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Katrina refugees reject shipboard housing
How has Katrina impacted the cruise lines?
The answer: rising fuel prices have cut profits but not adversely impacted passengers.
Carnival, for example, says there’s been no drop off in reservations from the storm except in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
But that’s not the case when it comes to the storm refugees.
Carnival supplied three of its ships to temporarily house people at the Houston Astrodome.
The ships were chartered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for six months. But initially this week, at least, there were few takers.
The vast majority of storm refugees said they preferred to stay where they were. Some of them cited the stability of finally having a place to live, albeit a temporary one. Others did not want to live over water.
Cruise Week received critical e-mails from readers who objected to Carnival receiving money for chartering the ships.
“We are being fairly compensated,” said CEO Bob Dickinson. “On the other hand, it is hugely disruptive to our business to take ships out of normal trading. We thought it’s the right thing to do under these extraordinary circumstances.”
Report by David Wilkening
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