Carnival Elation Heads to Mobile Since New Orleans Remains Closed

Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Elation is heading for Mobile, Ala., since the
Port of New Orleans and the Mississippi River remain closed to ship traffic due to Tropical Storm Isaac. Weather permitting, the Elation’s passengers will debark Friday morning and be bused back to New Orleans. The ship was scheduled to arrive back at the Port of Orleans on Aug. 30. For those booked on the Aug. 30 departure, the scheduled four-day cruise will be shortened to three days departing on Aug. 31. Carnival advised guests to plan to arrive at the Port of New Orleans between 1 and 4 p.m. on Friday. The parking garage at the port will be open, and buses will take guests and their luggage to Mobile. Guests who choose to sail on the shortened cruise will receive a 50 percent refund of the cruise fare within the next two weeks, a 25 percent discount on a future three- to five-day cruise and refund of government fees and taxes. Refunds will not be provided for flight changes, hotel accommodations, meals, transfers, or other incidental costs. Those who want to cancel or reschedule, should call 800-CARNIVAL to request a future cruise credit. The Port of New Orleans, which shut down Aug. 27 as Hurricane Isaac headed for Louisiana, said it is working with the U.S. Coast Guard to determine when the Mississippi River could reopen. Isaac was downgraded to a tropical storm on Wednesday but dumped heavy rains that caused flooding in Louisiana and parts of Mississippi. The port said the Coast Guard plans to assess the Lower Mississippi River at first light Thursday and continue to work with river pilot organizations and port officials to reopen the channel as soon as safely possible. Once an assessment of the river is made, soundings of the channel are conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine if there are any changes to the channel’s draft or storm debris that could hinder navigation. There is no official word on when the Mississippi River could reopen, but port officials hope to resume operations by the weekend. LaGrange added that port facilities seem to have fared well, except for some minor wind damage