Carnival Cruise Line Celebrates 30 Years of Sailing From New Orleans

Carnival Liberty has arrived in New Orleans to welcome her first guests from her new homeport, marking Carnival’s 30 years of sailing from The Big Easy.

Carnival Cruise Line celebrated its 30th anniversary of sailing from New Orleans with trumpets blaring aboard Carnival Liberty. Community leaders and the cruise line’s Chief Culinary Officer, Emeril Lagasse, were on board to commemorate the significant milestone shortly after Liberty docked at her new home of Port NOLA for the first time.

“It’s an honor to share this great milestone and build on our successful partnership with the city and the port of New Orleans. We sail more than 400,000 guests from Port NOLA annually and for every one of them, our goal is the same: providing a fun and memorable vacation. That’s certainly a shared objective with the City of New Orleans, for all its visitors, which drives our partnership’s continued success,” said Carnival’s president Christine Duffy.

Carnival’s Chief Communications Officer, Chris Chiames, and former Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald—a New Orleans native—congratulated local officials for their long-standing collaboration. Carnival is the most popular cruise operator in New Orleans, as well as the only ocean cruise line that is based in the city year-round. Since 1994, when Carnival inaugurated its first year-round service from Port NOLA, nearly seven million guests have sailed from the port on a Carnival ship.

“We are thrilled to celebrate this monumental milestone with our valued partner, Carnival Cruise Line,” said Brandy D. Christian, President & CEO, Port of New Orleans and New Orleans Public Belt Railroad.

“For 30 years, Carnival has shown an unwavering commitment to the New Orleans cruise market, and we are most grateful. Our cruise industry is thriving—and on track to exceed pre-pandemic numbers with the support of Carnival’s two year-round homeported vessels. We look forward to many more years of partnership and successes,” Christian continued.

In honor of the 30-year milestone, Carnival contributed $30,000 to the Emeril Lagasse Foundation to promote New Orleans’ youth education and culinary programs. Lagasse led a tour of the ship’s main galley for a group of students from Belle Chasse Academy, a local school partner of Emeril’s Culinary Garden & Teaching Kitchen, just after cutting the first slice of an anniversary cake produced by Carnival Liberty‘s culinary team.

In honor of 30 years of cruising from New Orleans, Carnival contributed $30,000 to the **Emeril Lagasse Foundation** to promote youth education and culinary programs in the city (image courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line)

“Even before joining the team, I knew well that Carnival has been a great partner to our incredible city. We’ve all seen and enjoyed the growing popularity of cruising from our port over the years, which continues to bring more people here to enjoy all the rich culture our city has to offer,” Lagasse said in a press release.

“My restaurants, Emeril’s and Meril, are just a few blocks from the pier, and it’s also special getting to welcome a ship docking here for the first time. We’re proud Carnival Liberty and her great team are now calling New Orleans home.”

Celebrity chef and Carnival’s Chief Culinary Officer Emeril Lagasse cut the first slice of the 30th-anniversary cake created by *Carnival Liberty* chefs (image courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line)

Carnival Liberty‘s arrival in New Orleans preserves the company’s two-ship, year-round deployment plan in the city. The ship provides a number of sailing options, focused on week-long cruises to popular ports in the Bahamas, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Two 14-day Panama Canal cruises are also available on Carnival Liberty, and next year the ship will make multiple trips to Celebration Key, Carnival’s upcoming private destination on Grand Bahama Island.

Liberty shares her new home with Carnival Valor, which also sails a variety of four- to seven-day cruises.

Cruisers departing from New Orleans on Carnival Liberty‘s first voyage from her new homeport will sail on a six-day Western Caribbean cruise, visiting Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico as well as Belize City, Belize.

Carnival celebrated 30 years of cruising from New Orleans with a celebration aboard *Carnival Liberty* (Pictured L-R: Arnold Donald, Emeril Lagasse, Brandy D. Christian. Image courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line)

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Have you cruised from New Orleans on a Carnival ship? What’s your favorite part of sailing from NOLA? Let me know in the comments below!

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Carrie Ann Karstunen

Carrie Ann is the founder of Should Be Cruising and a lifelong travel fanatic. A former flight attendant, she now prefers cruise ships over airplanes and spends several months each year cruising and exploring cruise ports. Facebook | Instagram | TikTok

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