Do not sail from New Orleans, the parking is horrible and the town is dirty and do not sail out of there the week of the 4th of July....Carnival is a great cruise just not from there and this is the second time I sail from there.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
Disorganized
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Very minimal
Entertainment
1 out of 5
Choreography was horrible, the dance group were all out of step. The female singer Christina was amazing, the others were just passable. To say the least it was below the normal standards for Carnival and all the guests were remarking how they had expected more.
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
My grand children were in the program, it needs better supervision and more involvement for the children
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Most were amazing and very helpful. Our room steward left a load to be desired, he acted like he was always tired and when we got there asked if we wanted morning or night clean. Well I am handicapped and had an ECV, so I needed the help with some picking up in the bathroom. It was the 2 nights before we got off that I went to the front desk for something else, that I was told that I could have both. So he came in that evening however the last day he came to the door and told us he would not be in because we were getting off the next morning. Bar staff was very scares on the lido pool deck area....we had to always chase them down and the clean up on the lido was horrible, always dirty
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Ship just supposedly came from dry dock, and it was rusted on the balcony, heavy dust in corners of rooms, common area was okay, public bathrooms seemed to always have a man cleaning in them on the lido deck every time I went in. The pool area is dangerous for handicapped people like me with all the standing water.
Cabin / Stateroom
2 out of 5
Needs real cleaning!!!! Dust in all corners and a build up of dirt, balcony was dirty and rusty
Ship tip
Do not take this ship out of New Orleans, too crowded to enjoy....
We were there during the Essence annual festival, town is too crowded, and advice from local NOPD sheriff was to be out of New Orleans downtown area no later than 4pm or it is guaranteed that one of us would be stabbed, shot or beaten. The travel for 2 miles into port took 2 hours due to major heavy traffic both cars and foot traffic. The parking attendants were like zombies with no personality. The curb attendants were great!!!
We got roped into a horrible city bus tour (because of accessible need) for $140 for 2 that took us no where and then when asked for lunch he stopped a this place where he eats and recommends. He ordered the local dish for us and a coke. I could not eat it because it was too hot, but that was me, everyone else was good. Then she brought a bill for $105 and I asked is this in Jamaican dollars she said NO it is US......(CAN YOU SAY ROBBERY) I will tell everyone not to take a bus tour from the port!!!!
The city was so far away and all there was to do was the little shopping area provided to us, without going into Cozumel, it is not handicapped accessible either!!!
Wheelchair was NEVER delivered and I got tired of waiting, I did not get to eat breakfast, I was agitated to say the least. It topped off my trip in making it the worst!!!!
I love New Orleans... first time sailing out of that port was in May 2017. It was a fantastic experience loved sailing down the mighty Mississippi River. I would sail out of that port again. I've also taken a vacation there absolutely a wonderful city.
I cruise from New Orleans regularly. Never experienced anything like op. Port of New Orleans is very easy to navigate with plenty of parking. Now if they could only get rid of the douche bag mayor but that's another story ð¬
As for the city, it's not my "cup of tea" but we love sailing from there. Sailing down the river is a fun experience to us. It's like getting a two for the price of one cruise. Going again in Oct. counting down the days.
I have sailed out of NOLA twice. They have always been very efficient. New Orleans isn't for everyone but after one cruise my sister and I stayed on the French quarter a couple nights. We had a ball! Sure it's not the cleanest and is a little pricy but it was a fun experience
@Arnette Based on my experience if you get the earliest check in time the traffic isn't as bad. If not you can find a lot that offers shuttle service back to the port.
not anyway arround that. limited ways in and out of port. if parking off the port is an option, check out Fulton parking garage on convention center Blvd
I have sailed out of New Orleans twice and will be sailing from there this November. I have had no problem and everything went smoothly. The only port that we have had problems at was Jacksonville(Carnival) and the Miami port when we sailed with Royal Caribbean.
Oh my god what is going on your on vacation ðmy hubby and I have just had our 18 th cruise and never had a bad on yet tried all different ships and different ports to leave from and not a problem !!! We have 86 days until we leave Australia ð¦ðº to our next adventure with more cruises booked !! It seems like u focus on the small negative things !!! Chill ur on vacation cruisings for you or not !!! Try flying although some of the airports are a nightmare especially holiday time ð¥
now you sound like a true new orleanian. I wear summer clothes some days, but I put my tennis and socks with a jacket and sweater in my car for night time. ð
cruiser184 blah blah..you complained about EVERY port you visited. you complained about visiting new orleans during essence festival weekend....of course it was crowded with 150,000 plus visitors that same weekend it definitely will be crowded and dirty.... but you do have other choices of cities to sail from. Galveston, Bama, Port Canaveral, Miami, Jville. try one of those, maybe those will tickle your fancy. ð
sorry you feel that way. We sailed out of New Orleans and our experience was extremely smooth. We had the earliest possible check in time (11 or 12); our check in and boarding process was no more than an hour.
Sorry you had a bad experience. It's all perspective, I guess. I loved NOLA. Went on Halloween when it was especially crazy. I've never really been to a port that wasn't chaos on embarkation day. But we go expecting a bit of frustration going through the process, knowing that very soon we'll be on board and about to have a week of fun. Cruising down the Mississippi is an amazing experience. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
I feel the same way about Galveston. Lol But I will say the port of NOLA was chaos outside waiting to check in. It was fine once we got to the security line. We flew so we didn't have to worry about parking but I've heard it's bad and expensive. We have to drive in October due to a bunch of Halloween activities, Saints game, festivals etc driving up the cost of the flight, but we're still gonna park at the airport and take the shuttle to avoid the madness. We like the crowd of passengers, the vibe and the less strict Cheers/liquor laws in NOLA much better than Galveston. But our all time favorite port to sail out of is Miami. Beautiful water, and AMAZING, diverse group of fellow passengers! Can't recommend it enough.
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