By
Rebecca Gibson |
Cruise terminals in New Orleans, US handled more than one million passengers in 2015 – up 1% from 2014 – marking the second consecutive record year for the port, and the fifth year of growth.
New Orleans’ Erato Street Cruise Terminal and Parking Garage currently hosts Carnival Cruise Line’s 3,646-passenger Carnival Dream, which sails year-round seven-day eastern and western Caribbean itineraries and the 2,052-passenger Carnival Elation sailing year-round four- and five-day itineraries to Cozumel and Progresso, Mexico.
Meanwhile, the Julia Street Cruise Terminal hosts Norwegian Cruise Line’s 2,340-passenger Norwegian Dawn, which sails seven-day western Caribbean cruises seasonally from November to May. It also handles calls from cruise lines such as Holland America Line, P&O Cruises, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. In addition, American Cruise Line currently sails the Queen of the Mississippi and American Eagle sternwheelers from New Orleans, while American Queen Steamboat’s American Queen is based at the port.
“Year-end numbers illustrate how popular the port and the city of New Orleans are with cruise passengers throughout the nation,” said Gary LaGrange, port president and CEO. “The fact our cruise partners are investing in new and larger ships here bodes well for the industry for years to come.”
The US port is scheduled to welcome newer and larger ships in 2016, including Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Triumph, which will replace Carnival Elation in April and increase the line’s capacity on its four- and five-day itineraries by 34%.
In addition, American Cruise Line will add a third riverboat named America to its homeporting fleet in New Orleans. The 185-passenger riverboat was launched in August 2015 and will begin sailing Mississippi River itineraries this spring.
“Our cruise partners, which include Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, American Cruise Line and American Queen Steamboat Company, are committed to New Orleans and represent one of the most diversified homeports in the world,” said LaGrange. “Cruise passengers embarking from New Orleans can explore the length of the Mississippi River or visit the best beaches in the world from the Bahamas to Belize on a wide variety of itineraries.”
The Cruise Lines International Association ranks the Port of New Orleans as the sixth-largest cruise port in the US. The cruise industry generates US$406 million in direct expenditures and supports 8,120 jobs.