First Day

We arrived in New Orleans, LA on Saturday, June 10, 2000, the day before the cruise. We wanted to check out the port and parking arrangements beforehand. We got a room for the night and prepared for the next (busy!) day.

Sunday, June 11, 2000, was chaotic at best!  We got parked and headed for the 
transport bus that would take us to the dock.  After we checked in and got our 
tickets, we had a couple of hours left before sailing, so we went to the 
Riverwalk Marketplace until time to board.  The camera we brought with us 
quit working after the first roll of film, so we missed most of the shots 
prior to boarding.  Luckily we learned of the camera malfunction early, and 
were able to buy several disposable cameras in Mexico.

This is a picture of me at the Riverwalk before sailing.  That is our ship to the right, 
and a Carnival cruise ship to the left.

Here we are about to board.  They had photographers everywhere!  Every day you could 
check a couple of bulletin boards for your pictures.  If you wanted any, they were 
available for a small price.  The first day was spent unpacking, getting our sea 
legs, and finding out about the schedule for the cruise.

After turning around we headed South down the Mississippi towards the Gulf of Mexico.  
We sat on deck for awhile that night and enjoyed the lights from the shore.  
About an hour after sailing, the casino was opened.  Being good sports we 
had to give it a try!  It seemed like forever before we left the Mississippi 
and headed out into the Gulf.