Port of Galveston back open by Oct 1st.

[adamscot]

Just read this heres the link.

 

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6003905.html

[BrainChemicals]

Sure thing, October 1st, 2009 maybe.

[DopeyRN]

What good does it do to move the ships back to Houston or Galveston so quickly? There are no available hotel rooms, curfews are in place and restaurants will be extremely busy, those that are open. I guess anyone driving to their cruise will need to spend the night in their car with their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in tow.:rolleyes:

[Texas Tillie]

I'm wondering how Carnival is going to be able to restock their supplies (especially fresh food, etc.).

 

This should make people aware that sailing in the Gulf/Caribbean during hurricane season is not a good idea!

[Cap'n Cork]

What good does it do to move the ships back to Houston or Galveston so quickly? There are no available hotel rooms, curfews are in place and restaurants will be extremely busy, those that are open. I guess anyone driving to their cruise will need to spend the night in their car with their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in tow.:rolleyes:

 

 

There are likely to be available hotel rooms by then, but they'll most likely be the ones that are at least one or two hours away from the cruise terminal under Houston freeway driving conditions. Those will be in Houston; they'll be the ones away from the ocean. I suspect that it'll be a couple of months AT LEAST before the hotels in Galveston begin to reopen.

[*Mach*]

I frequent Galveston.COMmunity and no one there has faith in the Oct. 1 date.

There is structural damage to the cruise terminal, no power and everything is covered in silt... There are hundreds of totaled automobiles in the parking lots that in short order will belong to insurance companies. They have to be towed to where ever... There will be extremely limited hotel facilities available as only two seemed to have escaped significant damage.

I believe that Carnival will stay with Bayport until all normal services are restored at Galveston...

[futaba951]

Living only 50 miles from Biloxi MS and living through the whole Katrina deal and watching from AL (we only experienced minor damage here) I think Oct 2009 would be more realistic. It will happen, but it won't happen overnight. The scars from Ike will be visible for years, but it will get better every week and life will go on. It will take months just to clean up the debris from the island. It will be frustrating, but it will get better. I've heard the whole "we will build back bigger and better" vows that always go out as soon as the storm passes, but it all just takes a while to get all the ducks to line up straight. It will happen.

[dna1990]

I saw that intervew and chuckled to myself - typical corporate sales spin from the port.

 

Yes, the piers and terminal itself are not that damaged, in fact the shipyards nearby are about ready to open, just waiting on some bridge repairs to get people there. But those are shipyards. Not tourist places.

 

It is the 'surrounding' infrastructure that a cruise terminal needs, as said above, that will take longer than Oct 1. Hotels, refueling, catering supply, 'workers' and porters, TSA, etc. Parking is not that hard to put back.

 

Now no doubt, Galvestion and the port will push hard, as one thing Galveston will soon need - is jobs and an income stream. But I think Oct 1 is a stretch goal.

 

I don't know the details, but I also bet there is some political stress - in not letting Bayport 'take hold' and make it so the cruiselines are happy up there and don't want to rush back. I think there are already negatives to Bayport in terms of distance, time, fuel, pre/post cruise hotels, etc - that still work in Galveston's favor - but they would not want to take any chances.

 

Now in the end, do pax really need a 'fancy' port? No, once on the ship - that is where your vacation is. And let's face it, while close to the Strand and Galveston at large - there was not much to the Galveston terminal area itself. Much of it converted from commerical cargo. And it took several years to get the business of turning ships around (fuel, food, people, etc) - into an efficient manner. So could they have a bare-bones 'place to dock' by Oct 1? Maybe. Will it be nice and efficient to the pax by then? I highly doubt it.

 

But hey, if I can get on a ship, along with my bags, plenty of fuel, fresh water, and bar supplies...more power to em. It will beat 'flying' at current day's prices anytime.

[nanuak]

I spoke with Carnival today about our cruise 11/2/08. They told me that our cruise was going out of Bayport Terminal, but hopefully it will be the last one sailing from that venue; an they hope to be sailing out of Galveston on 11/9/08.

 

Of course, I only spoke to one PVP, so who knows.... but it still made me happy that I had already booked a hotel in La Porte for our cruise. You know.... I don't really care if we don't make any ports, just put me on the ship, and I'm a happy camper.

[adamscot]

I havent called carnival or anything, but I sail on 11/9/08, we had reserved our hotel in houston gosh 6 months ago already... when they announced they were sailing from Bayport I looked it up and the hotel is just 3 miles from that port, so that was a plus:D ... but if it goes back to Galveston then i guess plans are back to "normal". Well assuming the hotel will be ready talked to Hilton yesterday and they are saying it will be.:confused:

[dna1990]

I sure your hotel will be fine by November...and not to worry anyone - but do be aware that there is 0% vacancy as far as you can imagine. If you are departing Bayport within say the next 30-60 days, double check hotel reservations and have a plan B.

[adamscot]

Just got off the phone with Hilton, the hotel is back open, and starts accepting new reservations Oct 19, and mine is still confirmed and good go to *sigh of relief*:rolleyes:

[waiting4acruise]

Just got off the phone with Hilton, the hotel is back open, and starts accepting new reservations Oct 19, and mine is still confirmed and good go to *sigh of relief*:rolleyes:

Which Hilton brand hotel do you have? I booked the Hampton Inn on Nasa Road 1. I called them yesterday and they said to call back on October 1 to check their status.

[adamscot]

I am booked with Hilton Nasa clear lake, its accepting reservations on their site now after 10/19, If you book/pay in advance they have a great deal only $80

[sewut]

Does anyone know anything about the Howard Johnsons in Galveston? I haven't been able to spot it in any of the pictures online. I'm assuming that it was damaged, but how bad? I have a December 6 reservation, and I'm wondering if they will be able to honor it. We will be driving down from Kansas, and will need somewhere to stay the night pre cruise.

 

Sewut

[zantedeschia]

Living only 50 miles from Biloxi MS and living through the whole Katrina deal and watching from AL (we only experienced minor damage here) I think Oct 2009 would be more realistic. It will happen, but it won't happen overnight. The scars from Ike will be visible for years, but it will get better every week and life will go on. It will take months just to clean up the debris from the island. It will be frustrating, but it will get better. I've heard the whole "we will build back bigger and better" vows that always go out as soon as the storm passes, but it all just takes a while to get all the ducks to line up straight. It will happen.

Galveston is not New Orleans. Texans are not Louisianians. The Island will recover far, far faster than you may know.

 

I'm really getting tired of people comparing Ike to Katraina, Galveston to New Orleans. I saw Galveston trashed by Alicia and remember how fast it recovered from that. I was here when Houston got trashed by TS Allison and saw how fast things became operational after that crippling storm. Yes it will happen, and way sooner than you can imagine.

[clearlakecruisers]

Adamscot,

 

The Hilton you contacted (AKA, the NASA Hilton- because it is across the street from NASA/JSC, the Clear Lake Hilton - because it is located on Clear Lake, the Nassau Bay Hilton - because it is located in that city), was the place where many of the news media stayed while reporting on this area during Hurricane Ike. The skylight in the foyer blew out and that area was heavily damaged. There was some flooding in the lower level, and some of the exterior "stucco" also is gone with the wind. Overall the damage, compared to other areas, was not great and they should be open quite soon.

 

There is an interesting story about the parking lot there involving a local orthodontist. When she found her orthodontist husband "treating" one of his staff in a room at the Hilton she killed him in the parking lot when she "accidentally" ran over him three times. Everything is bigger in Texas!!!

 

I'm only a couple of miles away so, if you have any questions, I'll be glad to help.

[CanTex]

Galveston is not New Orleans. Texans are not Louisianians. The Island will recover far, far faster than you may know.

 

I'm really getting tired of people comparing Ike to Katraina, Galveston to New Orleans. I saw Galveston trashed by Alicia and remember how fast it recovered from that. I was here when Houston got trashed by TS Allison and saw how fast things became operational after that crippling storm. Yes it will happen, and way sooner than you can imagine.

I agree. The progress in my area in just over a week is amazing. People in my neighborhood were cleaning up debris just a few hours after the hurricane force winds had left our area. I don't hear a lot of whining about waiting for others to do it for us all; we've gotten down to the business of recovery.

 

Now, areas like Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula are in much worse shape since they also had the surge and the back-side of the storm, but I am sure the same spirit to recover is strong their too.

[karenh1127]

Just today Gaido's opened back up in Galveston (limited menu) but it looked really crowded. A Cajun place is opened too. There is atleast one gas station opened and 2 grocery stores. The hospital only is treating minor emergencies. I agree that it wont be that long before the island is fully operational. And let me add that a big part of that quick recovery is due to the fantastic utility and recovery companies piling in from all over the USA and Canada!!! A huge THANK YOU!!! goes out to those guys!

[adamscot]

Thanks for the heads up... :eek:.

[futaba951]

Galveston is not New Orleans. Texans are not Louisianians. The Island will recover far, far faster than you may know.

 

I'm really getting tired of people comparing Ike to Katraina, Galveston to New Orleans. I saw Galveston trashed by Alicia and remember how fast it recovered from that. I was here when Houston got trashed by TS Allison and saw how fast things became operational after that crippling storm. Yes it will happen, and way sooner than you can imagine.

 

 

Ooooookay. Whatever makes your skirt tail fly. BTW, try to find a mention of NO or LA in my post. I was very specifically talking about the MS coast that took a 30 foot storm surge, but was lost in the shadow of NO who had relatively little actual hurricane damage. They flooded because their walls fell down the following day. I don't have a dog in this fight, so I will sit here with my A/C and my lights and read CC while I eat my plate of BBQ pulled pork. Good luck.

[Capt. Mike]

I was in Galveston's port today to survey damaged cargo. I would not bet on any cruise ship sailing from Galveston until after the first of the year. Bayport may have stole the show by default. Bayport will keep some of the sailings from now on, maybe all of them. Hide and watch.

[SadieQ]

Galveston is not New Orleans. Texans are not Louisianians.

 

Um, Biloxi isn't in Louisiana.

[DannyMac]

Capt Mike,

 

I agree with you, Galveston may have lost the prize by default. There is no way they will be able to cruise out of Galvez for a long time. Too much damage to the infrastructure and to the city.

[rsjc]

I was in Galveston's port today to survey damaged cargo. I would not bet on any cruise ship sailing from Galveston until after the first of the year. Bayport may have stole the show by default. Bayport will keep some of the sailings from now on, maybe all of them. Hide and watch.

I wish Galveston would just come out and say that. Can Bayport handle more than one ship? Come late Dec. Voyager will be here and where will she dock. I'm sure RCCL is going to have a plan way before then and that's only a couple of months away.