Cruise Cut Short As Hundreds Fall Ill
Posted on: Tuesday, 2 September 2003, 06:00 CDT
An ocean liner docked Tuesday after cutting short a cruise across the North Atlantic because more than 300 people had become sick with a Norwalk-type virus.
Only two passengers remained ill when the Regal Princess docked, said Steve Nielsen, vice president of Caribbean and Atlantic operations for Princess Cruises. They remained aboard the ship for treatment, he said.
The remainder of the 1,500 passengers and 679 crew members were being allowed off the ship and buses were brought to the dock to take them on to other destinations.
The illness, which causes nausea and vomiting, is highly contagious but lasts only 24 to 48 hours.
The ship had set out Aug. 18 from Copenhagen, Denmark, for a 16-day voyage with stops including Britain, Ireland and Iceland. Because of the illness, the ship skipped a planned stop in Newfoundland and docked in New York one day ahead of schedule.
Nielsen said passengers started to get ill on the third day of the cruise, and eventually a total of 296 passengers and 44 crew members came down with the virus.
"There were incidents of gastrointestinal illness," said Julie Beson, a spokeswoman for Princess Cruises. "We immediately put measures into place that we developed with the CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) to stop the virus."
Those measures included disinfecting the ship in mid-voyage, "everything from elevator buttons to handrails," she said.
"We suspect that because of the pattern of the illness that one or two passengers probably unknowingly or unwittingly brought this on board," added Beson.
Nielsen said passengers would be reimbursed for one day, plus a $300 shipboard credit, and passengers returning home by plane would be refunded for any changes to their air fare.
The norovirus - which includes Norwalk and Norwalk-like viruses - sickened thousands of cruise ship passengers last year.
The viruses are spread through food and water and close contact with infected people or things they have touched.
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On the Net:
http://www.princesscruises.com
http://www.cdc.gov
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