We drove to New Orleans from Ohio; took about 12 hours. Not a horrible drive. Stayed in New Orleans for a couple of days. Glad to have the experience, but found NOL to be the least friendly vacation location we have ever traveled too. Great for older kids or young folks, all venues are 21 and older. Prefer Nashville.
Getting to the pier was chaotic. NOL please fix this. There is single lane traffic for 4K folks trying to get there. Parking was good. Much prefer the Miami pier... setup similar to an airport terminal and easy in/out.
Embarkation - Not bad. Got there about 10:30am. Line through security, line to get key cards, on the boat by 11:30am. Can't complain about that.
Loved our cabin, highly recommend