04:31 PM CDT on Saturday, September 3, 2005

Associated Press

Federal officials are chartering three of Carnival Cruise Lines' ships for six months, part of a plan to provide shelter for as many as 7,000 people displaced by devastating Hurricane Katrina.

The three ships -- the Ecstasy, Sensation and Holiday -- will be pulled from regular use starting Monday.

Ecstasy, normally ported at Galveston for four-and five-day cruises, and Sensation, normally in New Orleans for similar trips, will both be pulled Monday and are scheduled to dock and house Katrina refugees in Galveston, Texas.

The Holiday, which normally sails four and five-day Mexico cruises out of Mobile, Ala., will be pulled Thursday and likely docked in Mobile.

Approximately 920 crew members will staff the 70,367 gross-ton Ecstasy and Sensation, with about 660 running the 46,052-ton Holiday. The Ecstasy and Sensation can each take 2,606 total passengers, while then Holiday can hold 1,800.

"We sincerely apologize to those guests whose vacations have been impacted by these voyage cancellations," Carnival CEO Bob Dickinson said in a news release. "This inconvenience ... will provide desperately needed housing for thousands of individuals affected by this tragedy."

Federal officials asked Carnival, the world's largest cruise line, shortly after Katrina slammed into the Gulf coast if their ships could be used as emergency shelters.

Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen said Saturday from Miami, where the corporation is based, that it does not disclose the price of charter contracts, and it's virtually impossible to tell precisely many trips will be canceled.

"I can't put a number on it, but we are displacing people to accommodate the FEMA charter," he said. "You're looking at tens of thousands."

A FEMA spokeswoman did not immediately return a telephone message Saturday seeking comment.

All guests with canceled bookings will get full refunds and the opportunity to re-book on any Carnival ship with a $100-per-person shipboard credit.

Because of the deployments, The Elation, which operates seven-day cruises from Galveston, will offer a one-time six-day voyage departing Sept. 4, then take over the Ecstasy's four and five-day Galveston program starting next Saturday. Guests will receive a 15 percent refund and a $50-per-person shipboard credit. The ship's five-day cruise, scheduled to leave Monday, has been canceled.