New Orleans Port Chalks Up Record Highs for Cruise Calls

The Port of New Orleans is experiencing its busiest month for cruise ship calls in its history, the port said, two months after its first home-ported cruise ship since Hurricane Katrina, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Sun, began service again on October 15.

Throughout December, the port said, it will host 23 cruise ship calls by seven cruise ships. The vessels will be in port for 21 days of the month, and will bring approximately 95,000 passengers through New Orleans.

“This is great news not only for the port, but for the city’s rebounding tourism industry,” said Gary LaGrange, president and CEO of the Port of New Orleans. “Cruise ship passengers typically stay a day or two before or after their cruise, making New Orleans an additional port of call for their itineraries.”

Following the Norwegian Sun, Carnival brought the Fantasy to homeport in New Orleans in late October, and Royal Caribbean began sailing the Grandeur of the Seas from New Orleans.

In October, port and U.S. Maritime Administration officials signed an agreement to transfer portions of the Poland Avenue Wharf back to the port to expedite the conversion of the cargo wharf to a permanent cruise terminal, port officials said. That project is currently in the design and engineering phase.

When completed, the addition –along with the newly opened $37 million Erato Street Cruise Terminal and Parking Garage- will allow the Port to berth three of the industry’s largest cruise ships simultaneously.

Prior to Hurricane Katrina, the Port of New Orleans was on target to break the one-million-passenger mark, which a study determined would have an overall economic impact of $226 million annually and support 2,800 jobs.