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Galveston weather concerns

NouCruzer

By NouCruzer,
in Royal Caribbean International

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paxpax07

paxpax07

Posted
Posted
People asked for guidance about cancellation from the cruise line and were not only misinformed but given life threatening directive. You are alone in your desperate straw grabbing defense of your colleague at RCI. Blame assigned where blame is earned and due.

 

 

 

Well said.

 

 

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LMaxwell Great Review Rare

LMaxwell

Posted
Posted
We all have access to the same information that the next Liberty Galveston cruise has been cancelled.

 

Beyond that depends on the Houston & Galveston weather local flooding conditions and reopening of Galveston port. No one will be able to have firm answers on that for days and perhaps longer.

 

Based on the gentleman from FEMA sitting next to me here/now at a major airport...forecasting the rebound timeframe features little optimism for the near future.

 

Interesting. Is there are timelines regarding communications to those scheduled for the next cruise?

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caribill

caribill

Posted
Posted

 

The pace of weather change and severity were actually beyond even most meteorologists' forecasts during and right after the 24 hours that Harvey hit landfall, so blaming anyone for not getting things right is misguided. We watched 3 different weather expert reporting channels (sometimes with conflicting data/information that ranged from Galveston getting anywhere from 4 to 18 inches of rainfall on Sunday - major differences. There were also some forecasts that pointed to Galveston mostly missing the brunt of the storm - which would allow for a late Sunday return of ships to the port. Clearly conditions evolved and changed.

 

Royal took the "wait and see" approach. Was that the right approach? There are two sides to that coin. Few will argue that the decision to move Liberty came at a slow and methodical pace. Few will argue that knowing the final plan sooner would have been a good thing.

 

As we live between Houston and Galveston, we paid close attention to the predicted path of Harvey during the several days it was known to be heading to Texas. The National Weather Service forecast showed from the beginning that the storm would likely stay stalled near the Houston/Galveston area for several days with high rainfall totals. Nothing has "evolved and changed" from that forecast.

 

 

We were told in advance to expect 20-30 inches of rain and (at our house) have received 24 inches so far.

 

What Royal did wrong was to insist that passengers for Sunday's scheduled cruise get to the port before airports and flights and roads would be affected or lose their entire cruise fare.

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LMaxwell Great Review Rare

LMaxwell

Posted
Posted
Yeah...but will 4K TV reveal all the flaws like many other "celebrities"...? :eek:

 

LOL

Couple more white hairs than I may like, but still a full head of hair, blue eyes straight from Sinatra, and never any makeup, I'm a stunner

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Hunwolf

Hunwolf

Posted
Posted
Actually this is incorrect. They stated when they were going to attempt to dock, weather and port conditions permitting. Each of the updates I read specifically stated to stay away from the port until they advised to do so.

 

Oh yeah those were real useful. They issued the first of those timely updates AFTER the NWS office in Houston had already issued the first Flash Flood Warning, and days after WPC had painted the area with 25-40 inches of rainfall.

 

The issued one later that night saying there will still planning to dock on Sunday when parts of the area where under a Flash Flood Emergency and widespread search and rescues were well underway.

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caribill

caribill

Posted
Posted

In the end, the results were pretty much the same...the hurricane causing devastating flooding in the entire region...people had to change plans...the next cruises on Sunday were all cancelled...and people will get credit to rebook.

 

 

But I have seen no posts indicating Royal will reimburse expenses for those who flew to Houston and went to Galveston under the threat of losing 100% of their fare if they did not show up.

 

The choice they had was to either lose 100% of their fare or travel to an area under watch for a severe tropical storm. Since Royal said confidently that the cruise would take place, the choice to make was greatly influenced by Royal.

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CRUISEFAN0001

CRUISEFAN0001

Posted
Posted
As we live between Houston and Galveston, we paid close attention to the predicted path of Harvey during the several days it was known to be heading to Texas. The National Weather Service forecast showed from the beginning that the storm would likely stay stalled near the Houston/Galveston area for several days with high rainfall totals. Nothing has "evolved and changed" from that forecast.

 

 

We were told in advance to expect 20-30 inches of rain and (at our house) have received 24 inches so far.

 

What Royal did wrong was to insist that passengers for Sunday's scheduled cruise get to the port before airports and flights and roads would be affected or lose their entire cruise fare.

Then again...waiting an hour got new information...and again an hour later...and so on.

 

It became pretty obvious pretty quickly things were going downhill quickly and plans would change...

 

It's a shame on numerous fronts...but flying into a known hurricane area is typically not prudent and conditions rapidly can change. Some recognized whete this week as all headed early, others later. No simple answers during a hurricane.

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CRUISEFAN0001

CRUISEFAN0001

Posted
Posted
I guess you don't know anything about the 9/3 sailing then? people are just looking for credible, actionable information. Asking someone who claims to know normally constitutes doing ones homework, your responses are basically "nanny nanny poo poo". It's just very strange...

Ah....no.

 

At least this point if I was booked out of Galveston or flying into Houston in the next 2 weeks- I'd be working on new plans. But that's just me.

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Hunwolf

Hunwolf

Posted
Posted
But I have seen no posts indicating Royal will reimburse expenses for those who flew to Houston and went to Galveston under the threat of losing 100% of their fare if they did not show up.

 

The choice they had was to either lose 100% of their fare or travel to an area under watch for a severe tropical storm. Since Royal said confidently that the cruise would take place, the choice to make was greatly influenced by Royal.

 

Yup.

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Cindy

Cindy

Posted
Posted
Advice please..

 

We are scheduled on Royal Caribbean this Sunday out of Galveston. I was just contacted by Southwest Airlines wanting me to change my flights to either Dallas or San Antonio. They are not I repeat not saying that the Houston airport will not be open on Saturday they are just saying that due to flight delays it would be easier. I'm not opposed to driving the extra amount of time to get there I just want somebody who's there to tell me if it's even going to be possible to Galveston? I know nobody knows for sure, just looking for some guidance pleases Royal Caribbean has pretty much told me unless I do everything I can to try to get there I'll get no refund if the ship does not sail.

 

 

 

I'm in Houston, and the best I can tell you right now is nobody knows. We prepared for the worst case scenario, and what we're dealing with is much, much worse than the worst! We don't have a blueprint for recovery from this, because it's broken every record. Do I think things will be approaching normal by the weekend? Not even close. Do I think there's a possibility of flying in and getting to Galveston? I think it's possible, but I don't think anybody can give you any assurance.

 

 

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BarryH

BarryH

Posted
Posted

Help!!! I've been confined to my cabin and RCI has taken all my electonic devices and removed my phone from my room! They won't let me talk to other passengers either.

 

Just kidding. ;)

 

The interview went well although I looked like a gargoyle on Skype. As emotionally charged as everyone is about all this there's one thing to keep in mind. There are people in the Houston area that have lost everything and can't find or get in touch with loved ones. People have died. Compered to that what RCI did or didn't do falls under the category of "first world problems."

 

That said my emphasis in the intrview was on two things. The first is how outstanding everyone has been onboard. That can't be overstated. This was a left hand curve thrown at the onboard staff and they are doing everything they can to accomodate us. They made a Paella on deck today for entertainment which was cool and a thoughtful touch. Second, and my opinion hasn't changed, RCI made some really poor decisions that made a bad situation worse. What WAFB uses and what gets cut is up to them.

 

Shortly after (but unrelated) I got a call from RCI's executive offices. Without saying so they acknowledged things could have been handled better. They said my communication made them reflect and was used internally as a reference because of some of the points I made. It's easy sometimes in business to dehumanize a major problem; I've done it myself. Hopefully that reflection will help others if a situation like this reoccurs.

 

They confirmed New Orleans wasn't ever an option physically but infered diverting earlier should have been considered. They certainly weren't going to tell me they screwed up nor was that what I expected or pushing for.

 

They spoke of the 24/7 work rerouting has entailed for the folks in Miami and that a huge contingent was meeting our arrival. The person I spoke to is going to try and find me in the throng tomorrow. It was a very pleasant conversation with depth and caring evident on RCI's side. Perhaps even a little remorse.

 

I'm still pissed at RCI but think better of them now. They mentioned service recovery which is a code word for compensation but that's not what I'm looking for. I'm thinking once we get to Miami RCI is going to do something to "recover" what we've all been through. That would be appropriate.

 

So there you have it. I've decided to sail back with the ship because logistically I have to get my car out of Galveston somehow. Flying to Baton Rouge on Wednesday only means I have to drive roundtrip to Galveston over the weekend. So four more nights to go.

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tankerat

tankerat

Posted
Posted
I was just scrolling through the continued horrendous news stories from Houston when this headline caught my eye: "Southwest Airlines flew stranded travelers out of Houston for free". Five airplanes worth. That's the type of smart corporate action I love to see during a crisis. Bravo.

From what I read they did that on a partially flooded runway that had no lighting due to power failure..

 

Bravo Southwest....a brand with a good reputation...

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