| 3 Carnival Cruise Ships Deployed for Refugees |
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Carnival Cruise Lines announced Saturday that the U.S. government has chartered three luxury cruise liners - Ecstacy, Sensation and Holiday - for the next half year, to provide temporary housing for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Two of the ships, the Ecstasy and Sensation, have a maximum capacity of 2,606 people each and will be based in Galveston, Texas. The third, the Holiday, has a maximum capacity of 1,800, and will likely be docked in Mobile, Ala.
Carnival Cruise Lines would not reveal how much FEMA was paying to charter the ships. Carnival crews will operate the ships, which will be at the disposal of the U.S. Military Sealift Command.
Thousands of people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were left homeless after Katrina ripped across the Gulf Coast with powerful winds and widespread flooding, ruining homes, buildings and critical infrastructure.
The company said people who had their trips canceled on the three ships could receive a full refund or book a trip on another cruise ship. Some future travelers are being switched to another boat.
It was not immediately clear what would be the total impact on the company by removing three ships from service. Carnival crews will operate the ships which will be at the disposal of the U.S. Military Sealift Command, according to the company.
"We sincerely apologize to those guests whose vacations have been impacted by these voyage cancellations," Carnival’s chief executive, Bob Dickinson, said in a statement. "This inconvenience... will provide desperately needed housing for thousands of individuals affected by this tragedy."
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| Bush pumping in more support for Gulf Coast - Sep 3, 2005 22:34 IST |
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Washington (24x7Updates) -- President Bush, seeking to stem criticism that a slow federal response has contributed to needless misery, said Saturday he is ordering additional active duty forces to the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast.
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| European Union seeks to address Turkey Membership Talks - Sep 2, 2005 19:40 IST |
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Foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) will meet on Thursday seeking to remove last-minute obstacles to membership talks with Turkey, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported.
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| 843 Dead in Baghdad Stampede - Sep 1, 2005 8:6 IST |
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THE death toll in the worst single loss of life since the start of the Iraq war was last night heading towards 1,000 after a crowd of about one million Shiite pilgrims making their way across a bridge in Baghdad panicked at reports of a suicide bomber in their midst and stampeded.
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