Life in the SLOW Lane
Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA
March 9 and 10, 2018
Chris and I take an Anniversary and Spring Break cruise each
year in March. This year we are traveling on Norwegian Cruise Lines for the
first time and sailing out of New Orleans. This will be our 13th
cruise but our first on Norwegian Cruise Lines. We are both teachers and can
only travel on certain times so this Spring Break week is a perfect time for us
to celebrate our anniversary (March 11th) and rest up from a long
semester and get ready for the always stressful last quarter of the school
year.
Friday, March 9, 2018
This year Chris and I decided we would travel as far as
Baton Rouge on Friday after school and Luke’s baseball game. Luke’s baseball game was
not over until 7:15PM so we got a late start. My parents came down from Tyler, TX to watch Luke’s game
and then they took the kids with them so we could cruise alone. (My parents and in-laws are AMAZING and do this EVERY YEAR! We cannot thank them enough for allowing us to do this!) We switched
their luggage to my parent’s car and we were out of the parking lot before
7:30PM.
Had to be a "Baseball Mom" before we set sail!
Typically this drive to Baton Rouge is about 4.5 to 5 hours. Little did
we know the entire I-10 interstate in Louisiana would be under construction.
Between Beaumont and Lake Charles we sat on I-10 for over 3 hours just creeping
along at what felt like a snail’s pace. Then Lafayette had traffic and the
bridge in Baton Rouge was backed up for miles (which is fairly common anyway
but at 1AM it was just as bad as a game day).
We finally arrived at the Siegan Inn on the east side of
Baton Rouge around 1:45AM, nearly 2.5 hours after we should have arrived. This
hotel was in a great location of town and easy to get to from I-10. It seemed
to have been a Comfort Suites or Quality Suites style hotel before being bought
out and renamed Siegan Inn. The room was comfortable and clean; however, there
were no real amenities other than the basics. The room was very large and had a
nice and comfortable King bed. Tip- The hotel property did not offer any type of
breakfast which did not bother us but could be a deal breaker if you are
looking for a property that includes breakfast. We paid $100 for the room with taxes and fees.
Saturday, March 10, 2018
We woke up on Saturday morning and checked out of our hotel
before exploring Chris’s college town of Baton Rouge. We have been here
multiple times as a couple and Chris lived here for many years and attended
college at Louisiana State University (LSU). We went to Coffee Call on the east
side of town and enjoyed delicious beignets and coffee before making a stop to
get LSU goodies. TIP- Get the beignets “fingers” if you are hungry or sharing!
These were the "small" beignets!
The "beignet fries" were PERFECT for sharing and the Coffee Au Lait was AWESOME!
After shopping for a while we made the trek east to New
Orleans. We made our traditional stop in Kenner, LA for a small “hole-in-the-wall”
lunch at Check-In Check-Out. This is a Cajun Po-Boy Sandwich shop inside a gas
station on the west side of New Orleans. It NEVER disappoints and if you can
get over the look of the building, you will not be disappointed.
Looks are deceiving!
After lunch we got back on I-10 and of course, it was backed
up with a wreck on the eastbound side of the interstate. This was right on par
for the trip and we weren’t even shocked. We finally got to our hotel around
3PM and got settled in our room before taking a quick nap.
We stayed at Comfort Suites in Harvey, LA on the southeast
side of New Orleans. This hotel offered a Cruise and Park package for 30-50%
less than hotels in the French Quarter. TIP- This package gave you a room, parking
of your car for up to 7 nights as well as taxi transportation to the pier
before the cruise AND taxi transportation BACK to the hotel post-cruise. The
taxi cab rides alone would have been $25-30 each and parking at NOLA cruise
terminals is outrageous ($17-20 a DAY). This, to us, is the best overall value
and option for us when cruising out of New Orleans. We have been to NOLA many
times and the typical tourist attractions no longer appeal to us, especially
during Spring Break when we are just tired teachers looking to relax. We plan
on staying at this hotel again when we cruise on the NCL Breakaway with our
kids later in the year.
Comfort Suites in Harvey, LA.
Grand total with taxes, fees, 7 day parking and taxi to AND from Cruise terminal- $203!
The king-size bed was very comfortable!
There is a LOT of space in the room and is perfect for an extended stay or short lay-over like us!
Grand total with taxes, fees, 7 day parking and taxi to AND from Cruise terminal- $203!
After that we spent the evening enjoying Cajun food and
March Madness at Copelands of New Orleans across the street from our hotel. The
food, drinks and atmosphere were great. The price point is about average for a
chain Cajun seafood restaurant.
Pre-Cruise dinner at Copelands!
We HAD to get our Cajun food fix!
Perfect end to a LONG trip east!
We HAD to get our Cajun food fix!
Perfect end to a LONG trip east!
After dinner we went back to our room and got ready for
embarkation day. It was the night of Spring Forward time change and we wanted
to get plenty of rest. I wasn’t feeling too well and felt weak so we got to bed
early. We turned on the TV in our room to Friends and before you know it we
were sound asleep.
Both of the hotels were good for what we needed them to be
and we will be staying at them again when we cruise out of New Orleans with our
kids. The traffic getting to New Orleans on both days was atrocious and
stressful but we made it… Now it is time to celebrate Chris’s 40th
Birthday and our 12th Anniversary on board the NCL Pearl.
Stay tuned for day by day entries of our time spent on the
Norwegian Pearl. I will be sharing tips and tricks for the Pearl and cruising
on NCL in general.
Once again, thanks for following along!
Keep Calm and Cruise ON!
God is good… ALL the time!
Carnival Legend- ALASKA- 2016
Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:
Carnival Legend- ALASKA- 2016
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