 The ingredients have come together like a delicious gumbo. Start with the Mississippi River, then add the historic French Quarter, world class restaurants, an arts district, and shopping – all within walking distance of the port's cruise terminal complex.
“A cruise itinerary which begins and ends in New Orleans offers passengers two vacation experiences in one trip," said Gary LaGrange,
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Port of New Orleans
. "Most passengers will spend a couple of days in New Orleans either before or after their cruises." More than 11 million people visited New Orleans in 2004.
In the past decade the growth of New Orleans’ cruise industry has been phenomenal. The number of passengers embarking or making a port of call has grown from 80,000 in 1993 to 734,643 in 2004. The port’s infrastructure has grown with the passenger totals. Forty-seven million potential passengers live within a 500-mile radius of New Orleans.
The Julia Street Cruise Terminal Complex is located within the same building as the RiverWalk Shopping Mall, a world class mall with everything from a food court to Victoria’s Secret, Gap and Limited. Shop until it's time to board the ship.
The cruise terminals are all on the RiverFront streetcar (trolley) line, with two stops adjacent to the cruise terminals. For $1.25 per ride you can take a ten minute trip to the Aquarium of the Americas, IMAX Theater, Harrah’s Casino or the French Quarter for a few hours of entertainment before or after your cruise.
Cruise terminal Facilities
The Port’s signature facility, the Erato St.
Cruise Terminal and Parking Garage Complex, opened on October
15, 2006. It has full Customs and Border Protection clearance
facilities, a large embarkation deck with over 50 check in
counters, complete security facilities and a snack/curio shop.
It is fully air-conditioned and is attached to the ship by a
raised, articulated, air-conditioned gangway. The building
includes a four level, 1,000 car garage that offers the
passenger convenient covered parking in a fully secure
environment. SeaCaps greet the passenger on the first floor of
parking, and check their luggage before parking. After
parking, the passengers take the central elevators direct to
the second floor embarkation deck to check in and board the
cruise ship. Upon disembarkation at the end of the cruise, the
passenger clears Customs, takes the elevators directly to the
parking garage and is only ten minutes away from the
interstate.
The Port’s first cruise terminal, the Julia St. Cruise
Terminal Complex, was started in 1991 in a building originally
constructed for the 1984 World’s Fair in New Orleans. It has
undergone four different configurations to adapt to the ever
changing size of cruise ships. Currently, it includes two
distinct terminals. The 2009 State Legislature has approved
funding to once again improve the terminals, and the
design/engineering phase to re-develop the terminal into one
mega terminal complete with a raised, articulated,
air-conditioned gangway has begun and the new terminal is
scheduled to open in the winter of 2010.
The Erato St. Terminal and the Julia St. Terminal are adjacent
to each other.
The Port also has plans to further expand its cruise
facilities into the ByWater area of the city, adjacent to the
lower end of the French Quarter, with a cruise facility at the
Poland Avenue Wharf.
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Port of New Orleans Cruise Information
• Cruise Lines Homeported
 in New Orleans
• Julia Street Cruise Terminal
•
Erato Street Cruise Terminal
• Parking, Map, Driving Directions
• Airport Transportation
• Baggage Transfer Service
• Services In The Cruise Terminals
• Hotel Information
Contact:
Robert Jumonville, Director, Cruise & Tourism Division
504-528-3230, phone
504-528-3460, fax
jumonviller@portno.com
Johnny Cefalu, Deputy Director, Cruise & Tourism Division
504-528-3219, phone
504-528-3460, fax
cefaluj@portno.com
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