Well, as of right now, we don't know. The Galveston County Daily News reports that officials from Carnival Cruise Lines are "meeting with attorneys this morning and scrambling to ensure that the 2,758-passenger vessel Carnival Triumph can sail from Galveston as planned today."In the event that Carnival can resolve the legal issue without delay, Port of Galveston Port Director Mike Mierzwa told the Galveston County Daily News that he recommends passengers scheduled to embark today not cancel their plans.
In an initial report of the situation from Bloomberg that we referenced below, Carnival Triumph would be allowed to dock today to disembark passengers and cargo before moving to another berth inside the port until the "attachment" is lifted by the federal court.
Port Director Mierzwa hopes to know this afternoon whether Carnival Triumph will sail from Galveston Island on the ship's scheduled 5-day cruise to Yucatan and Cozumel. Hopefully, he'll know sooner than later.
While we have no official statement from Carnival Cruise Lines, one of their employees has posted this online at Facebook:
"A legal motion was filed in a Texas federal court that resulted in a judge issuing an order to hold the Carnival Triumph in port. The litigation in question relates to a 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 and plc, however, the two cruise lines operate completely independently.Cruise Diva normally doesn't give a lot of credibility to Facebook posts, but this one seems to be from an informed source. However, an earlier Facebook post stating, "Embarking guests will be given a letter as they arrive at the terminal informing them of the situation," is no longer visible. No word on whether anyone is actually being allowed on board the ship.
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."
Just a side note. I used to work for the US Federal District Court and none of their employees, especially judges, like to work on the weekend, unless it's a dire emergency.
Just talked to my mother in law who is a passenger on the ship. They were able to board and given a letter stating the situation and their efforts to remain at the same departure time. I'll keep updating when news becomes available.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I hope it all goes well for your mother-in-law and the other passengers on board.
ReplyDelete