NEW ORLEANS — Carnival Cruise Line plans to swap ships between Galveston and New Orleans to increase both ports’ capacity for short-term cruises starting in 2019. 

The Miami-based company says the 3,646-passenger Carnival Dream will move from New Orleans to Galveston, increasing the Texas port’s capacity for 4- and 5-day cruises by 22 per cent. 

At the same time, the 2,974-passenger Carnival Valor will move from Galveston to New Orleans.  The cruise line said in a news release last week that will increase New Orleans’ short-term cruise capacity by 10 per cent. 

Both changes are scheduled in May 2019.  Carnival says it expects three ships homeported at Galveston to carry 645,000 passengers a year, with two at New Orleans carrying nearly 400,000 passengers a year.