PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. — Hurricane Florence is forcing some cruise ships to make unplanned stops in Central Florida.
- Norwegian Escape, Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas were going to Bermuda
- Duke Energy to send workers to Carolinas ahead of Florence
- RELATED: TROPICS: Florence expected to make landfall by Thursday evening
The Norwegian Escape arrived at Port Canaveral Tuesday afternoon with more than 4,000 passengers who paid for a three-day trip to Bermuda.
ESCAPING “ESCAPE”: Norwegian Escape making a port-of-call at Port Canaveral instead of traveling to Bermuda due to Hurricane Florence. #NorwegianEscape #HurricaneFlorence pic.twitter.com/3SrgklLsso
— Jon Shaban 🏪📺🎥🎤 (@Jon_Shaban) September 11, 2018
However, staying on that course would have put them dangerously close to Florence's path.
Hurricane Florence was about 450 miles off the coast of Bermuda just before midnight and the powerful storm is expected to travel between the Bahamas and Bermuda Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Norwegian Escape was heading for Bermuda, docked at Port Canaveral at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday instead, before heading to the Bahamas.
Cruise passengers will spend the afternoon here in #Florida. Wednesday at Norwegian’s private island, Great Stirrup Cay. Thursday in Nassau before heading back to New York with cruise ending Sunday. #HurricaneFlorence #NorwegianEscape pic.twitter.com/KUusgBLDT5
— Jon Shaban 🏪📺🎥🎤 (@Jon_Shaban) September 11, 2018
The Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas was also heading to Bermuda, but it is also rerouting to Port Canaveral. That cruise ship is scheduled to dock Wednesday morning.
As people work to get escape Hurricane Florence's path, Florida is also preparing resources to send up to the Carolinas to help in the aftermath of the storm.
Duke Energy will roll out crews as early as Wednesday, hoping to avoid serious power outage issues like Floridians saw with Hurricane Irma, with some people stuck in the dark for weeks.
Following Hurricane Irma, Duke Energy had about 12,000 people working to restore power.