New Orleans’ largest year-round cruise ship, the 3,646-passenger Carnival Dream, will depart on its inaugural six-day cruise from New Orleans this afternoon, further solidifying Carnival’s distinction of the port’s largest cruise operator with two ships carrying more than 400,000 passengers annually – the most of any cruise line, the company said in a statement.
The special six-day voyage, visiting Costa Maya, Mahogany Bay (Isla Roatan), and Cozumel, will depart from the newly refurbished Erato Street Cruise Terminal, which has undergone a $2.3 million upgrade to accommodate a ship as large as the 130,000-ton Carnival Dream.
Beginning April 20, Carnival Dream will launch year-round seven-day service from New Orleans offering three distinctly different itineraries – western Caribbean cruises visiting Montego Bay, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman; or Mahogany Bay (Isla Roatan), Belize and Cozumel; and a Bahamas/Florida route calling at Key West, Freeport and Nassau. Carnival Dream joins Carnival Elation which sails year-round four- and five-day cruises to Mexico.
A study by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) found that spending by Carnival and other cruise operators in Louisiana topped $399 million in 2012, generating 7,548 jobs and $294 million in personal income. CLIA also ranked New Orleans the sixth largest cruise port in the U.S.