Cruise industry 'confident' about New Orleans rebound

New Orleans CityBusiness, Oct 25, 2005 by CityBusiness Staff Report

All three established cruise lines that homeport ships in New Orleans are eager to return to the city, Port of New Orleans officials said today.Carnival, Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line have all said they will return to New Orleans at the earliest opportunity, said Gary LaGrange, president and CEO of the Port of New Orleans.

Carnival's 952-foot Carnival Conquest, which serves nearly 3,000 passengers, plans to return as soon as early spring 2006. Since Hurricane Katrina, the Carnival Conquest has sailed from Galveston, Texas, and Carnival's Sensation and Ecstasy have been under contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide temporary housing. The Sensation will resume regular customer service from New Orleans when its FEMA obligations are over.Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas returns to New Orleans Dec. 2, 2006, to resume seven-night sailings to Cozumel, Mexico; George Town, Grand Cayman; and Costa Maya, Mexico, said Adam Goldstein, president of Royal Caribbean International. The impact of Hurricane Katrina has been devastating but we are confident that New Orleans will reclaim its place as a world-class tourism destination, Goldstein said.The Grandeur of the Seas will sail from her temporary port, the Port of Tampa, on a series of four- and five-night Western Caribbean itineraries from December until May 2006 before relocating to Baltimore for the summer season.The Norwegian Sun will resume its normal November to May Western Caribbean cruises from New Orleans in November of 2006.A recent Port of New Orleans study determined the industry generates $226 million in direct and indirect sales annually, which supports 2,798 full and part-time jobs paying $74.1 million in wages in the region.The Port of New Orleans is expanding its cruise terminal capacity. The existing Julia Street Cruise Terminal Complex sustained little damage from the storm and is ready for business when FEMA downsizes or moves its operations. However, construction on the Erato Street Cruise Terminal, scheduled for completion in December will be delayed three months. The $37 million project will add a 90,000 square-foot terminal and a 1,000-vehicle parking garage. The conversion of the Poland Avenue Wharf into a cruise terminal has been delayed indefinitely.Although the short-term effect will be substantial, we believe the cruise business in New Orleans will return to its pre-Katrina levels and the anticipated expansion will not be affected, said Robert Jumonville, Port director of cruise and tourism. The immediate return of the cruise business rests on the ability of the City of New Orleans to quickly revitalize the tourism- related areas including the Riverfront, French Quarter and other historic areas and to make them visitor-friendly once again.