New Orleans is still luring cruise vessels, even the possibilities new markets such as Cuba are emerging.

Port officials scored a victory in November when Norwegian Cruise Line announced that its 2,018-passenger Norwegian Spirit ship would test the market by sailing year-round out of New Orleans for 18 months, offering.

But after facing sluggish sales through the summer, Norwegian plans to move the ship to Europe next year, where it will set sail on two different itineraries. In its place, the larger, 2,348-passenger Norwegian Star is slated to depart from New Orleans on winter cruises starting in late 2012.

Both Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean plan to bring new ships to New Orleans this fall, and the promise of an easing of restrictions on travel to Cuba could position New Orleans well for cruises to that country. Numbers from a recent passenger survey commissioned by the port also seem to suggest continued interest in cruising from the Big Easy.

Nearly two decades have passed since Carnival Cruise Lines launched the first year-round program from New Orleans in 1994. The 1,022-passenger Carnival Tropicale made about 25 voyages a year to ports in Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; and Tampa, Fla.

Four years later, Carnival added Montego Bay, Jamaica, to its growing list of destinations, aboard the larger Celebration, bumping up capacity by almost half.

Observers of the cruise industry also expect that, if the White House continues to ease restrictions on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba, the Communist island could become a boon for the local cruise ship industry given its proximity from the Gulf of Mexico.

In the meantime, the port is limited for room to expand. Work is under way on a $17 million expansion of the Julia Street terminal that would convert two existing terminals into "one mega-terminal," a project that should be finished by the end of September. A portion of the financing, $8.5 million came from the state.

At Poland Avenue, port officials are looking to add capacity for two more cruise ships per week with a $25 million project that has been on the back burner since Katrina; the effort is waiting on financing.