Rerouted Cruise Ship Offers $99 Mexico Trip from Galveston

Travelers who can grab vacation time on short notice can cruise to Mexico for as little as $99 on a Carnival ship transferred temporarily to Galveston after Hurricane Katrina closed the Port of New Orleans.

Carnival´s 2,052-passenger Sensation, based in New Orleans, will depart Galveston Thursday on a four-day voyage to Cozumel. The Sensation will again depart Galveston on Monday for a five-day cruise to Calica/Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. Interior staterooms on the four-day itinerary are priced at $99 per person, based on double occupancy.

Oceanview staterooms cost $129. Interior cabins on the five-day voyage cost $129; oceanview staterooms are $159. Suites for both cruises are $199. Fares for such cruises rarely fall below $300 for an interior cabin even when discounted. Suites normally sell for two or three times that amount.

Carnival offered passengers booked on the original New Orleans departures of the Sensation the option to cancel and receive a full refund, creating empty staterooms. Alternatively, ticketed passengers could receive a $50 per person credit to their shipboard accounts plus a 50 percent discount on a future three- to five-day Carnival cruise.

Another New Orleans-based ship, Carnival Conquest, spent Sunday and part of Monday at the Port of Galveston before departing for a scheduled drydock. Future schedules are dependent on the New Orleans port´s status. For details, contact a travel agent or check online at www.carnival.com.

Two Carnival ships, the 2,052-passenger Elation and Ecstasy, and Royal Caribbean´s 2,000-passenger Rhapsody of the Seas operate year-round from Galveston.