We embarked from here and spent 3 days pre-cruise. We were in New Orleans for the French Quarter Festival which was a fantastic opportunity to enjoy the food and music of New Orleans.
The embarkation experience was great and the location on the River Front cannot be beat.
We did not take a shore excursion. We have been to this port a couple of other times and nothing caught our fancy. However, the cruise port is fun. You dock, so access is easy. The port has a free pool with swim-up bar and a variety of shops in a village setting. We enjoyed the dancing and musical entertainment. It makes for a fun and free day (unless you indulge in the shops.)
We took a private tour of the island by taxi and enjoyed the scenery. We ended our day at Palm Beach, renting a couple of beach chairs and swimming in the beautiful Caribbean waters.
We did a private walk around Willemstad. It is a visually spectacular town, easy to get around and perfect for a photographer. The colors and the architecture are magnificent. We were in port on a Sunday, so many shops were closed but the Floating Market was open early. The heat was tiring, so we returned to the ship fairly early and enjoyed the views from our balcony instead.
Due to number of ships in port we were required to tender into Hamilton, which was long and not very efficient. We hired a private driver for a tour of the island and enjoyed the scenery. We would like to return on another cruise.
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