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A trip to the musical hub of New Orleans is the perfect accompaniment to a Carnival Valor Cozumel Plus cruise, as Jo Kessel discovers on a cruise-and-stay itinerary with her music-loving daughter
Imagine watching Adele perform in the lounge at a house party – that’s how good the concert I’m at is. Only it’s not Adele, it’s a jazz band playing at a famous live music venue in New Orleans: Preservation Hall.
The space is so intimate that my feet – which are centimetres away from the trumpeter’s tapping toes – pulse from the beat of the drums and the saxophone’s swoops and slides are so sublime that I’m brought to tears.
Joining me is my 16-year-old daughter Nathalie – an aspiring singer/songwriter whose music has bluesy undertones. Her dream was to visit the birthplace of jazz, and now here we are in the Big Easy, being welcomed by candy-coloured Creole facades, Southern hospitality and French signposts.
France founded New Orleans in 1718 and the heart of the city is its cobblestone French Quarter, where there’s live music at every turn – in bars and cafes, on kerbs and street corners. We’d been warned about venues having an over-21s policy, but so far we’ve been allowed in everywhere and the look of wonder on Nathalie’s face as she watches the musicians play is priceless.
Famed for its annual Mardi Gras, New Orleans has an expression: “Laissez le bon temps rouler” – let the good times roll. And the next day we do just that. We breakfast on beignets (deep-fried Louisianan doughnuts), and then enjoy an eight-mile bike tour, cycling through Louis Armstrong Park and stopping in Congo Square, where African slaves gathered with their musical instruments in the 18th century and their improvisations spawned the first seeds of jazz.
Then we try red beans and rice in the French Market. “How will they make that taste good?” asks Nathalie. I’ve no idea, but somehow this local speciality is delicious. Afterwards we visit the Jazz Museum – exhibits include Louis Armstrong’s first cornet and Fats Domino’s piano – and suddenly Nathalie is itching to play. She never travels without her guitar and, by chance, we manage to find an open mic night in a bar called Buffa’s. Never have we squeezed so much into 24 hours.
We split our New Orleans stay between two centrally located hotels which are perfect for clients, whether they’re travelling with youngsters or without. The International House is closest to the cruise terminal and has free coffee and fruit for breakfast as well as a Banksy artwork in the atrium.
The Saint Hotel has a more decadent, rock-star vibe. Both are near the Mississippi, which winds through the city and defines the region. On riverside walks we hear music being played as early as 9am and watch a traditional steamboat paddle wheel past.
But there’s more to New Orleans than music. The New Orleans School of Cooking teaches us how to make local specialties gumbo (spicy stew) and jambalaya (Cajun paella). There are swamps where we spot alligators lurking in the brackish water.
And there’s twerking – a brilliant way to burn off Louisiana’s calorific cuisine. The Big Easy is home of the twerk and we try one of the free lessons put on by local singer Robin Barnes to encourage women into fitness.
After our stay in New Orleans, we board Carnival Valor and sail down the Mississippi towards the Gulf of Mexico on a five-night roundtrip voyage. Who knows if it’s because New Orleans put us in a party mood or because Carnival has a vibe that fits its name, but the fun keeps coming.
We ride Valor’s 214-foot twisty waterslide on repeat. We lie in and treat ourselves to breakfast in bed. We lunch on burritos, dine on filet mignon and at times it feels as if we haven’t left New Orleans at all because there’s so much great live music onboard.
In the atrium there’s a guitar soloist singing Ed Sheeran songs. In the Red Frog Pub there’s a band rocking tunes from the 1980s. And there’s a fabulous steel drummer who, it turns out, hails from Birmingham.
There are two Mexican ports on our itinerary, where the sea is a divine shade of turquoise fringed by white-sand beaches. As we sail between the two I catch up with Wayne Edwards, Valor’s guest services manager, who believes a New Orleans cruise-and-stay holiday is great for anyone who loves music– no matter what their age.
“New Orleans is wonderfully compact and there are so many great artists who perform there,” he says. “Your clients might like to think about coinciding their trip with the Voodoo Festival (Halloween) or Mardi Gras (February/March) and keep that carnival feeling going while relaxing on a cruise afterwards.”
Days after getting home we’re still buzzing from our immersive two-part trip. Whether on land in New Orleans or at sea with Carnival there are parades, costume events and parties. All you’ve got to do is let the good times roll.
Book it: America As You Like It offers a nine-night cruise-and-stay holiday to New Orleans and the Western Caribbean from £1,679pp. Includes flights with British Airways, four nights in New Orleans at the International House Hotel and the Saint Hotel and five nights on Carnival Valor’s Cozumel Plus cruise, which calls at Cozumel and Progreso. americaasyoulikeit.com
Smarter: Clients can download the new free onboard Carnival Hub app for extra cruise information like weather forecasts and deck plans. It can also be used to book shore excursions and pay bills. Recommend booking the Elite Champagne Catamaran Sail and Snorkel excursion in Cozumel.
Better: Recommend Preservation Hall in New Orleans for family-friendly live music. Tickets are $20 on the door (under-fives are free) or advance $50 Big Shot tickets allow you to skip the line.
Fairer: Single-use plastic cups can be avoided in New Orleans by packing recyclable tumblers to fill with coffee at Cafe Beignet or alcohol from the many bars.
