Mississippi River Flooding

[mitsugirly]

Oh trust me, I really don't have the fear that I will starve. After all, I gained 10 pounds on my last cruise and my husband gained 12. :eek: :D

[woj]

We are scheduled to leave on the NCL Spirit on May 22. Keeping my fingers crossed all will be ok....but honestly a bit nervous..Guess we will be notified by NCL..wonder how far in advance they may know...we are driving about 10 hours to get to New Orleans. :eek:

[PennyAgain]

I'm seeking out information on driving to New Orleans about the same time. I'm hoping that I-10 from Houston will be no problem.

 

Please post if you get any data. I'll do the same.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We are scheduled to leave on the NCL Spirit on May 22. Keeping my fingers crossed all will be ok....but honestly a bit nervous..Guess we will be notified by NCL..wonder how far in advance they may know...we are driving about 10 hours to get to New Orleans. :eek:

 

welcome to cruise critic

[Krazy Kruizers]

We are scheduled to leave on the NCL Spirit on May 22. Keeping my fingers crossed all will be ok....but honestly a bit nervous..Guess we will be notified by NCL..wonder how far in advance they may know...we are driving about 10 hours to get to New Orleans. :eek:

 

welcome to cruise critic

 

where are you driving from?

[sabrina1981]

I'll be on the May 22 Spirit cruise as well. I'm taking Amtrak the day before so I hope everything goes as planned. If Amtrak shuts down because of the flooding I plan on driving. Well, my husband will drive. I just hope the inform us early if anything changes. I'd hate to be in NO without a car and the ports get changed at the last minute!

[wrp96]

New Orleans has been closed in the past. Previously when it happened, Carnival used both Gulfport, MS and Mobile. They hired buses to transport people from the cruise terminal in New Orleans to the new port (and vice versa).

 

Most likely if the ship is unable to make it back to New Orleans, NCL will choose a similiar option. There is a good cruise terminal in Mobile, and the driving distance is not far. It's also possible that they could use Houston or Galveston. If they do change ports, this close to sailing, they would almost certainly have to provide transportation between New Orleans and the new port.

 

There is a thread about this on the Carnival board. Even if the river is not closed, be prepared for a rough transit down the river - take your seasick meds in advance.

[francesro]

River is expected to crest on the 23rd (a Monday). There has been some talk of closing the river but it's something they want to avoid at all cost because it would affect the entire nation. Like the other response the Morganza Spillway will likely be opened in part to avoid a river closing. Of course all bets are off if the levee breaks anywhere. That isn't expected to happen but I keep hearing the Corps say there is a lot of pressure on the levees. My question is what if you leave ok but can't return? Will you end up in another port like Mobile to disembark?

[woj]

St. Louis.

[woj]

Where will you be coming from??

[Abear2]

They are expected to open up the Morganza spillway tomorrow or Sunday. This is to keep New Orleans from flooding. They are trying to avoid New Orleans losing about 3 million, so trust me they will open up that spillway. I am not worried about the flooding in New Orleans, but I am worried about driving on Hwy 90. I don't go I-10, but I may have to, if I can't go on 90 through Patterson, Berwick etc... I am not going until May 29th, so I have a little time to think this out. LOL ;):o Ok well let's just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best ! :)

[Sadric]

I suppose since I am the OP here, I'll chime back in. We are currently in NOLA right now preparing for our sailing on the 15th. There is only one thing on the news and that is the flood.the local fox affiliate by far had the best report o the issue discussing in detail what will happen when Morganzza opens tommorrow. Essentially in 84 hours all that water will drain into the Gulf. They have it timed to the minute. I was certainly mystified by all the flooding damage left over from Katrina. I was last here in 2002 and let me tell you this is a different city. High water marks are everywhere. This will be a tough go but while levees are expected to hold, there are leaks and you just never know. Before I leave the coast I will post again here and let everyone know what the crew says about the next sailing (and our return). I will also let you know how the sail was down the river.

sadric

P.s the Roosevelt Waldorf Astoria is awesome. Best service I've seen in a hotel in a long time. Trolley system is as bad I Remember it. So crowded and rude rude drivers. Acme Oyster House was ridiculously over rated from a quality standpoint. Price was fine. Just shaky oysters.

[PennyAgain]

My sincere thanks for the update. I feel better.

 

The Roosevelt is wonderful!

 

Bon Voyage!

[woj]

So, pennyagain, are you on the NCL spirit on the 22 of may also?

[Krazy Kruizers]

They are expected to open up the Morganza spillway tomorrow or Sunday. This is to keep New Orleans from flooding. They are trying to avoid New Orleans losing about 3 million, so trust me they will open up that spillway. I am not worried about the flooding in New Orleans, but I am worried about driving on Hwy 90. I don't go I-10, but I may have to, if I can't go on 90 through Patterson, Berwick etc... I am not going until May 29th, so I have a little time to think this out. LOL ;):o Ok well let's just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best ! :)

 

I have been following all of this on the weather channel

prayers for all of you down there

sad for those who will lose their homes

hope all goes well for your cruise

[Abear2]

Thank you for your concern. Yes well, as I said in a previous post... They have opened the Morganza spillway to avoid flooding in New Orleans. It's sad to say that there is no good to any choice of opening or not. I feel so sorry for everyone down here that will lose their homes and everything they own. They have had a few days to get some personal belongings out, but they will still have no place to live. It's just sad for everyone involved. This had to be done to avoid all the flooding in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, but then there is still thousands that will suffer losses around this area. I do hope ya'll have an amazing cruise.

[imsulin]

We here in Alabama truly feel the pain of loss suffered by the thousands of residents affected by the Mississippi river flooding! Please don't forget the hundreds killed and total devastation of property in Alabama by the tornado outbreaks on April 27, 2011! If I had a bigger home, I would open it to displaced residents. However, I've taken in three displaced dogs and two displaced cats until their owners can retrieve them, and take weekly bags of canned and boxed food to a local dispensing area. We do what we can - it's been a terrible Spring!!

[mitsugirly]

I did notice that when you log into your NCL account, you get an "alert" message about the flooding and how they are monitoring the situation. They said they will continue to post updates for the sailing.