Local News

Thousands of Cruise Ship Passengers Were Stuck Due to the Storm

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Tony Maples Photography

 

No one knew that late August would be a terrible time to book a trip on a cruise taking off from the Gulf of Mexico. Thousands who accidentally planned a vacation when Harvey began wreaking havoc in the Gulf got more time on a boat than they bargained for.

The Miami Herald reports that Royal Caribbean International’s Liberty of the Seas diverted to a port in Miami instead of returning to Galveston at the end of their cruise. The ship was supposed to take patrons on a 7-day-cruise leaving on August 20th but was unable to dock until the 29th. Some people decided to get off in Miami to find their way home through other means, while others stayed aboard to finally reach Galveston on Friday. “I don’t have much to go home to,” one passenger sadly told the news.

KRGV writes that several other cruise ships diverted to New Orleans where they will await the reopening of the Port of Galveston. “…they’re telling us the storm is coming this way toward New Orleans so we’re thinking, ‘Okay, do we need to get flights out of here? Do we need to rent a car?’ We don’t know what to do because they aren’t providing us information on the ship right now. They aren’t telling us anything,” Texan Matilda Williams told FOX 4, relaying some of the confusion and anxiety the once happy-go-lucky vacationers on the cruise lines felt since they were disconnected from home during a time of turmoil.