To avoid Hurricane Gustav, ship's crew extended the cruise

The Dallas Morning News (MCT) - ABOARD THE CARNIVAL ECSTASY _ Ink-colored clouds crept over the Ecstasy on Saturday night as we sailed from Progreso, Mexico, toward our Galveston home port.

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Those dark clouds were the outer bands of Hurricane Gustav, threatening the Yucatan peninsula and the Texas coast. That night's storm brought rough, white-capped seas and heavy rain. The ship rocked from side to side.

Sunday morning, gray clouds remained and intermittent showers darkened the boat's wooden deck. About 11 a.m., cruise director Goose Neumann's voice came over the loudspeaker. It wasn't as chipper as usual.

"The Port of Galveston will be closed at midnight to inbound traffic due to Hurricane Gustav," he said. "We will return to Galveston to dock the ship on Wednesday morning."

"You've got to be kidding me," I said. Our four-night cruise was about to become a six-nighter. I needed to get home to my job. I wanted to get home. (Sometimes, a Fun Ship can be too much fun.)

A group of women nearby grabbed bottles from their beer bucket, raised them high and clinked them together.

Neumann later reassured a gathering of passengers that we shouldn't worry about food or fuel shortages.

"In fact, we have enough fuel to travel to Europe and back," he said to roaring applause.

"Can we go back to Progreso?" a passenger shouted. More applause.

For the next three days, the ship was slowed to a snail's pace to allow the hurricane to pass.

My companion and I went to the top decks and enjoyed the seemingly endless views of blue water under mostly sunny skies. It was quiet there, away from the main swimming pool and its blaring music, crowds and water slide.

"Now, this is what I like about the cruise," I said.

An open area above the spa provided a similar escape. A Gulf of Mexico breeze cooled us. Children nearby played miniature golf on the free, nine-hole course.

Our unexpectedly lengthened cruise could have been worse. Barely a week later, Hurricane Ike damaged the port in Galveston, rerouting cruise traffic up the ship channel to Houston. We Gustav-delayed passengers disembarked as planned in Galveston, more tanned than we expected to be and ready to set fun aside.

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© 2008, The Dallas Morning News.