Galveston weather concerns

[reallyitsmema]

Some parts of Galveston County are already under evacuation. They won't be left all alone on the dock to fend for themselves, there will be people there to help them.

 

No one is going to be hanging out at a closed port, other than the ships that didn't get out of there in time.

[gaylemh]

Last year when I was on Anthem there was a pretty bad snowstorm coming up the coast. The captain kept us down by Puerto Rico for an extra day. There were lots of cheers and high 5's at the pool deck when it was announced that we were going to get an extra day in the warm sunshine. When we got back to NJ there was lots of snow, but at least by then the roads were clear.

[Disneycrazymom]

Thanks! I hope Royal will help them out when they disembark. No, I'm in St. Louis so going to pick up the car is not an option.

[Ladysilver]

I live 20 minutes from Galveston. We are expecting a lot of flooding. Luckily, we are in a second floor apt. building. I hope everyone trying to get to and from the Galveston cruise port is able to by Sunday morning. Sending positive thoughts and prayers! :)

[dodgersmom]

Last update is that Galveston is looking at over 30 inches of rain. I hate to be the Debbie Downer but I don't think anyone is sailing on Sunday

 

 

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[AWOL]

I really doubt Liberty is going to make it into port anytime before Tuesday. .

They are now saying that the storm will be just offshore Galveston on Tuesday

[mt82]

I agree, don't do anything yet. I am by DFW airport. Flying here and TRYING to drive down there, IMO would not be a good idea. Most evacuations are mandatory and will be heading to Houston or further north. So thinking that you can rent a car and make the 6 hour drive is not probable. As the roads will be closed to anyone wanting to enter Galveston. As far as hotels they will probably not have any open on the island and the ones in Houston will be flooded with people. Also, I am not sure that a car rental company would let you drive one down there.

Wait on Harvey and the cruise lines, stay out of deep water, and be safe. If you do drive down there, don't drive in this weather at night. And take a flashlight and raincoats

Be careful

Praying for everyone

[Aggiebuttercup]

At this point, it seems highly unlikely the port will be open this weekend. They've intensified the predictions this evening, for more rain, more storm surge, and the storm headed straight for Galveston/just off shore from Galveston for the next few days.

 

There's going to be some catastrophic level flooding in the area. In your shoes, I'd start figuring out another option for next week - with less water! So sorry your vacation is going to be ruined. Harvey's not a really cooperative guy.

[Galveston Cruiser]

Live in Galveston. West End has voluntary evacuation for those with medical needs due to higher tides causing street flooding. The City is fine, we expect rain over the next week, 1" tomorrow and Saturday. We are not under high wind warnings, just rain. it all depends on where the most rain falls which is anticipated to be the mainland.

 

 

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[perditax]

Live in Galveston. West End has voluntary evacuation for those with medical needs due to higher tides causing street flooding. The City is fine, we expect rain over the next week, 1" tomorrow and Saturday. We are not under high wind warnings, just rain. it all depends on where the most rain falls which is anticipated to be the mainland.

 

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Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding your wording (which makes it sound like you don't expect much), but I think you're not taking the storm surge into account?

 

https://weather.com/weather/alerts/localalerts/l/USTX0499:1:US?phenomena=SS&significance=W&areaid=TXZ238&office=KHGX&etn=1009

[Skippy]

The latest map shows Corpus and Port Aransas getting the brunt of it. We're supposed to get a foot of rain in austin.

[Disneycrazymom]

All of you in the path of the storm stay safe. Thank-you for the updates. It will be interesting to see where the Liberty ends up and what day they actually dock. I hope the car is ok but it is replaceable.

[Dennis#1]

The weather channel is now saying it might quickly become a Cat 4 hurricane when it hits land. Let's hope they are wrong.

[Royalpair]

My son lives just north of Houston, and all area schools are closing tomorrow! They are expecting about 25 inches over the next week. I think the flooding will be around for awhile. Hopefully not too bad, but it is Mother Nature. It could be worse, it could be snow;)

[Coopdog08]

Absolutely appalling how the cruise industry treats there customers before storms hit at or around ports. Both Royal and Carnival know they are not sailing this weekend but they wait until the latest possible moment to cancel. The port is closed, will not open until Monday/Tuesday at earliest. There are no reports of this storm getting weaker or moving far enough away that Galveston will not have major impacts. Nothing but negativity will be gained the longer they wait to cancel. They should have already moved on from these cruises leaving this weekend and put all there efforts on how to get there ships back to port which is going to be a mess. Personally I think these ships may be out in the sea until Tues-Thurs of next week. Sure they can attempt to go to another port but how will they get people into Galveston?

[lbjen]

They will bus them back if they take them back to New Orleans. I just think they want to wait until they have some concrete info to give out before people make other plans based on info that has to be changed.

[Coopdog08]

They will bus them back if they take them back to New Orleans. I just think they want to wait until they have some concrete info to give out before people make other plans based on info that has to be changed.

 

How do you expect them to get into Galveston? And if they do how will they get back out of Galveston as I am sure uber, taxis and transportation business will be limited at best. They should stay out to see until Galveston port reopens on Tues or Wed. If not opened by then they will need to re access situation.

[lbjen]

I was answering your question 'how will they get people back into Galveston', not saying that it's smart or that it's what will actually happen. I doubt they will put people off in New Orleans anyway since the ship still needs to get back to Galveston, unless the port is significantly damaged and they can't resume cruising next weekend.

[emdia43]

Absolutely appalling how the cruise industry treats there customers before storms hit at or around ports. Both Royal and Carnival know they are not sailing this weekend but they wait until the latest possible moment to cancel. The port is closed, will not open until Monday/Tuesday at earliest. There are no reports of this storm getting weaker or moving far enough away that Galveston will not have major impacts. Nothing but negativity will be gained the longer they wait to cancel. They should have already moved on from these cruises leaving this weekend and put all there efforts on how to get there ships back to port which is going to be a mess. Personally I think these ships may be out in the sea until Tues-Thurs of next week. Sure they can attempt to go to another port but how will they get people into Galveston?

 

They are still selling cruises for this Sunday from Galveston! I just started a booking online,

thinking a message would pop up, but no, they are selling...

[pspercy]

Royal's talking to Port of Galveston and will issue an update Friday noon eastern.

I'm sure they have far more data than armchair critics.

 

PORT OF GALVESTON

 

9 hrs ·

UPDATE: Royal Caribbean International is actively monitoring path and progression of Hurricane Harvey. At this time, Liberty of the Seas will keep her original schedule for Sunday’s turnaround in Galveston, TX. Should they make any changes to Liberty of the Sea’s itinerary, they will make sure to inform their guests and travel partners.

Royal Caribbean will provide an update tomorrow, August 25th by 12:00 PM EST.

[FLSteve11]

How do you expect them to get into Galveston? And if they do how will they get back out of Galveston as I am sure uber, taxis and transportation business will be limited at best. They should stay out to see until Galveston port reopens on Tues or Wed. If not opened by then they will need to re access situation.

 

Not everyone will want to go back to Galveston. Anyone who flew there will want to go straight home, not go to Galveston and then head to the airport. They'll need to make flight change arrangements from another location if they did that.

[fragilek]

It is intensifying much faster than previously forecast. The pressure has dropped rapidly this morning to 952 (last Recon) and winds are now 110mph (but should ramp up fast to follow the rapid drop in pressure) It is also slowing down more than initially anticipated . To follow this storm I suggest Wundergound blogs were you will get data (model runs and direct data from the Recon flights) and meteorologists foresight ahead of Hurricane Center. ( However - always use the National Hurricane Center for evac and warning advice)

[Cel_cruise]

My heart goes out for anyone who has parked their car in the cruise parking lots in Galveston. Every hour that the ship is delayed is going to reduce their chances of driving out of there!

 

 

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[tankerat]

When Hurricane Ike hit Galveston in 2008 every single car parked in the cruise terminal lots was completely totaled by the storm surge. That looks very likely this time as well. The Port of Galveston is already closed so there is no way this weekend's sailings will happen. The only question now is "Where will those aboard Liberty and the 2 Carnival ships actually disembark..and when?"

We have done over 40 cruises and are booked on Liberty October 1. Should be quite a scene around Galveston then. A few months after Hurricane Ike in 2008 we sailed out of Galveston and saw mass debris still all over the marshes to the port side on the way out to sea. Google "Hurricane Ike Galveston images" to see what Ike did to Galveston in 2008.

[TX_Atlantis_Cruiser]

Wow, there seem to be lots of certified meterologists and other hurricane emergency experts on here--sorry folks but I'm with the cruise lines on this one. Having lived in the Houston area for almost 20 years I can tell you that the weather forecasters get it wrong more than right when it comes to hurricanes in Houston. Current predictions are that the storm will come ashore far southwest of Houston in the Corpus Christi area. That's important since though we're on the "dirty" side, we will most likely get LOTS of rain and some wind, but not on the scale of a Cat 3 hurricane. And while 10-20+ inches of rain may possibly cause flooding, the rain is to be spread out over several days and if we're lucky, some lulls occur which can allow street flooding to drain. Also, right now storm surge predictions are well under 10 feet which means Galveston will not see the flooding it did during Hurricane Ike in 2008 when the storm surge pushed ashore on the back of the Island and inundated the Strand. As for closing bridges for winds greater than 35 mph, I'm pretty sure that doesn't apply to the Galveston causeway since it's just not that big of a bridge and I don't remember that happening except for a hurricane.

 

So bottom line is, Harvey is headed to Corpus and not a direct hit on Houston/Galveston with some models including a NWS product predicting it peters out over the Rio Grande so the cruises scheduled this weekend may not be too adversely affected other than some street flooding (normal in Houston) and flight delays. We will just have to wait and see which is exactly what the cruise lines are doing.