7 day cruises out of new orleans

[rdemn]

why don't any cruise lines have 7 or more day cruises out of new orleans or mobile? I live about 10 hours from these cities. why do I have to go to lower Florida for a 7 day cruise where driving is out of the question and airline is to expensive.

[wwinfl91]

It looks like NCL Spirit is doing 7 day cruises out of New Orleans this year. I don't know why more cruise lines don't use this port but they just never have seemed to want to even before the hurricane damage.

 

Good luck in finding others.

[KroozFoolz]

Carnival Triumph will be doing 7 day cruises (alternating with 4 and 5 day cruises) from NOLA starting in November of this year. In 2010, Fantasy will do several 7 day cruises from Mobile.

[GORDONCHICK]

I'm getting on the NCL Spirit on 1/77/09, and it's a 7-night cruise.

[NSBFloridaRetiree]

We'll be sailing on a 7-day cruise out of New Orleans in March.

[firefly333]

The 7 day cruise on Carnival Triumph, the Western will be going to Roatan. I consider that a better port than the Conquest does. Starts late Nov 09. Climb on board and book a cruise.

[Cruzman]

why don't any cruise lines have 7 or more day cruises out of new orleans or mobile? I live about 10 hours from these cities. why do I have to go to lower Florida for a 7 day cruise where driving is out of the question and airline is to expensive.

 

Here's the story from the Mobile Press Register published a couple of weeks ago:

 

Thursday, December 18, 2008

By KAIJA WILKINSON

Business Reporter

 

Carnival Carnival Lines plans to add six temporary seven-day cruises from Mobile aboard the Fantasy starting in May 2010, the Miami-based cruise line confirmed Wednesday.

 

Local travel agent Steve Cape of Springdale Travel said he learned about the addition Wednesday morning when brochures arrived at the agency touting the trips, scheduled to stop in Montego Bay, Jamaica; Grand Cayman; and Cozumel. The brochures describe sailing and snorkeling in Jamaica and relaxing on Grand Cayman's seven-mile beach.

 

Carnival in August announced plans to replace the 1,452-passenger Holiday with the 2,052-passenger Fantasy starting in November 2009. At the time, Carnival's senior vice president of marketing, Terry Thornton, said the ship would initially have the same four- and five-day western Caribbean itinerary as the Holiday, with a one-time six-day trip and seven-day cruises starting later.

 

Holiday visits Cozumel and either Calica or Progreso, Yucatan.

 

Describing Mobile as "a terrific homeport," Thornton said during the August announcement that offering temporary, longer cruises is the standard way to build emerging cruise ports.

 

The Holiday has enjoyed consistently strong bookings since it arrived in Mobile in 2004, and cruise proponents have said that bodes well for the future of the Fantasy.

 

"This is great news for the city of Mobile," Cape said. "The people who have been on cruises on the Holiday will want to visit the new destinations." The expanded itinerary also should help win new cruise fans, he said.

 

According to Carnival, departure dates for the seven-day cruises are May 8 and 15, July 3 and 10, and Oct. 23 and 30. Spokesman Vance Gulliksen said the cruises are not open for reservations yet, but could be by Jan. 1. People may already book the four- and five-day trips that will be offered aboard the Fantasy, which represents a 40-percent upgrade in capacity over the Holiday.

 

The brochure said special discounted prices for the seven-day cruise start at $449 per person

[wrp96]

New Orleans lost a lot of ships after Katrina. They've been slow to regain them.

[98Charlie]

DH & i cruised NCL Spirit out of NOLA in Nov., 2007 and again in Nov., 2008. We are currently discussing booking the Spirit out of NOLA again in Nov., 2009. Love the ship but more than that -- we love New Orleans.

 

Planning to book Carnival Triumph on a 7-day out of NOLA in 2010.:D

 

Dianne

[mactrio]

why don't any cruise lines have 7 or more day cruises out of new orleans or mobile? I live about 10 hours from these cities. why do I have to go to lower Florida for a 7 day cruise where driving is out of the question and airline is to expensive.

 

We're on the NCL Spirit 2/22/09 out of New Orleans for a 7 night cruise.

[klct39lg]

We've sailed 7 day cruises twice out of New Orleans, 2006 on the Golden Princess and 2008 on NCL Spirit. We really enjoyed our time in NOLA, brief as it was, and would sail again from this port if the itineraries were changed. (Don't want to keep doing Western Caribbean.)