More cruise passengers choose New Orleans to start of their vacations in 2023
More passengers started their cruise vacations from New Orleans as numbers show Port of New Orleans cruises are returning to pre-pandemic levels.
The Port of New Orleans finished 2023 with nearly 1.2 million cruise passenger movements and renewed commitments to the New Orleans cruise market from both oceangoing and river cruise lines, according to Port NOLA.
New Orleans is the sixth-largest cruise port in the United States, the website reported, and demand for cruising from the Big Easy is growing for both Caribbean and river itineraries. With destinations of Montego Bay, Jamaica, Cozumel, Mexico and Key West, the cruise lines include most Caribbean destinations and Mississippi River cruises.
Carnival Cruise Line homeports two year-round vessels from Port NOLA, and in 2024 Carnival celebrates its 30th year of cruising from New Orleans. Norwegian Cruise Line also will renew for five more years with additional sailings and a new ship.
The release also stated, Disney Cruise Line returned to the Big Easy with the Disney Magic in January, while Royal Caribbean returns with a new vessel, the “Brilliance of the Seas” in November 2024. The port is also seeing record growth in river cruises, with nine homeported vessels including America’s first Viking Cruise that began sailing in 2022.
Ninety percent of cruise guests travel from out-of-state, with 73% spending one or two days in New Orleans either before or after their cruise, the release said. That generates more than 300,000 hotel room nights in New Orleans and more than $125 million in local spending each year.
"New Orleans is one of the most popular pre- and post-cruise destinations in the country, which is a tribute to our excellent partners at the Port of New Orleans as well as the work of our team at New Orleans and Co.,” said Walter J. Leger III, President and CEO of New Orleans and Co. “Travel drives our economy, but visitors don’t just show up. In a highly competitive marketplace, travelers have choices, and we have to earn their business through aggressive sales and promotion."
The entire cruise industry came to a complete halt in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Topping pre-pandemic levels set in February 2020 with 154,409 passenger movements and 31 vessel calls, Port NOLA set a new passenger record in March 2023 for oceangoing and river cruises.
“This is really encouraging as our cruise business drives tourism and contributes significantly to the hospitality industry," said Port NOLA President and CEO Brandy D. Christian. "We want to thank all our cruise line and hospitality partners as we work together to make cruising out of New Orleans two vacations in one."
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Cruise passengers at Port of New Orleans exceed pre-COVID levels
