New Orleans Cruise Port Guide

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Facts checked against official sources on 24 September 2026

Operator	Port of New Orleans, governed by the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans. Offices at 1350 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans, LA 70130.
Terminals	Erato Street Cruise Terminal, 1100 Port of New Orleans Place · Julia Street Cruise Terminal, 920 Port of New Orleans Place
Parking	Covered garages at both. $25 a day flat on the port's FAQ; a tiered table on the parking page. See below.
Airport	Louis Armstrong New Orleans International (MSY), 17 miles and about 45 minutes per Norwegian
Ranking	The port publishes itself as the sixth-largest cruise port in the United States

Which terminal

Erato Street	Carnival Cruise Line. Climate-controlled, ADA-compliant passenger gangway. 90,000 square feet.
Julia Street	Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean. Climate-controlled, ADA-compliant passenger gangway.
River cruises	American Cruise Lines and Viking sail the Mississippi from here. The port does not publish their terminals, and states it cannot provide parking for them: contact the line.

Ships published by the port: Carnival Liberty and Carnival Valor at 2,974 passengers each, Norwegian Getaway at 3,963, and seasonal Royal Caribbean vessels at 2,466. On the river, Viking Mississippi carries 386.

Parking at the port

Parking is run by LAZ Parking on the port's behalf, and both garages are covered, secured, lighted and patrolled. Both open at 9:00am.

Erato Street Garage (Carnival)	Over 1,000 covered spaces at the terminal. Published rates without a reservation: 4 days $120, 5 days $135, 6 days $160, 7 days $180, 8 days $200, 14 days $350. Height limits 8'4" for limited third-floor spaces and 7'6" higher up; maximum vehicle length 22 feet. Credit or debit card only.
100 Poydras Garage (Norwegian, Royal Caribbean)	100 Poydras St. Over 500 covered spaces, shuttle to the terminal included. Published rates: 4 days $120, 5 days $135, 7 days $180. Height limit 6'6", maximum length 22 feet.

Reserving costs more here, not less. The port adds a $1 per day convenience fee when you reserve. Its FAQ separately publishes a flat "$25 per day" at both terminals, and Norwegian publishes $25 a day "with or without reservations." The tiered table above works out between $25 and $30 a day depending on length. All three are official and they do not reconcile, so read the total in the booking screen before you confirm.

On oversized vehicles the port directs enquiries to LAZ Parking, while New Orleans & Company, the city's official destination organisation, publishes that the port can no longer accommodate oversized vehicles and that the overflow options have been discontinued. Call before you drive an RV down. The Hilton "Whale Lot" is no longer used by the port for cruise passengers.

Two accessible-parking facts, one good and one bad

The bad one, published plainly: "The Port cannot provide complimentary handicapped parking." A disabled placard buys you nothing here.

The good one: free cruise terminal parking for up to seven days for a veteran who resides in Louisiana, has a 50% or greater service-connected disability, and brings proper documentation such as a VA letter or DV plate. It applies to the qualified veteran only, not to a spouse or family, the veteran must be present with ID matching the boarding pass, and eligible veterans should not reserve online.

Parking off the port

None verified. Neither the port nor New Orleans & Company names a single private cruise parking vendor or park-and-cruise hotel; everything that surfaces in a search is a reselling marketplace. For extended stays the port gives a contact: Ann Hanks on 504-528-3318.

Getting there from the airport

Taxi	The airport publishes flat rates: $36.00 for up to two passengers to the Central Business District or French Quarter, or $15.00 per passenger for three or more. Taxis must accept credit cards. Pickup at the taxi zone outside Level 1 baggage claim, Door 7. New Orleans & Company publishes $14 per person plus $1 a bag instead, so expect a dollar or two of variation.
Rideshare	Uber and Lyft, minimum fare $36 to or from Orleans Parish, pickup on Level 1 outside baggage claim
Public transit	RTA route 202 Airport Express to downtown with stops on Poydras Street, $1.25
Shuttle	New Orleans & Company publishes $30 one way and $56 round trip, serving the cruise terminals, every 30 minutes from 5:55am to 10:00pm, with wheelchair-accessible vehicles available on one week's notice. But the operator's own site now says it carries groups of 10 or more only and publishes no fares. Confirm before you count on it.

The airport's own safety warning, worth repeating: do not accept offers of help with transport or bags from anyone who is not properly badged. Look for MSY ID badges. Unbadged solicitors may be unlicensed and uninsured.

How close is the French Quarter, really

Closer than most departure ports, further than "steps away" suggests. The port's own wording is that the terminals are "steps away from the historic French Quarter and dynamic Warehouse District," and it publishes no distance in blocks, miles or minutes. The only concrete figure it gives is that the National WWII Museum is a five-minute cab ride from both terminals. It also publishes a Blue Bikes hub at 101 Julia St, the Outlet Collection at Riverwalk adjacent to the terminals, and a streetcar route running perpendicular to the river.

Arriving

Garages open at 9:00am. Driving directions from the port: from I-10 east or west, exit at US-90 W (Exit 234A), then exit US-90 W at Tchoupitoulas (Exit 11C), and turn left onto Port of New Orleans Place after crossing the railroad tracks.

The port publishes no arrival window, no luggage drop rule and no all-aboard time, and refers all of it to the cruise line. The one indirect clue it gives: its venue rental page states the Erato Street terminal is unavailable for hire "due to cruise port days between 4AM and 6PM."

Terminal amenities: a refreshment stand, a souvenir shop and an ATM. Lost luggage numbers are published: Concord Shore Services on 504-304-0157 for Carnival and Royal Caribbean, and 504-495-5663 or 504-237-8285 for Norwegian.

Hurricane season

Port NOLA publishes no standing hurricane policy, but its own advisories show how it handles one. During Hurricane Francine in September 2024 the port closed terminal operations on 12 September for clean-up and returned to normal operations on 13 September. For the cruise specifically, it coordinated with Carnival on the Carnival Valor, due to sail on the 13th; because of the shortened turnaround Carnival ran the voyage without a port of call visit and notified passengers of the change by 2pm on 12 September, roughly 24 hours ahead. After Hurricane Ida, cargo operations resumed four days after the storm.

The practical lesson: New Orleans sailings during hurricane season are more likely to be modified than cancelled, and the notice comes about a day ahead. The port directs the public to portnola.com for storm recovery updates.

Accessibility

Three published items, and that is all: ADA-compliant climate-controlled passenger gangways at both terminals, no complimentary accessible parking, and wheelchair-accessible airport shuttle vehicles on one week's notice. Nothing is published about wheelchair assistance at the terminal, accessible drop-off, or accessible terminal facilities.

Not published anywhere official: which parking rate is current, whether the Erato Street garage includes a shuttle, whether oversized vehicles are accepted at all, any walking distance to the French Quarter, arrival windows and all-aboard times, wheelchair assistance at the terminals, and any private park-and-cruise operator's rate.

Where these facts come from

Ports change their rules and their prices. Check the official pages above before you sail.

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