UPDATE (AUG 29):
Another sailing has been canceled for Carnival Valor due to the situation with the closure of Port of Galveston and Tropical Storm Harvey. Read the latest here.
PREVIOUSLY:
As we continue to monitor the impact of Tropical Storm Harvey we have an update received from Carnival Cruise Line and it isn’t good.
Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean have been impacted by Tropical Storm Harvey which is causing wide spread disruption across Texas and the coast. Carnival just like Royal Caribbean earlier has released a new update on the cruise ships which are affected.
The cruise lines are in constant communication with Port of Galveston which did close when Harvey was a Hurricane and hit the Texas coast on Friday night. The port is still closed and it could open again to cruise ships later than expected. Ships might not be able to dock there until Tuesday at the earliest.
Carnival Cruise Line sent out the following statement:
The Port of Galveston is closed to all marine traffic. It is expected to remain closed until weather permits access and a port assessment has been completed, which is not expected to be any sooner than Tuesday and possibly later. We are in constant communication with the port and other authorities.
Both Carnival Freedom and Carnival Valor made a stop in New Orleans on Saturday to replenish supplies and provide guests the option to disembark. Carnival Breeze departed Cozumel Saturday afternoon after an extra night in port and will make a brief stop in New Orleans Monday to replenish supplies. Guests on Carnival Breeze who wish to terminate their cruise at that point and disembark in New Orleans may do so.
All three ships will head towards Galveston to take advantage of the first opportunity to enter the port while remaining a safe distance from the storm. For voyages scheduled to depart between yesterday and today on those three ships, the intention is to operate shortened cruises with itineraries dependent upon when the ships can return to Galveston. Guests who sail on modified voyages will receive a pro-rated refund equal to the number of cruise days missed. Those who wish to cancel may do so without penalty and receive a future cruise credit.
The safety and wellbeing of our guests and team members is our foremost priority. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Guests scheduled to depart on Carnival cruises from Galveston this weekend are asked to sign up for text alerts by texting the codes below to CRUISE (278473).
With Port of Galveston possibly opening on Tuesday or later we could see up to four cruise ships out at sea and waiting to get back into port so they can begin their much delayed next sailings.
Carnival Freedom and Valor were originally scheduled to arrive back in Galveston on Saturday, August 26. Carnival Breeze was originally scheduled to arrive back at its homeport on Sunday, August 27. All next sailings for all three ships will be made shorter and guests will be refunded the number of days taken off their voyage.
Tropical Storm Harvey continues to cause havoc in Texas with heavy rainfall and flooding. The storm is weakening and not as strong as it once was but the aftermath at Port of Galveston where the surrounding areas are flooded will need to be resolved.
