Ship has boosted capacity of Carnival's short cruise programme from New Orleans by 34%
By
Rebecca Gibson |
The Port of New Orleans welcomed Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Triumph on 4 April.
To mark the ship’s arrival, representatives from four local music organisations competed in a series of ‘minute-to-win-it’ games to win US$35,000 for music charities. They included trumpeter and vocalist Shamarr Allen from the Louis ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong Jazz Camp; singer Robin Barnes from the Tipitina’s Foundation; saxophonist Derek Douget from The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Foundation; and Rebirth Brass Band Drummer and Roots of Music Co-Founder Derrick Tabb. Tipitina’s Foundation won the first prize of US$15,000, while the other three groups split US$20,000 between their chosen charities.
Port president and CEO Gary LaGrange also hosted a traditional plaque exchange ceremony, which was attended by Carnival Triumph’s captain Alessandro Iemmi, Carnival’s vice president of commercial port operations Carlos Torres de Navarra, and the line’s vice president of field sales Mike Julius.
“New Orleans has been a valued partner for more than 20 years and today’s event was a wonderfully fun and unique way to celebrate the arrival of Carnival Triumph and support some of the city’s most treasured music organisations,” said de Navarra. “We would like to thank our friends at the Port of New Orleans, the local community and our incredible travel agent partners for their continued support which has enabled Carnival to become the Crescent City’s number one cruise operator.”
Boosting the capacity on Carnival’s short cruise programme from New Orleans by 34%, Carnival Triumph will join Carnival Dream, which operates year-round seven-day cruises form the port. Together these two ships are expected to carry 450,000 guests annually from New Orleans – more than any other cruise operator. The deployment will also enable Carnival to retain its position as the only cruise line to operate two year-round ships from New Orleans.
“Carnival Triumph’s arrival demonstrates Carnival Cruise Line’s continued commitment to Louisiana and the Port of New Orleans to grow its business here and offer guests a new and expanded option on its four- and five-day cruise programme,” said LaGrange. “We are elated to welcome this exciting ship which features a number of Carnival’s most popular new enhancements to New Orleans and look forward to continuing our long-standing partnership with Carnival.”
Carnival Triumph kicked off her New Orleans programme with a four-day cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. Following this, the ship will depart on four-day cruises to Cozumel each Thursday, and offer Monday and Saturday departures for five-day itineraries to Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico. The vessel will also offer an exclusive three-day roundtrip from New Orleans between 8 and 11 April 2016.