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Where is Liberty and How are Things On board?


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Since it is looking the the ship really is planning to sail even if the airports are not functional, we're scrambling to make sure we can get there.

 

Our normal plan for cruises is to fly in the day before to allow for flight difficulties. For this cruise, we originally booked a flight on Southwest from Chicago to Houston for Saturday, made a hotel reservation near the airport, and rented a car. We planned take the car back to the airport the day of the cruise, and take the cruise company shuttle to the dock.

 

We called the hotel and they are open for business.

 

Since things are so uncertain, we also booked flights for Sunday morning, just in case the flight on Saturday doesn't go. We'll just cancel whichever set of flights we don't use. This is what I love about Southwest, NO PENALTIES! We'll just have that credit to use at a future time, which is really easy for us, we travel a lot.

 

Checked the SW website last night and they are still selling tickets to Houston for Sat and Sun. We have received no communications from SW about cancelling any our our flights.

 

And, just to be on the safe side, we booked tickets to San Antonio. Hopefully we can drive to Houston and drop off the car and board the ship.

 

So much uncertainty! Argghh!!

 

We'll be right there with you! We fly in on Saturday night. The airports are supposed to open tomorrow so I think flights in should be fine at that point.

 

As long as there is a manageable way to get from IAH to Galveston on roads that aren't flooded, we should be able to make it alongside you!

 

Good luck and safe travels! And we are still wishing all of the people affected by this storm the best and are keeping them in our prayers!

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Current Official FAA information https://www.fly.faa.gov/ois/ Reopen format is MMDDTTTT Zulu (GMT) time so subtract 5 hours to get Houston time. Example IAH Aug 30 2100Z is Aug 30 1600 (4pm) local time.

 

BPT=Beaumont

CWF=Lake Charles

GNT=Grants

Hou=Hobby

IAH= Bush Int'l

SGR=Sugarland

TME=Houson Executive

 

AIRPORT CLOSURES help.gif

 

ARPT TIME REASON REOPEN

BPT 08292157 WEATHER/ HURRICANE HARVEY 08311400

 

CWF 08301515 AP CLSD EXCEPT MIL/RELIEF FLTS 08302200

 

GNT 08281200 AP CLSD EXC HELO OPS 11282359

 

HOU 08272127 WEATHER / HURRICANE HARVEY 08302100

 

IAH 08281438 WEATHER/ HURRICANE HARVEY 08302100

 

SGR 08291805 WEATHER/HURRICANE HARVEY 09012359

 

TME 08280233 AP CLOSED EXCEPT FOR EMERG RESPONSE ACFT VMC ONLY 08302359

 

Timewise that meshes with what is on http://www.fly2houston.com/iah/alerts/ . But the FAA makes no mention of operational readiness - I guess that has to be left to the individual facilities. Makes sense.

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We'll be right there with you! We fly in on Saturday night. The airports are supposed to open tomorrow so I think flights in should be fine at that point.

 

As long as there is a manageable way to get from IAH to Galveston on roads that aren't flooded, we should be able to make it alongside you!

 

Good luck and safe travels! And we are still wishing all of the people affected by this storm the best and are keeping them in our prayers!

 

Jeff, see my previous posts, if you are flying Southwest. They contacted us that our flights were cancelled. We're going to San Antonio.

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All Houston Airports are NOT open.

Summary

As of 1200 Aug. 30, a number of airports remained closed in Texas due to the effects of Tropical Storm Harvey. Authorities now expect both Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and Houston Hobby Airport (HOU) to remain closed until Aug. 31.

 

Airports in Louisiana will likely experience significant flight disruptions as Harvey moves through the state Aug. 30-31. As of 1200 Aug. 30, all major airports in the state remain open, although all flights to and from Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH) for Aug. 30 have been canceled.

 

Significant flight disruptions are continuing at other regional airports that handle a high volume of flights from the Houston area (IAH, HOU). Significant airline network disruptions are expected to persist through at least Sept. 2.

 

Airport Status:

 

  • Incident: Airport closures
  • Location: Texas (Greater Houston, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Conroe, Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, Victoria) and Louisiana (Lake Charles, Alexandria, Lafayette, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, New Orleans) (map)
  • Start Date: Aug. 26

Houston Airports

 

  • Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH): Projected reopening 1200 Aug. 31.
  • Houston Hobby Airport (HOU): Projected reopening 1200 Aug. 31.
  • Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport (CXO): Open
  • David Wayne Hooks Airport (DWH): Open
  • Houston Ellington Airport (EFD): Open
  • Houston Executive Airport (TME): Projected reopening 2359 Aug. 30
  • Sugar Land Regional Airport (SGR): Projected reopening 2359 Sept. 1

Corpus Christi Airports

 

  • Corpus Christi International Airport (CRP): Open
  • NAS Corpus Christi (NGP): Projected reopening Sept. 4
  • Port Aransas Mustang Island Airport (KRAS): Projected reopening 0500 Sept. 2

Other Texas Airports

 

  • Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS): Open
  • Beaumont - Jack Brooks Regional Airport (BPT): Projected reopening 0900 Aug. 31
  • Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): Open
  • Dallas Love Field (DAL): Open
  • San Antonio International Airport (SAT): Open
  • Victoria Regional Airport (VCT): Open
  • Waco Regional Airport (ACT): Open

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Timewise that meshes with what is on http://www.fly2houston.com/iah/alerts/ . But the FAA makes no mention of operational readiness - I guess that has to be left to the individual facilities. Makes sense.

 

The FAA reports when they are ready to go. Tower up and running, required personnel on board, comms gear, etc. When each individual airline is ready to go is a different issue. Contractors to fuel planes, handle baggage, provide food service as well as the businesses in the airport are also individual issues not related to the FAA being ready for aircraft.

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What is there to ramp up? The airports are intact. The problems would be employees getting to work (airport) and vendors getting snacks for flights, and stuff like that, but what else do they need to "ramp up"? I imagine that the planes can fly in with snacks and staff if necessary.

 

JC

 

airlines don't exactly work like that...not that simple...already people are having flights cancelled for this weekend into and out of houston...even if operations are back it will take days to get the planes in position again...so yes some flights may operate but anyone with such flights better keep in close touch with the airlines as to the status. no airline wanted to have planes anywhere near Texas this past week...

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Great news about the donation! Can't wait to board the ship come Sunday!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Is there still a cruise leaving on Sunday? How will you get to the port? Looks like the streets are underwater! Be safe, my friend!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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airlines don't exactly work like that...not that simple...already people are having flights cancelled for this weekend into and out of houston...even if operations are back it will take days to get the planes in position again...so yes some flights may operate but anyone with such flights better keep in close touch with the airlines as to the status. no airline wanted to have planes anywhere near Texas this past week...

 

That was the point I was trying to make earlier. Thank you. :)

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Since it is looking the the ship really is planning to sail even if the airports are not functional, we're scrambling to make sure we can get there.

 

Our normal plan for cruises is to fly in the day before to allow for flight difficulties. For this cruise, we originally booked a flight on Southwest from Chicago to Houston for Saturday, made a hotel reservation near the airport, and rented a car. We planned take the car back to the airport the day of the cruise, and take the cruise company shuttle to the dock.

 

We called the hotel and they are open for business.

 

Since things are so uncertain, we also booked flights for Sunday morning, just in case the flight on Saturday doesn't go. We'll just cancel whichever set of flights we don't use. This is what I love about Southwest, NO PENALTIES! We'll just have that credit to use at a future time, which is really easy for us, we travel a lot.

 

Checked the SW website last night and they are still selling tickets to Houston for Sat and Sun. We have received no communications from SW about cancelling any our our flights.

 

And, just to be on the safe side, we booked tickets to San Antonio. Hopefully we can drive to Houston and drop off the car and board the ship.

 

So much uncertainty! Argghh!!

 

 

our Friday flights were cancelled already. daughter is a TA and they said Hobby will open tentatively Saturday afternoon. All flights Saturday were booked. Plan B, C, and D. Got flight to San Antonio. Rented a one way car to Houston. Get the Galveston Limo or Uber and get to our hotel in Galveston in time to drink heavily and sleep for a cruise (hopefully).

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Haven't sailed out of Galveston. Does RCI have their own terminal or will they need to compete with the 3 Carnival ships in the Gulf for a place to park?

There are two cruise terminals in Galveston. There is one that RC normally uses, but I don't believe that RC has exclusive access to it.

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Haven't sailed out of Galveston. Does RCI have their own terminal or will they need to compete with the 3 Carnival ships in the Gulf for a place to park?

 

 

Port of Galveston lots below. There are also a couple of private lots near the ports EZCruise and Galveston Park & Cruise who will shuttle you to the port or may even be walkable.

 

We use EZCruise because it's cheaper the the port.

 

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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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airlines don't exactly work like that...not that simple...already people are having flights cancelled for this weekend into and out of houston...even if operations are back it will take days to get the planes in position again...so yes some flights may operate but anyone with such flights better keep in close touch with the airlines as to the status. no airline wanted to have planes anywhere near Texas this past week...

Planes fly into airports everyday from all over the world. I don't think anyone thinks they will be operating as many flights next week as they were 3 weeks ago, as the demand to get to Houston is going to be a lot lower (possibly) based on how many events (football games that have been cancelled already or conventions). I doubt a company based there is going to have all its reps fly in for a business meeting for a while. That said, if the roads are open, and materials (fuel, etc.) arrive the airlines will operate at whatever level is necessary to fly full planes.

 

The experience at the airport may be different, as some shops or restaurants may not be open initially. Some services usually offered may not be offered or may be limited, but the airlines will be operating as normal as they can. My guess on flights being cancelled has to do with demand for tickets and not the inability of SWA to get a plane or crew to Houston. The "ramp" up is going on right now. That is why they are opening the airports at a time in the future. The obvious limiting factors are employees getting to the airport to handle bags and load passengers, fueling planes, or if there is structural damage to terminal buildings, runways or other infrastructure. None of the latter has been reported and I am guessing the former is not going to be too big a problem, but that is the one nobody knows until they see who shows up for work.

 

JC

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