Hurricane Harvey forced four cruise ship captains out in the Gulf of Mexico to change their plans as remnants of the storm lingered, dropping record rainfall along the Texas coast.
It may not be until Tuesday when the Carnival cruise ships Valor and Freedom can return to port in Galveston, three days later than their expected arrival time, the New York Post reported.
Another Carnival cruise ship, the Breeze, had been scheduled to reach Galveston on Sunday but instead was forced to detour to New Orleans. Meanwhile, the Royal Caribbean's Liberty of Seas will not make it back to Galveston from Miami until Friday, four days late.
Harvey reached the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane late Friday and has continued to linger, causing record flooding in Houston and surrounding areas, The Associated Press reported. The flooding has forced many to seek higher ground as rescuers struggled to keep up with help calls.
Peter Simons, interim director of the Port of Galveston, told the Houston Chronicle that roughly 20,000 passengers have been stuck at seas as they wait for now Tropical Storm Harvey to clear. Simons added that number does not include commercial ships waiting to enter one of the busiest coastal waterways in the country.
"The four cruise ships – two of which were due today – those are everyone's highest priority," Simons told the Chronicle Saturday.
Initial news reports accompanying Harvey's landfall had undertones of peril for the ships in the gulf, when actually some of the passengers were strolling around New Orleans.
Christine de la Huerta, a Carnival spokeswoman, said passengers were given the option this weekend of ending their trip in New Orleans or waiting out the storm.
"Guests who wish to terminate their cruise at that point and disembark in New Orleans may do so," de la Huerta said, per the Chronicle. "We are strongly encouraging them to remain on board as we intend to return the ships to Galveston as soon as feasible."
Royal Caribbean spokesman Owen Torres told The Washington Post that the cruise line started making plans on Friday for pacing the trip of the Liberty of the Seas from Cozumel, Mexico back to Galveston to avoid Harvey.
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