Port Of New Orleans

The customs officials are great and most of the workers are friendly as well. I just despise the layout of this port. The long walk from deck 7 is annoying plus the walk around and then the wait at the doors.
The traffic is crazy busy and we had a bus pick us up (custom one not the public ones) and it couldn’t get through until everyone was pretty much picked up first so we waited a long time in 45 degree weather.
The people just kind of tell you to stay out of the way as far as luggage people and come hauling around corners. It’s crowded so getting out of the way isn’t as easy as they think it should be for you.
There are reasonably priced snacks at the end by door 1, with clean restrooms. The snacks are little bags of chips, crackers, candy bars, gross looking sandwiches and cold burgers, and juices and red bull.

If you like to cruise this is a very nice port to use. The drop off and pick up points are very convenient. The embarkation and debarkation is very well organized and runs very smoothly. The porters are friendly and very helpful. There are quite a few people who work there that are retired and are there to help the process and provide information. We’ve cruised out of other ports but, the is the best we used so far. Congratulations New Orleans, well done.

really a very good place to board a ship
parking is easy and safe
and a short walk to the french quarter
nice place to be

Not bad considering how totally unorganized it is. Jammed in along river some RR tracks and convention center.
The initial reception with the baggage Porters was great. Very friendly and service oriented.
Parking was just stupid. The lot was full so a guy in a golf cart parades us around the port to a satellite lot. We then walk forever to get to Royal Carib.
An older gent with a cane got no help from parking S+ company. Standard Parking. Div of Central Parking.
We asked several security folks to call for a wheel chair to assist him. They all passed the buck.
Upon return, several welcome home greetings. Customs was a breeze.
Then a big ego port cop wants to show off as we are walking to our vehicle left blocks away thanks to the ports S+ Parking.
Little wonder RCCL is leaving NOLA.

Port of New Orleans (Cruise Terminal)
I have traveled through the Port of New Orleans (Cruise Terminal) four times in two years. I have to tell you it is, without a doubt, my favorite cruise terminal in North America.
I have found the ground staff organized, friendly, informative and ready to assist. The facility is clean and modern, and without a lot of unnecessary steps for the passengers.
I really like spending the night before at the New Orleans Downtown Marriott at the Convention Center. You wake refreshed, cross the street, and Port of New Orleans Staff meets you half way down Julia Street, and checks in your bags. Then you stroll into the Cruise Terminal and on to your ship.
It just doesn’t get any easier. Five Stars.

Nice to sit and watch sunset

This review will focus on the non-​cruise aspects of the port. If you’re looking for cruise info, stop reading now.
The Port of New Orleans is my favorite port in all the world. I may be biased, but having New Orleans in your name means that I am genetically predisposed to like you. Now that my bias is out of the way, I will get to the review.
I have been fortunate enough to experience the port from the standpoint of any citizen, plus I’ve gotten to see some of the cool private features. Since I can’t give away any port secrets, I’ll focus on the public areas.
The Port of New Orleans Headquarters building is impressive. Located directly under the CCC, the view from their parking lot is spectacular. Even if you don’t have any official port business, I encourage you to park in the lot and walk towards the river. There are a couple of swings that are an amazing spot to sit, have lunch and watch the ships roll by. There is also a giant statue that I am sure cost a pretty penny, but I don’t quite get it. Photographers should especially visit this spot as the bridges are normally not shot from this direction and you can really get some cool images if you’re patient.
Also in that general area is the road that runs from the Hilton to Henderson Street. Not many people know about this road and during Mardi Gras, it is the best shortcut from Uptown to Downtown. I’ve never been pulled over using it, but that’s the chance you take. It isn’t signed as if it’s private so I just risk it to avoid gridlock.
The Port of New Orleans has several cool toys. The first is their own police force which is known locally as just the Harbor Police. The next cool item I can tell you about is their fireboat; The Gen. Roy S. Kelly. That boat can turn on a dime, shoot massive amounts of water from its many hoses and looks totally bad ass. I do wish they would mount an M2 on the bow, but that may be pushing it.
I hope you enjoyed this review of the port.

I think the rain threw people off when we were getting on our cruise. People were confused and didn’t know what was going on. The people were kind (well most of them) and helpful.
Coming back from the cruise everyone greeted us with happy faces and welcomed us back!
The cruise port was easy to walk to and from. Upon disembarkment we walked to a local hotel, checked our luggage at the desk and enjoyed one last food binge.
If you have time… walk out and don’t take a cab as you’ll save money and see more sights!
Unilocal ³⁄₁₀₀

Embarkation is always smooth at this port. From the time that we drop off our bags, to the time that we are boarding the ship is usually 45 minutes. This time, we were in and finished with lunch by 12:15. Last year, we arrived around 10:30 which was more crowded and more of a wait.
Taxi fare is overly priced to and from. It’s usually a $ 7 per person flat rate even if you’re going a mile from the port… which was my case today. The hertz terminal was literally a mile away and we paid $ 28 for our two minute taxi ride, for four people… this isn’t the port’s problem, I just mentioned it so my fellow cruisers will be aware ;)

What can I really say about a port? Basically you come here to board a boat or a cruise ship right? The thing though is that the Port of New Orleans has the Mississippi River! Then there is the Crescent City Connection twin bridges! Combined they make a really nice view and cute spot to chill during a sunset. I came here after running the Crescent Connection Bridge Run. The after party took place here and it was nice how they turned a plain port into a celebration with tents, a mini concert stage, and food trucks. The port also has swing benches to sit on. So if you are in the area, I recommend taking a stroll through here if you have time.

Easy place to get on a ship but you do not need to take a cab if you are close the the Riverwalk. just walk through and get on it is that easy …

This was such a cool tour! Unfortunately, for many of you, you won’t be able to get a tour unless you’re part of a special group or something. They don’t usually give public tours. The port is interesting in their workings as a public/​private entity. They own the land, but lease the buildings out to the mall, shipping companies, even Mardi Gras world. The property that they own is very extensive and funded by these leases and some government grants and private/​public partnerships.
Did you know that if you combine the area of the Port of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Southern Louisiana and St Bernard, it is the largest port in the country? New York, New Jersey etc, already combine their network of ports, so they don’t have the caveat that we do.
Did you know that if You combine Port of New Orleans and Port of Southern Louisiana, it has the most traffic?
Did you know that Louisiana is the oldest port in the US? 1896!
Did you know that they are #7 cruise ship port in the US?
Did you know that they dredge the area in front of the port out to 100′? The rest is done by the Army Corp?
Did you know that there are 6 rail lines running into the port?
This port has a lot to offer, too bad it sits behind the massive storm surge walls, so you can’t see any of it.

Arrival here to board a Norwegian cruise was a bit chaotic. However, I can’t complain too much given the fact there are 3,000 other people trying to get on board also. You can imagine the confusion displayed by 3,000 people coming from all around the world.
The line through security moved relatively fast and checking in was easy.
Disembarking the ship was a little more complicated only because we had to go through our lovely US customs. No, I don’t have any beef or fruit on me! This line moved reallllly slow… maybe somebody was claiming an orange or something.
Once through customs, the port staff were very helpful in giving directions to exit and find proper transportation.
Bön Voyage!

This port is seriously complicated and seriously unorganized. The Royal Caribbean section was all the way at the end of the building so with all the other cruise ships leaving it took us almost 20 minutes in the taxi just to make it through the traffic down to our drop off. Make sure your driver asks the security/​port authority where to go as there are several different lanes/​drop-​offs depending on the cruise line.
Once you drop off, some random porters grab your bags and you kind of just hope they make it onto the ship. Then you will aimlessly wander into the building because you figure that’s where you go, only to find an impossibly long line all the way down the hall of the building (which stretches down the block you just drove past). When you finally get down to the end of this massive line, it moves pretty quickly. into a room with another line. Then you go to another room, with another line.
This place is basically hell for people who hate to queue up.
When you finally get to the counter where you check in for your cruise, you will exit the queue area directly onto the ramp onto the ship and finally finish with the lines.
If you happen to read this before your cruise, bring as little as necessary for carry-​on baggage because you spend so long in lines and make sure you print your SetSail document to take with you.
When you return from your cruise there is only one shortish line at customs (thank god), but there is a long walk through the entire building back to where your pickup is.

Best departure ever!

I love New Orleans, but the day of my cruise the port was terrible. Service was okay, but everything was highly unorganized and very chaotic.
It was about 1pm on a Saturday and I don’t know what the heck was going on that day, but we waited in the drop off line on the Port of New Orleans Pl for 30 minutes before our taxi turned around and dropped us off on the corner of Convention Ctr Drive and Julia St. Much better… we just walked a few minutes toward the cruise port building. But when we got there, the luggage drop off area was chaotic! We dragged our luggage and put it somewhere in the pile ourselves. There was luggage everywhere and just sitting there so if someone wanted to, they could just take off with someone’s luggage and nobody would be the wiser.
Other than the super long waiting line and the chaotic luggage service it was okay. The Port is conveniently located near the touristy area of the French Quarter. From there, you could easily take the $ 1.25 trolly to have a bite at Café Du Monde. Even though I found it unorganized, at the end of the day, I did get to board on time and my luggage wasn’t lost so the port is not terrible. Guess I should be leaving a good review for the New Orleans Taxis for getting us there another way.

This port was pretty easy to find with the use of my GPS. However, it took forever getting here since the people coming back from a cruise are loading and others are unloading to get inside. I’d suggest getting here early, but that really doesn’t help at all. I’d also suggest parking a nearby garage that’s quite cheaper, but then again you’ll have to wait a bit for others to load/​unload their stuff.
Like Mike C. says, the porters come, make sure you’re at the right place, you have all your luggage, and sends it to your ship. They do a good job of handling lots of luggage at the same time and mine came back unscathed at the end of my trip. Tip, they expect it.

I’ve only sailed out of New Orleans once and it was aboard the Carnival Triumph. My entire trip from the reservations, to the embarkation to the debarkation were all a huge success. I’d like to give a shout out to the ship’s agent Karen for all her assistance. Even the ship’s crew was awesome.
The porters (longshoremen) were courteous and «gentle» with my luggage. These guys do work for tips, so they are usually in a hurry to get to the next tip.
Arriving back in New Orleans, I was surprised at the efficiency of the Customs & Border Protection employees. They did an excellent job processing nealry 3,000 passengers and we made it off pretty quickly.
All in all it was a great trip. In fact, I think we may and try to sail on the Norwegian Spirit next time.

My husband and I have cruised out of this port twice now – once through Carnival and once with Norwegian. Both times the embarkation and debarkation are quick. There might be a little congestion, but the lines move quickly. We really like this port, and will probably cruise out of it for as many different cruises as it offers.

It gets pretty crowded in the morning with people getting off the ship and with people boarding the ship. However, there isn’t much congestion since people are dropped off /​picked up pretty quickly.
You are expected to tip the workers who help you with your baggage. I guess they are cruises’ version of bellhops.