Amtrak and Carnival Cruises Cooperate on Post-Katrina New Orleans Travel

In the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, substantial media attention has been paid to the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast and the revitalization of New Orleans’ tourist industry. Benefit concerts and grand re-openings are heralding that the Big Easy is back in business, and tourist packages are reappearing to boot. Among the good news is a venture between Amtrak, the passenger rail system, and Carnival Cruise Lines, the “fun ship” company. Travelers are encouraged to consider combining an Amtrak train ride to New Orleans along with a Carnival Cruise departing from the American port and heading south to Cozumel, just off the Yucatan.

This “Rail and Cruise” partnership begins anew in October, when Carnival is slated to relaunch its Fantasy cruise program. Amtrak service to New Orleans, on all three routes, has been operating for some time since the Katrina disaster. To entice travelers to pair train and ship together for a vacation, Amtrak is offering a substantial 25% discount on their fares when passengers are headed to and from a Carnival cruise. This promotion will last until December of 2007, making for quite a long window of opportunity. The cruises that start in October will set sail from the famous port and last either four or five days, depending on the specific trip. Ports of call include the aforementioned Cozumel, as well as excursions to lesser-known Costa Maya and Calica.

So how does one get to New Orleans via Amtrak? Well, remember the song “City of New Orleans,” popularized by Arlo Guthrie in the early 1970s?

“Good morning, America – how are ya?
Say, don’t you know me? I’m your native son,
I’m the train they call The City of New Orleans;
I’ll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.”

The train itself is still called The City of New Orleans and it runs from Chicago to New Orleans via Memphis on a daily basis. Now enshrined in folk history, this 19-hour Amtrak ride is the most recognizable rail link to New Orleans, but it’s not the only one. Travelers wanting to pair train travel with a Carnival vacation can also take Amtrak’s Crescent line (daily between New York and New Orleans via Washington and Atlanta) or Amtrak’s Sunset Limited line (thrice weekly between Los Angeles and Orlando with a stop in the Big Easy).

A “Rail and Cruise” vacation is an appealing way to enjoy two unique and scenic forms of transportation , and it allows travelers to set their own agenda in New Orleans. You can arrive several days before the cruise and party it up in the French Quarter before setting sail in the Gulf waters, or you can stay in the city after your sea adventure. Either way, you get to pair jazz, Cajun food, and other New Orleans highlights with the clean-and-crisp jaunt on a Mexico-bound commercial cruise ship. The New Orleans economy will no doubt benefit from your tourist dollars as it rebuilds itself, so if you didn’t donate to a relief fund post-Katrina, help out with the city’s rebirth and stay a few days before or after your Kathy Gifford cruise.