Cruise Ship Given All Clear After Terror Scare

Hundreds of cruise ship passengers breathed a sigh of relief when their ship set sail after a bomb scare. About noon, the bomb squad was called to investigate something suspicious aboard the Carnival Cruise ship Celebration docked at Jaxport. The discovery was made as passengers boarded the ship in preparation to sail to the Bahamas. Instead, they were told to wait in the parking lot for hours wondering what bomb-sniffing dogs smelled on the cruise ship on which they intended to sail. "It's been hot, miserable, long, tiresome," one passenger said. Frustration became more apparent with each passing hour. "Although I enjoy the parking lot, I want to be on the boat. I want to start my vacation," said another passenger.Carnival Cruise Ship Celebration Eventually, cheers were heard when the all clear was given and the bomb squad headed out. "Thankfully, everything came out OK. The JSO gave the all clear. They did not find anything that could cause this cruise ship to stay here any longer," said Nancy Rubin of the Jacksonville Port Authority. Shortly after the OK was given, buses started loading up the hundreds of passengers who were waiting to start their vacations. "We can go onboard now and have fun," said one excited passenger. Most of the people who waited gathered in the parking lot of a business just outside Jaxport. The restaurant did a lot of business, but the owner said he wasn't necessarily happy about it. "We had a birthday party planned tonight and some people couldn't get in. We've had to replenish everything inside before the party," said restaurant owner Kevin Blocker. He said he was as relieved as all the passengers to see nothing bad was on the boat and they could ship out. "If it's going to blow, I don't want to be on there when it blows," a passenger said. The Coast Guard later confirmed it was heart medicine that prompted the bomb scare.