the parade. It was fine.