yul36

Thinking of a MR to MSY and back. This is the return, is there enough time to make the cnx?

AC2277 15:15 16:30 738 Houston
Terminal change @ IAH
AC8112 17:15 21:12 CRA YYZ



Thinking of staying the night at the Sheraton or Westin.

Any fav places for dinner. May do this as early as next week.

Rejuvenated

Dining for an Alligator Meat should not be missed.

Scoop

Stayed at the Westin this past week. It's ok, good location. But - getting into town is a $33 taxi ride ($20 on the bus). I found the entire MSY experience underwhelming, at best - ridiculously overrun by tourists trying to collect their little MSY experiences (du Monde, the cemeteries, charles st. tram, bourbon street). All against a backdrop of poverty and perhaps the most run-down US city I've ever seen (Katrina aside, I can't believe it was much better before). Do a same day turn if you can and avoid it...

RSWillson

My wife and I did this last week. You should have enough time for the connection, assuming no weather delays out of Toronto.

As for dinner, I would recommend Croquette, in the Garden District, www.coquette-nola.com, terrific little bistro right on Magazine.

I would disagree with the previous post...we found the city to be quite vibrant, and certainly not over-crowded at this time of year.

Enjoy!

PreferBulkhead

I totally agree! We did a short 2 day mini-vacation in early December and had a blast. Anyone who finds New Orleans underwhelming is staying in their hotel room and not getting out into the city. We have been going yearly for over 12 years.

We stayed at the Hilton on St Charles (and old Masonic building), just a couple of blocks from the French Quarter, and it was great. Plus John Besh's restauarant Luke is in the same property and it was an amazing meal.

Scoop - you missed out a great city. Too bad - your loss!

billybob123

The terminal change is now way easier at IAH. The interterminal (post-security) train goes to Term A so you no longer need to take the bus and the walk through Term B.

arf04

I can't comment on post-Katrina experiences, but based on the three pre-Katrina visits to MSY I had I can highly recommend the city. Sure, there are lots of tourists but there are lots of lovely off-the-beaten track things to see and do. On my third visit I had the benefit of spending a few days with a New Orleans resident, which really added to the experience. Bourbon Street is, well, more or less as advertised but once away from the college kids there is much to see and do (if you're there for a night, a stop at Tipitina's for great music and atmosphere is as good a thing to do as anything, especially if you are into music).

Scoop

I guess that is an opinion, just like my post. Wasn't meant as a troll at all - I guess it just takes a lot to engage or impress me. Well, to each his own - I don't need to return.

dbjuk

Best wishes to all at FT. Am in awe of your detailed knowledge and am very grateful to benefit from the collective wisdom here!


Just returned from MR for SE same route before Christmas:

Mon 20 Dec
YYZ to IAH 1510 - 1742 1280 status miles awarded (cant look at FT abbrev right now)
IAH to MSY 1910 - 2019 500 status

Tue 21 Dec

MSY to ORD 0628 - 0901 838 status
ORD ro YYZ 1059 - 1329 500 status

Used SW for upgrade to IAH, Op Upgrade ORD to YYZ.

Outbound flight $119
Inbound $99 ...........total cost $342.51 (but luckily I take off $200 for a bumped flight AC voucher I received earlier this year)

Stayed at the Four Points and completed SPG Gold as well. Sad not to see the town, less from the air due to 2200 arrival at hotel after eastern storms caused late departure YYZ and missed connections, but caught the Football game with locals in the bar - as it was a nail biter that was a great experience, although constant reference to New Orlean's "own World Champions" vice Superbowl champs rankled a bit. I resisted the temptation to ask what other countries had played in the championships.

Only issue was that de-icing was reqr on Tue and this took delay of 90 mins in aircraft for the inept ground services to complete for the line of aircraft waiting. To be fair, its obviously an infrequent occurrence (going by the performance anyway) and what surprised me was they used hot water that froze before we took off causing more ice than the frost that was there before.

I prevaricated a day too long and day trip became too expensive, hence going overnight. Use CAA rate for hotel as it was only $84.

Nice MR, recommended.

Dbjuk

Academic

Just came back yesterday. The Westin is probably better than the Sheraton, which is showing its age. The W is also worth considering, and just a little further from the French Quarter. If you have SPG status, then the suites at both the Westin and W are excellent, although the view from the Westin across the river is spectacular.

There are too many restaurants to choose from. If you like oysters, Felix's, on Iberville, just opposite the Acme Oyster House is the place to go, and there aren't the lineups you see at other places. I always go to K-Paul's on Chartres when I'm there, but you'll almost certainly need reservations.

Plumber

Welcome to FT! Nice first post!

Plumber