Recent Port of New Orleans/NCL boarding experiences?

[pettygirl]

A few years ago (and in these boards!), NOLA cruise terminal experiences seem like a nightmare: no signage, no staff knowledge, long lines and bottlenecks, confused pax, and just... general mayhem.  Not the way to start a cruise, amiright?

 

Does anyone has any recent (Oct 2023 - January 2024) experiences with Port arrival, security, embarkation/debark?  What should we know prior to boarding and post-cruise departure? We are heading out of NCL terminal next month late Feb 2024, after Mardi Gras.  Most of the CC boards talk about self-parking and lot issues, but we're not local and are planning on using cab/Uber/Lyft. Double bonus awesome points if you have Haven line/lounge knowledge, portside?

 

Thanks!!

(x-posted to Departures forum)

[PelicanBill]

Hmm this was a good question.  Goosing this to see if we get any answers.  I was on the Breakway reposition cruise from New York to New Orleans. The largest ship to that time that had docked there. Disembarkation was a nightmare! The Port road was clogged by overlapping arrivals and departures.  Taxis and shuttles could not get in to take people away.  Long lines of departing  passengers overlapped arriving passengers who weren't being allowed to go through security yet.  Crazy.

 

I am taking a cruise here in November on Getaway. Going to be interesting to see if they've cleaned it up.  They could help by warning arriving people to stick to their times and not to drop luggage and then park... park and take luggage on your shuttle. 

 

It doesn't help that Google and Apple maps have wrong data. Apple shows both cruise terminals on the other side of the bridge.  Google suggests you can drive south on Port of NO Blvd.  You have to enter from Henderson heading north on a port day otherwise you cannot pull over to drop or pick up.  And the garages are not even there - they are on Poydras and other streets.