Carnival Cruise Line is beefing up capacity to its two key Gulf Coast ports...Galveston and New Orleans...in Fall, 2011.

Galveston will be the new home port for the 3,690 passenger Carnival Magic and the 2,758 passenger Carnival Triumph.
New Orleans will be the new home port for the 2,974 passenger Carnival Conquest and the 2,056 passenger Carnival Ecstasy. The Triumph and Ecstasy will be doing 4 and 5 night cruises while the Magic and Conquest will be doing 7 night cruises.

Some may remember that N.O was the original home for the Conquest, but the ship was moved to Galveston following Katrina. With this move Carnival will have reached its pre-Katrina capacity from New Orleans. This move also spells bad news for Houston's Bayport cruise terminal, which has been trying for several years to find a tenant. Clearly the cruise lines are happy in Galveston.

Royal Caribbean currently serves Galveston on a seasonal basis (November - April) with its 3,114-passenger Voyager of the Seas. In November, 2011 the Voyager moves to New Orleans while Galveston will get the similar sized Mariner of the Seas.

Norwegian Cruise Line's 2,018 passenger Norwegian Spirit will begin weekly, year-round cruises from New Orleans starting this November.

[Edited 2010-06-30 04:54:29]

[Edited 2010-06-30 04:57:09]