FEMA Now Evaluating Other Possible Uses for Leased Carnival
Cruise Ships
September 09, 2005
After careful consideration and evaluation, The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has decided to forgo its previous plan of offering Hurricane Katrina evacuees currently residing at Houston's Astrodome the opportunity to move onboard two Carnival Cruise ships docked in Galveston, Texas.
Carnival Ecstasy, normally home-ported in Galveston, and Carnival Sensation, which had been sailing out of the port of New Orleans offering four and five-day Caribbean cruises, were both due to be pulled from service on Monday, September 5. Initial plans were for both vessels to be docked in Galveston to act as make-shift floating shelters for displaced Hurricane Katrina evacuees that had relocated to the area.
FEMA cancelled these plans for both the Ecstasy and the Sensation on Wednesday after most evacuees refused the offer to move aboard the ships. Many evacuees have said that they would rather remain in their current crowded and less than desirable living conditions until they have located their missing family members. Most believe that though the accommodations on the cruise ships would be much more comfortable, it would leave them too isolated and detached from the clean-up and recovery efforts taking place on the mainland.
FEMA spokesman Randy Welch says that keeping the evacuees right where they are may actually be in their best interest.
"Even though it's a cruise ship, they've got friends and family and new friends there [at the Astrodome]," stated Welch. "It's safe and secure. They want to settle in for a while. We've had people working with the individuals and the professionals tell us that after a traumatic experience such as this, stability is really a wonderful thing."
FEMA has already leased the cruise ships from Carnival Cruise Lines, and they were to remain docked for six months in Galveston. Welch said there would be no alcohol, no theaters, and no swimming pools available for evacuees, but three restaurants would be open onboard along with the video arcade, recreational facilities, and lounging areas.
Initially, FEMA reported that 20 senior citizens were interested in moving onboard the ships. Wednesday morning, 125 additional evacuees at the Astrodome in Houston said they were interested in learning more about what the Carnival ships had to offer, but in the end the fear of being surrounded by water reportedly led to many becoming reluctant.
Officials are now considering sending the ships to other ports or possibly using the ships, which combined can accommodate more than 5,000 people, to house volunteers and relief workers currently in the area. FEMA has also received numerous phone calls from families that evacuated and are now living with friends that expressed interest in coming back and living aboard the ships.
In addition to the Sensation and the Ecstasy, Carnival's cruise ship Holiday is now docked in Mobile, Alabama to also serve as a temporary shelter for displaced residents in that area. There is no word yet on whether or not Mississippi evacuees will express the same reluctance as their friends and neighbors currently living in Texas; however, FEMA officials are adamant that all three cruise ships will be put to good use, regardless of who ends up calling them home.
