Gulf Town Asks Carnival For a Break
Galveston, a Texas town on the Gulf of Mexico, said it will reopen its port but won’t be able to accept cruise ships until Oct. 1. The Port of Galveston was scheduled to reopen today as the island city continues recovery efforts following Hurricane Ike, which caused tidal surges of more than 11 feet.
While the port will still allow freighters to unload starting Wednesday, port chairman Gerald Sullivan said it wouldn’t be able to accept Carnival Cruise Lines business until Oct. 1. Galveston’s port ranks seventh nationally in the cruise biz and is the homeport of Carnival’s Conquest and Ecstasy ”fun ships.”
The ships will sail instead from the Port of Houston’s new $81 million Bayport facility until they can return. Carnival issued a bulletin to its travelers that the port would be used for its cruises starting Sept. 20.
Bay Area resident and award-winning business journalist Barbara E. Hernandez has covered tourism, real estate and personal finance. Her clients include the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Washington Post.
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