Harvey Remnants

My friend just got told to be prepared to work Friday if they are able to get in, all available hands on deck. For those disembarking from Carnival note that the port may be short staffed and be prepared accordingly as they are not sure how many employees can get in yet, and some have definitely lost houses, etc.

One open issue is port/airport transfers. Buses are being used in relocation and no one knows at all how many taxis etc are available. Hopefully those flying mostly got off in NO and it will be mostly locals getting cars etc.

What a difference a few hours of calm, sunny weather makes.

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Now we have tropical storm Irma on the way.Lets hope it stays away from Houston area.

I see big tanker ships entering Galveston harbor. Select ships only, limited traffic or are they open?

I just sent my Donation to the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief,:D I hope its the least I can do to help you guys in Texas and La. I encourage my fellow Cruise Critic Members to help out to the extent they can also...Wish I could come down and Volunteer but due Health Reasons, wish I could do more...

God Bless Texas and LA.

Mike

Mpdog42

My understanding is that in the short term, any opening of the airports will be for humanitarian/relief flights and repositioning. I don't believe they plan to resume passenger services until closer to Friday/Saturday.

Good news. Both airports are open with what's dubbed limited service. Check ABC 13 news.

Limited service its important to note, but they did pass their flight safety inspections. There are reports of some damage to infrastructure so anyone arriving should allow for extra time for baggage etc.

As per their FB page, the Port of Galveston has resumed limited operations. Cruise ships will begin docking tomorrow!

My friend just got told to be prepared to work Friday if they are able to get in, all available hands on deck. For those disembarking from Carnival note that the port may be short staffed and be prepared accordingly as they are not sure how many employees can get in yet, and some have definitely lost houses, etc.

 

One open issue is port/airport transfers. Buses are being used in relocation and no one knows at all how many taxis etc are available. Hopefully those flying mostly got off in NO and it will be mostly locals getting cars etc.

Thanks for sharing that information. Hopefully with roughly half the passengers already having debarked Carnival ships in other ports, there won't be too much difficulty in debarking in Galveston. I'm sure Galveston's awesome staff will do everything they can though. I did read that one of the areas breached with water at POG is an area where baggage is held, so maybe carrying off your own luggage would be a good idea for now if you're debarking.

Wishing everyone safe travels home, and hoping you find everything in great shape when you get home. Your CC family is thinking about you.

Now we have tropical storm Irma on the way.Lets hope it stays away from Houston area.

And the Weather Channel is already discussing another concern in the Gulf for next week saying, "Another tropical system may form as soon as early next week in the western Gulf of Mexico."

They add:

"Residents along the Gulf Coast should monitor forecasts for this system."

The Weather Channel goes on to say, "Another tropical storm may form in the Gulf of Mexico next week, just one week after Hurricane Harvey left its siege of record rain, flooding and damage from storm surge and high winds in southeast Texas and Louisiana."

So cruisers need to stay weather aware of both Irma and another potential system in the Gulf.

Jeepers!

Just want to add to those who "will be" trying to rent cars from Houston- on the local news today they announced that all rental car companies are significantly dwindling down their inventories to make cars available for people impacted by the storm with flooded out vehicles. Those who are cruising soon that have rentals scheduled may want to double check with their company that their rental is still valid/guaranteed. Would hate for people to get to the airports to think they have a rental and be stressed out trying to find a last minute shuttle/cab. Have a back up plan just in case.

the latest on any one traveling 59/69 southbound

north of humble

It will be closed for another week till it is inspected

Just want to add to those who "will be" trying to rent cars from Houston- on the local news today they announced that all rental car companies are significantly dwindling down their inventories to make cars available for people impacted by the storm with flooded out vehicles. Those who are cruising soon that have rentals scheduled may want to double check with their company that their rental is still valid/guaranteed. Would hate for people to get to the airports to think they have a rental and be stressed out trying to find a last minute shuttle/cab. Have a back up plan just in case.

I rather suspected that any car rental was going to be out of the question with 500k cars damaged in the Houston area ... I rather figured that I would have to count the car out and either UBER it, or Hotel Shuttle.

Well i guess this brings another question then regarding the hotel ... obviously there is hardly one to be had anywhere right now. Anyone think there will be concerns with getting 'locked out' of your hotel reservation when you arrive for your cruise the day before? No car and no hotel, could mean big trouble for many. I am considering flying in to San Antonio rather than houston now ....

I did read that one of the areas breached with water at POG is an area where baggage is held, so maybe carrying off your own luggage would be a good idea for now if you're debarking.

 

I shortened your response to what I wanted to address. The terminal and warehouse didn't flood. Wind driven rain was reported to have caused some leaks but the water level from the channel didn't flood any of the cruise related areas.

It's amazing how well things look on the island. We count our blessings every day that not only did my family escape damage but we're able to help.

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I shortened your response to what I wanted to address. The terminal and warehouse didn't flood. Wind driven rain was reported to have caused some leaks but the water level from the channel didn't flood any of the cruise related areas.

It's amazing how well things look on the island. We count our blessings every day that not only did my family escape damage but we're able to help.

 

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I just sent my Donation to the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief,:D I hope its the least I can do to help you guys in Texas and La. I encourage my fellow Cruise Critic Members to help out to the extent they can also...Wish I could come down and Volunteer but due Health Reasons, wish I could do more...

 

God Bless Texas and LA.

 

Mike

Mpdog42

My money went to the Houston Food Bank. Once things calm down and assessments are made, I'll make a donation to the Houston Habitat for Humanity chapter. I've also made an indirect donation to the Greater Houston Community Foundation through a third party.

Update from Galveston friend - as noted above, no flooding to the terminal. Rain did get in, and there is some roof damage, window damage and the like but things are operational. They are testing things like power outlets today. All available shoreside staff have been requested to report tomorrow regardless of original schedule and been told they may not be performing their usual duties during disembarkation/embarkation depending on who makes it in, but they expect to be able to support necessary operations to get people off. As of today, terminal bathrooms are limited or nonfunctional.

While there are reports of flooding at some surface parking lots, from the sound of things most garages avoided serious flooding.

Port of Galveston website said some cars in their 2 official parking lots had flooding partway up the doors.

Port of Galveston website said some cars in their 2 official parking lots had flooding partway up the doors.

I have each of their updates emailed to me and I didn't see that. The worst I saw was, "up to the bottom of the vehicle doors" in Lot A and, "up to the door bottoms" in Lot B.

I think the important message to the people who have cars parked there who have been informed by the port all week there were no water issues in Lot A and Lot B they now know that is not true. Have some compassion for the people who left their cars there. They deserve to know that the story of no water is not true. If my car was parked there, I would highly value transparency on the part of Port of Galveston. All week long they have been posting on their website that lots A and B had no water issues.

I have compassion for those who left their cars there. I also have corrected your comment with the actual quotes from the source I trust.

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

Port FB Page...

"PARKING LOT CONDITIONS:

If you parked in official Port of Galveston parking lots A or B there was high rainfall that reached the lower section of the door of some vehicles. If you wish to retrieve your vehicle please call 409-766-6266."

That can be read many ways, any damage will depend on how high water actually got and for how long - and of course type of car (lower part of doors is way different on a Ford F150 than a Mazda Miata)

Most cars can handle a short period where the water is up over the lower doorframe, but if the water reaches either engine or trunk door level above the bumper for any amount of time, things go bad quickly.

Same page earlier post:

"PARKING UPDATE: Thank you kindly for all of your patience through this past week.We know a few of you will need a additional days to retrieve your vehicles from our parking lots. You will not be charged any additional fees nor will you receive any fines for your vehicles remaining on property. You will need to be the owner of the vehicle, listed on the registration/insurance, and if you are not, you would need to contact our Police Dept to discuss."

My daughter-in-law's flight from PHL to Houston has been cancelled. for Sat on American Air. She wanted to see her sister who lives in Corpus Christie. Her sister says there is no gas. As of this afternoon there was limited Super Plus and lines were blocking traffic. Some school busses did not get children home until after 7 pm.

This story is not over yet, The worst may yet be to come.