Carnival Cruise Line has signed an agreement with the City of New Orleans and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide Carnival Glory to house first responders through Sept. 18.
Thus, Carnival cancelled the ship's September 5 and September 12 voyages, and it will restart Carnival Glory's revenue voyages with cruise guests aboard on September 19 from New Orleans.
Housing First Responders
Carnival Glory arrived at the Port of New Orleans on Friday and a required U.S. Coast Guard inspection was completed. The ship immediately began provisioning food, water and materials to prepare for up to 2,600 hospital workers, first responders, city and utility workers and other emergency personnel to join the ship.
In a press statement, th line said Carnival Glory will remain in port and serve as emergency housing for frontline workers directly involved in the city’s infrastructure recovery and healthcare needs.
“While we want to provide the city of New Orleans with an economic boost by restarting guest operations, we want to first provide this critical housing support to address emergency needs and to get power restored to the region,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “We appreciate the understanding of our guests, who we know love New Orleans as much as we do.”
“Port NOLA appreciates Carnival’s deployment of Carnival Glory to New Orleans," said Brandy Christian, president and CEO Port NOLA and CEO of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad. "Her berths will accommodate the hardworking first responders and essential personnel working on storm recovery efforts in our region."
Christian noted that Port NOLA, federal, state, and local partner agencies all support those who are quickly restoring critical infrastructure in the city and helping to get cargo moving again.
For information on Carnival Cruise Line, visit www.carnival.com.