Anyone do the Mardi Gras cruise last year?

[mafig]

Have any of you done the Mardi Gras cruise last year (or the year before)?

 

Just have a few questions.

- First, did you enjoy it.?

-Did Celebrity provide you with Mardi Gras info. (maps of the city, parade routes, etc.) or should I research elsewhere?

- Did you dress up??  I was just going to get a fancy mask.  DH loves hats, so we might go to a local party store for one.

- We've been to NOLA before, and missed the WWII museum, so I really want to go there, but I understand it'll be very crowded.  Did anyone do that last year?

 

I went to the Review section for last year's cruise and there wasn't much info. there.

 

 

 

[micheleg]

Hiya...yes, we did the Mardi Gras cruise last year and loved it.  Unfortunately it was very cold and rainy in NOLA when we arrived, so that put a little bit of a damper on things.  You will need to do all of your own research on what you want to do.  I do not remember Celebrity providing much if anything on the NOLA Mardi Gras goings on.  We did all of our own planning, had streetcar tickets as there is a station right at the Julia Street pier, and also had Parade tix for Tuesday, and hop-on hop-off bus tickets for Monday.  We brought masks and beads, but we just decorated our suite, and never wore the masks, however others did.  Everyone was wearing beads after the first day in NOLA.   We opened our balcony doors as we were all the way aft, and could hear music from the streets, and was treated to a great fireworks show on Monday night as well.  We did not do the museum, but just remember, that everything except for some bars and restaurants will be closed on Tuesday (that's why we did the parade on Tuesday - which was fabulous).  So plan on getting what you want to see and do done on Sunday night and Monday.  Also, make sure you have patience.  There were very long lines for all of the popular attractions and restaurants.  There were cabs available to go out from the pier if you wanted, finding one to get back was more of a challenge, especially when there were parades going on.  We wished we had one or two more days, but we had a blast.  New Orleans is a very special city.  Have fun, and remember to put your cash and wallets out of sight and out of your pockets.

[akcruz]

We too were on the Mardi Gras cruise last year and agree with the prior poster, do your own research.  A couple things to add

 

We did go to the WW2 museum on Monday morning and highly recommend it. It was not that crowded when we went.  Go to the Tom Hanks movie.

 

For the parades on Tuesday we got grand stand seats on our own thru http://mardigrasparadetickets.com/.  We were in Lafayette Square B and were right across from the mayor so all big floats/acts stopped right in front of us.  We had so many beads and other items it was amazing.

 

I found a parade tracker app that had all the routes and showed where the first float was so you could plan where to be when.  It was a local tv or radio station that had it.  Some locals we met had never seen it and downloaded as we were there.  Have since deleted it so don't have the exact name.

 

We had a blast, but do bring layers and rain gear just in case.  We needed all we brought.  

 

Enjoy!

 

[awhfy]

Thanks for this topic. We’re doing the 2020 MardiGras cruise with some good friends, I’m taking copious notes!

[trivia addict]

Can’t answer your questions, but our friends did it and they loved it!

i do know that they said it was very crowded, but they did manage to get a street side seat for one of the parades.

[mafig]

We've been to NOLA before but missed the World War II Museum.  I'm glad it wasn't too crowded.  We'll go early on Monday (knowing it's closed on Tuesday).

We want to get to Acme Oyster House.  DH still talks about those oysters six years later.  There'll be a line, I'm sure.  Also Café du Monde.....a line there too.

We're not big parade people.  Can we just take in the parades from the street for a while and then move along?

 

Normally, we'd try to lunch (and 25 cent martinis) at Commander's Palace, but it's just going to be too hard to get there and back with traffic.  

We're going to Biloxi next week and were going to just drive the 90 additional miles to NOLA, but then we thought,  Why not take a cruise.

 

 

Also, I'm looking forward to cruising up the Mighty Mississippi in daylight.  Did you find it interesting.  Were you on Port or Starboard side?  Which is better, you think?

 

Thanks for your help, everyone!!!

Edited December 29, 2018 by mafig

[mafig]

Oops, another question  I have so many.

 

Restaurants aren't closed on Fat Tuesday, are they?

[akcruz]

We unfortunately had a very overcast day entering the Mississippi.

 

It did clear up from time to time but not a whole lot to see.  Since it took all day we went from spot to spot so it really doesn't matter whether you are port or starboard.  We did dock on the starboard side.

 

As for parades you can just walk up but depending on which one you may be a ways back.  First pic is from Sunday night, we just stumbled on this one and had front row standing spots.

 

The second pic is from about 8 am on Tuesday on our way to the grand stand.  We heard people are out very early to secure their spots.

 

As for restaurants Tuesday most were closed until afternoon when all the parades were over.  

 

 

[Baron Barracuda]

We were on the inaugural Mardi Gras cruise two years back.  X promoted it as a big theme cruise (with prices to match) but once on board they treated it as an ordinary Caribbean sailing that just happened to call at NOLA.  Very little in the way of Mardi Gras inspired food, decorations or entertainment.  Fortunately we had a very active cc contingent almost 1,000 strong who partied non-stop for 10 days.  Thanks to some great leadership we organized our own onboard activities including a parade and did private excursions in every port.  Thanks to our cc friends it was a truly memorable sailing.

 

As far as NOLA went, the trip up river was very long, and for us a bit boring.  The Julia St. dock is very well situated, within walking distance of the parades, French Quarter and WWII museum.  Being from NYC we've been to some big parades, but were still impressed with the show NOLA puts on.  We saw 5 parades, each of which had it's own individual feel.  Found crowd along the parade route to be mostly families, very friendly and welcoming.  For Monday night we booked Lafayette Park grandstand seats online and felt at $30 they were a great value, close to the action and uncrowded.   Folks who booked the $150 excursion through X were very disappointed.  Their seats were right near ours and their buses returned early causing them to miss part of parade. I spent a morning at the excellent WWII museum while dw went on a voodoo cemetary tour.  After waiting over an hour on line for beignets at Cafe Du Monde discovered I preferred those that friends purchased at less famous bakeries.

[mafig]

Isn't there another Café du Monde in that little mall near the cruise docks?

[daytona]

1 hour ago, mafig said:

Isn't there another Café du Monde in that little mall near the cruise docks?

Yep at the Riverwalk Mall next to where the ship SHOULD dock. Kind of sterile though compared to the original location.

 

Dave

[dadroy]

Have been to NOLA twice on cruise ships for Mardi Gras.  A couple of things you need to think about.

 

1.  Take extra steps for pick pockets.  It gets very crowded in the French Quarter and it will be a lot of jostling with people.  If someone grabs a purse or something, they are lost in the crowd immediatly.  Same precautions with any jewelry.

 

2.  Restrooms are hard to find and seldom free.  Many port a potties for a charge, but the later in the weekend the fuller they get.  Don’t stand downwind.  In most bars, you use your drink receipt for one use of the bathroom.  My friend had a bladder the size of a walnut, so he had difficulties.

 

3.  Parades run pretty much all day on Monday and Tuesday.  You can have trouble trying to find a way to cross the streets to get where you want to be.  

 

4.  Some of the riders get tired of throwing single strands of beads to the crowd and throw plastic bags with like 20 strands.  They hurt when they hit you in the head.  😀

[mafig]

My goodness Dadroy, that sounds dreadful.  However, you've gone twice so it can't be that bad.

Thanks for the tips.

[daytona]

 

Concerning dadroys posts

1. French Quarter isn’t always that crowded earlier in the day. Just be sensible like any other crowded event I.E. Times Square for New Year’s eve. 

2.  Restrooms were a bit difficult but we really had no problems the last two year on the Celebrity cruise. There is an app with some of the restrooms for the event I can post on this years Roll Call thread which I think you have posted in. It helped a little the past two years. No problems IMO with the porta potty’s the past two years in Lafayette Square. No waits, and fairly clean.

3. Parades run all day Tuesday. Monday will be only in the evening after 5 pm. A bit of an hassle to walk a block or four to cross sometimes but no sweat IMO.

4. Yes they some times throw whole bags of beads. Keep your head on a swivel. Only happened twice at an mid point in the parade route for us. Thinking it may happen more near the end of the route.

Dont forget to post on the Roll Call. It has been really slow compared to the past two years.

 

Dave

Edited December 30, 2018 by daytona

[mafig]

31 minutes ago, daytona said:

 

 

Dont forget to post on the Roll Call. It has been really slow compared to the past two years.

 

Dave

 

I will post on the roll call.  I tend to be chatty.

I just booked like 15 minutes ago.  I was putting this off for months, but it worked out pretty well since the cruise is now $800 less in my category from when I first started looking.  The only bad thing is we have less time to lose weight.

[daytona]

We booked regular veranda shortly after  it came out. Moved up twice after final payment to Aqua Class.

 

Dave

[daisy-mae]

We were on the cruise last year and found it quite enjoyable; it was an ideal way for us to experience Mardi Gras without too much of the hassle associated with transportation and accommodation. Although the weather was overcast, the trip up the Mississippi was fascinating and a nice change from the wide expanse of the Caribbean.

 

Celebrity offered nothing by way of specific shore information, but there was a tourist info desk just inside the adjacent Riverwalk Mall that was manned for a few hours the first morning, where we could pick up brochures and the like. Most of our info was obtained online prior to embarcation. There was also a Catholic priest onboard who celebrated an Ash Wednesday service (along with the regular Sunday mass). He was an elderly gentleman from Boston (if memory serves) who asked for volunteers to pass the collection plate (actually plastic bags) to help with his expenses (apparently the cruise fare is provided but any extras are the clergy's responsibility). That was a bit of an eye-opener for me...

 

The cruise port location is ideal for parade viewing and visiting the French Quarter; my only suggestion would be to visit some of the sites like museums and cemeteries on Monday rather than wait for Mardi Gras Tuesday as some attractions are closed and public transportation is disrupted.

Edited December 30, 2018 by daisy-mae
grammar

[mafig]

thank you, daisy-mae.

[mafig]

Did anyone do the Oak Alley Plantation tour?

[Orator]

Was on the cruise the previous year and it was GREAT! Tip: Under no circumstances book the parade tickets from Celebrity. I made that mistake the first night and wrote a letter to Celebrity about paying $150 for a $30 ticket. Received a partial refund. The second day a just stood with the locals and had a wonderful time and it was free.

[Canuker]

Thanks to all who have already posted on this thread, and to all who come after.
Wife & I are going in March 2019 and you have already given us lots to digest!
This is Cruise Critic at its best.

Many thanks.

 

[micheleg]

The trip up the Mississippi was glorious.  We enjoyed it so much except when it really got too rainy and cold.  We sat on our balcony and just watched everything go by all day.  We were all the way aft, so we could see both sides, the best view onboard by far.  It was so different then just watching the waves go by and being far out at sea, and that's what made it so nice.  You won't be able to see anything when you sail out of NOLA, so taking the time to soak in the river sights on Sunday is the day to do it!  Don't miss the parades, you have to catch at least one.  Zulu and Rex was a hoot and we were right up front.  The locals that we were sitting with in the Grandstands couldn't have been nicer, especially when one of my neighbors reached out and caught a bag of beads headed directly for my face.  We came back to the ship with a ton of beads and other trinkets that were thrown from the floats.  Bathrooms were a challenge, the wait at Cafe Du Monde was over two hours (no, we did not wait), we did however stand out in the freezing wind for almost an hour to get into Mothers.  The food was just too good and we ate so much that we cancelled the reservations that we had at Emril's for Monday night.   You will have a blast...just do your homework and have a plan!

[wildtky101]

We are going in 2020 on Celebrity!

[BrendaJ]

We went on the 2017 cruise and had a great time!   I don't recall Celebrity providing any information, but I looked up information on-line before we went.   We went to Bourbon Street during the day (early morning) and were surprised it was all cleaned up from the night before.

 

We didn't make any special plans to watch the parades.   We just left the ship in the evening after dinner, walked a couple of blocks and there they were.   The streets were lined with local families and friendly people.   I don't recall seeing anyone get out of hand and we really had a lovely time.   I also used a parade tracker app so that we could see how long we would have to wait before the parade came by.   I'm not really into parades that much, so a couple of hours was loads for us.   We got tons of beads and trinkets and it was fun trying to catch them.  I expect Bourbon Street at night is a whole other experience, but we were happy with watching the parades from farther down the street where there are lots of places to catch a glimpse of the floats without dealing with out-of-control crowds.

 

Be aware that many places, even some restaurants, close for Fat Tuesday.  Lucky cruise passengers at least do not have to worry about starving.    I was a little nervous about being in what I expected to be a town full of drunks and pickpockets, but we had no problems at all and I would do that cruise again any time. 

Edited January 7, 2019 by BrendaJ

[Ann from SC]

Thanks for all this info!