New Orleans terminal update

Author Message   John Braddy Senior Member Username: Wingrider Post Number: 88 Registered: 12-2003 Posted on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 03:12 pm:    My wife and I and several friends were on the Sun on that first trip out back in Oct. Talk about security. Three small Coast Guard boats followed us and stayed around us for several miles. In the back of each one was a person manning a machine gun as well as all the other personnel being armed. The security was great but it was sill a little un-nerving. Not sure if they do that for all the ships leaving or if that was just because that was the first one...   Matthew Alan Knapp Senior Member Username: Matt_k Post Number: 426 Registered: 02-2006 Posted on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 01:15 am:    I found this at the Vacations to Go newsletter about the New Orleans terminal update: It's been more than a year since Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, and it's great to see that the Crescent City is on the rebound. One sure sign: tourists are returning and the city's cruise business is booming. December was New Orleans' busiest month on record for cruise ship calls, with a total of 23 calls by seven ships. That's quite an accomplishment considering the port just restarted cruise ship operations in October. The Norwegian Sun was the first ship to return, departing on October 15 with a sold out sailing of more than 2,000 passengers onboard. Carnival's Fantasy returned in late October and Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas departed on its first voyage from New Orleans since the storm on December 5. Delta Queen's ships Delta Queen, Mississippi Queen and American Queen will begin their regular departures up the Mississippi River this spring, and the Carnival Triumph will begin sailing from New Orleans in August. In addition to being the first ship back in town, the Norwegian Sun was also the first ship to embark from the brand new Erato Street Cruise Terminal, which was built to ease congestion at the Julia Street Cruise Terminal. In addition to these two terminals, the Port of New Orleans has secured space for a third terminal, signing an agreement with the U.S. Maritime Administration for 228,000 sq. ft. of wharf space and 84,000 sq. ft. of shed space at Poland Avenue. The transformation is now underway, and although the Golden Princess tested the waters in December for three of its departures, the new Poland Avenue Cruise Facility is expected to open in 2008.