Right now, the CDC is in charge of the no-sail order. We are hopeful Carnival will be able to sail this summer, but they have not received clear guidance.
Brandy Christian, president and CEO of Port NOLA
When the pandemic forced a shutdown of America’s ocean-going cruise industry, New Orleans lost an important component of its tourism economy.
Since mid-March 2020, the Port of New Orleans has lost 338 individual “ship calls” that would have carried an estimated 1.5 million cruise passengers. It missed out on approximately $21 million in revenue from per-person cruise fees and parking fees. And the Greater New Orleans economy has forfeited $250 million in overall economic impact.
While cruise ship passengers spend money on New Orleans hotels, restaurants and attractions before and after their excursions, it is generally less recognized that about half the total economic impact in the city from the cruise industry comes from the cruise lines themselves and their employees.
“People always think about the economic impact of a passenger, but it’s a huge industry,” said Brandy Christian, president and CEO of Port NOLA, which hosts ships from Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Lines. “With the ocean-going cruises, we’re about 90% homeported, which means they start and end the cruise here. When that happens, the ship gets all of its supplies and services here. It gets cleaned here. They get all of their fruits and vegetables, alcohol and dry cleaning here. Everything happens here.”
While all that work and restocking is going on, the crew members themselves bring plenty of business ashore.
“The crew has been on the ship sailing from port to port, so when they come into town, they go to the local Walmart to get their supplies,” said Christian. “They do their insurance business. They’re taking care of their banking.”
All that traveling to and from the ship provides lots of work for transportation companies, plus cruise lines ordinarily employ about 160 longshoremen to load and unload the ships.
It all adds up to a lot of spending in the city, but “right now, all of those local businesses are not providing those goods and services,” said Christian. “And the longshoremen have been basically furloughed throughout this entire pandemic.”
An Uncertain Summer
It’s unclear when the U.S. cruise industry can get back to business, and industry groups have been getting impatient.
Much of the frustration is directed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose “conditional sailing order” has amounted to a ban on any U.S. embarkations. Industry advocates say the CDC’s guidance, issued last October, is out of date and includes requirements that would be impossible for the cruise lines to follow.
“It’s things like the crew can’t get off the vessel for six months — and no one can do that,” said Christian. “There are just things that couldn’t be implemented, or there wouldn’t be the resources within every port to do it.”
Industry advocates have pointed out that theme parks, airlines, hotels and other industries have been allowed to reopen, and cruises in other parts of the world have resumed without problems. The Royal Caribbean Group, in fact, is scheduling cruises this spring and summer out of Israel, Cyprus, Greece and other countries with fewer restrictions.
Back home, the cruise industry has been making its case for the CDC to issue new guidance and clear the way for ships to sail again.
“Right now, the CDC is in charge of the no-sail order,” said Christian. “We are hopeful Carnival will be able to sail this summer, but they have not received clear guidance. We’re in a tight window here because they obviously need time to ramp up to get crews deployed. Obviously, the summer is a very important season for the industry, so it’s a little concerning that the CDC has not given clear direction at this point.”
Port NOLA counts itself among those who are hopeful for a summer return, and stands ready to host at least one Carnival ship, but isn’t planning on any cruise-related income until the fall just to be safe.
“I think the cruise industry desperately wants to be able to sail this summer,” said Christian. “They’re counting on it, so we’re hopeful for that. But we’ll probably just be safe with our own budget planning.”
Some Good News
Despite the unprecedented year, Christian is optimistic about the future of cruising in New Orleans.
One good sign: the return of river cruises to the city at the end of March. The riverboats are much smaller than their ocean-going counterparts, and they don’t leave the country’s borders, so that cleared the way for a quicker return.
On March 21, local officials celebrated the christening of a brand-new riverboat, the American Countess, which was recently manufactured by Gulf Island Fabrication in Houma. The shipyard literally cut an old gaming paddle wheeler in half, added another 60 feet of length to the hull and converted the vessel into a gleaming new riverboat capable of holding more than 250 guests. It will join several other ships operated by the American Queen Steamboat Company and American Cruise Lines that travel up and down the Mississippi to make stops in Natchez, Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; and even Minneapolis.
All that contributes to Christian’s optimism.
“It’s always been an extremely resilient industry,” she said. “People that have cruised are a very loyal customer base, [but] a very small percentage of the population has cruised. So, there’s a lot of potential for new market share.”
New Orleans, in particular, she said, is in a good position when things get started again.
“Coming back from the pandemic, people are going to want to stay closer to home,” she said. “They want to be able to drive to a home port, and Florida, Texas and New Orleans are probably going to be the top choices. We do feel very confident in the cruise industry, and even more so in New Orleans’ position in the cruise industry. We’ve had nothing but really positive indicators from our partners that New Orleans will always be a strong home base for them.”
