Sunday has arrived. We are getting ready to leave New Orleans.
Greg's idea of getting up at 2:00 am to see the Carnival Conquest turn the corner of the Mississippi had failed. Two more hours of walking down train tracks and through the streets of New Orleans led us back to the hotel by 6:00.

Some of us took a quick nap while others decided to swim. Around 10:00, our transportation arrived to ferry us to the pier. However, with 11 people and 31 pieces of luggage, two vans were required to make the trip.

We knew we were lucky to be sailing out of New Orleans. This was the first time that the Conquest was allowed back in Orleans due to the height of the river and a set of power lines which left very little clearance for the Conquest to limbo its way to the Gulf of Mexico.

Arriving at the Pier...

Carnival Conquest back in New Orleans
Thirty-one pieces of luggage for the porter to deal with.
Embarkation photo of the whole group.
Brannon and Jenney enjoying the first glance of the ship as they enter the 9 story tall atrium.
Jenney's room was decorated for her birthday.
The traffic must have been backed up a mile as we arrived at the pier. Our transportation driver new how to weave in and out of traffic and within a few minutes, he had us to the front of the line. It took the second van a few more minutes to catch up to us. It's nice to finally get rid of all the luggage and let the porters deal with 31 pieces of luggage.

Being in a suite gave us the ability to participate in the Skippers Club, which enables us to pass the long lines and get personal attention to get checked in. After a quick embarkation photo, we stepped onto the ship.

After a quick glance of the atrium, we head to Jenney's room where a birthday surprise was waiting for her.

Tour of the Ship before Setting Sail...

Bodie understands that he has to listen to his older sister, but taking orders from Brooklyn is too much.
We all cram into the glass elevator to take the 9 story trip up the atrium.
With New Orleans in the background, the adults take a group picture from the front of the ship.
With Brannon and Jenney on the lose, the rest of us enjoy sitting at the bar.
This interactive map displays the progress of our cruise island to island. It is currently still set from the previous cruise.
Trina is excited to show Brannon the ring that she wants him to buy in the forem shops.
Walking and more walking took up about four hours to go from top to bottom, front to back.
We ran into the girls checking out the work out room and spa.
We all had to participate in the life boat drill. Susan, of course, never wears her vest and everyone hounds her.
Trina can't figure out which kid keeps blowing the whistle on the life vest.
We arrived on the ship early enough to take a tour of the ship before it left the pier. We all decided that Preston and Brooklyn new the layout of the ship well enough to take Shelby and Bodie on their own kids tour. As for the adults, we basically stayed together until Brannon and Jenney got separated.

Every now and then, we kept bumping into the kids. They just waved and kept running. They enjoyed their independence from the adults.

As it came closer to set sail, we had to participate in the mandatory life boat drill.

Finally Setting Sail...

We had almost 60 feet of deck space once Greg and Brannon opened up the partition between the two suites.
People lined the dock to wave good bye.
Jenney stares at the people on the dock realizing that without her birth certificate, she could be on the pier as we all cruise on.
The sky line of New Orleans was amazing as it began to disappear behind us as we headed to sea.
This tower lifts the power lines across the Mississippi. Because of recent rains, the river h ad risen to such a height that the Conquest could not squeeze under the lines.
Even from deck 7 of 12, the lines looked extremely close.
After the life boat drill, we returned to our room. Greg and Brannon decide to open the door between the two balcony suites. Although this is allowed, you have to ask the room steward to do this for you. However, Greg and Brannon decide to use a butter knife to show their skills. This signaled the room steward that these guys were going to be nothing but trouble.

As we drift away from the pier, Susan starts whisteling at the people lined up on the dock to wave good bye. A whisteling contest soon takes place.

The power lines that were such a big deal soon appeared down river. As we got closer, we realized just how close these high voltage lines come to the ship's stack. Brannon tried to run up to the stack but didn't make it in time for a closer picture. However, the seen from our deck was enough for us. Our hair stood straight up as we passed under the lines.

The rest of the night was spent turning right and left for the next eight hours as we navigated the river. Sometime around midnight, we finally arrived at the Gulf of Mexico and began the two day trip to Jamaica.

Click to continue to "First Fun Day at Sea..."