Hundreds Of Cruise Passengers Hit With Stomach Illness

By KSEE News

Hundreds Of Cruise Passengers Hit With Stomach Illness

February 4, 2012 Updated Feb 4, 2012 at 1:57 PM PDT

Princess Cruises has announced delayed embarkation times for the next sailings of Crown Princess and Ruby Princess, following an increased number of suspected Norovirus cases on each of the ships' current voyages.

According to a statement from the cruise line, 364 of 3,103 passengers and 30 of 1,168 crew on the Crown Princess have fallen ill, and 81 of Ruby Princess' 3,133 passengers and nine of its 1,186 crewmembers have been affected.

Cruise lines are required to report all cases of illness to the CDC, and a "special report" is created when numbers reach 2 percent of a ship's total onboard population. (Illness has affected more than 9 percent on the Crown Princess, and about 2 percent on the Ruby Princess.)

Because the gastrointestinal virus is highly contagious, both ships will be given special cleanings upon their return to their Fort Lauderdale homeport. As a result, embarkation for Crown Princess' next cruise will be delayed on Saturday, and Ruby Princess' will be pushed back until 2 p.m. on Sunday.

For more on this story, click here!

To submit a comment on this article, your email address is required. We respect your privacy and your email will not be visible to others nor will it be added to any email lists.