My wife and I have been on six cruises on four cruise lines. RCL; Holland America; Carnival and Celebrity. On this cruise we left from New Orleans. We had not cruised from there since before Katrina and were impressed with the port. There are several hotels from which you can easily walk to the port with your luggage (if there is one suitcase and one carry on each). We stayed at the Drury Inn for two nights prior to the cruise and one night after. We enjoyed the hotel. There is a good breakfast each morning - I like the biscuits and gravy with sausage patties. There is also an evening meal - hot-dogs the night we tried it. The evening meal, while great for families who want to save some money, is poor fare compared to the many great restaurants within walking distance.

The day of departure we did take a taxi to the port ($7.00 each) because of weather conditions. Our cruise did not start boarding until 1:00p because it need to be sanitized due to a gastrointestinal problem on the cruise prior to ours. This meant everyone wanted to get on at the same time which resulted in long lines, about 1 1/2 hours for us. This though is unusual and while inconvenient was understandable.

We were in a junior suite, which isn't really a suite at all in the conventional sense. It was a very spacious room with a walk in closet and a nice balcony. The balcony was shielded from the wind for the most part while underway which was very nice. It also seemed more private than some we have seen. Our steward provided us with excellent service, always straightening the room in the short time we went to breakfast. I highly recommend this stateroom if cruising on this ship. Read more