New Orleans Mardi Gras & Mexico Cruise
on the Celebrity Reflection
2/21/20 to 3/2/20

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Page 1 – Embarkation, Ship, Cabin, Dining, Activities, Entertainment
Page 2 – Ports of Call: New Orleans, LA Days 1 & 2
Page 3 - Ports of Call: New Orleans, LA Day 3; Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico

Ports of Call

New Orleans – Day 1

After a full day at sea, we finally approached the mouth of the Mississippi River. As we came nearer, I saw the first oil drilling platform out in the ocean; and then there were many different ones along the way before entering the river itself.

On the below map, you can see the path that we took along the river through the Mississippi Delta. The blue dot was where we were when I took the screen capture about an hour and half after we entered the river. It was about an 8.5-hour trip to go the 100 miles to New Orleans.

It was quite an experience to be able to cruise up the Mississippi in daylight. Most cruises leave and return to New Orleans in the dark. The land was very flat and the river very curvy. It reminded me of a cruise we took up the Saigon River in Vietnam, where the Captain called that cruise the Saigon slalom. We could see oil tankers coming toward us from the other side of the curve.

Along the banks were agricultural buildings, oil related activities and livestock grazing. There was much more going on in the delta than I expected to see.

But there was also a lot of area with nothing but marshes.

Every once in a while, a tanker would pass us by. We came to an area that had huge stacks of coal all around. This was the United Bulk Terminal’s coal transfer station where the large ships could pick up and drop off the coal closer to the Gulf of Mexico.

In one place we were able to see New Orleans in the distance. It was only five miles away as a crow flies, but it was a twenty mile ride up the curvy Mississippi.

We were starting to get into more civilization. There were refineries, large homes and even a prison along the river.

The Captain had allowed us to go out onto the helicopter platform as we got closer to town. It was a nice gesture, so that we could take unobstructed photos from the front of the ship.

There really wasn’t much to see from the front other than lots of tankers and large ships carrying various products.

About an hour and a half later, I went up to deck 15 to see an area that I had read about that was along the river. We approached the site of the Battle of New Orleans, which took place in 1815, two weeks after the signing of the treaty that ended the War of 1812 with the British. Since the news of the treaty hadn’t reached the US or the British war ships the battle took place. The battle only lasted 30 minutes and the American troops defeated the larger and better trained British troops. The Americans suffered 250 casualties and the British 2,000.

It was easy to see where the battlefield was with the 55-foot white Chalmette Memorial obelisk marking the spot. It was built in 1908. The battlefield visitor center is next to the monument.

Also close to the monument is the Malus-Beauregard House that was built 25 years after the battle by the eldest son of Confederate General Beauregard.

Alongside the battlefield is the Chalmette National Cemetery, with 15,300 veterans and casualties of military campaigns from the Civil War to the Vietnam War. There are also four graves from the War of 1812, of which only one was at the Battle of New Orleans.

About 45 minutes after passing the battlefield, we were pulling up to the dock just past the large Riverwalk Mall.

A good friend of mine from the company I retired from, Michael, is in one of the Mardi Gras krewes, Bacchus. He had told me where to go to watch their parade which had started an hour and a half before our scheduled 6:30 PM arrival. I was concerned that I would miss it. Silly me! I had plenty of time to get off the ship and to the spot to meet Michael’s wife, Cindy, to watch the parade. She was so sweet to bring a large bag of necklaces and other objects that are thrown off of the floats. That is why they are called “throws”. She had thought that others from my group would be joining me to watch the parade; but they pretty much stayed close to the ship to watch it. I on the other hand had a much better less crowded viewing spot with a chair and beer. Two other friends from my office, Randal and Michael, were also there in super-sized yellow Bacchus hats. Everyone wanted their hats. A very popular and hard to get throw. Below are photos of Cindy and me with Randal & Michael and their BIG hats.

At around 7:30 PM, preliminary parts of the parade began to pass by, including Horseback police, the Budweiser Clydesdales and a parade tracking car. By having these cars in the parade, people could use the various Mardi Gras apps to see where the front of the parades were at.

Then came the floats! Bacchus had 31 of them. This year’s theme of the Bacchus parade was Wild, Wild West. Other than the standard floats with the various Bacchus mascots and symbols, the floats tried to present subjects for that theme. I am putting in photos of almost every float that I could get a photo of below. It was fun to watch the masked krewe members enticing the crowd for their throws. In this parade there were plenty of throws for everyone.

The parades take a long time to pass by, since they stop frequently for various reasons. This allows people to get lots of throws from the people on the floats. People are jumping up and down begging the krewe members to throw beads or other objects to them. It is a hoot to watch what people will do to get these things. During one of the longer delays, a member of one of the marching units used her two twirling batons as a chair.

After a pretty long delay the rest of the floats passed by throwing out an amazing amount of necklaces and other fun things to the crowd.

The parade ended at our lacation around 10:15 PM. I had thorougly enjoyed it and looked forward to the parades on the next two days.

New Orleans – Day 2

With there not being any parades until evening, there was no rush to do anything in the morning. When we docked the previous night, I hadn’t gotten a photo of the bridge over the Mississippi River close to the ship; so, I got one while I could.

The one thing I did want to do during this visit was to visit the National WWII Museum. It was opened in 2000 as the National D-Day Museum. It was later designated by the US Congress as America’s official National WWII Museum in 2003. It is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. Since the museum opened after we moved to Florida in 1998, I wasn’t even aware it was there until I was doing research for this cruise. Everything I read said that it is the one place you had to visit in New Orleans, so I did. It was just a little over a ten minute walk from the cruise terminal, which was most convenient. On the way there, I passed by a lovely whale mural on the side of a building.

When I arrived at the museum, the building I took a photo of the smaller section of it, but the more photogenic.

After purchasing my ticket, I was directed to an old train car, where they had a brief presentation related to what they call the Dog Tag Experience. It was a way to follow a specific soldier through their WWII experience in the museum and after you go home. Since I couldn’t spend as much time as would have liked there, I passed on it after the presentation.

After leaving the train car, I moved to the large room with war planes and other military equipment.

I went up to a higher floor to see it from a different perspective. I could also see that there were lots of other exhibit halls to visit.

That level also had models of ships that were in the war.

The displays took you back in time to the 1940’s to show what life was like then and what was being experienced.

At various spots along path there would be videos showing what was happening in the news. It showed how the US was against getting involved in the war and what they did along the way. Each room would show how we got more involved until Pearl Harbor, when we were all in.

A major part of the museum is devoted to D-Day events. Having just visited Normandy and Omaha Beach just five months before this cruise, I was most interested in everything there. I particularly appreciated the display showing what it was like to look out of one of the German bunkers where they were shooting at the naval vessels. It was surprising how difficult it would have been to see the individual ships from those locations, especially in the bad weather of D-Day.

I was so impressed with the way some of the rooms were set up to represent scenes on the battlefields. Others had weapons and other objects that were part of the everyday war experience. A docent was talking about the different types of land mines that the Germans used. There was just so much to see, just in the first building.

When I crossed the street to the Campaigns of Courage building that was more focused on the European and Pacific theaters of the war other than D-Day, there was a statue of Anne Frank just outside the building.

There was also a very nice statue grouping named “Lest We Forget: The Mission”. The sculptor was a fighter pilot who had wanted to do something to remember the 12 pilots that served with him who died in the war. In his late 80’s he began work on the statue and finished it when he was 94. It was originally displayed in Denver before being moved to the current location. I am putting a link to the article that was in the Denver Post telling about this amazing and moving story. It is worth reading. https://www.denverpost.com/2016/08/11/lest-we-forget-pilots-memorial-wings-over-rockies/

I had to pass by the construction area of the new Liberation Pavilion. It should be most impressive when completed.

The Campaigns of Courage building had more impressive displays and informative videos. It was just such an interesting museum that I could have spent so much more time in.

The last section I visited was the Boeing Center, where there were many war planes displayed. This building and the others had some optional displays that I passed on when purchasing my ticket, since I just didn’t have the time needed to fully experience everything. Fully enjoying this museum takes more than a one day visit.

After leaving the museum, I took a photo of a Franklin D. Roosevelt statue on the grounds.

One of my goals for this day was to have a muffuletta for lunch. This sandwich, which I have enjoyed on several of my previous New Orleans visits was created in 1906 at the Central Grocery Co. in the French Quarter. In all my visits, I have never had one from the original place, so that was my goal for the day. But in order to do that, I would have to get to the French Quarter. It was a 1.3-mile walk and my back was already unhappy from my non-stop museum viewing. So, I ordered a Lyft. The ride took a very long time with the bumper to bumper traffic heading into town. It was lunch time and I was worried that there would be a very long line at Central Grocery, as reviews had warned about. When I got there, I was shocked that there wasn’t a line out the door, as there normally is. I was thrilled! There were only about ten people ahead of me in line and with three people taking orders, it only took about five minutes to get the wonderful sandwich I had been dreaming of.

They don’t have a lot of area for eating, but I was lucky to find a spot when someone got up just as I was walking by.

After lunch, I took a photo of the outside of the store and there was just a short line forming outside.

In the median across from the store was the Joan of Arc – Maid of Orleans statue. This was a gift from the People of France to the citizens of New Orleans in 1972. It is a lovely statue.

There are certain foods that I like to have when visiting New Orleans. I would not be getting beignets this visit, since the line at Café Du Monde stretched around the block. I have had them enough to know that they aren’t worth that long of a wait. Another thing I like is New Orleans pralines. Aunt Sally’s Pralines have been around since 1935 and have always been a favorite of mine, so I bought one to take back to the ship to have at a later time. I wouldn't have to worry about the expiration date.

I then walked around looking at the beautiful architecture on my way back to the ship.

I passed through Jackson Square, where there were lots of people enjoying the beautiful weather, including a small band playing lively tunes.

The ship was 1.3 miles away from the grocery store, so I didn’t want to walk the whole way there; but I wanted to get out of the French Quarter where the traffic would be better and it would be easier to get a Lyft or Uber. I passed by the Jean Baptiste LeMoyne de Bienville Monument. It is dedicated to the man who is considered the Father of New Orleans. He is also considered the Father of Biloxi, MS and co-founder of Mobile, AL. He was a busy guy and most important to this part of the country.

My friend Jim had never been to New Orleans and he wanted to try some gumbo and/or jambalaya. He had planned on going to a place in the French Quarter, but the line was way too long to wait in. So, I told him that we could go to a restaurant named Mulates that was very close to the ship for a quick cup of gumbo around 3:00 PM. Since we hadn’t planned on eating dinner on the ship, it would hold us over for the evening parades. As I was walking toward the ship, Jim texted me and told me that his group had gone back to the ship and he was going to pass on the gumbo for the day and that we would go for lunch the next day. Since I was no longer having to rush to get to Mulates, I just took my time walking back rather than getting a ride. It was a pleasant and interesting walk with so many people decked out in Mardi Gras outfits and decorations.

After about a half hour walk, I arrived at Mulates. I could see the ship from the restaurant, which was comforting to know that my walk was almost over. I went in to see what they had that would be my dinner for the day.

They had some special Mardi Gras cocktails. I had to try one called the Carnival Cocktail. It was quite good and didn’t taste that strong; but I was wrong about that and found out when I stood up when I left. It was quite potent. I also ordered their gumbo, which had been voted the best gumbo by New Orleans Magazine in 2019.

I then headed back to the ship to rest up for a couple hours before I had to head out to my next adventure. I had spent way too many hours on my feet already that day. I had originally been concerned about the evening activities, since rain had been forecast for early evening. It was now scheduled for around 9:30 PM, which was much better.

My friend Michael, who was in the Bacchus krewe, had told me that I should try to go to Spanish Plaza before 6:00 PM, since that is when King Rex would be arriving there by train car. He apparently arrives exactly at 6:00 PM so that the local news channels can play it live. Jim and I left the ship at around 5:30 PM and walked through the almost half mile long Riverwalk Mall, which was right next to the ship. It seemed to take forever to get to the end of the mall, which exits at Spanish Plaza. When we got there, some of the exits were blocked off and it was very crowded. After King Rex arrives, there is a ceremony where the Mayor turns the city over to Rex for the day to have fun and celebrate Mardi Gras. Since that ceremony happens at the plaza, there were large crowds to witness it and there must not have been any more room to allow others to gather in the plaza. That worked out for us, since we left the mall at a different exit that was at the railroad tracks where Rex would arrive. Michael and Cindy were there waiting for the train and Randal and Michael from the previous night arrived shortly after us. We were obviously at the right spot to see his arrival, since there were TV camera crews walking around waiting also. With the huge crowd waiting in the plaza, it was so strange that there were just a few people hanging around where this important event was to occur.

Since Michael grew up in New Orleans, he is a wealth of information about the city and Mardi Gras. Walking around the city with Michael is such a treat. He can tell history and interesting stories about everything New Orleans. Since Jim knew little about New Orleans, Michael was able to enlighten him during the time he spent with him.

A few minutes before 6:00 PM, the decorated train car backed up to where we were waiting. The entourage standing in place on the platform waiting for the signal to begin. The horns played a flourish and King Rex came out. He made a short speech and then headed to the plaza for the ceremony.

I was so glad that Michael had told us about this. We were able to witness this old tradition taking place six feet in front of us. We didn’t bother trying to go to the ceremony itself, since we were more interested in walking to the location of a parade. This was in a different location a few blocks away from where we viewed the previous night’s Bacchus parade. It was much more crowded with celebrants than the previous day. Michael told us that it wasn’t that crowded, since it was a Monday night and many people are resting up from the three days of weekend parades, so that they will be ready for the two Fat Tuesday parades in the morning. The street was lined with people and there was less space to stand because so much of the street was set up with viewing stands where you had to pay to sit and watch the parades. We found a place and were able to set up some chairs that Michael had brought. They know how to prepare for a parade.

The first parade of the evening, Proteus, is one of the older krewes in the city. Michael said that one of their Bacchus floats probably has more throws on it than on all of the Proteus floats. But that he enjoys the parade since it is more in the style of the old traditional parades with fewer people on each float and it being more special when you actually get some beads. The floats were pretty, and it was once again fun to watch the crowd get involved with it.

Michael told us that he wanted to show us something, so we walked away from our spot down a different street where we could see the illuminated old courthouse building.

We returned to our parade viewing location to watch the rest of the parade.

After the Proteus parade ended, it would be followed by the Orpheus parade. The parade starting time was 6:00 PM, but it would be a while before it got to where we were at. Like Bacchus, Orpheus is considered a Super Krewe, due to its size. This is one of the newer krewes and was started in 1994 by Harry Connick Jr. As we were sitting along the street waiting for Orpheus to arrive, I was tapped on my back by Hans and Barbara. They were just returning to the ship after watching the Proteus parade. Even though the Orpheus parade was supposed to immediately follow Proteus, it was a half hour before it started. I was disappointed, since the parade was now passing by at 8:40 PM with the rain still forecast to be starting just 40 minutes later. The parade started with marchers carrying what are called flambeaus or flaming torches. This was the method for illuminating floats before electricity took over. It is difficult to see in the photos, since they were moving quickly, but there is a black oil can at the top of the poles that provides the fuel for the flames.

From the first float, it was apparent that this was going to be a gorgeous one.

On one of the floats was celebrity monarch, Bryan Cranston.

Close behind was a float carrying the krewes organizer Harry Connick, Jr. There were other celebrities on other floats that I didn’t recognize.

One of the floats was a steam engine with multiple cars behind it. A couple weeks earlier, two people were killed in the parades when they tried to cross between floats. These were the first deaths of this type in many years. As a preventative measure, the parade rules were changed where tandem floats would have to be separated and each float would have to be pulled by a separate tractor. I’m not sure how this made much of a difference, but it did take away from the grandeur of this particular most impressive group of floats. I’m just putting a photo of one of the many train cars that followed the engine.

A light shower started earlier than it was supposed to, so we were able to move back under a balcony to keep watching the parade. It was a light rain, but when it stopped for a bit, we decided that it was a good time to head back to the ship before the rain got harder. It was a shame, since this was such a beautiful parade. On the way to the ship, we had to walk through the beginning parts of the parade that had turned down the street close to the ship. I got to take another photo of the float with Bryan Cranston on it.

On the other side of the street we found Terry and Allen watching the parade. Our neighborhood group of five were together again. The three of us didn’t hang around to watch the parade, since we had already seen much of it. We told Terry and Allen that we would be in the buffet if they came back soon. When we did see them again, they told us that they should have come back when we did, since they got soaked by some heavy rain. Timing is everything!

The next day’s parades were early ones, so there was no late-night activity for me. I wanted to be ready for Mardi Gras Day.