Re: Suggestions for travel to New Orleans

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

One of our favorite places to eat is the French Market Bar and Grill, followed by dessert at Cafe du Monde of course! There are some nice shops in the French market area. Another restaurant we recently discovered is Pierre Maspero's on Chartres Street. It is informal and dates from the 1700's. The food is amazing, but the portions are huge!

We have stayed in both the French Quarter and by the airport. If you have a car, the hotels in the Quarter charge a lot for valet parking. Be sure to take that into consideration. The Sheraton and the Marriott are both nice. If you want to splurge a little, a great place to stay is the Dauphine Orleans. It has an interesting history and is a charming place.

There is lots of shopping and you can visit museums in the Quarter. You can take a walk on Bourbon Street and listen to live jazz at a number of places. like Preservation Hall. It is packed on Saturday night though. If you have time you can take a bus tour around the city or to one of the local plantations outside the city. Both of these will take about half a day.

New Orleans at this time of year is HOT! Plan on taking plenty of water with you if you walk around.

Have fun in New Orleans, and enjoy your cruise!

Nuttmeg · ‎03-09-2010

You may want to check the hotel suggestions with Trip Advisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/

bonnielu · ‎03-11-2010

Thanks everyone. We will be visiting in April. We will fly in and then stay one extra day and then take the cruise. The group leader said they would get us hotels. However, I priced them because I was curious and it seems that I cannot get anything under $500 for two nights. Very very difficult thinking that I have to pay that much. Don't really know what to do.

Winifred · ‎03-09-2010

I use to live in New Orleans - it is an interesting city but I see they still do what they use to do - charge extremely high prices for tourists. I.e. hotel rooms, etc. I use to marvel at that and through the years the City has drawn a lot of criticism for charging high fees. I know during New Years, the prices for everything at a minimum doubled - just never thought that was right.

You will undoubtedly will enjoy the trip - lot to see in New Orleans. But if it is like it use to be and from reading, it still is - hold on to your purse and/or wallet. It can be grabbed in a second. I lived there three years.

debbiE · ‎05-02-2010

Eat at the Commander's Palace, you won't ever, ever regret it! Pricey, but it's the best! We stayed at the Monteleone, fabulous! Even if you don't stay, drop by for a drink at the Carousel Bar, it's world famous. 214 Royal St., New Orleans.

Take time to walk to the Jazz clubs. Talk to you consierrge.

thrifty · ‎03-24-2010

WWII Museum since it's the only one of it's kind in the country. It's spread out through 4 buildings, cost about $35 per person. Some people know it as the D Day museum. If you've never been to Mardi Gras then hit the Mardi Gras Museum at the end of the convention center (away from the River Walk Mall) where the cruise ships depart from. You can get info about both of these from their websites. The are several great haunted history tours. I've lived here for 25 yrs and all our family lives out of state. We've done all these things with folks from 9 yrs to 80 and every one loves it. The Cafe D. place is very crowed and out doors so take the temp/humidity (our temps our still in the low 90s with humidity at 75-90% ) and what day you'll be here in to account. Lots of visitors and shopping on weekends. This is one of the bussiest convention cities in our country.

thrifty · ‎03-24-2010

Okay, so I see your coming here in April. If it's right after Easter then your dealing with our 2 weekend Jazz Fest crowd which is in the 10s of thousands. Plus fall and spring are New Orleans busiest convention times due to summer temps, so reserve hotel early. There are small hotels and some B&Bs in the garden district where you can jump on the street cars that will take you within a few blocks of the french quarter area. At the opposite end of where the cruise ships are is the D Day museum, the Aquarium an I-Max theater. The french quarter and french market are about 15 minutes walk further east. New Orleans has a visitors website with dates for any local events. There is always some sort of festival downtown or within an hour drive.