Pamlover

Hello friends.
We are arriving with my wife and two marriages on a cruise to New Orleans on February 11 at 6.30 PM. That day we will settle down, have dinner at 7 PM and then we are free that night, and also on February 12, and the 13th. We set sail at 10.00 PM. As you can see we have plenty of free time and we would like to know what things can be done in New Orleans, excursions or whatever. Everything you can advise us will be very useful. From now on I am very gratefu

rncheryl

I don't know your interests, but the WWII museum is fascinating, heart aching

sf7307

A walking tour of the French Quarter. A visit to a plantation. Be sure to try a muffuletta and some beignets.

november_moon

With a couple days, you can get a good into to the city. I'd probably take a walking or bike tour to get an orientation to the city on the 1st day, and explore the French Quarter - maybe check out a museum or historic house as well. In the evening, go hear some good music. For the 2nd day, take the streetcar out to the Garden District, walk around there a bit, have lunch, maybe check out Magazine St a bit.

sf7307

FWIW, I agree that the WWII museum is fantastic, but I wouldn't necessarily go on a 2-day first trip to NO - you could spend the entire day there!

november_moon

I agree with sf7307 - the WWII museum is really good, but it takes at least half a day to go through it, and with such a sort trip, unless you have a particularly strong interest in WWII history, I would skip it this trip. If you are like a lot of people, you'll fall in love with New Orleans and this won't be your only visit to the city

Dukey1

Ride the street car up St. Charles Ave at least as far as Carrollton Avenue perhaps for a wonderful "tour" of the Garden District. Walk around at least part of the French Quarter during the day.

Dave0099

All depends what you like to do. If its art, NOMA is a beautiful museum with wonderful art work. But give you time constraint I would (as a foodie) concentrate on food and walking around the FQ. Since you only have 2 evenings, here are a couple of ideas, and again it will also depend on budget.

First everyone is going to tell you the food is always fantastic, but the truth is that there are only a few that are always outstanding. If you could somehow squeeze in lunch I would do Commanders, dinner is good, but lunch is far better. Dinner you have a few choices, Emeril but its kind of a 20% chance it will be so so, Revolution is amazing for steaks but so so in my opinion for the rest of the fare. Susan Spicer's restaurant is always good, but service is slow. Everything in town is good, but there is a lot of inconsistency unfortunately. I'd just have a great time enjoying food and then walk around and see the sites. Boubon is all under construction so its a mess. But Royal street has nice galleries. Walking on the riverfront is fun after a stint at Cafe du Monde.

Above all be careful in the quarter, crime is high and its all random and no real safe place....keep aware at all times especially in the evening.

To recap, the best dining choice in my opinion is Commanders Palace for lunch. This is my second home, so I have some good insight, but there is plenty to see and do.

PS - I agree with others, the WWII museum is awesome but it will take a good chunk of your time up

Kittens88

February 11-13,2018? I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that you will be there the final 3 days of Carnival, including Mardi Gras Day. That can be a good or bad thing, depending on your expectations. The city will be packed, not just crowded, but packed and hard to travel around. Restaurants will be full, so if you have a specific place that you want to dine, make a reservation now. The streetcars will either not be running, or running on very limited schedules due to the parades. Tuesday, February 13th, is Mardi Gras day and is a major holiday in New Orleans. Most places, including many restaurants are shuttered as well as museums. Upside, great parades to see and lots of revelry and people watching. Once in a lifetime event to see. Do some research on Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Here's a start:
http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/

Ackislander

The OP's itinerary is not entirely clear to me.

Unless they have hotel and restaurant reservations already for those nights, Kittens 88's news about Mardi Gras is not good news for him and his companions.

Kittens88

Since they didn't ask about hotels, my thought was that they would be staying on ship. If not? Hope they have an unlimited budget.

tenthumbs

If you want to have lunch at Commander's Palace, be sure to make a reservation well in advance.

The cemeteries in NO are fascinating. This organization uses the money they charge for their tours to help preserve the cemeteries. http://www.saveourcemeteries.org/