Stuck at Sea During Hurricane Harvey

Being stranded on a cruise ship for an extended vacation is a Catch 22-there are worse places to be stuck, but the uncertainty of when and where you can get off the ship and how you will get home looms large.

Travel writer Cynthia Drake is on board Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas that had been scheduled to return to the Port of Galveston on Sunday morning until flooding and winds from Hurricane Harvey diverted it to Miami, where it will dock Tuesday.

Turning the remainder of her family vacation into a working trip, Drake has been busy telling her story online. Here is what she shared with Travel Pulse.

Food Supplies Are Fine

Drake reports that everything is perfectly normal regarding the food supplies. "Food has been consistent with the rest of the cruise: Very good! After they made the announcement to change course and go to Miami, it was business as usual on the ship.

"We had our normal lunch in the Windjammer, our dinner in the formal dining room at our regular table with our waiter and assistant waiter, etc. All just like a normal day at sea."

A Return to Galveston???

While some passengers are talking on social media channels about returning to Galveston with the ship next week, others would prefer to fly back sooner. Drake reports that things are still not very clear regarding what the cruise line is offering.

"They have not exactly clarified what will happen when we get to Miami. But I think some passengers are assuming they will return with the ship to Galveston while others are planning on flying home from Miami."

Drake says that regardless of what Royal Caribbean offers, her family has not yet figured out what to do. "It is just too early to say. We are waiting and making the most of the extra time we have for now, and we will see what happens."

Handling the Situation Gracefully

Even though there are some reports of disgruntled passengers on board, Drake has not seen much of that.

"There was an initial shock of course. But lots of people have been monitoring the flooding in Texas and were dubious about getting home were we to arrive in port today as planned.

"Of course, there are lots of questions remaining about how to get home, etc. Long lines at the Guest Services desk today. But I am hearing a lot of sentiments like, 'There are worse places to be stranded than on a cruise ship,'" she reported.

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The Real Concern

Even if the ship had been able to dock in Galveston on time, the passengers would likely have still been stranded due to highway closures throughout the Houston and Galveston area. Many passengers on board are from various parts of Texas and are naturally concerned about damage to their homes as well as how they will get home via flooded roadways.

The Port of Galveston has a high percentage of drive-in cruise passengers who leave their cars parked either in paid parking lots at the port or at hotels nearby. Those cars are another concern for passengers on Liberty of the Seas.

Drake and her husband made the decision to have their vehicle towed from the lot at the port, theoretically to a safer location, but no one could have predicted the extent of the flooding:

"I kept reading dire predictions and I ended up calling the Galveston police (who were super helpful!) and made the decision to have it towed to higher ground on the mainland. Last I checked (which was probably over 24 hours ago) those port lots were still dry. I called the place where our car is today and they said so far, the water has not reached the cars. I'm not super optimistic, though.

"And obviously, there are so many bigger concerns than my car, so I'm keeping that in perspective."

Drake will continue to share the story online via her Facebook fan page.

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