First I want to state that this was our first cruise and we were slightly nervous going into it with all the "negative" reviews about this ship and itinerary. I also held a special agenda which was to propose to my girlfriend of 10 years and as she would say, "finally get married!"

With two weeks to go from the embarkation of our cruise, we contacted our personal cruise consultant to arrange for what NCL calls a 'transfer', which is essentially prearranged transportation from the airport to the pier (and vice versa on our return). We were originally going to take a cab, however upon researching the area neighbouring the pier the day of our embarkation we discovered that there was a huge jazz music festival taking place causing road closures, massive traffic jams etc... Our PCC was absolutely no aid whatsoever telling us, somewhat rudely, that it was too late and we should have researched this much more thoroughly before the cruise (We planned this whole shindig in less than a month as we decided it was vacation time the beginning of June!!!) I was slightly upset that NCL didn't seem to care for the "last minute vacation bookers" even when we paid top dollar for the fare rather than the reduced fare most cruisers got when they pre-book months in advance. However our PCC did tell us to look for the NCL staff at the baggage claim area and arrange transportation with him (stiff fee) provided they still had room on their vehicle. Since they had a huge coach bus, they were more than happy to oblige in providing us with passage. The short trip from the airport to the pier (20-25 minutes) was a pleasant surprise as our driver was very informative and provided an excellent running narrative as we traveled through New Orleans.

We got jitters when we first spotted the cruise ship which seemed so colossal next to the pier terminal. Since we were sailing the weekend of July 4th, the ship was pointed East on the Mississippi River to allow us safe sailing away from the barges setting up the firework displays. We got off the coach bus and met the first porter who asked that we ensure that our luggage made it safely off the coach. Once this was done, we were directed to the terminal for processing to get aboard! Since our flight was delayed so long, it wasn't a surprise to see such a lengthy line of people checking in, however we moved pretty quickly and efficiently. The check in process simply involved us showing our booking info, giving them the method of payment (we chose to use my Platinum AMEX) but you can use cash, traveler's checks, or debit cards in lieu of using a credit card if preferred. Just make sure you have enough money in your debit account to account for whatever amount NCL will "hold". Since I have notifications each and every time my AMEX is used sent to my blackberry, I was surprised to get a notification of a "hold" on my cc for $300 (I later discovered upon the return to New Orleans and the subsequent of turning my phone back on, that NCL had made several "holds" in $300 increments as our onboard charges got higher). Since I didn't really care for what NCL decided to "hold" and since I was officially on vacation and since we were already planning a bar tab 3-4 times that amount between the two of us during the duration of the cruise, it was a moot point to worry about. They will also take your picture with a webcam and assign that image to your keycard which from the moment you step aboard acts as your identification, charge card for any additional purchases, and your room key. The picture is NOT displayed on the card, but rather within their internal system so each and every time you go on/off the ship for shore days they can "swipe" you in and off the ship. They have computer stations set up to display your image for identification purposes, as well as stations the servers use around the ship at bars/clubs to verify the image to the person ordering drinks/specially meals/gift shop purchases onto the card. Read more