This was our second Carnival Cruise and our 4th cruise overall. I have used this board extensively over the past few months and it was very helpful. I am writing this review in hopes that it may help someone else pick the perfect vacation.

We are a group of 5, my husband and I in our late 30's and our three kids, 14 (girl), 12 (girl) and 8 (boy.) We are from Arizona so we began our vacation on Saturday by flying from PHX to New Orleans. I should start by saying how ridiculous NO is as a port city due to its complete lack of regard for tourists. I could not believe the cab fares (65$ from Airport to Hotel and $35 from Hotel to Port) the cab to the port was really ridiculous considering that the meter read $3.50 and it took no more than 5 minutes, but everything there is a flat rate. Only our last driver was pleasant but otherwise, know exactly where you are going to ensure fairness of quotes. If you are watching your budget, just be aware of these charges.

We stayed in the Renaissance Arts hotel downtown and it was beautiful, the art work was amazing and I could have slept in that comfortable bed for days! We started our Sunday morning with breakfast downtown at Mother's. It was excellent, southern food. We then caught the trolly and rode it round trip to get a quick view of the highlights. Have correct change, as there is no change given. We then quickly made our way back to hotel and by now it was noon. We checked out an hopped in a cab for the short ride to the pier. Read more