Cruise Trends: Colombia, New Orleans

From January through November 2013, the ports of Colombia received 259,805 cruise passengers, a 26 percent increase from the corresponding period of 2013, according to data released by the country’s ministry of trade, industry and tourism. For the third consecutive year, record numbers of cruise passengers set sail from the Port of New Orleans.

Colombia Tourism Jumped 26.6% in January-November 2013 

From January through November 2013, the ports of Colombia received 259,805 cruise passengers, a 26 percent increase from the corresponding period of 2013, according to data released by the country’s ministry of trade, industry and tourism.  

Those passengers arrived in 186 vessel calls at the ports of Cartagena, Santa Marta and San Andrés. In November alone, passenger volume jumped 32.2 percent to 32,475. 

Santa Marta welcomed five ships and 1,716 passengers in January through November of 2013 compared to just one ship with 80 passengers in 2012.

This year, Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Cartagena has 210 cruise ship calls scheduled through July 24, just one fewer than it received in all of 2013. Those 210 calls are expected to bring more than 570,000 visiting passengers and crew members to this historic city and pump US$47 million into the local economy.

Just recently, Cartagena set a record by handling eight cruise ships and 21,000 cruise visitors – passengers and crew members – in a single day. Among them was the port’s largest cruise ship caller ever, the 2,850-passenger Celebrity Equinox.

San Andrés, an island in the Caribbean under Colombia’s jurisdiction, was visited in early January by cruise ship Island Sky with 100 passengers and a 77-member crew. According to local authorities, four more ships, each carrying more than 100 passengers, are expected this year.

Commerce, Industry & Tourism Minister Santiago Rojas Arroyo said the numbers demonstrate "a resurgent confidence in this country that we are becoming an increasingly attractive destination for international visitors and that the upward trend in the cruise in the cruise segment is going to generate major growth and economic development opportunities in our coastal cities."

New Orleans Port Realizes Cruise Passenger Gains in 2013

For the third consecutive year, record numbers of cruise passengers set sail from the Port of New Orleans. Port cruise terminals handled 987,860 embarkations and disembarkations in 2013, up more than 1 percent compared to 2012, which saw a 32 percent gain over 2011.

Additionally, Porthole Cruise Magazine named New Orleans "Friendliest Homeport" in its 2014 Editor-In-Chief Awards. "Cruisers departing from New Orleans are greeted not only with an amazing culture, exciting music scene and phenomenal cuisine, but also by welcoming and friendly locals," said Bill Panoff, the magazine’s publisher and editor-in-chief. "I always encourage cruisers who are spending time in New Orleans before or after their cruise to let the locals lead the way."

In November, the 3,006-passenger Carnival Sunshine replaced the 2,984-passenger Carnival Conquest. The Sunshine recently underwent a massive $155 million transformation and sails regular seven-day eastern and western Caribbean itineraries from New Orleans through April 2014, when Carnival will reposition the 3,646-passenger Carnival Dream from Port Canaveral to New Orleans to sail year-round seven day cruises, replacing the Carnival Sunshine. The 2,052-passenger Carnival Elation will continue to sail year-round four- and five-day itineraries from New Orleans. 

In October, the 2,376-passenger Norwegian Jewel replaced the 2,348-passenger Norwegian Star sailing seasonal seven-day itineraries from the Julia Street Cruise Terminal through April. In December, Royal Caribbean replaced the Navigator of the Seas with the newly renovated 2,476-passenger Serenade of the Seas, sailing weekly through April, as well.

In addition, New Orleans features a wide array of coastal and river cruises. American Cruise Lines sails its sternwheeler Queen of the Mississippi, and American Queen Steamboat Co. sails the American Queen from New Orleans. Blount Small Ship Adventures sails inland itineraries aboard the Grand Caribe and Travel Dynamics International sails its Yorktown coastal ship from New Orleans.

A study commissioned by the port found that more than 80 percent of its cruise passengers were from out of state and 60 percent spent an average of two nights in New Orleans before or after their cruise. In addition, those passengers and shipboard crew spent $78.4 million in New Orleans, with lodging ($27.5 million) and food and beverage ($8.3 million) encompassing about half of the overall spending. 

In a separate study, Cruise Lines International Association found cruise industry spending in Louisiana topped $399 million in 2012, generating 7,548 jobs and $294 million in personal income. 

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