New Orleans now Port of Embarkation for Three Lines!

Norwegian, Carnival and Royal Caribbean are all now home-ported in New
Orleans. Princess will return next year, and the Crescent City couldn't

be happier. New terminals are under constuction, as New Orleans looks
to become a major player in the cruise industry.

Many people book a few days before and/or after their cruise to explore

the many amenities that New Orleans offers. The Port of New Orleans
even has a great website with a live webcam that shows when the ships
are docked. (www.portno.com)


For information on pre-cruise weddings, please visit my website;
www.RomanceinNewOrleans.com

Norwegian, Carnival and Royal Caribbean are all now home-ported in New
Orleans. Princess will return next year, and the Crescent City couldn't


Princess returning to New Orleans is good news. Crystal coming to New
Orleans would be great news. I would like to visit NOLA and take a
cruise on an upscale line. The lines I would like to cruise on in order
of preference a

1. Crystal
2. Celebrity
3. Holland America
4. Princess

"RevDon" wrote in message
ups.com...
the many amenities that New Orleans offers. The Port of New Orleans
even has a great website with a live webcam that shows when the ships
are docked. (www.portno.com)

One problem with NOLA is the long, slow river transit. In the summer it
might be interesting but during winter it's just so many lights along the
river. No other Gulf port has so long a transit.

--
Donald R. Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

Thus spake "Donald Newcomb" :

"RevDon" wrote in message
oups.com...
the many amenities that New Orleans offers. The Port of New Orleans
even has a great website with a live webcam that shows when the ships
are docked. (www.portno.com)

One problem with NOLA is the long, slow river transit. In the summer it
might be interesting but during winter it's just so many lights along the
river. No other Gulf port has so long a transit.

But Houston tries hard.
--
dillon

When I was a kid, I used to think the horse's name was Bob

Having taken a few "discount" cruises from Southern ports not previously
featured in the 40-year boom history of cruising, I am willing to admit the
value for money paid was fair even if the ships are not state-of-the-art,
etc. An alert cruise shopper would understand that - it took me a little
while to see the reality.

So I am not eager to criticize the cruise lines or the port cities for what
they are doing - everyone in the transaction should view this positively.

That said, I will suggest the the New Orleans Airport is not a place you
might choose for a long layover/connection. Maybe no airport is. But this
one - not for any reason related to recent hurricane or other tragedy - is
simply the pits. Food is lousy - I mean really lousy - and terribly pricey.
Service is grim. General atmosphere is like a Federal waiting room for
parole checkups. I don't recall any windows. Lavatories are functional -
that's all.

I have learned that package "deals" for cruises by brokers and tour
operators (air plus cruise fare) often includes air routings that are
lousy - which is no surprise considering "bucket" pricing they pass along.
This meant for us - on every such trip - a connection thru fairly odd cities
(Detroit, Memphis,etc) which seems hardly straight line from Origin City to
Port City. This can mean unrealistic connection times (too short or much too
long - we had both), missed connections, lost luggage, and general hell from
the U.S. airlines who seem to strive to sully the experience of vacation
travel whenever possible.

I hate sitting in airports - but at ORD or MSP. for example, the "world is
your oyster" if you have cash, credit cards, and patience (or Valium.)

Meanwhile, New Orleans and other city port managers seem serious about
increasing the cruise volume and pleasing the lines and the passengers. I
hope someday the lines will pick up the slack and run "serious" ships of the
newer generation - without seeking only "discount" bargain hunters - like
me.

As to the airlines, possibly shareholders will shake the trees enough to
bring around some business thinkers who understand the futility of an
industry totally dedicated to low cost/low price - which has been taught
since 1840 as a "commodity industry" that ultimately never returns any value
to investors - let alone the poor employees or customers who would do
themselves good by abandonning air travel except for medical emergency or
need to test endurance.

Former TA in MN

Having taken a few "discount" cruises from Southern ports not previously
featured in the 40-year boom history of cruising, I am willing to admit the
value for money paid was fair even if the ships are not state-of-the-art,
etc. An alert cruise shopper would understand that - it took me a little
while to see the reality.

Are you saying that the cruise product that Carnival sells out of New
Orleans is not as good as the sailing's from Miami?

I was considering sailing on the Fantasy out of New Orleans. I have never
cruised on Carnival. I thought I might like to try a fun ship instead of
the boring old fart ships I always cruise on. On the Fantasy, I can get a
suite for what I pay for an outside cabin on Celebrity. I know the Fantasy
is not a new ship. I don't mind that if the food, service, and activities
are comparable to the newer Carnival ships

What can I expect from the Fantasy as compared to one of the new Carnival
ships? What will my fellow passengers be like?

My general take on this topic is this: the age of the ship, the price
charged compared to newer ships from different embarkation ports, and the
ports visited are your best clue to judge the quality of the ship. Within
one line you will not find great differences from one ship to another
overall but if you look closely at some aspects,
it will be evident that lower priced fares mean some parts of the cruise are
less likely to be glamorous or perfect - compared to the fancy,new, and more
expensive
trips. It's probably fair to say that you get what you pay for. Nobody's
playing tricks. But the "new" embarking ports which cruise lines are using
bring local (non-air) and regional "drive-up"pax to the ships and seem to
lead with lower prices to break into the market where previously vacations
like this were not so common. The ports themselves are usually not as handy
about passenger boarding as Miami is - but it works OK. (That said,
Vancouver is a long time passenger port and is simply a disaster.)

My take on Carnival is that the nature of their on-board days differ
considerably from other lines and the age mix and "party" atmosphere will be
different - although Carnival is not the only line that has a "pulse"
compared to geriatric ships. You should be able to tell a lot by the
advertising and a smart informed travel agent - each line tends to have a
personality and oddly, some ships within a line feel unique as well. Do not
ignore Princess or Celebrity - they have some very good
trips with plenty of action at sea. NCL is bucket shop these days in my book
and RCI too variable to feel safe - they are still hunting for their exact
identity and
they're chasing full loads, not high return rates in my view.

My experience is that Carnival food and entertainment is now considered by
most pax as very good - a major improvement in 20 years. I would expect the
New Orleans trip will be at least good or better - probably not exactly
equal to the newer ships ex Miami. The age of the ship can be a real
determinant - if rehab is overdue (as is the case with some RCI ships) then
you may feel the experience was a little dusty and shabby. It's worth
checking out the ship vital info - and looking into reviews posted at
various sites to see what comments pop up. "Old" in cruise world is getting
to be only a few years - ship size and details within have been changed in
generational ways each year or so from one line to another - if you cruised
before 1990 and also last year, you'd be in two different worlds - and that
can also seem the case on a ship only 7-8 years old. It is not by accident
the lines run the older ships from the newer "inland" ports.

The ports visited also play a role in the age and nature of the passenger
mix. Alaska? :Old farts. Spain or Venice?: you guess? It won't be fraternity
brothers on a binge! To me Cozumel and similar "tourist" traps attract the
young crazies. Barbados and the Grenadines are more likely the sedate
evening wear crowd who dose off at 9 PM. Generally, the further south in the
islands the ship runs, the more likely you are not loaded to the portholes
with party crowd. And even though I've only experienced 5 Carnival trips, I
never felt the ships exhibited a zest and charming gaiety of the Carnival
ads with that dopey woman screeching "Fun, Fun, Fun!" That tag line was to
stir up interest in the days when most Americans thought only the Duke and
Duchess of Windsor were on ships. Most ships I've seen have a mixture of
sedate sleepwalkers combined with almost insane crazies who never sleep.
Sometimes the bars are empty - sometimes you can't get in. Sometimes the
cruise director is an utter pain in the ass (majority of the time in my
book) and sometimes they are really on the ball, working the team and crowd
to a good pulse without being phony and overbearing.

For the money, I would check out reviews and "expert" advise - I don't think
the port of embarkation is the only factor but if you're looking for pretty
strong service, on board quality, variety and entertainment, and a lively
crowd I would not start with Houston or New Orleans port ships - or even NYC
for that matter. I think a key is to be on ships with previous cruisers who
understand what they want to do - first time cruisers, especially
conservative vacationers who would not previous drop $300 to fly to Miami,
are not the folks I would count of for fun,fun,fun.

Good luck.


"Odysseus" wrote in message
m...


Having taken a few "discount" cruises from Southern ports not previously
featured in the 40-year boom history of cruising, I am willing to admit
the
value for money paid was fair even if the ships are not state-of-the-art,
etc. An alert cruise shopper would understand that - it took me a little
while to see the reality.

Are you saying that the cruise product that Carnival sells out of New
Orleans is not as good as the sailing's from Miami?

I was considering sailing on the Fantasy out of New Orleans. I have never
cruised on Carnival. I thought I might like to try a fun ship instead of
the boring old fart ships I always cruise on. On the Fantasy, I can get a
suite for what I pay for an outside cabin on Celebrity. I know the
Fantasy
is not a new ship. I don't mind that if the food, service, and activities
are comparable to the newer Carnival ships

What can I expect from the Fantasy as compared to one of the new Carnival
ships? What will my fellow passengers be like?

Thank you for the information. It is about what I expected. I have
traveled a great deal. In 2006 I achieved my goal of setting foot on
all seven continents. My experience has always been that you get what
you pay for. My cruise on the Crystal Symphony was much better than my
cruise on the Epirotiki Lines Jason; my tour with Tauck was better than
my tour with Trafalagar.

Reluctantly, I will sail on the Fantasy. The only reason I will do
this is that I don't want to fly and New Orleans is easy for me to get
to. My expectations for the cruise are so low that I have a good chance
of being pleasantly surprised.

My tentative itinerary is
Amtrak to New Orleans in a Superliner bedroom
Two nights pre-cruise at the Monteleone
Five nights on the Fantasy in a penthouse suite
One night post-cruise at the Montelone

Even if the cruise and Amtrak are bad my time in New Orleans should make
up for it.
--Acme Oyster House, Bayona, Commander's Palace, Cafe Du Monde
--I'm salivating just thinking about it.

In article , says...


My general take on this topic is this: the age of the ship, the price
charged compared to newer ships from different embarkation ports, and the
ports visited are your best clue to judge the quality of the ship. Within
one line you will not find great differences from one ship to another
overall but if you look closely at some aspects,
it will be evident that lower priced fares mean some parts of the cruise are
less likely to be glamorous or perfect - compared to the fancy,new, and more
expensive
trips. It's probably fair to say that you get what you pay for. Nobody's
playing tricks. But the "new" embarking ports which cruise lines are using
bring local (non-air) and regional "drive-up"pax to the ships and seem to
lead with lower prices to break into the market where previously vacations
like this were not so common. The ports themselves are usually not as handy
about passenger boarding as Miami is - but it works OK. (That said,
Vancouver is a long time passenger port and is simply a disaster.)

My take on Carnival is that the nature of their on-board days differ
considerably from other lines and the age mix and "party" atmosphere will be
different - although Carnival is not the only line that has a "pulse"
compared to geriatric ships. You should be able to tell a lot by the
advertising and a smart informed travel agent - each line tends to have a
personality and oddly, some ships within a line feel unique as well. Do not
ignore Princess or Celebrity - they have some very good
trips with plenty of action at sea. NCL is bucket shop these days in my book
and RCI too variable to feel safe - they are still hunting for their exact
identity and
they're chasing full loads, not high return rates in my view.

My experience is that Carnival food and entertainment is now considered by
most pax as very good - a major improvement in 20 years. I would expect the
New Orleans trip will be at least good or better - probably not exactly
equal to the newer ships ex Miami. The age of the ship can be a real
determinant - if rehab is overdue (as is the case with some RCI ships) then
you may feel the experience was a little dusty and shabby. It's worth
checking out the ship vital info - and looking into reviews posted at
various sites to see what comments pop up. "Old" in cruise world is getting
to be only a few years - ship size and details within have been changed in
generational ways each year or so from one line to another - if you cruised
before 1990 and also last year, you'd be in two different worlds - and that
can also seem the case on a ship only 7-8 years old. It is not by accident
the lines run the older ships from the newer "inland" ports.

The ports visited also play a role in the age and nature of the passenger
mix. Alaska? :Old farts. Spain or Venice?: you guess? It won't be fraternity
brothers on a binge! To me Cozumel and similar "tourist" traps attract the
young crazies. Barbados and the Grenadines are more likely the sedate
evening wear crowd who dose off at 9 PM. Generally, the further south in the
islands the ship runs, the more likely you are not loaded to the portholes
with party crowd. And even though I've only experienced 5 Carnival trips, I
never felt the ships exhibited a zest and charming gaiety of the Carnival
ads with that dopey woman screeching "Fun, Fun, Fun!" That tag line was to
stir up interest in the days when most Americans thought only the Duke and
Duchess of Windsor were on ships. Most ships I've seen have a mixture of
sedate sleepwalkers combined with almost insane crazies who never sleep.
Sometimes the bars are empty - sometimes you can't get in. Sometimes the
cruise director is an utter pain in the ass (majority of the time in my
book) and sometimes they are really on the ball, working the team and crowd
to a good pulse without being phony and overbearing.

For the money, I would check out reviews and "expert" advise - I don't think
the port of embarkation is the only factor but if you're looking for pretty
strong service, on board quality, variety and entertainment, and a lively
crowd I would not start with Houston or New Orleans port ships - or even NYC
for that matter. I think a key is to be on ships with previous cruisers who
understand what they want to do - first time cruisers, especially
conservative vacationers who would not previous drop $300 to fly to Miami,
are not the folks I would count of for fun,fun,fun.

Good luck.


"Odysseus" wrote in message
om...


Having taken a few "discount" cruises from Southern ports not previously
featured in the 40-year boom history of cruising, I am willing to admit
the
value for money paid was fair even if the ships are not state-of-the-art,
etc. An alert cruise shopper would understand that - it took me a little
while to see the reality.

Are you saying that the cruise product that Carnival sells out of New
Orleans is not as good as the sailing's from Miami?

I was considering sailing on the Fantasy out of New Orleans. I have never
cruised on Carnival. I thought I might like to try a fun ship instead of
the boring old fart ships I always cruise on. On the Fantasy, I can get a
suite for what I pay for an outside cabin on Celebrity. I know the
Fantasy
is not a new ship. I don't mind that if the food, service, and activities
are comparable to the newer Carnival ships

What can I expect from the Fantasy as compared to one of the new Carnival
ships? What will my fellow passengers be like?

Someone else cooks and straightens up your room...plenty of walking area and
fresh air - nice cabin. You'll do fine. And the food may surprise you.

The other aspect of Carnival which drives me nuts but excites many pax is
the decor - it is simply garish and so loud that I wonder if they are trying
to out do Las Vegas. Every new ship they boast their colors and do feature
photos - and the neon glitz and wacko themes/colors/shapes are displayed to
herald all the serious work they put into the design. They have an art guy
who is famous who does all the stuff - his work is easy to spot - like
Disney on LSD.(His name is Joe Farsi and I think he used to design
bordellos.)

Good luck.



"Odysseus" wrote in message
m...
Thank you for the information. It is about what I expected. I have
traveled a great deal. In 2006 I achieved my goal of setting foot on
all seven continents. My experience has always been that you get what
you pay for. My cruise on the Crystal Symphony was much better than my
cruise on the Epirotiki Lines Jason; my tour with Tauck was better than
my tour with Trafalagar.

Reluctantly, I will sail on the Fantasy. The only reason I will do
this is that I don't want to fly and New Orleans is easy for me to get
to. My expectations for the cruise are so low that I have a good chance
of being pleasantly surprised.

My tentative itinerary is
Amtrak to New Orleans in a Superliner bedroom
Two nights pre-cruise at the Monteleone
Five nights on the Fantasy in a penthouse suite
One night post-cruise at the Montelone

Even if the cruise and Amtrak are bad my time in New Orleans should make
up for it.
--Acme Oyster House, Bayona, Commander's Palace, Cafe Du Monde
--I'm salivating just thinking about it.

In article ,
says...


My general take on this topic is this: the age of the ship, the price
charged compared to newer ships from different embarkation ports, and the
ports visited are your best clue to judge the quality of the ship. Within
one line you will not find great differences from one ship to another
overall but if you look closely at some aspects,
it will be evident that lower priced fares mean some parts of the cruise
are
less likely to be glamorous or perfect - compared to the fancy,new, and
more
expensive
trips. It's probably fair to say that you get what you pay for. Nobody's
playing tricks. But the "new" embarking ports which cruise lines are using
bring local (non-air) and regional "drive-up"pax to the ships and seem to
lead with lower prices to break into the market where previously
vacations
like this were not so common. The ports themselves are usually not as
handy
about passenger boarding as Miami is - but it works OK. (That said,
Vancouver is a long time passenger port and is simply a disaster.)

My take on Carnival is that the nature of their on-board days differ
considerably from other lines and the age mix and "party" atmosphere will
be
different - although Carnival is not the only line that has a "pulse"
compared to geriatric ships. You should be able to tell a lot by the
advertising and a smart informed travel agent - each line tends to have a
personality and oddly, some ships within a line feel unique as well. Do
not
ignore Princess or Celebrity - they have some very good
trips with plenty of action at sea. NCL is bucket shop these days in my
book
and RCI too variable to feel safe - they are still hunting for their exact
identity and
they're chasing full loads, not high return rates in my view.

My experience is that Carnival food and entertainment is now considered by
most pax as very good - a major improvement in 20 years. I would expect
the
New Orleans trip will be at least good or better - probably not exactly
equal to the newer ships ex Miami. The age of the ship can be a real
determinant - if rehab is overdue (as is the case with some RCI ships)
then
you may feel the experience was a little dusty and shabby. It's worth
checking out the ship vital info - and looking into reviews posted at
various sites to see what comments pop up. "Old" in cruise world is
getting
to be only a few years - ship size and details within have been changed in
generational ways each year or so from one line to another - if you
cruised
before 1990 and also last year, you'd be in two different worlds - and
that
can also seem the case on a ship only 7-8 years old. It is not by accident
the lines run the older ships from the newer "inland" ports.

The ports visited also play a role in the age and nature of the passenger
mix. Alaska? :Old farts. Spain or Venice?: you guess? It won't be
fraternity
brothers on a binge! To me Cozumel and similar "tourist" traps attract the
young crazies. Barbados and the Grenadines are more likely the sedate
evening wear crowd who dose off at 9 PM. Generally, the further south in
the
islands the ship runs, the more likely you are not loaded to the portholes
with party crowd. And even though I've only experienced 5 Carnival trips,
I
never felt the ships exhibited a zest and charming gaiety of the Carnival
ads with that dopey woman screeching "Fun, Fun, Fun!" That tag line was to
stir up interest in the days when most Americans thought only the Duke and
Duchess of Windsor were on ships. Most ships I've seen have a mixture of
sedate sleepwalkers combined with almost insane crazies who never sleep.
Sometimes the bars are empty - sometimes you can't get in. Sometimes the
cruise director is an utter pain in the ass (majority of the time in my
book) and sometimes they are really on the ball, working the team and
crowd
to a good pulse without being phony and overbearing.

For the money, I would check out reviews and "expert" advise - I don't
think
the port of embarkation is the only factor but if you're looking for
pretty
strong service, on board quality, variety and entertainment, and a lively
crowd I would not start with Houston or New Orleans port ships - or even
NYC
for that matter. I think a key is to be on ships with previous cruisers
who
understand what they want to do - first time cruisers, especially
conservative vacationers who would not previous drop $300 to fly to Miami,
are not the folks I would count of for fun,fun,fun.

Good luck.


"Odysseus" wrote in message
news:saudnfKxSbk7ewfYnZ2dnUVZ_qLinZ2d@insightbb. com...


Having taken a few "discount" cruises from Southern ports not previously
featured in the 40-year boom history of cruising, I am willing to admit
the
value for money paid was fair even if the ships are not
state-of-the-art,
etc. An alert cruise shopper would understand that - it took me a little
while to see the reality.

Are you saying that the cruise product that Carnival sells out of New
Orleans is not as good as the sailing's from Miami?

I was considering sailing on the Fantasy out of New Orleans. I have
never
cruised on Carnival. I thought I might like to try a fun ship instead
of
the boring old fart ships I always cruise on. On the Fantasy, I can get
a
suite for what I pay for an outside cabin on Celebrity. I know the
Fantasy
is not a new ship. I don't mind that if the food, service, and
activities
are comparable to the newer Carnival ships

What can I expect from the Fantasy as compared to one of the new
Carnival
ships? What will my fellow passengers be like?

I took a cruise out of New Orleans pre-Katrina and I've got to admit
that my favorite port to sail out of is New Orleans. So when I read
that RCCL is going out of NO again I was excited but I did a quick
internet search and I can't find any RCCL cruises out of NO. What am
I not seeing?

On 19 Dec 2006 15:52:36 -0800, "RevDon"
wrote:

Norwegian, Carnival and Royal Caribbean are all now home-ported in New
Orleans. Princess will return next year, and the Crescent City couldn't

be happier. New terminals are under constuction, as New Orleans looks
to become a major player in the cruise industry.

Many people book a few days before and/or after their cruise to explore

the many amenities that New Orleans offers. The Port of New Orleans
even has a great website with a live webcam that shows when the ships
are docked. (www.portno.com)


For information on pre-cruise weddings, please visit my website;
www.RomanceinNewOrleans.com