NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Thousands of passengers got off and on the Carnival Legend cruise ship docked in Norfolk on Sunday, March 31.
They were originally supposed to be in Baltimore, but were diverted about four hours away. The change was prompted by the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last week.
10 On Your Side spoke to many of the passengers who got off the ship in the morning, including Matt Shagogue from Columbia, Maryland.
Shagogue thought back to the moment he found out they weren’t getting dropped off in their original destination.
“Woke up to it, I guess, Tuesday, and it spread like wildfire on the ship of course,” Shagogue said. “And then it was like in a holding pattern. The captain said, ‘I’ll let you know when I know’ and then it turned into, ‘this is what we’re going to do, we’re going to Norfolk.'”
Shagogue also added he thought cruise staff did a great job of keeping everything under control.
“It was pretty smooth,” Shagogue said. “Carnival did a great job kind of doing everything on the fly.”
About 70 buses took the arriving passengers back up to Maryland, but not everyone chose that mode of transportation like Eddie Conroy from Ashburn, Virginia.
“Instead of spending the seven hours we figured it would just be easier to rent a car go straight back for four hours and then will pick up our other car later in the week or next weekend,” he said.
Some passengers who boarded the ship in the afternoon said the change of the pickup location was welcomed.
“We’re from Norfolk, so it helped us out,” said passenger Ebony Freeman.
However, others called it a challenge, Spouses Jessica and Mathieu Roa said they had to make the long drive down to Baltimore to start their seven-day vacation.
“I thought it was going to get canceled,” Jessica said.
That’s not the last cruise ship Norfolk will see; the Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas cruise ship is set to dock in Norfolk next Thursday.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.
