Hurricane Rita and Houston/Galveston ?

[Checkmate1955]

It looks like the hurricane Rita is heading for Houston and Galveston and at speeds of a Cat 4+ Hurricane.... How will this effect the cruises this Saturday and Sunday out of those ports?

 

Will anyone be notified of changes soon... Could move the ships to another port....What have your T/A been telling you about this major storm?

[njkate]

It looks like the hurricane Rita is heading for Houston and Galveston and at speeds of a Cat 4+ Hurricane.... How will this effect the cruises this Saturday and Sunday out of those ports?

 

Will anyone be notified of changes soon... Could move the ships to another port....What have your T/A been telling you about this major storm?

 

If I were to sail out of Houston or Galveston this weekend I would be onthe phone NOW with either T/A or NCL.....New Orleans is not open yet so I have no idea where or if your ship would be diverted...

 

CALL NOW!!!

[Checkmate1955]

I am surprised that there is so little comments on the upcoming cruises from the Houston area and the Hurricane Rita.... Since NCL has not made any comments then the cruises for this weekend must still be on...

 

Is NCL going to let folks start driving down to Houston tomorrow (Thursday) for pre cruise time in the area and arrive to find the cruise is leaving from somewhere else!

[Don Haynes]

NCL hasn't started cruising out of Houston yet, whereas Carnival and Royal Caribbean are cruising out of Galveston. It appears the storm will hit the Texas coast on Saturday, Saturday evening, the Carnival Conquest is due in on Sunday. The current cruise probably will be extended one day, with the next cruise being one day shorter to get back on schedule.

 

While Houston has low lying areas, a heavy rain can result in flash floods in the low areas, unlike New Orleans Houston is above sea level. Galveston on the other hand has a sea wall, but the sea wall can be overcome by heavy seas, especially if there is a huge storm surge.

 

Obviously we'll have to wait and see, but Corpus Christi does have a naval base with a pier which could be used not too far away from Houston/Galveston.

 

I suspect by the time NCL arrives in Houston the dock area near La Porte will be cleaned up....

[Checkmate1955]

Right you are.... I forgot that the Sun will not be sailing until next month from Houston.... That is good news for now.:)

[newmexicoNita]

Let's all just prayer she turns to sea or some other such thing. Remember Katrina was not supposed to be nearly as bad as she was, maybe Rita will be the opposite. What a year this has been for storms!!! NMNita

[Don Haynes]

Rita appears to have gathered strength overnight, up to a category 5 storm with winds around its eye of 175 mph, with an expected storm surge of over 50 feet. Galveston is 8 feet above sea level, with a seawall only 17 feet high. Rita appears to be headed to hit the Texas shore between Houston and Corpus Christi, hopefully the Houston, Galveston, and Corpus Christi areas will not suffer a direct hir, with most of their buildings intack after the storm. We don't need another wipe out such as Gulfport/Biloxi. We'll know more Saturday afternoon/evening.....

[newmexicoNita]

Rita appears to have gathered strength overnight, up to a category 5 storm with winds around its eye of 175 mph, with an expected storm surge of over 50 feet. Galveston is 8 feet above sea level, with a seawall only 17 feet high. Rita appears to be headed to hit the Texas shore between Houston and Corpus Christi, hopefully the Houston, Galveston, and Corpus Christi areas will not suffer a direct hir, with most of their buildings intack after the storm. We don't need another wipe out such as Gulfport/Biloxi. We'll know more Saturday afternoon/evening.....

 

Thanks for the update. I was just waiting for DH to wake up so I could turn on the radio or TV and see what was happening. If anyone wonders why I can't turn anything on before he gets up: the minute there is any sign of life the cats also get up and they want to go sleep or better play with him. So rule: I wake up, I go to the office, DH sleeps. Now he is awake so we can see what is happening with Rita. Let's pray that it looses strenght, 2 days can make a lot of difference in a hurricane or any storm for that matter. NMNita

[electricron]

Most of Houston has an elevation of 50 feet. A 20 to 30 foot high storm surge will not flood most of Houston. The low lying areas near creeks and bayous may flood, blocking highways for a while, but any flood waters should drain quickly as the storm surge ebbs.

Houston elevation is not below sea level like New Orleans. I'm more worried about the cities on the barrier islands, like Galveston which has only an 18 foot elevation.

[DJ Dale]

Can La Porte withstand this storm and still be functional?

 

Our cruise was move from New Orleans to Houston.

[Francine]

I noticed the Royal Caribbean is hold Rhapsody of the Seas out at sea. She will, hopefully, be returning to Galveston on Monday instead of Sunday.

 

We have driven to Galveston to catch Rhapsody in the past. We usually leave our car in the parking lot near the pier. I wonder how the people out at sea right now will find their cars when they return.

Fran

[Checkmate1955]

If the storm hits near Galveston there will be no driveable cars parked near the piers unless they are three floors or more up in parking decks that may survive... What about those due to board the ships on Saturday and Sunday... No one is going to be in town... :( unless the boarding is moved to elsewhere...Maybe Houston?

 

The storm is now moving between Galveston and New Orleans... That is likely to break the repaired levees....