Europa 2 will be making her maiden voyage to the Port of New Orleans Julia Street Cruise Terminal next Monday, giving more than 500 cruise passengers onboard the luxury cruise ship an opportunity to enjoy a few days in New Orleans.
Europa 2 is a 516-passeneger cruise ship, which is owned and operated by German-based Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. The ship received top honors in the Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships 2017 guide. The Europa 2 is one of 10 cruise ships scheduled to make a port call in New Orleans prior to the end of 2016.
When the ship docks on Monday, port officials will host an onboard ceremonial plaque exchange with the captain of Europa 2.
Europa 2, which made its maiden voyage in May of 2013, includes 251 cabins, two owner suites and seven family apartments. The ship provides passengers with the greatest space per passenger of any cruise ship in the industry. Onboard there is a collection of 890 original commissioned works of art, seven restaurants, six bars and a variety of 600 wines and 200 types of gin – the largest gin collection at sea. The ship also includes a 50-foot-long pool, a gym, two golf simulators and a 10,000-square-foot spa.
The Port of New Orleans Julia Street Cruise Terminal is the sixth-largest cruise port in the U.S. after handling 1,023,700 cruise passengers in 2015. The Port has direct industry expenditures totaling $406 million; it supports 8,129 jobs and accounts for $323 million in total income. The numbers for 2016 are on track to break the 2015 mark with the addition of newer and larger homeported cruise ships.
The Port cruise terminals in New Orleans currently hosts three home-ported cruise ships; Carnival Cruise Lines 2,754-passenger Carnival Triumph sailing year-round four- and five-day itineraries from New Orleans, the 3,646-passenger Carnival Dream sailing year-round seven-day itineraries to both eastern and western Caribbean destinations and the Norweigian Cruise Lines 2,340-passenger Norwegian Dawn will return next month to sail seven-day itineraries through May.
This year, along with the Europa 2, the following cruises will be stopping at the New Orleans Port: Azamara Club Cruises, Azamara Quest on October 25-26, AIDA Cruises, AIDAvita for four overnight calls beginning November 5th, P&O Cruises with the Oriana November 8-9 and the Azura December 22-24 and Crystal Cruises will bring the Crystal Serenity to New Orleans December 6-7.