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FEMA's cruise ship deal

09/29/05 | by [mail] | Categories: culture/news

FEMA criticized for cruise ship deal - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

I just heard about this today. WTF, man? What are these people thinking?

The hasty appeal yielded one of the most controversial contracts of the Hurricane Katrina relief operation, a $236 million agreement with Carnival Cruise Lines for three ships that now bob more than half empty in the Mississippi River and Mobile Bay. The six-month contract -- staunchly defended by Carnival but castigated by politicians from both parties -- has come to exemplify the cost of haste that followed Katrina's strike and FEMA's lack of preparation.

To critics, the price is exorbitant. If the ships were at capacity, with 7,116 evacuees, for six months, the price per evacuee would total $1,275 a week, according to calculations by aides to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). A seven-day western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston can be had for $599 a person -- and that would include entertainment and the cost of actually making the ship move.

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4 comments

I hadn’t heard about the cost of it, but I do remember hearing about this at the time on NPR. A lot of evacuees turned this opportunity down, saying that after being stranded on a rooftop and surrounded by water for days, the last thing they wanted was to get on a cruise ship and go out to sea.

What were these FEMA people thinking?


[Member]  http://www.brendoman.com/kyle09/29/05 @ 11:34

I did notice in a cruise listing recieved today that all the ships in use by FEMA will not come back into service until they have been completely refurbished. Guess who is paying for that!!!!


Colin Barnes [Visitor]10/03/05 @ 16:16

I am and you are too!


[Member]  http://hundiejo.com10/03/05 @ 16:36
[Member]  http://www.brendoman.com/10/03/05 @ 20:58


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