Carnival Cruise Line Resumes Sailing Out of New Orleans

Carnival Cruise Line is back in The Big Easy.

The cruise line on Sunday officially returned to New Orleans for the first time since pre-pandemic when Carnival Glory set sail out of the Erato Street Cruise Terminal on a Bahamian cruise.

The ship, which has recently been decked out with Carnival’s new hull art, continues a long tradition of sailing out of New Orleans for Carnival, a cruise line that launched its first year-round program out of New Orleans in 1994 and has since carried more than 4 million guests out of the city.

Glory will soon be joined by Carnival Valor later this spring, which will sail four- and five-day cruises to Mexico. With Valor and Glory both operating out of New Orleans, Carnival expects to carry 400,000 passengers annually from the city, making it the largest operator out of The Big Easy.

“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,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.  

“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.”

Carnival, and its sister brands from Carnival Corp. recently announced a new two-day pre-cruise COVID-19 testing directive, which has created a smaller window for guests to be tested prior to embarkation. The company has since partnered with Quest Diagnostics for some easier-access pre-cruise options when it comes to meeting those new requirements.

The program streamlines pre-cruise preparation for cruisers by giving them convenient access to more than 1,500 Quest Diagnostics patient service centers and retail pharmacy testing locations throughout the U.S.

All tests must be taken no more than two days before embarkation. For example, if a cruise leaves on a Saturday, cruisers should schedule their tests for the Thursday before embarking.

Cruisers booked on any of the Carnival Corp. brands (Carnival, Princess, Holland America, and Seabourn) will receive an email with a secure link to book an appointment. PCR test results are typically delivered in one to two days.