By
Alex Smith |
Cruise operations have restarted at the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA), with Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Glory and Carnival Valor, and Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Breakaway all returning to sailing from the port since September 2021.
Cruise operations were completely shut down during the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. River cruises resumed from the port in March 2021, and in September 2021 Carnival was the first to restart ocean cruises. Norwegian Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line will return with further ships in February 2022, with 285 sailings and nearly one million passenger movements forecast during the 2022 calendar year.
All cruise lines operating from the port currently have vaccination, testing and mask wearing requirements in place as well as Covid-19 protocols beyond federal US recommendations.
“We are pleased ocean-going cruises are resuming and joining the successful restart of river cruises nine months ago,” said Brandy Christian, president and CEO of Port NOLA. “Cruises from the Port of New Orleans are critical to the state and regional economy. Our cruise passengers make up more than 300,000 hotel room nights alone in our city and they spend more than $125 million locally.”
New Orleans is the sixth-largest cruise port in the USA. Carnival Cruise Line is currently offering Caribbean itineraries from the port, with weekly sailings onboard Carnival Glory and four-to-five-night sailings on Carnival Valor. Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Breakaway is now sailing seven-day seasonal cruises to the Caribbean from November to April. Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Wonder will offer four-, five- and six-night sailings during her season, scheduled from February to March 2022.
American Queen Steamboat Company and American Cruise Lines offer river cruises from the port. American Cruise Lines introduced new river cruise ships American Jazz and American Melody to sailings from New Orleans in 2021, with more ships set to debut in 2022. Viking Cruise Lines will also begin sailing from Port NOLA in 2022, with stops along the Mississippi River.