Galveston weather concerns

[Cindy]

Someone that is local may be able to give you more help, but you can try drivetexas dot org. It should tell you route closures.

 

 

 

As far as I know, you should be able to travel all the way from Dallas to Galveston on I-45. I haven't heard of any major shortages, but you might want to gas up well north of Houston.

 

 

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[reallyitsmema]

Cancel for any reason generally requires a 48 hour notice of intent to do so computed on 12:01 am to 12:01 am periods.

 

“Any Reason” Cruise Credits…............................equal to 75% of the non-refundable pre-paid Cruise Vacation CostIn the event that you choose to cancel for a reason not authorized above or for a reason that is otherwise restricted, at anytime up until departure, and you have purchased the Royal Caribbean Travel Protection Program, Royal CaribbeanInternational will provide you a cruise credit equal to 75% of the non-refundable value (excluding AIR2SEA) of your CruiseVacation prepaid to Royal Caribbean International, for your use toward a future cruise. This additional enhancement isoffered by Royal Caribbean International as a special service to guests that purchase this cruise ticket Cancellation PenaltyWaiver Addendum. Certain restrictions on the use of these cruise credits (such as blackout periods) may apply. Credits arevalid for one year from issue date, are not transferable, and have no cash value. To be eligible for credits, notification ofcancellation must be given to Royal Caribbean International prior to the ship’s departure. Once you’ve cancelled with RoyalCaribbean International, please contact the Royal Caribbean Travel Protection Program Help Line at 1-800-45

 

https://coverage.archinsurancesolutions.com/description-of-coverage/f513340d-278c-e711-8107-1418776a18cb.pdf

[Biker19]

They serve sushi in the Windjammer at night if you love sushi. A lot of people went to get it on a plate and brought it to the MDR to enjoy with their dinner.

I don't pay much attention to people coming into the MDR, but I've never seen anyone bring food in - I have seen a few go out with food.:eek:

[sewingmolly]

The Sam Houston Tollroad near where it crosses Buffalo Bayou is a glaring exception, and it will probably be an extended length of time before that route is usable.

 

These shots of the toll road were taken off Transtar a few minutes ago. It's not a freeway, it's a lake. The flooding in my area is worsening today because of the reservoir releases. My background music today is helicopters and air boats.[emoji22]

 

 

 

 

You're right...you can't judge the whole area by what you see on TV and in social media, because TV and social media just barely scratch the surface.[emoji22] The reality can't be believed, and can't adequately be portrayed. Please don't try to minimize this catastrophe just because people are starting to try to get out and put their lives back together.

 

 

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I live near downtown Houston and received over 40 inches of rain and I have friends who were forced out of the homes, I know how devastating Harvey was for many people. I just don't think is people should change their travel plans based on what they see on TV. Houston is a huge metropolitan area. They need to gather information about the specific locations they are traveling thru and to. As can be seen in these photos the main lanes on the Sam Houston tollway are closed, but the side streets and frontage roads are being used. Much of the city is up and running already. My lawn man came today. By the week-end, a visitor to the city may not see any signs of the devastation as much of it is in outlying suburbs.

[Biker19]

Mayor Turner just said the two ships are expected in on Friday (I assume there is still a Carnival ship out there too).

3 Carnival ships loitering waiting to get to Galveston. I'm thinking Liberty may just disembark everyone on Friday, leave to make room for the Carnival ships on Sat and then return on Sunday to pick up passengers.

[cujosmom]

Weather isn't going to be an issue at this point. I think some people won't be able to make the cruise either because they got stuff damaged or just can't get a flight in. I would put the odds of the ship sailing on time at about 95%

 

If you can fly in the day/evening before and get a place to stay, you are in best shape. I'm not too sure there won't be delays from just slowness of operations that might force some delays. So flying in on day of cruise should be ok early but trickier if arriving around noon or later. I would also buffer in an extra long delay on transport to the port. Hard to predict detours for emergency repairs and the such.

 

Hope everyone who wants to make it is able to make it. Just pack extra supplies. No one wants to hear this but from the latest Tropical weather outlook:

 

Have you not been watching the news? Get a place to stay? Are you kidding me? Any hotel rooms that were available have all been booked by the locals and there are still 1000's still in shelters. Even if the airports are open, good luck getting a taxi to Galveston. I live in San Antonio and I-10 to Houston is closed in areas due to high water still on the roads. After the water disperses on I-10 and I-45, no telling the damage done to the highways. And I-45 is the only way to get to Galveston. Royal wants to paint a rosy picture that everything will be back to normal on Sunday but I absolutely do not buy it.

[SeaDays]

Royal Caribbean insurance requires you to cancel prior to the ship leaving port. Where are you seeing differently?

 

The poster is also from Texas, so their last second decision is different than a last second decision for someone who is flying in from a distance.

 

Exactly.

 

Yes, we'll loose a bit of funds, but I've read the contract and you are absolutely correct.

 

The stress of worrying about our pre-cruise hotel reservation, driving through road issues, and wondering about fuel to get back does not make for a "vacation".

 

We really hope that our members who have air transportation to IAH/HOU have the opportunity to sail this great ship. (We sailed with Captain James MacDonald a bunch of years ago on a Vision class ship). Awesome.

 

Thanks.

[reallyitsmema]

Exactly.

 

Yes, we'll loose a bit of funds, but I've read the contract and you are absolutely correct.

 

The stress of worrying about our pre-cruise hotel reservation, driving through road issues, and wondering about fuel to get back does not make for a "vacation".

 

We really hope that our members who have air transportation to IAH/HOU have the opportunity to sail this great ship. (We sailed with Captain James MacDonald a bunch of years ago on a Vision class ship). Awesome.

 

Thanks.

 

Definitely a stressful decision. The port now open during daylight hours and the airports opening are good signs of improvement. At least you can monitor things for the next couple of days and then make your decision. If you do decide to drive down, Gasbuddy is usually a really good app for finding gas.

 

Good luck whatever you decide.:)

[SeaDays]

I was just going to ask that very question -- what are the terms of the insurance. If you can wait until the last minute, that I what I would most likely do. I say most likely because these would be my concerns:

 

1 can I fly into the region (assuming you aren't local)

2 can I get from the airport to my hotel and then from the hotel to the ship

3 can I get a hotel

4 will working all this out be too stressful when the reason I am doing this is to relieve stress

5 will I be ok emotionally going into a devastated area to go on a luxury trip

 

1 --Depending on how willing you are to drive the answer to one is an unqualified yes. Most likely the Houston airports will be open, but there may be some pent up demand getting on those flights since it has been shut down for a while, but on the other hand do a lot of people want to get there? You'll find the answer to this as you work on your flight, but I said an unqualified yes because you could always fly into Dallas and drive.

 

2 -- The roads are drying out and it is only Wednesday. I think this will be a yes as well and this should start becoming clearer over the next day or two.

 

3 -- Start calling and see what you can do, or maybe you already have one, make sure they are still open. Worst case you could fly in and board the same day assuming you can get the flight, though you risk a delay making you miss the boat.

 

4 and 5 -- I don't mean to imply that delicate flowers can't handle stress or sad things. I am saying that the purpose of your trip is to get away from the stresses of life, to relax and to have a great time. Dealing with the uncertainties isn't relaxing. Driving through destruction and knowing what it represents to the people involved isn't relaxing. This is a personal thing to you, but will this defeat the whole purpose of the trip or is it not that big a deal to you? This is something to ask yourself.

 

Edit: Lots of people slipped postes in ahead of mine with other important conciderations.

 

Wow!

 

You have nailed it.

 

I think we've handled point 4, although that changes by the minute. RCI hasn't been a big help here.

 

Point 5 is exactly what we're dealing with. Will make the decision soon.

 

 

Thanks.

[lbjen]

Southwest are still saying Saturday at noon, I know they diverted a lot of people elsewhere that they need to bring back (we have people stuck in Chicago).

 

If you're coming in from San Antonio keep an eye on I-10 over the next few days, it's still under threat at Highway 6 but you can get off earlier to head south if needed.

[Milwaukee Eight]

I don't pay much attention to people coming into the MDR, but I've never seen anyone bring food in - I have seen a few go out with food.:eek:

 

 

 

People bring in drinks so why not food?

 

 

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[Milwaukee Eight]

Have you not been watching the news? Get a place to stay? Are you kidding me? Any hotel rooms that were available have all been booked by the locals and there are still 1000's still in shelters. Even if the airports are open, good luck getting a taxi to Galveston. I live in San Antonio and I-10 to Houston is closed in areas due to high water still on the roads. After the water disperses on I-10 and I-45, no telling the damage done to the highways. And I-45 is the only way to get to Galveston. Royal wants to paint a rosy picture that everything will be back to normal on Sunday but I absolutely do not buy it.

 

 

 

So you know for a fact, all hotels are booked?

 

 

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[SeaDays]

Definitely a stressful decision. The port now open during daylight hours and the airports opening are good signs of improvement. At least you can monitor things for the next couple of days and then make your decision. If you do decide to drive down, Gasbuddy is usually a really good app for finding gas.

 

Good luck whatever you decide.:)

 

Thanks a bunch.

[ukcats1996]

I just booked at the Marriott north hotel about 30 mins ago for Sat night. we have to come in Sat now instead of sunday

[cujosmom]

So you know for a fact, all hotels are booked?

 

 

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No, I don't know "for a fact" that ALL the hotels are booked but there are thousands of people displaced due to their homes flooding. Anyone in the area who can afford a hotel room will be in a hotel instead of a shelter. Some of the worst flooding took place in south metro Houston. (Dickinson, LaMarque, Texas City, etc.) If I was going to book a room, I'd call the hotel direct to do so and make sure a room would definitely be available. Hotels overbook on websites just like the airlines and when you get there, they say, "oh sorry, no room available after all"

[Rasvar]

Have you not been watching the news? Get a place to stay? Are you kidding me? Any hotel rooms that were available have all been booked by the locals and there are still 1000's still in shelters. Even if the airports are open, good luck getting a taxi to Galveston. I live in San Antonio and I-10 to Houston is closed in areas due to high water still on the roads. After the water disperses on I-10 and I-45, no telling the damage done to the highways. And I-45 is the only way to get to Galveston. Royal wants to paint a rosy picture that everything will be back to normal on Sunday but I absolutely do not buy it.

 

You will notice I said "if" for the flight and hotel. I would make sure I had the hotel before the flight. (I do agree, direct call the hotel to be safe) As far as transportation, if there aren't taxis, there sure will be Uber or Lyft. If where you work isn't reopening right away, that is the first thing I would be doing to get some cash income quickly until it does. I would suspect that will be good money in the area starting around Friday. So I think getting transportation won't be hard. It will be navigating the roads that will be tricky.

 

This may be as or more expensive than Katrina, but only because of the size of the region and cost of the places damaged. This wasn't Katrina. It wasn't a total crippling of the city. It's not like the power grid and everything else was destroyed. You already have people going home. 2K people have already gone home from the convention center.

 

There are still questions if airports are even running on Saturday for passengers. They will be open for relief flights and repositioning tomorrow and Friday. I've been a first responder enough times to know that while this was terrible, as long as the water goes down quickly, the vast majority of the area that didn't get damaged will be able to recover quickly. This isn't an Andrew, Katrina or a Northridge earthquake. The infrastructure hasn't been destroyed. Likely some damage but this isn't a crippling blow. It's a hell of an expensive one, though. This isn't meant to belittle those who did lose everything. It doesn't get any worse than that. That is the same for any disaster be it a massive hurricane down to a small tornado that destroys only a couple of homes. But Houston will be coming back to normal life for a lot of people by this weekend.

[Milwaukee Eight]

No, I don't know "for a fact" that ALL the hotels are booked but there are thousands of people displaced due to their homes flooding. Anyone in the area who can afford a hotel room will be in a hotel instead of a shelter. Some of the worst flooding took place in south metro Houston. (Dickinson, LaMarque, Texas City, etc.) If I was going to book a room, I'd call the hotel direct to do so and make sure a room would definitely be available. Hotels overbook on websites just like the airlines and when you get there, they say, "oh sorry, no room available after all"

 

 

 

I understand the plight of those in Houston and feel for them. But spreading unconfirmed things doesn't help the situation.

 

 

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[Biker19]

People bring in drinks so why not food?

Drinks are sort of normal to walk in with, but food? Just feels weird to walk in with a plate of sushi, well unless you are dressed as one of the waiters.

[Aquahound]

No, I don't know "for a fact" that ALL the hotels are booked but there are thousands of people displaced due to their homes flooding. Anyone in the area who can afford a hotel room will be in a hotel instead of a shelter. Some of the worst flooding took place in south metro Houston. (Dickinson, LaMarque, Texas City, etc.) If I was going to book a room, I'd call the hotel direct to do so and make sure a room would definitely be available. Hotels overbook on websites just like the airlines and when you get there, they say, "oh sorry, no room available after all"

 

Not only that, but the various government agencies booked a lot of rooms to house rescuers. There aren't many open rooms in the greater Houston/Galveston area right now.

[tugboat]

Have you not been watching the news? Get a place to stay? Are you kidding me? Any hotel rooms that were available have all been booked by the locals and there are still 1000's still in shelters. Even if the airports are open, good luck getting a taxi to Galveston. I live in San Antonio and I-10 to Houston is closed in areas due to high water still on the roads. After the water disperses on I-10 and I-45, no telling the damage done to the highways. And I-45 is the only way to get to Galveston. Royal wants to paint a rosy picture that everything will be back to normal on Sunday but I absolutely do not buy it.

 

 

 

This is how things get all stirred up.

 

1. I-10 is open I know of two families that drove it to day, No Problem

2. The Houston Texans drove from Dallas to Houston (4) buses, No Problems. We had two employees drive from Houston to Dallas, No Problem.

3. Galveston is high and dry check out the webcams.

4. The Port of Galveston open the port today to ships with a draft of 33' or less(Liberty has a 30ft. Draft.

 

Some people want to paint a picture of Doom & Gloom, but the facts prove them wrong every time. I will be on the Ship on Sunday.

 

 

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[tugboat]

No, I don't know "for a fact" that ALL the hotels are booked but there are thousands of people displaced due to their homes flooding. Anyone in the area who can afford a hotel room will be in a hotel instead of a shelter. Some of the worst flooding took place in south metro Houston. (Dickinson, LaMarque, Texas City, etc.) If I was going to book a room, I'd call the hotel direct to do so and make sure a room would definitely be available. Hotels overbook on websites just like the airlines and when you get there, they say, "oh sorry, no room available after all"

 

 

 

As you stated earlier you live in San Antonio, you don't need a hotel get up Sunday morning and drive to Galveston, Problem Solved.

 

 

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[gnr25]

According to the Canadian trivago site, there are many hotels with rooms near Bush airport. About 4-8 km from the airport for between $81-188 CAD. That is for tonight.

[tugboat]

No, I don't know "for a fact" that ALL the hotels are booked but there are thousands of people displaced due to their homes flooding. Anyone in the area who can afford a hotel room will be in a hotel instead of a shelter. Some of the worst flooding took place in south metro Houston. (Dickinson, LaMarque, Texas City, etc.) If I was going to book a room, I'd call the hotel direct to do so and make sure a room would definitely be available. Hotels overbook on websites just like the airlines and when you get there, they say, "oh sorry, no room available after all"

 

 

 

I just called the Hilton Post Oak by the Galleria has rooms for $110.00 for Saturday night.

 

 

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[tugboat]

HCTRA is waving the Tolls at the time.

 

 

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[tugboat]

HCTRA is waving the Tolls at the time.

 

 

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Sorry that is the Harris County Toll Road Authority

 

 

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