Thread: Cruise Ship illnesses

Is this an act of terrorism??

Or something else?


Strange how 2 to 3 cruise lines have been walloped by this and now other cruise lines are taking precautions!


Disney Cancels Cruise by Ship Hit by Virus
Wed Nov 27, 8:28 PM ET Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!


By Michael Connor

MIAMI (Reuters) - The Disney Cruise Line on Wednesday canceled a Caribbean voyage by its Disney Magic ship, the second luxury vessel to be pulled from service by a prominent U.S. cruise line to combat a gastrointestinal virus that has hit hundreds of passengers.


Reuters Photo


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Slideshow: Cruise Ship Illness




The two-ship line operated by Walt Disney Co., the entertainment giant famous for theme parks and cartoon films, said a week-long sailing from Port Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday had been canceled so that the three-year-old ship can be disinfected.


"We have been talking with many experts over the past several days and, based upon their collective advice, our company has made the voluntary decision to take this course of action," Disney Cruise Line President Matt Ouimet said.


Another cruise ship, the Amsterdam operated by Holland America Line, last week canceled a 10-day cruise after four significant outbreaks of illness during October and November and is being scrubbed down in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the hope of breaking a cycle of transmission.


On Monday, lawyers seeking restitution for 500 or more passengers sickened aboard the Amsterdam filed a lawsuit saying the cruise line should have more quickly yanked the ship out of service for decontamination.


Holland America, a unit of Miami-based Carnival Corp., also canceled a week-long Alaska cruise last summer by its Ryndam ship to break outbreaks of Norwalk-like virus that struck 388 passengers and 40 crew during two cruises.


U.S. government health officials and Holland America credit the week-long break without passengers on the Ryndam with curtailing the non-lethal virus, which is believed to be largely transmitted by one person to another.


"Experts tell us that this seven-day hiatus, along with additional sanitation procedures that are not possible for a ship in operation, will provide the best opportunity to eliminate this concern going forward," said Ouimet.


Officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said that at midday on Wednesday 104 passengers and 19 crew of nearly 3,500 people aboard the Disney Magic had stomach pains and other symptoms of Norwalk-like virus.


Last week, during another seven-day voyage in the Caribbean, some 275 people on the ship reported vomiting, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal ailments. The Disney Magic was scrubbed down last weekend to combat the virus.


David Forney, the chief cruise-ship sanitation inspector for the CDC, said tests completed on Wednesday showed the infection last week on the Disney Magic was a Norwalk-like virus, whose foul symptoms generally pass within a few days.

CDC inspectors last fully examined the Disney Magic in June, when its sanitary practices and equipment were rated 99 on a 100-point scale.

Ouimet said the Disney Magic would complete its current cruise and dock as scheduled on Saturday in Port Canaveral.

The CDC said outbreaks of Norwalk-like virus are common, occurring regularly in nursing homes, hospitals and other venues where people come together for several days or more, and did not constitute a significant health risk for most people.

Forney said the CDC believed the rate of gastrointestinal illnesses on cruise ships stopping in U.S. ports had actually declined in recent years, even as the industry has grown rapidly. Some 7.4 million cruise passengers were expected to sail from North American ports this year.

Officials at both Carnival and Disney said the canceled voyages, which result in lost revenues as well as compensation to disappointed customers, would not affect reported earnings.

So, when you go on a cruise, take your supply of bottled water!