Let me start by assuring anyone considering a cruise on the Conquest that you will not be disappointed. Our party consisted of myself,husband and another couple, we are all 50-54yrs.

We flew in from Michigan 2 days before and stayed at the Sheraton on Canal. We arrived in NO on Friday morning and took a limo to the hotel (limo was only a few dollars more than a taxi) it worked well for four people and all our luggage. The Sheraton is a very nice hotel, there is a streetcar stop right in front of the hotel that you can take to the french market. Also there are a few party stores that you can purchase pop etc. to take onboard nearby. (we took two six packs of pop in our carryon bags on the ship, not a problem at all). We had some rum from home in our checked bags and that made it all right too. The hotel also is located three blocks from Harrah's casino, and about 3 blocks from Bourbon Street. It really is a convenient location. We checked out to see if we could walk to the pier the day of embarkation, but it is not worth the hassle, just take a taxi it is $7.00.

DAY OF EMBARKATION: We checked out of the hotel at 11am and took a taxi to the port, we waited in traffic about 40 minutes and once we got to the terminal we checked in and only waited in the infamous yellow chairs for about 45 minutes, then on to the ship. We had lunch on Lido deck and then by 2:00 you could get into your room. I would not recommend going to the port before Noon because there is a traffic flow problem at the terminal. Read more