Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Our trip began on April 3, 2009. We departed Little Rock, Arkansas en route to Galveston, Texas. Although the ship did not sail until the 5th, we decided to go in a few days early and enjoy the sites of Galveston.

Needless to say Ike did a pretty good number on Galveston Island. Destruction everywhere. The Strand, was almost a ghost town. However, Galveston has done a pretty good job at rebuilding in such a short time. The Seawall side, Gulf side, was a bit more active the channel side. All the little souvenir shops that once were filled with tourists, are no longer. Some of the stilts they were built on were there, but that's pretty much it. The Flagship Hotel, one of Galveston's landmarks stood skeleton-like on her now destroyed pier. Holes in the structure allowed a clear view through the hotel. The bridge access is no longer. She sits cold, abandoned and lifeless upon her pier that not too long ago was bustling with customers.

However bad, it was no where near the destruction of the Great Hurricane of September 1900. Read more