Spotlight on New Orleans

The New Orleans cooking school

The New Orleans cooking school

Everything, especially the guide, was great!

the beginning was terrible

Our Tour Guide was marvelous. She keep things running smoothly in spite of having HALF of our large group coming in late due to storms in the West. She tried to accomodate everyone and their wishes, while never loosing her friendliness and smile.

Travel arrangements were frustrating. 1. Why were 4 of a group of 24 originally put on an early return flight? 2. Total confusion at departure flight which was cancelled. We had no coordinated group leader to help make further arrangements. Contact at Colette, Delta and our New York club did not exist at. Airport Tour guide - once we arrived was excellent.. cooking class was memorable. Swamp tour was not.

Messed up room reservation. Problems with pre tour management Did not replace cancelled trip and no change in cost. Meals were excellent. Tour manager Haydee was excellent and helpful.

Well coordinated. Tour manager and local guides were very familiar with the area.

Haydee was excellent and the hotel was in the center of everything. We loved it!

Excursions were great - especially enjoyed the ride through the swamp and seeing alligators and my husband really enjoyed the military museum. The tour guide was fantastic. She bent over backwards to help everyone and when the transportation didn't show up, she took care of it.. The tour guide really made the tour enjoyable.

There were only 3 days of activities. The WWII museum should not be counted as an activity since it was toured on our own. The meals offered were poor quality — particularly breakfast.

Enjoyed the bus tours; very informative and colorful. Hotel was on Bourbon street with access to all restaurants, points of interest, shopping, bars, nightclubs, etc. Cooking School was a nice surprise and novel idea.

Excellent accommodations, central location to many points of interest, loads of different restaurants.

Good tour, but I think tour was priced too high.

Some of the schedueled tours could be improved.

accommodations were cramped. provided meals were sparse

Nice hotel and very good excursions.

Loved the Mardi Gras factory tour.

The tour guide was so good.

The bus ride when our guide gave us history on the music Ian’s of New Orleans

The tour manager, Elizabeth Williams, made the tour outstanding.

Attentive. Knowledgeable. Friendly. Organized. Overall excellence

Attentive. Friendly. Organized good leader.

Variety of options.

Cooking school

The swamp tour was fantastic

The trip was very entertaining.

The cooking class and swamp tour.

Tour could have been much better. A great city that I have visited before.

Read the prior section for details!

swamp tour. everything was great!

Inconvenience of bus pick[up and drop off, and the fact that the activity I was most looking forward to (optional Miss. River Jazz cruise) had to be cancelled because of bus accident. They should have given us a choice to do either the bayou or the cruise and they didn't. The tour director just cancelled the Jazz Cruise. A bad ending to the tour.

I did feel that there was not enough planned activity. One of the optional excursions should simply be included. However, we enjoyed what we did do and we felt that we used our free time well.

Cost was super, tour guide was terrific . Accommodations were good with breakfast included; just had a few hotel room issues. Tours and guides were terrific. Trip was on my bucket list, and everything I asked for.

The hotel room had a musty smell to it but was excellently placed on Bourbon street.

In four days we were able to see and experience all of New Orleans. This was perfect for us. Everything was accessible to our hotel.

We stayed in the heart of New Orleans (Bourbon St.) that gave us a really good feel for the city. I guess the morning spent in the bayou was my favorite. We learned about Jean LaFitte & during our boat ride in the bayou were able to watch alligators eat marshmallows off a stick. We also got to hold a little alligator while on the boat.

Swamp boat tour.it was beautiful going through the canals.

WWII Museum was a personal favorite. Enjoyed the cooking school and local quinine.

The bayou trip on the boat was interesting.

I had zero complaints whatsoever about anything in the entire tour. Our tour guide, Elizabeth, was too good to ge true, if I had to compare her with previous tour guides we’ve had in the past.

It was really fun and enjoyable. The tour guides were informative and the tours enjoyable. My favorite memorable experience had to be the WWII museum. I've never been to a museum like that before and it was huge (five buildings, and I only made it to three of them in the hours provided), and very informative. I enjoyed it a lot. Second was the swamp tour, the guide was hilarious and informative and the experience over all had a fun air from start to finish.

Overall, great!! Glad we went.

The best tour was the swamp tour, and the cooking school. Don’t us the court of 2 sisters for dinner ever again. It’s a outside dining plus the birds were a problem. The were eating the foods as it was being brought out, coming down on you table while dining. Some people did not get their food until it was time to leave. The service was terrible.

I had an outstanding time, enjoyed the cooking school while learning local history. I appreciated the free recipes! The bayou trip, steamboat trip down the Mississippi and tour of the Mardi Gras museum were especially nice.

Cooking School was exceptional! The World War 11 Museum (optional tour) was incredible-we went and it should be added.

Every aspect was interesting, pertinent to the area or history of the region, and all were memorable. A very well-thought-out tour with a variety of different experiences that would appeal to all tastes. The evening at the Culinary School was a highlight - the chef was both knowledgeable and entertaining, and I leaned a lot not only about Creole and Cajun cooking but about the history of the area and about cooking in general. The swamp tour was great - it was so nice to be away from the city and out in nature and sunshine … I never thought I could get excited (in a good way) to spot alligators!

Flight arrangements were horrendous. No need to leave from Boston and to come back thru Chicago to Boston again. If I had known about this I would not have chosen this tour.

A vacation that was relaxing and so memorable!

From start to finish our Collette Tour Manager Elizabeth was the best! The Royal Sonesta Hotel's location was excellent. The included meals were great. Highlights were WWII Museum, New Orleans School of Cooking, swampland cruise.

The Mardi Gras World was fascinating! We enjoyed the bayou trip which allowed us to see alligators firsthand!

A very mixed agenda which gave a good overall view of New Orleans. Our Tour Manager was not allowed to accept our US Visa cards for the side trips and so we had to pay the exchange on our Canadian Visa's. We could see the reason behind this as they were perfectly legal. The reason given was that we had paid for Spotlight in New Orleans with Canadian Funds. I state awe as my companion had the same experience.

tour inclusions except for cooking session

Really enjoyed the outdoor jazz venue right across the street from the hotel

The overall view of New Orleans sightseeing experience

For the reasons I have stated.

Visit to the cooking school...very entertaining chef and great food. Wonderful introduction to the mixture of cultures and Mardi Gras celebrations.

Great trip. Will definitely travel with Collette again in the future.

We saw and experienced some of the best of the city: the food, music, and attractions. Listening to jazz on Frenchman St was the most fun. The WWII museum was impressive.

I loved the World War II museum, the swamp ride, the beautiful holiday decorations, and the OYSTERS.

It included a variety of thing both entertaining and educational

I enjoyed the cemetery tour ...the local tour guide did an excellent job. She was very informative..I also enjoyed the NO Cooking School dinner. Thanks again. I have always wanted to go to New Orleans...so glad I made this trip!!

bus tour the best in the city, very interesting, next the walking one.

The tour was excellent ... Our accommodation and its location right in the centre of the French Quarters were fabulous as were the 2 days at Jazz Fest along with the additional walking tours, tour of the city of New Orleans, and the swamp tour (where we saw many, many alligators). Another highlight of the tour were meeting and building relationships with all the other people on the tour.

Cooking school and jazz festival

The tour was excellent because there was a lot of free time. The cooking class was a fun experience.

Excellent walking tour and bus tour. Great food.

enjoyed the food and sights

My favorite experience was the New Orleans cooking school. Chef ** was informative and entertaining, and the food was so delicious. I loved the whole event.

Great variety of activities that showcased New Orleans. And, the food was great.

Ww11 museaum and Burbun Orleans hotel Jazz bands.

cooking class was excellenr.

Learning how New Orleans started and about their beginnings and their special foods.

We especially enjoyed the WWII Museum , my husband is a big history Buff. The trip on the riverboat as well as the Jazz club.

My most memorable experience was a tour that was not part of the Collette package. It was a tour of the Whitney Plantation (also the Laura Plantation) and it was a life changer. I had to miss the city tour to do both plantations and was unhappy with missing parts of it but didn't want a pass & point. Recommend you include the Whitney Plantation in future.

Repeated info from guides. Mediocre food.

Holding an alligator on the swamp tour.

The swamp tour was unusual. The dinner at the Court was good. City walking tour was too long and tiring.

Enjoyed the sightseeing tours.

Tour guide was wonderful. She did a great job. I enjoyed the guided tours, the mule carriage ride in the poring rain, and lots of time to walk around and do what I wanted to do and, of course, Cafe DuMonde

The cooking school was great, and the walking and bus tours were so informative. Also loved the swamp tour. Many people were disappointed in tour options--only one and we already had so much history on the bus and walking tours-- it got very boring. We did enjoy free time because we love to explore on our own too. Overall it was a great trip. Loved the hotel location because it was close to transportation and could walk to many attractions

I really enjoyed the evening that we were at the cooking school

the cooking class with Kevin

The New Orleans cooking night was a great experience.

We love New Orleans, and we loved the way this tour was organized. My wife and I enjoyed the mix of organized tour events, and the free time to explore the city. We had a great time.

The trip dates were April 11 to 15. Fair would have been a better rating. Swamp tour should have been postponed due to the weather. It was cut short due to thunder and lighting. No raincheck or refund offered. Microphone was not working properly during bus tour of the city. Could not hear the tour guide. Therefore missed most of the information about the city. Meal for the additional tour on the paddleboat was poor and not worth what we paid. Expected more from trip. Maybe we could have had lunch on the boat! No bananas at breakfast for French Toast choice till mid week. Tour manager did not interact with us as we have experienced in the past from our other tours. No welcome dinner and only part of the 3 out of the 5 days had things to due. A jazz night on Frenchman Street would have been a nice addition. Noise from the street below our room kept us up half the night. A better choice would have been an inside room.

First of all, our trip was April 11 -15, not the 16th. I would like to have rated this tour as "Fair." This tour did not provide a chance to meet our fellow travelers, nor a chance to say god-bye at the end our the tour. My biggest disappointment was the swamp tour. No one has control of the weather, but it did rain every day. This did not really effect most of the days except the following. On the morning of the swamp tour a tornado was predicted and school was closed due to flooding. When we questioned our tour manager we were told that if the tour had to be cancelled it could be rescheduled the next afternoon when we had free time and switch our free time to the morning of the swamp tour. (Which, by the way, the next afternoon was not completely rained out!) But she decided to attempt the trip to the swamp tour. It was pouring rain as we boarded the boat. We hardly traveled out when the winds and rain picked up and thunder and lightning started. So we turned around and went back. We did not see anything but a few plants and trees - NO animals, let alone alligators!!! When I asked if we would return the next day I was pretty much laughed at! ( We had had our ride through the swamp! No rain check!) We also signed up for the optional paddleboat ride with lunch. The meal we were served at The Crazy Lobster was below what I would expect from Collette. The bread pudding that was served for dessert was burned! One of our selections for breakfast was French Toast with Bananas Foster. It wasn't until about day 3 or 4 that the restaurant finally had bananas! When we took the bus ride for the city tour it was described in the brochure that it would be a panoramic bus which it was not - just a regular coach. I could not hear the guide because the microphone was not working properly. He seemed to have a lot of interesting informations about N.O. but I could not hear him while in the bus. At the cemetery I was able to hear since we were outside and that is how I was able to realize he had a lot to offer. The night we went to The Two Sisters restaurant it was not raining, But it did begin again by the time it was dessert time. We asked the waiters to put up the umbrellas to block the rain, but they did not. So our table had to move inside and be separated from our group. Our original table was not the best. It was two tables put together to accommodate our group and was not on even ground. I did request a previous tour manager from another tour we were on who does this tour as did the other couple in our group and she was not assigned to us. Jen Jette was our tour manager, who we met when we went on the Hollywood tour for the New Years Eve event, was not the most warm person, either then or this time. I have met several managers in the past and all were very nice. I feel that she did not go out of her way, especially since this was her town! One thing she did suggest was the oysters at the Happy Hour in our hotel and I have her to thank for me trying something I would never had done in the past. But when we were on the tour of the battlefield I was stung by fire ants and when I told her about it her only suggestion was to see my doctor when I got home. I am not sure since I was very uncomfortable, she may have offered to get me something from a drug store.