Cruise #7 Nordic Empress

Jerry and I decided to do Mardi Gras via the Nordic Empress...I have always wanted to attend Mardi Gras at least once after my first trip to New Orleans with Jerry.

Jerry and I got up early to fly to Tampa for our seventh cruise. We took a cab to the cruise terminal and were able to board right away. We had champagne and flowers in our cabin when we arrived.

We had a mini suite which is at the back of the ship so we have two balconies. It is wonderful.

Jerry had met some people on the Cruise Critic so we hooked up with them the second day on the ship and had a blender party in our cabin. We brought our cordless blender and one of the other couples brought their blender. Jerry whipped us up some good frozen drinks. We had a great time. About 20 people showed up for the party.

Jerry hooked up his XM radio so he could catch the BUSCH and Winston Cup races.

Jerry and I hooked up on Monday with some of the Cruise Critic people and went to Michaul's Cajun restaurant. They had a wonderful buffet and then we went out to watch the parades. We saw the Proteus and then the Orpheus parades. It started raining and was pretty cool out there. It didn't dampen our fun though. We did bring lots of beads back from the parades.

On Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Jerry and I did go down to Bourbon Street to check out the sights and sounds and get a taste of some good food. There were all kinds of things down there.

Wednesday morning found us still in port in New Orleans, we were fogged in and didn't get to leave port till too late to go to Progresso Mexico. Instead we made it to the Gulf of Mexico to make circles before heading back to Tampa.

We definitely chose a good way to enjoy Mardi Gras and we're so glad we did it.