Tropical Storm Bill Makes Landfall

Other images: 5-Day track off – 3-Day track off

Tropical Storm

The second named storm for the Atlantic Season  Bill formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday and was expected to make landfall in the warning area along the Texas coast Tuesday morning and move inland over south-central Texas Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night.  Tropical Storm Bill has weakened since making landfall today.

The NHC has issued its final advisory on this system. Public Advisories from the Weather Prediction Center will provide updates as long as the system remains a flood threat.

WPC issuing advisories on BILL

Not the storm you are looking for?  Click Image or Here

Full coverage of this, and all tropical storms, can be found on our Hurricane Zone page.   There are RSS feeds from the National Hurricane Center posted there giving you up to the minute information.   For storms that impact cruises, we will bring you information on those details as well.  Please bookmark that page for further reference during the Hurricane Season which runs now through November 30th.

TS Bill	Additional weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Bill is expected to become a tropical depression by Wednesday morning.
WIND:	near 45 mph (70 km/h) with higher gusts
WATCHES/ WARNINGS:	A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for... * Port Aransas to San Luis Pass Texas
SHIP IMPACT:	NO IMPACT REPORTED AT THIS TIME

        A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are
expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.

A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are
possible within the watch area, generally within 48 hours.
Storm Archive       Graphics Archive

NHC ACTIVE STORMS (CLICK HERE)

Real-Time Cruise Ship Tracking

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HURRICANES (CLICK HERE)

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND

RAINFALL:  Bill is expected to produce total rain accumulations of
4 to 8 inches over eastern Texas and eastern Oklahoma and 2 to 4
inches over western Arkansas and southern Missouri, with possible
isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches in eastern Texas.

WIND:  Tropical storm conditions are occurring within the warning
area to the northeast and east of the center.

STORM SURGE:  The combination of a storm surge and the tide will
cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising
waters.  The water could reach the following heights above ground if
the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide...

Upper Texas and Western Louisiana coasts...1 to 2 feet

The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to
the right of the center.  Surge-related flooding depends on the
relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary
greatly over short distances. For information specific to your area,
please see products issued by your local National Weather Service
forecast office.

TORNADOES:  A few tornadoes may occur over parts of southeast and
east central Texas and western Louisiana tonight through early
Wednesday.

HISTORICAL NOTES

1000 PM CDT MON JUN 15 2015

...TROPICAL STORM WARNING ISSUED AS TROPICAL STORM BILL FORMS...
...EXPECTED TO BRING HEAVY RAINFALL TO PORTIONS OF EASTERN TEXAS...

700 PM CDT TUE JUN 16 2015

...BILL MOVING FARTHER INLAND OVER TEXAS...

Texas Oil Spill Impacts Cruise Ships

An aerial photograph of the staging area for oil spill response operations
occurring at the Texas City Dike, March 23, 2013. The efforts are the
result of a collision between the bulk carrier Summer Wind and the Kirby
Barge 27706, which occurred Saturday, in the Houston Ship Channel.
(U.S Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Manda M. Emery)

Port of Galveston 

While the Port of Galveston is open, the U.S. Coast Guard had closed the shipping lane and restricted traffic in the area.

UPDATE: March 24, 2014   4:00 PM (Source:  John Heald Carnival Sr. Cruise Director) Carnival Magic to undergo hull cleaning due to oil spill Moving to another pier to allow Carnival Triumph to disembark / embark passengers Carnival Triumph embarkation 8 PM UPDATE: March 24, 2014   Noon Carnival Magic, Carnival Triumph and Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas are all being held at the Galveston port. Magic and Navigator of the Seas were scheduled to depart yesterday, while Triumph was supposed to leave today. Princess' Caribbean Princess has now been stuck in Houston's Bayport terminal since Saturday.

Update 5: Texas City “Y” incident response

Update 3: Texas City "Y" incident response

The Bolivar ferry remains closed to traffic, and a safety zone, established on Saturday to ensure the well-being of response workers and prevent the further spread of oil, has been extended from lighted buoy 40 to lighted buoy 3 on the Houston Ship Channel. This safety zone restricts the transit of vessels not involved in the response from entering the area.

Coast Guard officials did allow two cruise ships to travel through the incident area by late afternoon to minimize inconvenience to the thousands of passengers aboard and limit economic impacts from the spill. However, neither vessel will be allowed to leave the port again until deemed safe to do so.

Persons with questions regarding the cruise ships’ transit plans are urged to contact those individual cruise lines for specific information.

There are several response vessels on site attempting to protect the environment from this spill.
Read More

References:

U.S. Coast Guard

Port of Galveston

Perhaps it is ironic, but this incident occurred just 2 days prior to the 25th Anniversary of the Exxon Valdez disaster.

Here is a video published by Greenpeace:
The United States of Oil Spills (25th Anniversary of Exxon Valdez)

Disney Fans with Kids Mickey has a Great Offer

Kids Sail Free on Select Cruises from Galveston

Disney Magic 6-Night and 8-Night Sailings Kids ages 17 and under can sail FREE on select 6-night and 8-night Disney Cruise Line® sailings from Galveston, Texas. To take advantage of this offer, kids must travel with two full-fare Guests in the same stateroom in categories 4A - 11B on select cruises from January 4 - March 1, 2013. new 8-night Bahamian itinerary sailing from Galveston exciting 6- and 8-night Western Caribbean cruises Check Availability

Castaway Cay With the new 8-night Bahamian itinerary sailing from Galveston, you can visit the Walt Disney World® Resort and Disney’s own private island paradise, Castaway Cay. Walt Disney World® Included in the cruise fare on this itinerary is a 1-Day Magic Your Way® Ticket with Park Hopper® Option for each Guest and complimentary round-trip transportation between the ship and the Resort.

We seldom include cruise offers in our column, but when something like this crosses our desk, we would be remiss if we didn't share this with our readers.   Our Facebook Fans learned about the offer yesterday shortly after we got the notification from Disney Travel.   

Notice that if you take advantage of this and book the 8-night itinerary, you also get a 1-day  Magic Your Way® Ticket with Park Hopper® Option for each Guest and complimentary round-trip transportation between the ship and the Resort.   That alone is worth in excess of and additional $400 savings for a family of four.

Offer Details:

To take advantage of this offer, kids must travel with two full-fare Guests in the same stateroom in categories 4A - 11B on select cruises from Jan. 4 - March 1, 2013. Government Taxes and Fees are approximately $52 per person for 6-night Western Caribbean cruises, $66 per person for 8-night Western Caribbean cruises, and $84 per person for 8-night Bahamian cruises (all amounts subject to change).

Travel Window:

• Most sail dates January 4 - March 1, 2013

Additional Details:

• Must mention booking code KFO at time of booking
• This offer is only available to residents of the U.S. and Canada
• Offer applies only to stateroom categories 4A - 11B
• Excludes suites, category 11C staterooms and GTY categories with restrictions (VGT, OGT, IGT)
• The number of staterooms allocated for this offer is limited
• Stateroom accommodations for four or more Guests are limited and based on availability at the time of booking
• This offer cannot be combined with any other special offers or discounts
• Additional Terms and Conditions apply

Have you Wanted to Take the Family on a Disney Cruise

Call Us Today to Book this Offer Before it is Sold Out

You may also be interested in:
Current Disney Offers

Judge Holding Carnival Triumph In Galveston

Legal Motion

Filed in Galveston

Carnival Triumph

Departure Held

In a bizarre turn of events, a Federal Judge issued an order  holding the Carnival Triumph in the port of Galveston.

UPDATE:  Carnival Triumph to Sail on Schedule after Carnival Corp. reaches an agreement with the Federal Court

Result of Costa Concordia Litigation

The litigation in question relates to a $10M lawsuit brought about by a passenger who sailed on the Costa Concordia in Italy this past January. The Costa Concordia is a vessel operated by Costa Cruises. Carnival Cruise Lines and Costa Cruises are both part of a global organization called Carnival Corporation & plc, however, the two cruise lines operate completely independently.

Port of Galveston Director Mike Mierzwa recommended passengers continue on with plans to sail today in the event Carnival can resolve legal issues.

A federal judge Friday ordered the cruise ship held in Galveston as part a $10 million lawsuit filed by the family of a German tourist who died aboard the Costa Concordia shipwreck off the Italian coast, according to Bloomberg news service.

The Triumph apparently was ordered held because it is home-ported in Galveston, which is in the U.S. District Court system's Southern District of Texas. It was not clear why the litigation was filed in Texas rather than in some other federal district. 

“The court finds that the conditions for an attachment of defendants’ joint and collective property within this district, mainly the MS Carnival Triumph, appear to exist upon an admiralty and maritime claim,” U.S. Magistrate Judge John Froeschner of Galveston said in the warrant, Bloomberg reports.

The Carnival Triumph would be allowed to unload passengers and cargo and move between berths within the port until a “prompt hearing” can be scheduled, at which “the plaintiff shall be required to show why the attachment and garnishment should not be vacated,” according to the order, Bloomberg reports.

Source: Galveston Daily News: Carnival 'optimistic' Triumph will sail on time today

Senior Carnival Cruise Director, John Heald writes on his blog:

"We want to assure you that we are working diligently through the appropriate legal channels to get this matter resolved as soon as possible. We are optimistic the issues regarding the Carnival Triumph will be resolved and the ship will depart on its scheduled voyage later today.

In the meantime, we are proceeding with our normal embarkation process."

Carnival Triumph is scheduled to depart at  6 PM local time on a five-day cruise to Yucatan and Cozumel.

According to John Heald,  the safety briefing has been held and the U.S. Marshall's should be clearing the ship for an on-time departure.   2012 continues to be an abnormal year for the cruise industry.

We will do our best to bring you the latest news, so we do hope you bookmark this blog and also become fans on our Facebook Page.

Carnival Triumph Cruise Delayed Due to Fog

Port of Galveston 

Fogged In

Carnival Triumph 

Departure Delayed

The port of Galveston is a great place to start your cruise vacation.  The boardwalk has shops and restaurants for you to enjoy before departure.

Galveston Channel Closed

Due to dense fog (zero visibility) Galveston channel was closed today.  Therefore, Carnival Triumph’s arrival today Saturday, January 21st was delayed until conditions improved sufficiently for the channel to reopen for marine traffic. Carnival Triumph remained at anchorage at the pilot station.

Passengers Updated by Cruise Director

It looks like the fog is starting to clear nearer to the terminal and the island. It’s still pretty thick where we are. In his last announcement, Captain Los said that we might be able to board the pilot by 11:15am. This would put us alongside at 12:45pm or 1:00pm. At this point, the phone lines have been opened and are complimentary so that guests can update/change travel arrangements. We’re going to start serving lunch in about an hour. Hopefully, the fog will clear soon.

Arriving Passengers:  TEXT CCL1 to 36500 for text updates

UPDATE:  Carnival Travel Advisories

The port of Galveston is now open. Check-in is scheduled from 3:00PM–6:30PM and Triumph will set sail around 7:30PM 

No impact to the itinerary 

  ###

It is out of respect for the passengers, family, and crew of those aboard Costa Concordia, that we have been restricting our posts to that accident and related safety information.  We will continue our coverage of that tragedy, but will once again start to return to coverage of other topics of interest to our readers.   We thank you for your understanding.  Please continue to pray for all those impacted by this tragedy.   

Tropical Storm Don Forms in Gulf

Tropical Storm Don

Forms in Southern Gulf of Mexico

NHC issuing advisories on TS DON
System 90L (Caribbean Sea)

 TS Don Impacts Cruise Itineraries

Carnival Elation  (5 NT R/T Mobile)

departed Cozumel an hour early Wed

Carnival Imagination (4 NT R/T Miami)

Wed: Sea Day (was Cozumel); Thurs: Freeport (was Sea Day)

Elation, which is currently in the middle of a five-night voyage from Mobile, departed Cozumel an hour earlier than scheduled Wednesday. Imagination, which is sailing a four-night itinerary from Miami, traded a call on Cozumel for a sea day Wednesday, and today it will trade a scheduled sea day for a stop at Freeport.

Not the storm you are looking for?  Click Image or Here

400 AM CDT SAT JUL 30 2011

...DON RAPIDLY WEAKENS TO A REMNANT LOW...THIS IS THE LAST
ADVISORY...

Early Wednesday morning on July 27, we began monitoring a thunderstorm area 50 miles northeast of Cancun.  Conditions appeared to be favorable for it to become a tropical depression within 24 hours.  At 4 PM CDT, NHC issued its first advisory for Tropical Storm Don after a hurricane hunter aircraft flew through the storm and measured winds at around 40 MPH.  This becomes the fourth named storm of the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

On the forecast track, the center of TS Don should move through the southern and central Gulf of Mexico tonight and Thursday, approaching the coast of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico on Friday.  Some strengthening is predicted before it makes landfall.  After making landfall, the storm should lose strength and become a remnant by Sunday.

SAT JUL 30 2011

SUMMARY OF 400 AM CDT...0900 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...27.9N 98.8W
ABOUT 85 MI...140 KM W OF CORPUS CHRISTI TEXAS
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...30 MPH...45 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...WNW OR 295 DEGREES AT 14 MPH...22 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1009 MB...29.80 INCHES

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE DECREASED TO NEAR 30 MPH...45
KM/H...WITH HIGHER GUSTS.  THE CIRCULATION OF DON IS EXPECTED TO
DISSIPATE LATER TODAY. 

LAST PUBLIC ADVISORY ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE
CENTER ON THIS SYSTEM

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN 36 HOURS.

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 48 HOURS.

Historical data for Tropical Storm Don:    Archive     Graphics Archive           

400 PM CDT WED JUL 27 2011

 ...TROPICAL STORM DON FORMS OVER THE SOUTHERN GULF OF MEXICO... 

Tropical Storm Resources (click links below)
TROPICAL STORM DON	National Hurricane Center
Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook	National Weather Service
Atlantic Tropical Weather Discussion	Hurricane Preparedness
Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook (ATL)	Real-Time Hurricane Information
Active Storms	NOAA Satellites & Information
NASA: Latest Storm Images	WMO Severe Weather Information Centre
Real-time Monitoring (Atlantic)	The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
Real-time Weather Sites	Real-Time Cruise Ship Tracking

Princess Galveston Deployment 2012-13

Galveston, TX - Sea Wall

More Ships Sailing 

From Galveston

2012-13
Caribbean Season

Princess Cruises announced that for the first time since 2007, they will be returning to Galveston, Texas sailing Western Caribbean Itineraries.

Crown Princess  will offer 19 departures from Galveston between December 22, 2012 and April 27, 2013. The seven-day R/T Western Caribbean itinerary includes ports of call at Costa Maya, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; Belize City, Belize; and Cozumel, Mexico.

The 113,700 GT Crown Princess has a passenger capacity of 3,070 and offers many signature features including a piazza-style atrium with International Café and Vines wine bar; the 300-square-foot Movies Under the Stars poolside theater; The Sanctuary, an adults-only "oasis of tranquility"; and a variety of dining, recreation and entertainment options. 

The addition of Crown Princess to Galveston, TX will add additional passenger capacity to a growing market amongst one of the 23 U.S.  home-port options for cruise passengers.   Galveston's famous Sea Wall is a great place to take a stroll, shop among the seaside shops, dine at one of the popular seafood restaurants, or relax in your hotel before your cruise.

Princess Executives & Galveston Officials Comment

"We've received a great deal of feedback from cruisers interested in sailing from Galveston again," said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises executive vice president. "So we're excited to be returning in 2012 to bring our Western Caribbean sailings back to Texas."

"Welcoming back Princess Cruises and hosting Crown Princess is a great addition to the Texas cruise market. We're excited that the return of Princess Cruises will offer our passengers additional options of cruise vacations sailing from Texas' premiere cruise port," said Steven M. Cernak, Galveston port director. 

The remainder of the Princess Cruises Caribbean schedule will be announced later this month. We will bring you additional information about their schedules, as well as those for the other cruise lines.

Magic Coming to Galveston

Everything is Big in Texas

Including Carnival Magic 

Galveston, Texas will become the new home for Carnival Cruise Lines' new ship, Carnival Magic. Beginning November 14, 2011, Carnival Magic will operate 7-night Caribbean cruises from it's new homeport.  The Carnival Dream and Magic are the largest ships in Carnival's fleet so it is fitting that one of those two ships will be sailing from Texas.

Select from two different itineraries: a seven-day Western Caribbean voyage to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, and a week-long Eastern Caribbean cruise to Nassau, Freeport, and Key West.

Carnival Big Screen
&
Waterworks

Carnival Magic Highlights

Class and type: Dream class cruise ship Tonnage: gross tonnage (GT) of 130,000 tons Length: 1,004 feet (306.02 m) Beam: 122 feet (37.19 m) (37m) Decks: 14 decks Propulsion: 6 Wärtsilä 12V46 engines (75,600kw) Speed: 22.5-knot (42 km/h; 26 mph) Capacity: 3,652 Passengers Crew: 1,369

Like its sister ship, the Carnival Dream, the Carnival Magic features exciting amenities including a spectacular water park, an exclusive adults-only retreat, a wrap-around promenade with whirlpools that extend out over the ship's sides, and expansive spa and children's facilities.

Carnival Magic has a range of stateroom choices, including family-friendly, five-berth deluxe two-bathroom ocean view accommodations; cove balcony cabins located closer to the water line; and special spa staterooms.  Some special unique features will be announced in the future.

The Carnival Magic will debut in Europe in May 2011, offering seven-, nine- and 12-day Mediterranean voyages from Barcelona May 1 to October 16, 2011; followed by a 16-day trans-Atlantic crossing from Barcelona to Galveston departing October 28, 2011. 


For more information about Carnival Magic Itineraries, click here.


Perhaps you are close enough to drive to Galveston instead of flying there.   If so, the addition of this new large ship will give you opportunities to sail to the Eastern and Western Caribbean from close to home.