Port of New Orleans Moves Ahead on Julia Street Terminal

The Port of New Orleans is a step closer to realizing another new, modern cruise ship terminal at the Julia Street Wharf after the board of commissioners moved ahead with an agreement with the Louisiana Department of Transportation’s Port Priority Program.

The $9 million project to combine two existing terminals into one state-of-the-art facility received the state program’s highest approval rating by the Louisiana Legislature. The state will invest $8.1 million into the project, with the remaining $900,000 coming from the port.

Construction will reconfigure two existing smaller ship terminals into one larger terminal to attract the industry’s largest vessels. The interior of the terminal will be renovated, building a new vertical circulation core with an elevator and two escalators and installing an elevated, articulating and climate-controlled passenger bridge similar to the bridge in place at the port’s Erato Street Cruise Terminal.

The bridge will allow the industry’s largest cruise ships to simultaneously load and unload passengers and supplies in a safe and efficient manner. The project, which will increase the port’s cruise ship terminal capacity by 100 percent, is anticipated to create 150 new jobs and generate $169.5 million annually for the region’s economy.

Currently, Carnival Cruise Lines’ 2,056-passenger Carnival Fantasy sails four- and five-day Western Caribbean itineraries from the port year-round. However, in November, Carnival will expand its capacity by 34 percent when the 2,758-passenger Carnival Triumph replaces the Fantasy. The cruise ship will reintroduce the seven-day Western Caribbean cruise and will also offer a new seven-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary that visits Key West, Freeport and Nassau.

The port and Norwegian Cruise Line recently inked a new long-term agreement that allows NCL to homeport a ship in New Orleans through Oct. 31, 2014. Currently, the Norwegian Spirit offers seven-day Western Caribbean cruises from New Orleans seasonally, November through April.