Cruise ships dock in Port Canaveral, avoid Florence

Thousands of passengers redirected as storm heads toward Carolinas

Thousands of cruise ship passengers on two vessels have been redirected to Port Canaveral as Hurricane Florence barrels toward North and South Carolina.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Escape docked in Port Canaveral with more than 4,000 people Tuesday morning after the cruise line was forced to redirect the ship away from an itinerary that took it to Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Florence was 360 miles south, southeast of Bermuda, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“The safety and security of our guests and crew is always our top priority,” said Norwegian spokeswoman Andrea Sugranes.

The ship will leave Port Canaveral at 9 p.m. Tuesday en route to Great Stirrup Cay and then Nassau, both in the Bahamas, before spending two days at sea and returning to New York. The ship departed from New York on Sunday with the intention of spending three days in Bermuda beginning today — before it had to take a different course.

Passengers told WESH 2 News that some already felt seasick from the rough seas created by Florence.

Some intend to fly back to New York.

Other passengers told the TV station that they planned to go to Kennedy Space Center, Walt Disney World or on airboat rides while in the area.

Today, Royal Caribbean International also will redirect one of its ships, the 2,440-passenger Grandeur of the Seas, to Port Canaveral.

The ship, which left Baltimore on Saturday, will sail from Nassau to Port Canaveral, where it will stay until Thursday.

Grandeur was initially scheduled to travel to Bermuda and return to Baltimore by Thursday, but Royal Caribbean changed the itinerary to avoid Hurricane Florence. Now, Royal Caribbean says Grandeur will arrive back in Baltimore no later than Sunday, instead.

“We will continue to monitor the path of this storm and advise our guests and travel partners, as needed,” said Owen Torres, a spokesman for Royal Caribbean. “Onboard, our guests will also receive daily weather updates from our chief meteorologist.”

Carnival Cruise Line, which also has a major presence at Port Canaveral, has not yet redirected its ships to the port, but will continue to monitor the situation, said spokesman Vance Gulliksen.

“The safety and security of our guests and crew is always our top priority.” Andrea Sugranes, Norwegian Cruise Line spokeswoman