There are several parts of the Gulf Coast that have recently been affected by Harvey's rainfall that led to flooding. Yesterday, Carnival Cruise Line announced a plan to donate $500,000 to various organizations in order to help aid their efforts to support those affected by the recent flooding. Furthermore, Carnival Corporation is matching this amount by donating $500,000 Combined a total of $500,000 will be donated by Carnival Cruise Line and Carnival Corporation. Carnival Corporation is the parent company of Carnival Cruise Line.                       Carnival Corporation's Chairman, Micky Arison, and his wife announced plans to match both of these contributions and will be donating 1 million dollars too. In total, $2,000,000 (two million) dollars will be donated! 
          Carnival's  press release notes that they are working with authorities to determine urgent needs that this money can immediately go towards. 
               Carnival Cruise Line currently sails three ships from Galveston and offers a variety of itinerary options on these ships. The Carnival Breeze currently sails 7 night cruises from Galveston on Sundays, the Carnival Freedom sails 7 night cruises from Galveston on Saturdays, and the Carnival Valor sails 4 & 5 night cruises from Galveston on rotating days of the week. The Carnival Vista, Carnival's 2016 newbuild, will replace the Carnival Breeze in 2018 and will mark a capacity increase for the Galveston cruise industry. 

For the full press release: Click Here  (Link will open in a new window away from RyG's Cruise Guide)

Update 8/31/2017 At 6:30PM:
           Carnival Cruise Line has announced last night (8/30) updated plans for its three Galveston based ships. The Port of Galveston has reopened! 
                  The Carnival Freedom is expected to dock on Friday and will debark guests. Embarkation for the Carnival Freedom's September 2, 2017 cruise will take place as scheduled on Saturday. 
                      The Carnival Valor is expected to dock on Friday and will debark guests too. Embarkation for the Carnival Valor's September 4 cruise will take place as scheduled on Monday. The Carnival Valor's 8/31/17 cruise was cancelled. 
                      The Carnival Breeze will leave New Orleans today (8/31/17) and sail back towards Galveston. The Carnival Breeze will arrive Saturday morning to debark its guests. 
                         Royal Caribbean's latest update says the Liberty of the Seas is expected to arrive in Galveston on Sunday. The ship's Sunday, September 3, 2017 cruise voyage is scheduled to sail as normal. 
As always, for the latest updates please check with your cruise line.
                         

Update 8/30/2017 At 12:00PM
                  Carnival Cruise Line released an update today at 11:30pm central. The Carnival Valor's August 31 cruise is cancelled. The Carnival Valor and Carnival Freedom are scheduled to arrive in Galveston on Saturday to debark guests. The Carnival Freedom will embark guests on Saturday, September 2, 2017 as scheduled. The Carnival Valor's next cruise will be on Monday, September 4, 2017. The Carnival Breeze will arrive in Galveston Saturday evening and embark guests as scheduled on Sunday, September 3, 2017.
                    Royal Caribbean's most recent update plans to have the Liberty of the Seas docking in Galveston on Friday. The ship's Sunday, September 3, 2017, is scheduled to sail as normal. 

Check with your cruise line for the latest updates!
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Update 8/28/2017 At 3:20PM:
            At 8:00am central time, on Monday, August 28, 2017, Carnival Cruise Line put out new information regarding the Carnival Freedom and Carnival Breeze's Galveston cruises. Due to difficulty determining when Galveston will reopen, Carnival has made a decision to cancel the Carnival Freedom's 8/26/17 cruise and cancel the Carnival Breeze's 8/27/17 cruise. Carnival's website discusses the refund procedures and information for both of these cruises. The Carnival Valor's 8/26/17 cruise was already cancelled. This announcement was made on 8/27/17. 
                 The Carnival Breeze is docked in New Orleans today (8/28/17). Based on the Port of New Orleans' webcam, the Carnival Breeze is docked at the Erato Street Cruise Terminal.  The Carnival Triumph, which sails 4 & 5 night cruises from New Orleans, used the Julia Street Cruise Terminal for its normal cruise operations today. 
                   The Carnival Freedom and Carnival Valor have turned away from Galveston and are sailing back to New Orleans. Carnival hopes all of their ships can leave New Orleans by Tuesday or Wednesday. 
                      No additional updates regarding the Liberty of the Seas are available as of this time.  This is part of the update I posted yesterday, " Royal Caribbean has announced the Liberty of the Seas will not be able to dock in Galveston as scheduled. Instead the ship will head to Miami, Florida. The Liberty of the Seas' cruise that was scheduled to depart today (8/27) is cancelled. Royal Caribbean hopes the Liberty of the Seas can be in Galveston by Friday. This update from Royal Caribbean was on Sunday, August 27, 2017." 

Update 8/27/2017 At 4:45PM:
             At 4:00pm central, on Sunday, August 27, 2017, Carnival Cruise Line put out additional information regarding its three Galveston based ships:
              The Carnival Valor's 8/26/2017 has been cancelled. For cruisers on this voyage, please visit Carnival's website for the information on compensation and refunds. 
              The Carnival Freedom is currently waiting to enter the Port of Galveston. However, the Port of Galveston is closed as of the time of this update. Carnival plans on the Carnival Freedom sailing a shortened itinerary. 
                   The Carnival Breeze is currently heading to New Orleans for fuel and supplies. Carnival Cruise Line expects the Carnival Breeze to dock in New Orleans on Monday, August 28, 2017. Following this stop in New Orleans, the ship will sail towards Galveston.  Carnival plans on the Carnival Breeze sailing a shortened itinerary. 
                     See my 8/27/2017 3:20PM update for information on the Liberty of the Seas.

Check with Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean for the most up to date information! 

Update 8/27/2017 At 3:20PM:
              Royal Caribbean has announced the Liberty of the Seas will not be able to dock in Galveston as scheduled. Instead the ship will head to Miami, Florida. The Liberty of the Seas' cruise that was scheduled to depart today (8/27) is cancelled. Royal Caribbean hopes the Liberty of the Seas can be in Galveston by Friday. This update from Royal Caribbean was on Sunday, August 27, 2017. 
​               Carnival Cruise Line has not released an update as of me writing this. See the below update for the most recent information I have on Carnival.

Update 8/27/2017 At 9:00AM:
           The Carnival Freedom and Carnival Valor both docked in New Orleans yesterday (8/26/2017). During this stop in New Orleans additional fuel and supplies were loaded onto both ships. Carnival's 8/26/17 1pm update stated the ships would set course for Galveston after leaving New Orleans. 
                 The Carnival Breeze stayed in Cozumel until 6:00pm on 8/26/17. When the ship departed Cozumel it set course for Galveston too. 
                   Carnival hopes to have an opportunity to dock Sunday or Monday. It is unclear which of Carnival's ships would get to get dock first. Each of the three ships' itineraries for the next cruises are going to be shorter, but the actual itinerary is not yet known. 
                       Royal Caribbean's website says the Liberty of the Seas is expected to dock late on Sunday, August 27, 2017. Debarkation will take place, but embarkation will not take place until the next day (8/28/17). Boarding will take place from noon until 3:00pm, but Royal Caribbean has asked guests not to arrive before noon to the cruise terminal.

Check with your cruise line for the latest updates and information!

8/25/2017 6:00PM Post:
​      Due to Hurricane Harvey, the Port of Galveston is closed as of August 25, 2017 at 3:00pm. The port's time of reopening is not yet known. 
     Unfortunately, this upcoming weekend was going to be filled with several cruise departures from Galveston. On August 26 (Saturday) the Carnival Freedom & Carnival Valor were scheduled to dock in Galveston and on August 27 (Sunday) the Carnival Breeze & Liberty of the Seas were scheduled to dock in Galveston.  
           At 4:00pm Eastern Time, Carnival Cruise Line released a statement explaining what is happening to its 3 Galveston based ships. The Carnival Valor and Carnival Freedom are both sailing to New Orleans. According to Carnival, the purpose of this stop for both ships is to get additional fuel and supplies. I have reached out to Carnival for additional details on this stop in New Orleans. After leaving New Orleans, the ship will be sailing back to Galveston to disembark the current passengers.
                Furthermore, the Carnival Breeze will be modifying its current cruise itinerary. The ship will spend Friday night in Cozumel and is scheduled to depart for Galveston on Saturday. Unfortunately, I do not know what time the ship is scheduled to leave Cozumel on Saturday. Typically, Saturday would be a sea day for the Carnival Breeze. Carnival's press release stated they hope to have the ship in Galveston late Sunday or Monday. 
                Royal Caribbean's website says they still plan for the Liberty of the Seas to sail on Sunday. However, their website states another update will be posted on Saturday, August 26, 2017. 

For those being impacted by Hurricane Harvey, please remain safe and be careful! 
If you are cruising or interested in the most up to date information, check with your cruise line for the latest updates and details. The latest updates will likely be posted by your cruise line sooner than this website and most other third party blogs/websites.

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