Carnival Conquest returning to New Orleans

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Carnival Cruise Lines will return to its pre-Katrina passenger levels in New Orleans when the 2,974-passenger Conquest and 2,052-passenger Ecstasy are repositioned to the Big Easy to operate year-round departures beginning in the fall of 2011.

With Conquest and Ecstasy, both of which are currently based in Galveston, the line is expected to carry nearly 340,000 passengers annually from New Orleans. The move would make Carnival the top cruise operator in the market based on passenger capacity. The Conquest originally ported in New Orleans before HurricaneKatrina.