New Orleans Cruise Parking Guide (With Prices)

New Orleans, Louisiana, is a fun place to visit for its food and culture and is filled with history. It’s no wonder that so many people decide to take a cruise from the Port of New Orleans, as it gives them a chance to visit the home of Mardis Gras and spicy New Orleans cuisine.

If you choose to drive to New Orleans rather than fly, one piece of logistics you now have to figure out is where to park your car while you’re on your cruise. Finding the right parking lot can be tricky, as it all comes down to whether you prefer convenience or paying cheap rates.

How Much is Parking at the Cruise Terminal in New Orleans?

As of July 1, 2023, the prices at the cruise terminal are $25 a day for regular vehicles. From what we’ve seen of other cruise ports, that’s not a bad price if you can fit it into your budget.

Still, there are many options in the area that offer prices as low as $10 or $12 per day, so you might want to look at those if you wish to save money on your trip.

In this article, we’ll go into more detail about parking at the New Orleans Cruise Terminal, some off-site parking lots, and nearby hotels that offer either free or discounted parking for cruise passengers (which might be your best option).

There may not be many parking options available, but you should be able to find something that fits with your plans.

Cruise Terminal Parking

• Cost: $25 per day ($40 for RVs, oversized vans, or buses)
• Website: https://www.portnola.com/cruise/parking-directions

There are three on-site official parking lots available to passengers cruising out of the Port of New Orleans. If your cruise is with Carnival or Disney, you’ll park at the Erato Street Terminal, and if it’s with Norwegian or Royal, you’ll park at the Julia Street Terminal.

If you are with a different cruise line, you’ll park at whichever terminal is listed on your cruise ticket.

Erato Street Cruise Terminal

1100 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans, LA 70130

The Erato Street Cruise Terminal is for cruises with Carnival Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line. It has over one thousand covered and secured spaces and offers luggage assistance. There is an elevator that will take you from the garage to the embarkation deck.

The garage is climate controlled and ADA-compliant and is located only five minutes from the French Quarter and I-10. If you arrive too early to check-in, this makes it super easy to stop into the city for lunch or a little bit of sightseeing before your ship leaves.

SeaCaps luggage assistance will take your checked luggage directly to the ship when you arrive.

Till the end of July 2019, parking prices were $22 per day. On August 1, 2019, until March 21, 2020, the parking rate was $20 per day. Since July 1, the new rate is $25 for a regular vehicle. Make sure you have your cruise boarding information ready, or you won’t be able to enter the garage.

Julia Street Cruise Terminal

920 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans, LA 70130

The Julia Street Cruise Terminal is where you’ll go if you’re cruising with either Norwegian Cruise Lines or Royal Caribbean International. The parking lot is directly adjacent to the terminal and also offers luggage assistance through SeaCap, which will take your luggage to the ship for you.

The Erato Street Cruise Terminal Complex is located on one side, while the Riverwalk Outlet Collection is on the other. The French Quarter and I-10 are both also nearby, so there are plenty of places to go do some shopping or sightseeing should you be too early to check-in.

When you arrive at the port, you’ll drive past the Erato Street Terminal to get to Julia Street. Someone should be there to direct you to the drop-off area for luggage and passengers, then you’ll be shown how to get to the parking lot.

Parking at the Julia Street Terminal is $20 a day year-round. Even though it’s located right next to the terminal, there is shuttle service available should you need it.

Oversized Vehicles, RVs and Buses

If you’ll be arriving with an oversized vehicle, you won’t be able to park at either Erato Street or Julia Street Terminals. Instead, there’s a special lot for RVs and buses located on Poydras Street, which is next to the Julia Street Cruise Terminal.

It’s highly recommended that you drop off all luggage and extra passengers at your appropriate terminal first (whether it’s Erato or Julia). Then call Mustafa Yucesoy at 504-609-9559 to direct you to the oversized parking lot area.

The Julia Street Terminal should be within walking distance from the oversized lot, while shuttle service is provided for the Erato Street Terminal. The cost for oversized vehicles is $40 per day, and reservations must be made ahead of time with Mustafa Yucesoy.

Overflow Parking

If both Erato Street or Julia Street parking lots are full (which can happen during the spring and summer), you may be redirected to overflow parking lots that are located near the cruise terminals. You won’t have to pay anything extra, and shuttle transportation to and from these parking lots will be provided.

Off-Site Parking Options

Parking right at the port may be extremely convenient, but it is also costly, running you a minimum of $140 per week just to park (twice that if you have a bus or RV).

Luckily, there are a couple of options nearby for New Orleans cruise parking, with multiple lots available and amenities for cruise passengers. All of these have steep discounts and are great cheap alternatives to parking at the official port.

New Orleans Parking

• Price: $10/$12.50 per day, more for oversized parking
• Website: https://neworleansparking.com/

New Orleans Parking is an excellent alternative to parking at the official port. They have multiple parking lots located around the city, two of which are within walking distance of the New Orleans Cruise Port.

A word of advice: When you go to their website to check on rates, be sure to select “Cruise” from the dropdown where you put in your dates. This will give you the most accurate results possible.

Fulton Place Parking – Garage Rooftop

This option is ONLY for cruise parking and is clean, safe, and secured with 24-hour attendance. Be sure to bring a printed copy of your parking reservation upon arrival, or you won’t be allowed to park.

Shuttle transportation is provided only for passengers cruising with Norwegian, Carnival, and Royal and runs every 5-10 minutes between 7 AM and 3 PM.

If you’re cruising with a different cruise line, you’ll need to find your own transportation. However, the lot is only a block away from the terminal so it’s easy enough to walk there.

Daily rate for the rooftop is $10 per day plus a $5 service fee and sales tax, so for one week you’ll be looking at a total of $83.40 (which is a steal compared to the official parking prices). No oversized parking allowed.

Fulton Place Parking – Garage Covered

Down below the rooftop parking is the covered lot at just $12.50 per day. With the service fee and sales tax, the total cost for a week would be $103. Everything else about this lot is just as it is for the rooftop lot.

Fulton Place Parking – Oversized Uncovered Lot

This lot, which is directly across the street from the Fulton Parking Garage, is meant for oversized vehicles (large vans taller than 6 feet 7 inches, RVs, and buses).

Pricing is a little different for this lot. The cost is $16 per day per space that your oversized vehicle takes up. For example, if your RV takes up two normal parking spaces, you would be paying $32 per day, plus tax and a $5 service fee.

If your car takes up more than that, we recommend using the official port’s oversized parking.

Shuttle service runs the same here as from the other lots: Only to Norwegian, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean.

Cummins Parking Lot

This open lot has 24/7 security and can be used for cruise or city parking. This lot is also just a block from the port, and the shuttle runs from 7 AM to 3 PM every day.

There is no stipulation about which cruise lines this lot provides a shuttle for, so if you want shuttle transportation for a cruise line that Fulton doesn’t include, this lot is a good alternative. Pricing is $12.50 per day, so the total for a week (with service fee and tax) would be $103.

New Orleans Cruise Ship Parking

• Price: $14 per day
• Website: http://www.nocruiseshipparking.com

If you’re looking for a cheaper option and don’t mind being a little farther away from the cruise port, New Orleans Cruise Ship Parking provides an excellent alternative, complete with a free shuttle to the port.

This lot is small but secured, and you must reserve your spot ahead of time on their website or over the phone. Parking costs $14 per day.

They even offer parking if you’ll be staying at a hotel the night before your cruise. The first night costs $30, and then it’s $14 per night after that. They will provide you with a shuttle to the hotel, from the hotel to the cruise port, and then from the cruise port to your parking spot upon your return.

ParkingPanda.com/SpotHero.com

• Price: Starts at $12 per day
• SpotHero Website: https://spothero.com (and then search for Port of New Orleans)

Parking Panda, which is run by SpotHero, is a directory of all of the parking lots in the New Orleans area that you can book for the duration of your cruise. When you book your parking with them, your receipt and parking pass will come from SpotHero.

Booking through either site is like using a directory for finding flights and hotel deals, and sometimes you can get discounts that you wouldn’t get otherwise.

The link above will take you directly to their list of available parking lots near the Port of New Orleans, and all you need to do is put in the dates you’ll need parking for.

We put in a random week to get an idea on prices. The cheapest option that came up was for $84, which comes out to about $12 per day, and then the rates go up from there.

Some of the more expensive options include valet parking and cost even more than parking at the port, so unless you really like valet parking, we suggest sticking with the cheaper options.

Both ParkingPanda and SpotHero have mobile apps with which you can book your parking if you prefer. You can download the apps from your phone’s app store.

ParkWhiz.com

• Price: Starting at $5 per night
• Website: https://www.parkwhiz.com/port-of-new-orleans-parking

Just like ParkingPanda and SpotHero, ParkWhiz is a service through which you can book your cruise parking anywhere in the city.

Here we found a couple of cheaper options than the other two had, the cheapest being $35 for 7 days of parking. The next one up from that was $70 for a week. These are excellent rates and certainly worth checking into if you’re trying to stay on a budget for your trip. ParkWhix also has an app right here.

Hotels with Cruise Parking

While New Orleans Cruise Ship Parking offers hotel parking, there are numerous hotels in the area that provide free or discounted parking just for booking a room with them. A few of them even provide a shuttle to the port on cruise day.

Related: 26 Ideal Hotels Near Port of New Orleans

If you need a place to stay and don’t want to have to pay extra for cruise parking, consider staying at one of these hotels.

Hilton New Orleans Riverside

This hotel is literally within walking distance of the cruise port, which is why you won’t find a shuttle from this hotel. While they don’t have a specific cruise package, they do cater well to cruise passengers.

First, you get a 20% discount on your standard rate room. You also get a huge discount on parking at the hotel. Their parking rate is normally $44 per night, but cruise passengers only pay $13, which is so much cheaper than official port parking.

• Average starting rate: $170
• Distance from port: 0.3 miles
• Shuttle: No

Hampton Inn & Suites New Orleans Convention Center

Another great hotel right near the port, they have a cruise package that gives you a big discount on parking ($14 per night plus tax), as well as a shuttle to and from the port.

• Average starting rate: $110
• Distance from port: 0.6 miles
• Shuttle: Yes

Holiday Inn Downtown Superdome

The Holiday Inn Downtown Superdome hotel has a “Port of New Orleans Cruise Package” that provides 8 nights of parking for free during your cruise. No shuttle, but they are only about a mile from the port so if you don’t have a ton of luggage, walking to your terminal is a possibility.

• Average starting rate: $104
• Distance from port: 1 mile
• Shuttle: No

Maison St. Charles

Book your stay at Maison St. Charles using their Park & Cruise package for 7 nights of free parking. You can park for additional nights if you need to, but each extra night will cost $15.

• Average starting rate: $111
• Distance from port: 1 mile
• Shuttle: No

Garden District Hotel Collection

These three hotels located in the Garden District are only about 1.3 miles from the cruise port. Each one offers a unique hotel experience, allowing you to enjoy staying in historic buildings, with service that will make you feel like a guest at someone’s house rather than a standard cookie cutter hotel room.

The hotels in this collection are The Queen Anne Hotel, Prytania Park Hotel, and Prytania Oaks Hotel. All three are located on Prytania Street, a very short drive from the New Orleans Cruise Port.

To book their cruise package you must stay a minimum of two nights, and you get free parking for up to 7 nights.

• Average starting rate: $91 – $115 (depending on which one you go with)
• Distance from port: 1.3/1.5 miles
• Shuttle: No

Wyndham New Orleans French Quarter

The Wyndham in the French Quarter hotel is in a great location if you want to do some dining or shopping in the French Quarter, and it’s very close to the cruise port as well. Their cruise parking package will let you park your car there for 7 days.

• Average starting rate: $144
• Distance from port: 1.5 miles
• Shuttle: No

Courtyard Marriott New Orleans Westbank/Gretna

To get their cruise parking package, you need to give them a call ahead of time and book over the phone at 504-366-1010. The cruise package will provide free parking during your cruise and complimentary shuttle service. More booking details can be found here.

• Average starting rate: $107
• Distance from port: 3.5 miles
• Shuttle: Yes

Holiday Inn New Orleans West Bank Tower

Their Family Cruise Package at Holiday Inn West Bank Tower comes with free parking during your cruise, and a hot breakfast buffet.

• Average starting rate: $85
• Distance from port: 4 miles
• Shuttle: No

Comfort Suites Harvey – New Orleans West

A nice affordable option, book with their cruise package for free parking and shuttle to and from the cruise port. Find booking details right here.

• Average starting rate: $89
• Distance from port: 8 miles
• Shuttle: Yes

Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Metairie

This hotel’s “Cruise and Park” package provides 7 free nights of parking and one-way transportation to the terminal. The shuttle is free for up to 4 people, and $10 for each additional person. More details about the Country Inn & Suites can be found here.

• Average starting rate: $86
• Distance from port: 8.5 miles
• Shuttle: Yes (one way)

Extended Stay America – Metairie

In order to get free parking during your cruise, just let the front desk know at the hotel when you check-in and they’ll tell you where to park. They don’t provide shuttle service to the port, so you’ll need to secure your own transportation.

• Average starting rate: $76
• Distance from port: 9.5 miles
• Shuttle: No

Crowne Plaza New Orleans Airport

If your cruise is going to be longer than a week, this hotel will give you 14 days of free parking with their Park & Cruise package. They do also provide transportation to the port but only one way. You’ll need to find other transportation upon returning.

• Average starting rate: $159
• Distance from port: 14.5 miles
• Shuttle: Yes (one way)

Conclusion on Parking Near the New Orleans Cruise Port

As you can see, there are many options to choose from when it comes to finding parking for your car during your cruise.

If you prefer convenience over anything else, parking right at the port is going to be your best option. You don’t have to walk far, depending on which of the three lots you’re in, and there’s shuttle service if you need it.

Also, if the official lots do get completely filled, they have overflow lots available, so you’ll never have to worry about having to find parking at the last minute.

The official port can be a little hard on the budget, however, so if you want to save money for souvenirs and food, there are plenty of options near the port with significant discounts.

And lastly, should you decide to stay in a hotel the night before your ship leaves, many hotels in the area provide free or discounted parking for cruise passengers. Wherever you decide to park your car, be safe and have fun.