Mrs Denise Wiles

[Denwiles]

We are sailing on the NCL breakaway on 03March2024 from New Orleans.  We arrive back into New Orleans on 10March and the itinerary says arrives at 08:00 am.

Has anyone experienced disembarkation at the port and can you get off the ship at 08:00.

We have a flight booked and they have changed the time so leaving earlier than originally planned  so concerned that we may not get to the airport in time for the flight.

thank you 

 

[3Sisters]

@Denwiles I haven't cruised out of New Orleans before but traffic from the airport to the port can be hectic. You want to give yourself enough time to get to the ship on embarkation day. I have flown into New Orleans before for a Bachelorette and the process of even just catching an Uber to get into the city seemed chaotic. I would check if NCL offers priority disembarkation. I have heard that CCL offers this service for a minimal fee. Also, do you have TSA pre-check for your return flight? That is a big timesaver. What time does your cruise disembark on March 10th? 

Another thing that can help save time is lining up a taxi ahead of time. Waiting for a shuttle to the airport can take longer than you expect. 

[FJB]

Fog can also be a problem at that time of the year and delay your arrival into the port of New Orleans.  

[bombarc]

NOLA cruisepost is a nightmare!  First, it is too small to handle the large ships.  It is the homeport of another cruiseline which sails the same itinerary as the Breakaway so there can be thousands of passengers coming and going at the same time.  We arrived a day early and took the shuttle from the hotel, which was nice, but had to suffer for hours in the terminal to get on the ship.  Getting off was also as bad- complete and total chaos and it took forever to get to the exit doors -  - and trying to get a taxi to get to our hotel - unreal.  I am just glad we were not flying home on that day but staying for a few days in NOLA.  We were on the same itinerary as you are and ours was over the Christmas holiday.  We had a wonderful time on the ship!  Just pack a LOT of patience for embark and disembarkation at that termnal. 

[Cruising Caribbean]

@FJB I didn't even think about fog! That's a great tip. If @Denwiles's arrival gets delayed there is no way to make it to the airport in time. Have you experienced a delay due to fog in New Orleans?

@bombarc Thanks for the advice. As someone who has yet to cruise out of New Orleans, this doesn't entice me much. I wonder if the port is slated to undergo a revamp. It sounds like the port can't keep up with the influx of passengers that visit. When was the last time you cruised out of New Orleans? Based on your feedback that was likely your first and only time embarking out of there. I like your advice, pack patience. 

[Denwiles]

22 hours ago, bombarc said:

NOLA cruisepost is a nightmare!  First, it is too small to handle the large ships.  It is the homeport of another cruiseline which sails the same itinerary as the Breakaway so there can be thousands of passengers coming and going at the same time.  We arrived a day early and took the shuttle from the hotel, which was nice, but had to suffer for hours in the terminal to get on the ship.  Getting off was also as bad- complete and total chaos and it took forever to get to the exit doors -  - and trying to get a taxi to get to our hotel - unreal.  I am just glad we were not flying home on that day but staying for a few days in NOLA.  We were on the same itinerary as you are and ours was over the Christmas holiday.  We had a wonderful time on the ship!  Just pack a LOT of patience for embark and disembarkation at that termnal. 

Thank you everyone for your replies.  I'm afraid though I am no wiser so will try ringing NCL to see what they say though I am sure they will probably say they don't know, can't guarantee it and so on.  If we can actually get off at 08:00 it's not a problem as we have prebooked a private transfer to the airport.  

[Denwiles]

I have contacted NCL by online chat and they have said that the ship docks at 08:00 and disembarkation starts 2 hours later.  I find this odd as a lot of passengers will have flights booked for that morning.  Last time we were there we had docked by 06:30 and that was in fog.  Has anyone been on this cruise recently to say what time the ship actually docks ? I know it is all dependent on weather and so on. 

Thanks in advance 

 

[bombarc]

I would not rely on anything NCL tells you about catching your flight. Yiu need to go with your gut and make your own arrangements.    We were just in Alaska and our flght was at 11:30am.  I booked the ship's transfer to the airport and was told it would leave at 9am.  The airport was at last 45 minutes away. I kept going to customer service because I was worried that we would miss our flight to Boston.  Seattle airport is enormous and CROWDED!!  They kept reassuring me that I would get my flight.  I even asked for a refund - which was denied- so I could grab a cab earlier.  Needless to say - as soon as people were let of the ship around 7:30am - we were outside.  I went up to one of the many airport transfer busses and asked when they were leaving - they told me as soon as the bus was full.  We got on and left for the airport. We just made it with 1/2 hour to spare before boarding.  I had the same experience last March getting from  Manhattan to JFK - the transfer bus sat outside the cruise terminal and did not leave until 1pm -even though I was told that they leave as soon as the bus fills up. We barely made our flight to Worcester.  Our trip to NOLA was last December and we are leaving Sunday for Bemuda out of Manhattan.  We are driving to and from Manhattan from Massachusetts.  No flights!

[3Sisters]

@Denwiles I have to agree with @bombarc. NCL is not always that reliable and if something goes wrong you are going to be at a huge loss. Is there a way you can change your flight without a penalty? I think it may be cutting it too close. What time does your flight depart? I doubt NCL is going to commit to an exact timeframe as these things vary. Keep me posted on what you decide, but I would be hesitant to commit to a flight you may not get to in time.