Port of New Orleans — Attraction in New Orleans

We are currently waiting in the car. It took over 30 minutes to get our luggage to the carts and we are just sitting in the car. This is the slowest and most chaotic parking system I've ever experienced. Highly disorganized and slow. No exaggeration- we move about 2-3 car lengths and then sit for over 10 minutes. We've been in the car at the port well over an hour and are no where close to parking the car, let alone checking in at the terminal. I would take an Uber next time. Update: We sat in the car going nowhere in a long line of cars. I went to see what was going on. There was ONE person trying to figure out where to park over a thousand cars. Eventually, we were led to a mall garage and promised a shuttle (yeah, right). Meanwhile, the cruise company is saying if we aren't on the boat, they're leaving. It took approximately 2.5 hours to park our car in an unsecured garage and get to the shuttle pick up that was not on it's way. Most of us walked the mile back to the cruise terminal. There, we met many others who paid the $150 for secure parking only to be parked in dirt lots or other garages a mile away without transportation. There was a garage across the street from where we ended up parking that said it only charges $85/week for cruise parking. I'd take my chances there next time. DO NOT USE THE PORT PARKING. Seriously, it was as though they don't do this every week. It was a nightmare and the only reason we made it on time was due to us walking quickly to the terminal. No shuttle when we got back either- just hauled all of our luggage a mile to an unsecured garage....

To All New Port Drivers IT IS ONLY ONE ENTRANCE INTO PORT.doesnt matter what your GPS says... Your GPS May send you in difficult Spots or the wrong entrances. This will help you get into the Port Type in 1350 Port of New Orleans (Port Authority) I don't know what direction you are coming from but this is a KEY EXIT Ramp Take Exit 11 Tchoupitoulas st. (Traffic will and always will be heavy. Take your time) 3.At The first traffic light, go straight, Second traffic light turn Right, 4.Get in left lane and stay there. ( Don't try to pass ,STAY THERE) Follow the left lane all the way around to another traffic light... KEEP STRAIGHT Go straight across the railroad crossing . 5.HAVE YOUR TWIC CARD ALREADY OUT....if you don't,this will slow down traffic which stays moving. If you have any questions ASK THE PORT SECURITY RIGHT THERE! Don't care who is waiting,get a full understanding of WHERE you are going. 6.Do not Stop in the Road, Drivers will lean on their horns to get you to move which will make the police pop out ..Port Police May write you a ticket if you pull on the side of the road which is clearly Marked No parking Do not go over the speed limit and Stop at the stop signs. Follow these steps and you should be fine I hope...

This was my first time using the Port of New Orleans, and I have used a port for a cruise before, in Galveston, Texas. By comparison, the New Orleans port is much more guest-friendly in terms of layout, parking, and usability! The indoor parking garage was very well-laid out, maintained, and staffed. Everyone was friendly and helpful with telling us where to go, getting our bags to the ship, and directing us to the proper line. Going through the security checkpoints was much smoother and quicker than my experience at the Galveston point, with less people to stop at and an overall more efficient system. When we got off the ship, again, it was an easier and quicker process, only taking about 10 minutes from coming down the gangway to leaving the building. I was very impressed! Again, staff were friendly and helpful about telling us where to go next and what to do. We found our car in the same condition as we left it, and left easily without issues. I highly recommend this port! It's also cool to take the ship up and down the Mississippi River to the bridge, and was awesome to see our ship right by the bridge while we were driving over it. Well done,...