Katrina Forces Evacuation of Residents, Carnival Cruises
August 30, 2005
While Katrina moved through the sea and forced residents of New Orleans to evacuate the city, it also sent cruise lines such as Carnival Cruises scrambling. The storm forced the Port of New Orleans to close, which in turn made any cruise ship operating from there impossible. Carnival Cruises, therefore, was forced to shift the September 1st and September 5th Sensation Mexico Cruises from their scheduled starting point of the Big Easy to Galveston, Texas.
Given the fact that there will no doubt be cancellations that result from move to Galveston, Carnival Cruises is featuring a great offer. Discounted prices for the 4-day cruise to Mexico begin at just $99, and that's including port charges. Upgrade to an oceanview for just $129. The 5-day sailing on September 5th has interior cabins that start at only $129 per person, and oceanview cabins for only $30 more than that.
Those interested in this special offer from Carnival Cruises can book through www.cruisenetwork.com or by calling 1-888-267-1232 and speaking to a Cruise Specialist.
Yet Carnival Cruises' Sensation isn't the only ship that was affected. The Carnival Cruises ship Inspiration had been scheduled to leave Tampa, Florida at 4:00 in the afternoon on Monday, but high seas in the Gulf forced the ship travel to and dock on the east coast, postponing its cruise. Of course, the change also affected passengers scheduled to arrive back at the Port of Tampa on the Inspiration. Carnival Cruises offered free bus transportation from Fort Lauderdale back to Tampa.
There were also two other changes with Carnival Cruises at the Port of Tampa. The Miracle, scheduled to arrive Sunday in Tampa, docked at Port Everglades. And the Holiday will dock in Tampa Monday, instead of in Mobile, Alabama (a city with which Carnival Cruises recently extended its contract. Read "Sweet Homeport Alabama" for more info).
Of course, in the aftermath of Katrina, delayed cruise ships or cancelled itineraries are the least of worries for many people, and even Carnival Cruises' great offer is bittersweet. It all comes at a time when family and friends must now deal with the reality of destroyed and flooded property; many are undoubtedly anxious to see whether or not their home stood up to the storm.
Just east of New Orleans, the city from which Sensation was originally scheduled to leave, some of the worst damage reports came from St. Bernard Parish New Orleans, where an estimated 40,000 homes were reported flooded. In Gulfport, the storm effectively left three of five hospitals without working ERs, beachfront homes utterly destroyed, and large swaths of highway flooded and completely impassable.
Katrina began as a category 1 storm off the coast of Florida, and many people did not believe it would materialize into anything more severe. Yet as it careened through the warm waters of the Gulf, it gained ferocity. It cut a path that stretched from the eastern half of Louisiana to western portions of Alabama and well into Mississippi. Mississippi's Governor Haley Barbour said what many people feel. "[Katrina] came on Mississippi like a ton of bricks. It's a terrible storm."
Hurricane Katrina was downgraded from Category 5—the most dangerous storm—to Category 4 as it hit land in eastern Louisiana just after 6 AM. In New Orleans, officials said the storm's slight shift to the east had spared them somewhat. The city lies below sea level, and there were predictions that the historic French Quarter would be under 18 or 20 feet of water.
Preliminary damage estimates from Katrina ranged from $9 billion to $16 billion.
