This is my 3rd Western Caribbean cruise. I've done other 7 night cruises with RCCL & Carnival. There were 9 adults in my group.
Getting to the port: I've visited NOLA many, many times so getting to the port isn't much of a problem for me. We skated into the Julia St. terminal bright & early in the morning (8:30 am), dropped off our bags, parked in the Whale lot and headed for the French Quarter. The streetcar picks up right by the parking lot so it was really easy. We stopped at Cafe du Monde and then spent some time shopping in the French Market.
Embarkation: Slick as a whistle. We arrived back at the port at prime boarding time. The lines were long but they moved very fast and we were on the ship within 30-45 minutes.