The difference that decides your morning
Erato Street (Carnival and Disney) has its garage at the terminal — you park above the building and porters handle checked luggage inside the garage. Julia Street (Royal Caribbean and Norwegian) parks at the 100 Poydras garage, and you take a shuttle to the terminal. If transfers are what cost you, allow extra time and consider being dropped at the terminal before the car is parked.
Parking at the port: whoever needs the shortest walk should never ride to the garage. Drop them at the door first, with the luggage, then park. Private lots work differently — you park first and ride a shuttle in.
What the port says about disabled parking
Port NOLA answers this directly, and honestly it's a mixed answer:
- The port states it is not able to provide free disabled parking at this time.
- It does provide free cruise terminal parking for up to seven days for disabled veterans who meet certain requirements. If that's you, ask well before you travel — it covers the whole week.
Being told no clearly is more useful than being told maybe. If you're not a veteran, budget for parking here and spend your energy on the drop-off arrangements instead.
What it costs, and how it's billed
- About $25 a day, charged by the length of your cruise rather than as a nightly rate. Published tiers have run in the region of $120 for four days and about $180 for seven.
- Reserving online adds about $1 a day — unusually, it's cheaper not to reserve, though a reservation guarantees the space.
- Prepaying may forfeit any refund, so only prepay if your plans are firm.
- Neither garage takes vehicles over about 22 feet. There's no oversized option at the terminals.
- Bring your boarding documents to the gate — you show them to get in.
The advantage of a downtown port
Both terminals sit in the middle of the city, so a hotel the night before can be a short ride or even a walk away, and a park-and-cruise hotel package often beats paying for a week of garage parking. Staying downtown also means you arrive rested instead of driving in on sailing morning.
Getting there from the airport
- Louis Armstrong (MSY) is roughly 14 to 15 miles from the terminals, about 25 to 35 minutes depending on traffic.
- Taxi or rideshare runs somewhere around $30 to $50 each way. With luggage and limited mobility, it's the simplest option.
- The airport bus is $1.25 but takes about 40 minutes and stops nearly a mile from the port. It's fine for exploring the city, not for sailing morning with bags.
- If you're flying in, you may not need a car at all — two rides usually cost less than a week of parking.
Where to park: port-run and private, together
| Where | Who runs it | Roughly | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port NOLA garages | Port-run | about $25/day | Erato Street parks at the terminal; Julia Street parks at the Poydras garage with a shuttle. Billed by cruise length, and reserving online adds about $1 a day. |
| Port garages | Private | about $25/day | Erato at the terminal; Julia via the Poydras garage and a shuttle. No reservation needed, but space is limited on busy days. |
| Downtown hotel park-and-cruise | Private | varies | A night's stay plus parking for the cruise. Frequently the best value here, and it removes sailing-morning driving. |
| Independent downtown garages | Private | varies | Plentiful in the Warehouse District, but check the walk to the terminal before booking one. |
Ask one question before you book any of them
"How far is the walk from the garage to the terminal door, and is there a shuttle with a lift?" In New Orleans that answer changes entirely depending on which terminal you sail from — and a cheap garage six blocks away is no bargain at all on the morning.
Coming home, which is its own problem
Disembarkation is early, after a week of doing more than usual. Put your name down for priority debarkation the evening before if you need wheelchair assistance. If you parked at Poydras for a Julia Street sailing, remember the shuttle happens again in reverse, with luggage and a queue.
Check with your cruise line
- Ask which terminal your ship uses — Erato or Julia — because it decides everything above.
- Ask how to request pier and wheelchair assistance, and by when.
- Ask whether you can be dropped at the terminal before the car is parked, and where that drop-off is.
- Ask whether there's an accessibility lane at check-in and whether your companions can use it.
Prices change without notice
Rates here are a guide, not a quote. New Orleans bills by cruise length rather than per night, so the effective daily rate changes with the length of your sailing, and published tiers move. Confirm the current price for your exact dates with the port before you travel.
Get the deadlines before they pass
The free Accommodations Guide, plus reminders timed to your sail date — including the 30-day window for pier assistance.
The sail date is optional — we only use it to time your reminders. Unsubscribe anytime.
Where this comes from
- Firsthand observation on recent sailings, with the date noted above.
- How we check things — our method, and what "last checked" means.
Last checked 22 September 2026.
Everything here reflects publicly available information at the time of writing and is not a quote or a guarantee. We are not affiliated with any parking operator listed, and none of them paid to appear here. Sailed from here recently? Tell us what you found and we'll fold it into the page.