Carnival Cruise Line Becomes First To Resume New Orleans Sailings

Carnival Glory is scheduled to depart today from the Port of New Orleans, making it the first vessel to sail out of The Big Easy since March 2020, when the entire cruise industry was shut down due to the pandemic.

Departing from the Erato Street Cruise Terminal, this first seven-day voyage will bring passengers to three beloved Bahamian destinations: Bimini, Freeport and Nassau. In celebration of the occasion, the company today held a ‘Back to Fun’ event in the aforementioned terminal, which included a ceremonial ribbon-cutting by Carnival’s Vice President of Guest Operations Sarah Beth Reno, Carnival Glory’s Captain Nicola Iaccarino and Port of New Orleans President and CEO Brandy D. Christian, who personally welcomed the first guests on board.

“Carnival Cruise Line has been a part of the New Orleans community for more than 25 years and we’re absolutely thrilled to provide our guests an opportunity to get Back to Fun, while supporting the local economy in one of our most popular homeports,” Christine Duffy, Carnival Cruise Line’s President, remarked. “Carnival is the number one cruise operator from New Orleans with the greatest variety of cruise choices and itineraries, and we are so happy to bring our unique brand of fun back to this fantastic city.”

The 2,980-passenger Carnival Glory is among the first vessels in the fleet to sport the line’s new red, white and bull hull design, designed to reflect broader maritime tradition and Carnival’s legacy as ‘America’s Cruise Line’.

Starting November 1, Carnival Valor will join Carnival Glory in sailing its former schedule of short cruise itineraries, four- and five-day cruises to Mexico that have proven very popular in the past. With this pair of ships operating continuously, Carnival Cruise Line anticipates carrying 400,000 passengers annually out of New Orleans, which is more than any other line.

Carnival’s current offerings from New Orleans include:

—Six-, seven- and eight-day cruises to the Caribbean, Bahamas and Mexico.

—Four- and five-day cruises to Mexico.

—14-day Carnival Journeys, featuring a partial transit of the Panama Canal and visits to popular Caribbean destinations.

For more information, visit carnival.com.