Planes, cruise ships moving again as Gulf Coast travel resumes post-Harvey

The travel and tourism industry in southeast Texas is taking more steps toward recovery on Thursday, with the return of commercial air service to Houston airports and several diverted cruise ships heading toward Galveston.

Three Carnival cruise ships and a reported 12,000 passengers were parked in New Orleans for several days this week while the Port of Galveston was closed due to Hurricane Harvey. Passengers were allowed to disembark and make independent travel arrangements as needed.

Two of those ships, the Valor and the Freedom, set sail Wednesday and are expected to arrive in Galveston on Friday. The Carnival Breeze is scheduled to depart New Orleans on Thursday night and arrive Saturday, the company said. Combined, the three ships are carrying about 5,800 passengers back to Galveston, a Carnival spokeswoman said.

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship that was diverted to Miami is also scheduled to return to Galveston on Friday.