Departing NOLA

On Friday afternoon we left for our cruise. The morning really got away from us and before we knew it we were on our flight to New Orleans. At the airport, we ran into Mark Peterson, a partner from EY that I used to work with a lot and I consider a good friend. It was good to see him and catch up.

We touched down in New Orleans and took an Uber to our hotel. The Uber driver was a nice Pakistani guy who has lived in New Orleans for a couple of years. He was very friendly and told us a lot about his family and his experience immigrating to and living in America.

After dropping our luggage at the hotel we headed out to enjoy the evening. Alison has come to New Orleans on work trips a few times, but this was my first trip to New Orleans.  I was excited to explore and eat some great Creole food. We made reservations for dinner at Emeril’s New Orleans. We made the reservation a little late so the only available seating was at the counter. We weren’t thrilled with the available seats, but we love Emeril’s so we decided they would be fine. Turns out these seats were awesome. They overlooked the kitchen so while we ate we got to watch the chef and his staff prepare beautiful and delectable food. Our waiter even gave us lessons on how a kitchen in this type of restaurant is run. We love Emeril’s because they are the complete package: exceptional service, attention to detail, and delicious food. You really cannot go wrong with anything you order. Alison started off with a crab and cauliflower soup while I had the best gumbo I have ever eaten. Each bite was a little sip of heaven. For our main courses, I got a giant roasted pork chop served over sweet potatoes and Alison had an andouille-crusted drum (it was some kind of fish) and she assured me it was also excellent. We finished off with an Emeril’s classic - banana cream pie. This is the most satisfying dessert and puts all other banana cream pies to shame.

After our dining experience, we took a stroll around New Orleans. It is a great city. It has fascinating architecture marked by lots of unique balconies and an old southern feel. There is very palpable energy throughout the city. It definitely feels like a party. We made our way down Bourbon street. That place is pure craziness. I have never seen anything quite like that. It is a little like Vegas, but it is smaller and more honest. It doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is.

After making a big loop through the city we arrived back at the hotel and called it a night.

We slept in on Saturday. We couldn’t board our cruise until the afternoon so we weren’t in much of a hurry. When we did finally get up we headed to the French Quarter. There are a few big things to do in New Orleans: eat, drink, and listen to jazz. Since we do not drink alcohol and had limited time to listen to jazz, we tried to eat our way through New Orleans. We started this morning at Cafe Du Monde. There was quite a line, but we were not in a hurry so we waited to get some authentic beignets. They were fantastic. Afterward, we strolled through Jackson Square and the French Quarter.

We very much enjoyed the French Quarter. It is hard to describe, but it has a very distinctive feeling. We wandered through many shops looking for keepsakes or gift(s) for our niece(s). There were lots of people going on tours around us. It seems like these tours love to highlight the haunted and supernatural events that allegedly occur in the French Quarter. We overheard one tour guide telling his group about one building, which he said was “kind of haunted”. We had to laugh at this description. Alison quickly told me that the only haunted building she would go in is the haunted mansion at Disneyland. Speaking of Disneyland I have to say they do an excellent job of capturing the feeling and atmosphere of New Orleans in the New Orleans square area. They nail it.

On our way to the French Market, we came across a random marching band going down the street playing music. We of course stopped and watched. We wandered through the French Market, and Alison immediately began making a list of her favorite foods in New Orleans. After some careful deliberation, we decided to try one that I have never had before- fried alligator. It was about what I would expect. It tasted kind of like chicken or mild fish. It was good.

Our appointment to board our cruise ship was nearly upon us so we took one last jaunt through Jackson square before grabbing a Lyft to the cruise terminal. One inherent difficulty with ride-sharing is that we were unfamiliar with the cruise terminal so the app was trying to send us to an area where another cruise ship was docked. Our driver was a great guy and helped us figure out where we need to go.

We got onto the ship without incident. We headed straight to the Lido deck and food. We got burgers at Guy’s burger joint and of course, finished off our meal with some soft serve.

We started exploring the ship and ended up taking a tour of the spa. We were totally convinced to splurge on a couple's hot stone massage. We left the spa went through the muster drill and then headed back to the spa for our treatment. It was amazing. So relaxing and a great way to start the cruise.

After the massage, we relaxed before heading down to the dining room for dinner. We do your time dining option. That way we can go eat dinner any time we want and we do not have table mates. We are on this cruise to spend time together, not so much to make new friends. Our cruise left port right as we were wrapping up the massage and started down the Mississippi River. We were told we would leave the Mississippi River around 2am and enter the Gulf of Mexico. I could really feel the ship moving, but it did not bother me at all, for which I was very grateful.

After dinner, we wanted to see the welcome show so we headed to the main theater. Before the show, they were playing bingo. Alison totally loved people watching as these players were completely engrossed in their game. Being a spectator was highly entertaining. The welcome show was fine. It was not particularly memorable, but it did get us excited for all the ship has to offer. The most interesting part was when the Cruise director talked about where everyone was from on the cruise. Pretty sure 80-90% of the cruise is from the South. We may very well be the only people from Utah on this cruise.

We wandered the ship after dinner and found the piano bar. We hung out there for a while enjoying a very talented performer. We were still feeling adventurous after that so we went to the comedy club and had a few laughs before calling it a night.

So far we really love this cruise! This ship has plenty of fun activities and great food. We are excited to see what the rest of the cruise brings.