Julia Street Cruise Terminal News

Royal Caribbean International announced it will return to New Orleans with a seasonal home-based cruise ship in late 2018. The 915-foot Vision of the Seas will sail seven-night itineraries to destinations across the Bahamas and Yucatan Peninsula from the Port of New Orleans’ Julia Street Cruise Terminal. The ship will sail on Saturdays. “The Port of New Orleans is thrilled to welcome back Royal Caribbean. We look forward to working productively together for many years to come,” said Brandy Christian, Port President and CEO.

The longest and one of the most premium cruise ships ever to dock in New Orleans will sail into the Port’s Julia Street Cruise Terminal Sunday, Feb. 26, just in time for the finale of Mardi Gras festivities. The Celebrity Equinox, a 1,041-foot cruise ship christened in 2009, will make its first visit to the Port of New Orleans, remaining in Port through Feb. 28 – Mardi Gras Day. The ship’s length is equal to 3.47 football fields. “The Port is thrilled to welcome Celebrity Cruises back to New Orleans for an extended port call,” said Brandy Christian, Port President and CEO. Celebrity Equinox holds 2,850 passengers and is the longest cruise ship to berth in New Orleans to date.

More than 500 cruise passengers aboard Europa 2 will spend a few days in New Orleans next week, as the luxury cruise ship makes her maiden voyage to the Port of New Orleans Julia Street Cruise Terminal Monday, where port officials will host an onboard ceremonial plaque exchange with the vessel’s captain. “New Orleans consistently ranks atop the world’s top destinations for visitors and cruise lines see the Port of New Orleans as an attractive call on their itineraries,” said Gary LaGrange, Port President and CEO.

Crowley Maritime Corporation christened the third of four new LNG-ready Jones Act product tankers at a May 5 ceremony at the Julia Street Cruise Terminal in New Orleans. The 600-foot-long, 50,000-dead-weight-ton (dwt), 330,000-barrel-capacity MT Louisiana is capable of carrying crude oil or refined petroleum products, as well as other chemical products for U.S. Coastwise trade. The new vessel joins Crowley sister ships, Ohio and Texas, to be the first tankers ever to receive the American Bureau of Shipping’s LNG-Ready Level 1 approval…

Port of New Orleans cruise terminals handled more than 1-million passengers in 2015, totaling 1,023,700, up 1 percent compared to 2014. The total marks the fifth consecutive record year and with new and larger ships on tap for 2016, Port officials expect another robust cruise season. “Year-end numbers illustrate how popular the Port and the City of New Orleans are with cruise passengers throughout the nation,” said Gary LaGrange, Port President and CEO. Miami, Fla-based Carnival Cruise Line is increasing capacity on its year-round four- and five-day itineraries by 34 percent in April when the Carnival Triumph replaces the Carnival Elation in New Orleans. Also, Guilford, CT-based American Cruise Line will add a third riverboat named America to its home-ported fleet in New Orleans.

Former Port of New Orleans Cruise and Tourism Director Robert Jumonville received the 2015 American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) Cruise Award yesterday during the AAPA biennial Cruise Seminar in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The AAPA cited Jumonville as being the vision behind the phenomenal growth of the Port of New Orleans’ cruise passenger business and its terminal and cruise-related visitor assets. Under Jumonville’s watch, the Port of New Orleans invested more than $75 million in cruise facilities and saw a 1,200-percent rise in passenger throughput. Revenue produced by the Cruise and Tourism Division increased more than 500 percent during his tenure. In 2014, the Port handled more than 1 million cruise passengers for the first time in its history.

Officials with Norwegian Cruise Line and the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans signed a new four-year berthing agreement today with three one-year options. The agreement will keep at least one Norwegian cruise ship sailing seasonally from New Orleans through 2018 with the ability to extend the agreement through 2021. “Our partners at Norwegian Cruise Line are a pleasure to work with and we are elated to sign a long-term agreement to retain the Norwegian brand in the Crescent City,” said Port President and CEO Gary LaGrange. “We are pleased to continue our great relationship with the Port of New Orleans and look forward to cruising to the Caribbean from the exciting city of New Orleans for the next several years…

$2.3 million in renovations, expansions and upgrades are nearing completion at the Port of New Orleans’ Erato Street Cruise Terminal ahead of the arrival of the Port’s largest home-port cruise ship to date – the Carnival Dream. The 3,646-passenger Carnival Dream is scheduled to begin sailing seven-day, year-round eastern and western Caribbean itineraries April 14 from the Port of New Orleans’ Erato Street Cruise Terminal, replacing the 3,006-passenger Carnival Sunshine, which will be repositioned to Port Canaveral, Fla.

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. “The positive trend for cruising from New Orleans continues,” said Gary LaGrange, Port President and CEO. Last year, the Port of New Orleans commissioned a study to determine passenger and crew spending in the New Orleans region.

Royal Caribbean International’s newly revitalized 2,360-passenger Serenade of the Seas arrives at the Port of New Orleans’ Julia Street Cruise Terminal Dec. 12 to sail weekly itineraries through April. The 965-foot cruise ship was completely refurbished in December 2012 and replaces Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas, which was home-ported in New Orleans during the 2012-2013 cruise season. Sleek and sunlit, Serenade of the Seas features panoramic views and wide open spaces, as acres of glass enclose a nine-story central atrium.

Vessel traffic on the Mississippi River returned to normal Sunday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Karen dissipated. U.S. Coast Guard officials rescinded all restrictions on the River and area waterways about midnight, allowing vessels and mariners to resume normal operations. The Carnival Conquest arrived at the Port’s Erato Street Cruise Terminal about noon, followed by the Carnival Elation berthing at the Julia Street Cruise Terminal a half hour later. “Our top priority was to keep a safe distance from the storm while we waited for the river to reopen.

The port informs that its meeting no. 3 of fiscal year 2013-2014 is to be held on Thursday, September 26, 2013, 11:00 a.m. in the main auditorium at 1350 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans, Louisiana. II. III. IV. VI. A. Consider Award of a Contract to Kostmayer Construction, L.L.C., for Jourdan Road Terminal Substructure Repairs Necessitated by Hurricane Katrina (Ms. B. Consider Award of a Contract to C.E.C., Inc., for Repair of Pipe Discharge Supports at the Jourdan Road Patterson Pump Station on the Inner Harbor - Navigation Canal (Ms. C. Consider Award of a Contract to Boines Construction & Equipment Company, Inc., for Repairs Necessitated by Riverbank Erosion at Berth 1 of the Julia Street Cruise Terminal (Ms.

The Port of New Orleans welcomed Texas A&M University at Galveston’s training vessel, TS General Rudder. The Texas Maritime Academy vessel and 50 cadets will be docked at the Julia Street Cruise Terminal through Thursday, Aug. The TS General Rudder comes to the Port of New Orleans on its first ever visit to the Crescent City after making stops at several other ports earlier this year including Mobile, Ala., and Fort Lauderdale, Key West, Pensacola, and Tampa, Fla. While at the Port, cadets will conduct training exercises such as standing watches and vessel maintenance.

Total Cruise Industry Spending Topped $399 Million in Louisiana, Employment Up 37 Percent. A 32 percent increase in cruise passengers at the Port of New Orleans in 2012 resulted in huge gains in employment and cruise spending in Louisiana, according to a report released this week by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). Port of New Orleans cruise terminals handled a record 977,703 passengers in 2012, up 32 percent compared to 2011’s former record of 736,908. CLIA’s report…