NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – If you’ve ever tried to book a cruise out of New Orleans only to find the ship sold out, that may soon be a problem of the past.

Carnival Cruise Line announced plans to expand its offerings in the Crescent City, including voyages to its new private resort in the Bahamas, Celebration Key, and the return of the Carnival Dream in 2027. The 4,600-passenger vessel hasn’t sailed from New Orleans since 2019.

“We actually plan on going on a cruise in the fall,” said Felicia Allen Bass, a frequent cruiser. “And that just means we will have to go on another one when the bigger ship comes through.”

Carnival isn’t the only cruise line making waves at Port NOLA.

Norwegian Cruise Line is set to debut a 5,000-passenger vessel out of New Orleans this fall. And in 2026, Royal Caribbean will replace its current ship with one 50% larger.

“We did 1.2 million passengers last year, which was a record for us,” said Steven Gauthier Jr., Vice President of Cruise at the Port of New Orleans. “We are on pace for 2027 to do 1.5 million passenger moves per year.”

Gauthier said cruise lines are taking notice of the city’s appeal as both a starting point and a destination.

“Guests can come to New Orleans and that’s one destination for them, and then they get on the cruise and that’s another destination,” he said.

The influx of cruise-goers is not only fueling excitement among travelers but also among local businesses near the port.

“You have people coming from Mississippi, Alabama, Texas,” said Bass.

That kind of regional pull brings plenty of customers to Larry Thompson Jr.’s seafood stand, Mr. Shrimp, located on the Riverwalk.

“The captain, all the way to the deckhand, they come to eat from us. They love the freshness,” Thompson said.

With bigger ships set to dock just steps from the Riverwalk mall, Thompson is confident business will keep booming.

“Man, having another cruise down here, thank you for that, because that’s going to help with business for us,” he added.

Port NOLA officials estimate the cruise industry generates $450 million annually for the city and anticipate that number will grow as cruise lines increase their capacity and frequency.

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A dream holiday aboard a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship took a nightmarish turn earlier this month when more than 140 people fell ill with a gastrointestinal disease of unknown origin.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 134 of the 3,914 guests on the Navigator of the Seas and seven out of 1,266 crew members reported experiencing symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain during the week-long voyage that departed from Los Angeles on 4 July and travelled to multiple ports in Mexico, including Cabo San Lucas.

The outbreak was officially reported to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) on 11 July when the ship returned to port in Los Angeles. While the exact cause of the illness has not yet been determined, the CDC confirmed that stool samples were collected from those affected and are currently undergoing testing.

Royal Caribbean said it responded swiftly by implementing “heightened disinfection and cleaning measures” and isolating those who displayed symptoms, in line with its health and safety protocol. In a statement, a spokesperson for the company reiterated: “The health and safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit are our top priority. To maintain an environment that supports the highest levels of health and safety onboard our ships, we implement rigorous cleaning procedures, many of which far exceed public health guidelines.”

This outbreak adds to a growing number of similar incidents recorded this year. The CDC confirmed that this marks the 18th outbreak of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships under its jurisdiction in 2025 — the same number that occurred across all of 2024, and higher than the 14 outbreaks reported in 2023.

Although the causative agent is still being investigated, Norovirus remains a common culprit in such cases. The highly contagious virus is often dubbed the “cruise ship virus” due to its rapid transmission in confined environments. Infectious disease expert Dr William Schaffner explained earlier this year to CNN Travel: “That’s because it spreads easily, and anyone in close quarters — like cruise ships — is extra susceptible.”

However, the CDC has yet to confirm whether Norovirus was responsible for this latest outbreak. The agency noted that finding the precise agent “can take time,” especially as confirmation relies on laboratory tests from stool or vomit samples provided by ill passengers.

Earlier this year, a similar incident aboard the Queen Mary 2 affected around 250 passengers. The CDC said Norovirus outbreaks are often linked to contaminated food or water, contact with infected individuals, or touching contaminated surfaces. Even though most people recover in one to three days, the virus can still be transmitted for over two weeks after symptoms resolve.

CNN wellness expert Dr Leana Wen advised that such illnesses, while uncomfortable, usually “pass within 1 to 2 days.” She also reminded travellers that alcohol-based sanitisers are ineffective against Norovirus, and stressed the importance of proper hand washing and food hygiene. “Norovirus is not killed by alcohol-based hand sanitisers that are commonly used,” she said.

Despite the rising number of cruise-related outbreaks, the CDC pointed out that ships account for only 1% of all Norovirus cases globally. However, recent data suggest a dominant Norovirus strain is currently active on land and at sea, with ships often reflecting the pattern of land-based outbreaks.

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By Jeanne Bonner, CNN

(CNN) – More than 130 cruise ship passengers reported suffering from a gastrointestinal disease after setting sail from Los Angeles on July 4. The cause of the outbreak has not been determined.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 134 passengers on Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas — or 3.4 percent of the cruise’s total passenger list of 3,900 people — reported feeling ill. Seven members of the crew were also affected, out of a total of 1,266 staff members.

The outbreak was reported to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) on July 11 when the weeklong Royal Caribbean cruise returned to Los Angeles to dock after the trip was over.

According to records compiled by the VSP, there have been 18 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships under the program’s jurisdiction so far this year, mainly related to Norovirus.

That’s the same number of outbreaks reported all of last year, according to incidents logged by the CDC.

While it’s unclear what caused the outbreak on the Royal Caribbean ship, passengers experienced diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal cramps, the CDC said in a post this week about the Navigator of the Seas outbreak.

In April, about 250 passengers on the Queen Mary 2 reported coming down with the highly contagious norovirus.

That disease has a reputation as “the cruise ship virus,” infectious disease expert Dr. William Schaffner, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told CNN Travel earlier this year.

That’s because it spreads easily, and anyone in close quarters — like cruise ships — is extra susceptible. Such outbreaks also frequently occur in schools and jails — wherever large groups of people gather in tight spaces.

But the CDC hasn’t determined yet if the culprit on the Navigator of the Seas was norovirus.

“The health and safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit are our top priority,” a Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson told CNN Travel. “To maintain an environment that supports the highest levels of health and safety onboard our ships, we implement rigorous cleaning procedures, many of which far exceed public health guidelines.”

The CDC says Royal Caribbean reported boosting its cleaning and disinfection procedures and also collected specimens from infected passengers, after isolating anyone who was ill.

CNN wellness expert Dr. Leana Wen said that while infectious diseases can be “very unpleasant,” they typically “pass within 1 to 2 days.”

While the cause remains unknown in this case, Dr. Wen reiterated that precautions such as thorough hand washing are critical. She also noted that norovirus is not killed by alcohol-based hand sanitizers that are commonly used.

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