Uneventful drive to NOLA from MN. Stayed at the Prytania Park in the Garden District both before and after the cruise. Very friendly staff with good recommendations. Our first night we were upgraded to another of their hotels due to overbooking. It was very nice! The two nights after the cruise we had a room with 2 double beds (one in a loft). We would stay there again especially for the price and location. They also allow you to park there free during the cruise.

Embarkation was pretty smooth. We arrived about 11:30am. One of our group dropped us off, returned the car to the hotel and took a taxi back to the port. We went through security and checked in. Very short lines. Since we had sailed with NCL before we were able to be in one of the first groups to board. We were on board with in an hour of our arrival! We could go to our room right away and drop off our stuff. Then went up to the buffet for lunch. Buffets aren't our thing but it was ok. Some dishes were tastier than the buffets on Royal Caribbean. We only ate there for breakfast and the one lunch. We did like the omelette station. I really hated the "Wakey, wakey" guy. Way too early in the morning for that!

We took a couple hours and explored the ship. Much smaller than the Royal ships we are used to. Several areas seemed awkward, having to go around a long way to get where you wanted to go. Pool area seemed small. Read more