The Mardi Gras Service against a one-way car from MSY
Two ways along the coast, and the number that decides each one, the train fare or the drop charge, only shows up when you book.
Amtrak’s Mardi Gras Service runs twice a day each way between New Orleans and Mobile, stopping at Bay Saint Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula, in about 3 hours 43 minutes.
A local TV report said adult coach fares started at $15 when service began on Aug 18, 2025; Amtrak prices only in its booking engine. Two adults at that fare pay $30, four pay $60, our arithmetic.
Landing at MSY, you first need the city. New Orleans airport cabs charge a flat $36 for one or two people to the city, $15 a person for three or more — so two people reach downtown for $36 and the ship for about $66, our arithmetic, if the train fare holds.
Four people pay the cab’s $15 each, and the train trip totals about $120.
Set that against the one-way car below: about $89 at Discover Cars’ “from” price, before any drop charge. The car can’t end at the ship, though — hand it back at Mobile Regional and CruiseHive’s $25 to $35 ride makes it $114 to $124, our arithmetic.
For two, that’s the train by roughly $48 or more. For four it’s close to level with the train’s $120 — so any drop charge at all tips it back to the rails.
We couldn’t read the train times, and Carnival Spirit sails at 3:30 PM — check Amtrak before you put a sailing day on the morning train. The Mobile platform has its own notes.
A New Orleans airport car dropped in Mobile, line by line
Collect at MSY and the bill is Louisiana’s, even though the car ends up in Alabama.
The rental, line by line
Our arithmetic on assumed inputs. The $52 base is Discover Cars’ MSY “from” price, last updated Oct 2, 2026; type yours. At MSY we add about 14.75% tax and the $7.95-a-day facility charge from the airport’s audit; if your quote shows $10, the total rises about $2. Gulfport adds Mississippi’s 11% and no published facility charge. Fuel covers about 154 miles at AAA’s Mobile average, $3.91, and 30 mpg. No tolls on I-10 between the two. The drop box starts at $0, because no company published a fee for this trip.
At the “from” price the one-way lands near $89, our arithmetic; with the survey’s $10 charge, near $91.
Fuel is about $20 of that. The airport’s charge and the tax add about $17 to a $52 day — roughly a third on top, which is why the headline rate misleads.
The drop charge is the open line — type it in once your quote shows one, and the comparison with the train settles itself.
The City of Mobile says the port draws a strong drive market for Carnival from across the Southeast, and plenty of them drive their own car. If that’s you, the Mobile parking page is the one to read.
$7.95 or $10 a day: the New Orleans facility charge, and 14.75% on top
MSY carries the heaviest tax and fees of the airports on these pages, and the airport’s own figure may be out of date.
At New Orleans every brand is at the rental car center, 600 Rental Boulevard in Kenner, a shuttle ride of 15 to 20 minutes from Level 1 baggage claim, running about every 5 minutes, 24 hours.
The airport’s FY2024 audit gives a $7.95-a-day facility charge; a consultant’s survey lists $10 a day since Feb 1, 2026, so expect your quote to show one or the other.
The audit is the airport’s own document, but it reports a charge set in 2016 — the survey is newer and secondhand. We show both, not a winner.
About 14.75% at the airport: 5% Louisiana sales tax, 4.75% Jefferson Parish, 2% airport district and the 3% automobile rental tax, our arithmetic on the parish and state pages.
Fuel costs about the same on either side of the state line — AAA, early October 2026: Pensacola $3.932, New Orleans $3.935 (Oct 2), Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula $3.873 (Oct 1).
Our New Orleans rental guide covers MSY’s counters for a New Orleans sailing.
Gulfport-Biloxi: 73 miles out, Mississippi’s 11%, and on the train line
Gulfport-Biloxi is the halfway airport — a lower tax than New Orleans and a shorter drive.
Gulfport-Biloxi has Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz and National on site (Nifty off site).
Mississippi adds a 6% rental tax on top of 5% sales tax, 11% together, with no facility charge published that we found.
About 73 road miles and 87 minutes to the terminal without traffic, our routing.
Gulfport-Biloxi showed from $43, with a lowest listing of $59.63 (Oct 2, 2026). At $43 the one-way is about $57, our arithmetic; at the $59.63 listing, about $76.
Mississippi has no toll roads, by a TV report, and I-10 through Alabama has none until the new bridge.
Gulfport is a Mardi Gras Service stop too — so the train is an option from there as well, not just from New Orleans.
What six brands say about a car that ends in Mobile
None of the six prints a price for this trip — only how it decides one.
| Company | What its one-way page says |
|---|---|
| Enterprise | Enterprise says some one-ways carry a drop or mileage charge, shown when you book, and must be booked ahead |
| Alamo | Alamo says the same, and that the charge varies by location and season |
| National | National says there’s typically no drop charge between airport locations |
| Avis | Avis says most locations charge no one-way fee, with any fee shown at step three of booking |
| Budget | Budget charges at least $45 if you drop somewhere other than booked without telling it |
| Hertz | Hertz sets one-way charges case by case |
From each company’s own one-way page, read Sept 27, 2026. Checked Sept 27, 2026
No company published a New Orleans-, Pensacola- or Gulfport-to-Mobile drop fee on the pages we read. The fee, if there is one, lives in the quote.
National’s line is the useful one here. MSY to MOB is airport to airport, which is the case it says typically carries no drop charge.
A MOB return leaves you about 18.1 road miles from the ship by our routing, where the ride from MOB takes over.
Budget’s $45 is a penalty, not a fee — it’s for dropping somewhere you didn’t book. Book the drop you mean.
Our one-way guide covers the brands across the cruise ports we write about.
Pricing New Orleans to Mobile before you pick the train
Search MSY with the drop set to Mobile Regional, then again to a Mobile branch. The drop charge, not the daily rate, will separate them.
If the total beats the train and a cab for your group, book it. If not, take the train — it stops 400 yards from the ship.
- Pick-up: the MSY rental car center
- One-way fee in the total shown
- Taxes and fees shown before you pay
- Free cancellation up to 48 hrs before pickup
Coming from New Orleans for a Mobile cruise
How much is Amtrak from New Orleans to Mobile?
Amtrak prices the Mardi Gras Service only in its booking engine. A local TV report said adult coach fares started at $15 when service began on Aug 18, 2025, with lower fares to stops in between.
Can you rent a car one way from New Orleans to Mobile?
Yes, but no company published a New Orleans-to-Mobile drop fee on the pages we read. National says airport-to-airport one-ways typically carry no drop charge; Enterprise and Alamo show any charge when you book.
How long is the drive from New Orleans airport to the Mobile cruise terminal?
About 154.1 road miles and 2 hr 54 min without traffic, by our routing. From the New Orleans cruise terminal it’s about 144.7 miles and 2 hr 44 min.
What is the customer facility charge on a rental car at MSY?
The airport’s FY2024 audit gives $7.95 a day. A consultant’s survey lists $10 a day since Feb 1, 2026. Expect your quote to show one or the other, on top of about 14.75% in taxes.
What is the rental car tax at Gulfport-Biloxi airport?
Mississippi charges a 6% rental tax on top of its 5% sales tax, 11% together. We found no facility charge published for the airport.
Does the Mardi Gras Service stop at Gulfport and Biloxi?
Yes. It runs between New Orleans and Mobile with stops at Bay Saint Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula, about 3 hours 43 minutes end to end.
More on renting around a Mobile cruise
Coming from New Orleans?
Tell us where you start. We’ll compare the car, the train and the night before, at no extra cost.
Got it — thank you.
Seabound Journeys will follow up within one business day. In the meantime, feel free to keep browsing.
Want to talk sooner? Book a free 30-minute call.
Journey further.