The Port of New Orleans surpassed 1 million cruise passengers in 2025, recording 1,067,407 cruise passenger actions in the course of the calendar yr. Cruise passenger momentum peaked in March 2025 when Port NOLA posted its highest single-month complete on file, exceeding 165,000 passenger actions.

The 2025 complete marks the ninth consecutive time, excluding pandemic-affected years 2020 and 2021, that the port has exceeded the one-million-passenger threshold. In 2024, Port NOLA recorded a record-breaking, greater than 1.2 cruise passenger actions. In 2023, Port NOLA recorded 1.19 million cruise passengers, which was up 26 p.c from 2022. Pre-COVID, Port NOLA recorded 1.21 million passengers in 2019.

“Constantly surpassing a million cruise passenger actions speaks to the energy of New Orleans as a world cruise vacation spot and the collaborative efforts that make this success attainable,” stated Beth Department, president and CEO of the Port of New Orleans and CEO of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad.

Port NOLA is the nation’s sixth-largest cruise port and is the one U.S. port providing each ocean-going and river cruising, creating a various cruise portfolio that helps year-round exercise and strengthens the regional tourism economic system. Cruise operations at Port NOLA generate an estimated $445 million in complete direct and oblique financial influence, based on port information.

Roughly 90% of cruise passengers originate from exterior Louisiana, and about 70% of these guests spend one or two nights in New Orleans earlier than or after their cruise. That exercise interprets into greater than 300,000 resort room nights yearly. “Cruising is an important financial engine for our area, and with expanded service and bigger ships on the horizon, Port NOLA is effectively positioned to ship even higher worth to Louisiana and the Gulf South,” stated Department.

For the 2026 cruise season, Port NOLA will host a number of main cruise strains, and the port can also be positioned for passenger development in 2027 and 2028. In 2026, Carnival Cruise Line will proceed year-round service with its Liberty and Valor providing Caribbean itineraries out of New Orleans. Carnival has introduced expanded capability with the bigger Dream cruise line becoming a member of Liberty in New Orleans starting in Might 2027. The three,646-passenger Dream will change the two,980-passenger Valor and sail its first cruise from New Orleans on Might 16, 2027, to Cozumel.

Royal Caribbean Worldwide is scheduled to return in late 2026 with Mariner of the Seas, marking the road’s first sailings from the port in two years with Western Caribbean departures. In a December 2025 press launch, Royal Caribbean confirmed that it’ll sail from New Orleans as effectively for 2027-2028. Starting November 2027, the Mariner of the Seas will sail 6- to 9-night Western Caribbean itineraries from New Orleans with calls in Belize Metropolis, Roatan, and Cozumel.

Norwegian Cruise Line has plans to debut Norwegian Prima from New Orleans in the course of the 2026-27 winter season, increasing its Caribbean choices from the town. Along with ocean cruising, Port NOLA additionally helps a number of homeported river cruise vessels operated by American Cruise Strains and Viking.

“Reaching this milestone for the ninth time displays each robust demand and the boldness our cruise line companions proceed to position in Port NOLA,” stated Steven Gauthier, Port NOLA’s vice chairman of cruise. “As we welcome the return of Royal Caribbean and put together for elevated capability from Carnival, we anticipate significant development in passenger volumes over the subsequent a number of years.”