Cruise Lines Cancel Sailings Due to Port of Galveston Closure

You can receive daily cruise news updates directly to your inbox, so you don't miss a thing! Go ahead and Subscribe here.

As we continue to follow the situation on Tropical Storm Harvey and how it is impacting two cruise lines we now have the very latest which is not good.

Tropical Storm Harvey is still causing deadly disruption across Texas, including Port of Galveston. Since the huge storm first hit the region on Friday night, the popular cruise ship port has been closed, and there is now no sign of it opening anytime soon.

As a result, Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean have been forced to cancel next scheduled sailings out of Galveston and alter the current sailings. The ships affected by the port closure are Carnival Freedom, Carnival Valor, Carnival Breeze and Liberty of the Seas.

Carnival Freedom & Carnival Valor

The ships were originally scheduled to arrive in Galveston on Saturday, August 26. Both ships ended up making a quick call in New Orleans to pick up supplies and then headed back out to sea over the weekend until the port would open. Now, the port won’t open until the end of the week. At the earliest, both ships will dock again in New Orleans for more supplies. Guests can choose to disembark their vessels or stay on board when they depart on Tuesday or Wednesday and wait once again for Galveston to open back up for business.

Sailings whichย were supposed to begin on August 26 for Carnival Freedom and Carnival Valor have been canceled.

Carnival Breeze

The ship was originally scheduled to arrive back in Galveston on Sunday, August 27 but as the port was closed due to Tropical Storm Harvey the ship stayed overnight in Cozumel. Even though the Carnival cruise ship did have an extended stay in port it will also dock in New Orleans within the next two days to pick up supplies. Just like Carnival Freedom and Valor the ship will head back out and wait for Port of Galveston to reopen.

The sailing which was supposed to start on August 27 has been canceled.

You can read the full details from Carnival Cruise Line below:

Unfortunately, extreme flooding conditions caused by the storm continue to impact the Galveston and greater Houston areas. As a result, officials from the Port of Galveston and United States Coast Guard cannot predict with any certainty when the port will re-open, but they now expect it will remain closed until late this week.

All three ships will perform a stop in New Orleans during the next two days to allow guests to disembark if they wish to make independent arrangements to return home, or another location.ย  Alternatively, if their schedule allows, guests can elect to sail back to Galveston with us.ย  Our ships will depart New Orleans Tuesday/Wednesday and expect to be in position to enter the Port of Galveston as soon as it re-opens, later in the week.

Based on the uncertainty of the port closure, the August 26thย sailings of Carnival Valor and Carnival Freedom, and the August 27thย departure of Carnival Breeze, will now be cancelled.

A full refund will be automatically processed, including any pre-purchased Carnival Adventures, Fun Shop purchases and beverage packages.ย  The refund will be processed to the original form of payment within three weeks.ย  Additionally, a 25% future cruise credit will be applied to their next reservation with Carnival if booked within the next 60 days.

We sincerely apologize to all our Galveston guests for the disruption to their vacation plans and thank them for their patience and understanding.ย  ย We look forward to welcoming them on a Carnival cruise in the future.

On behalf of Carnival Cruise Line, our thoughts and prayers remain with those in the affected communities.

Liberty of the Seas

Royal Caribbean has gone with a different approach than Carnival. The ship has been diverted to Port Miami in Florida due to the port closureย and the impact from Tropical Storm Harvey in Texas. The cruise line is working hard to make arrangments for all guests. The Royal Caribbean cruise ship is expected to arrive back in Galveston on Friday if the port reopens.

Liberty of the Seas Sunday, August 27 sailing has been canceled.

You can read the latest details from Royal Caribbean below:

Royal Caribbean International is divertingย Liberty of the Seasย to Miami until conditions at the Port of Galveston permit safe travel. Due to port closure because of Hurricane Harvey, Liberty was not able to make her scheduled arrival into Galveston today. We anticipate Liberty will be able to return to Galveston on Friday, conditions permitting. We are doing all we can to help guests adjust their travel arrangements and appreciate their patience as we work through this.

The next sailing ofย Liberty of the Seas, scheduled for Sunday, August 27 has been cancelled, and all guests will have their fares fully refunded and have been provided a future cruise credit.

Cruise Hive will continue to update readers on the latest developments affecting the cruise industry. If you’re in Texas please stay safe and try to stay away from the flooding.

If you enjoyed the article and would like no fuss daily cruise news to your inbox directly from Cruise Hive, you can Subscribe here.

Voting is now open at the Cruise Hive Awards, including your favorite cruise ships, cruise lines, ship features, private islands and homeports!

Emrys Thakkar
Emrys Thakkar
The founder of Cruise Hive, Emrys has been reporting on the cruise industry since 2008. Expert insights and tips featured on a number of publications including The Express, Business Insider, Fodor's Travel and more. Worked for Carnival for 8 years and traveled to more than 34 countries and been on over 100 cruises.

Don't Miss Cruise Hive's Daily Update!

Free expert cruise tips and news from Cruise Hive! We'll send you the latest cruise updates daily to your inbox.

Don't Miss Any Cruise News!

We'll send you the latest cruise updates daily to your inbox.

708 Shares
Copy link