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Cruise: New Orleans

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New Orleans Cruise Passenger Total Tops 1 Million, Sets Record


The 2,340-passenger Norwegian Dawn berthed at the Port of New Orleans' Julia Street Cruise Terminal in November 2014.
Photo/Port of New Orleans


Port of New Orleans cruise terminals handled more than 1 million cruise passengers in 2014 for the first time ever – a total of 1,104,325 embarkations and disembarkations. That was up 2.6 percent from 2013 and gave the Crescent City port its fourth straight record cruise year.
 
These include passengers on deep-sea cruises offered by New Orleans homeported Carnival Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean and port of calls by other cruise ship operators. Also counted are sailings on coastal and Mississippi River cruises operated by American Cruise Lines, American Queen Steamboat Co., Blount Small Ship Adventures and Travel Dynamics International.

"This is a great milestone for the Port of New Orleans," said Port President and CEO Gary LaGrange, PPM®. "The total represents a 180 percent increase in cruise passengers since 2001 – the year the port began in earnest marketing itself as a premier cruise destination."

Cruise Lines International Association reports direct cruise industry expenditures in Louisiana amounted to $406 million in 2013, supporting 8,129 jobs and accounting for $323 million in total income.

"We market cruising from the port as two vacations in one," Mr. LaGrange said. "New Orleans is a world-class destination City. Cruise passenger on average stay two nights either before or after their cruise – it’s like an additional port of call."

Port of New Orleans studies determined that more than 80 percent of cruise passengers are from out of state and 60 percent spend an average of two nights in New Orleans. In addition, those passengers and shipboard crew spend about $75 million in New Orleans.

 

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