Vomiting bug cuts short Royal Caribbean cruise
Royal Caribbean Cruises has been forced to end a cruise two days early after almost one in five passengers onboard was struck down by a vomiting bug.
Investigators for the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) have boarded the Explorer of the Seas in the Virgin Islands where 595 passengers and 50 crew are suffering from a gastrointestinal illness.
The norovirus strain is suspected as the cause of the widespread illness but CDC officials or the cruise line have yet to confirm this.
The ship, which has 3,050 passengers on board, will return to Cape Liberty, New Jersey where it will undergo a full sanitization program, according to Royal Caribbean.
In a statement, the cruise line said it will "take several steps" to compensate passengers for the shortened trip. "All possible measures will be taken to prevent further problems," it said.
This is the second recent case of a suspected norovirus outbreak on a Royal Caribbean ship.
As reported last week on TravelMole, 66 cruise passengers on the Majesty of the Seas came down with a gastrointestinal condition during a four-night Caribbean cruise
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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