Three Carnival cruise ships to aid Katrina relief

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The U.S. government has chartered three luxury
cruise liners -- Ecstasy, Sensation and Holiday -- for the next six
months to provide temporary housing for victims of Hurricane Katrina,
Carnival Cruise Lines said Saturday.

Two of the ships, the Ecstasy and Sensation, have a maximum capacity
of 2,606 each and will be based in Galveston, Texas, while the third
boat, the Holiday, has a maximum capacity of 1,800 and will likely be
docked in Mobile, Alabama, the Miami-based company said.

Thousands of people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were left
homeless after Katrina ripped across the Gulf Coast with powerful
winds and widespread flooding, ruining homes, buildings and critical
infrastructure.

Carnival, which is the namesake brand of the world's largest cruise
company, Carnival Corp., declined to say how much the Federal
Emergency Management Agency was paying to charter the ships.

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