Norovirus Outbreak on Princess Caribbean Cruise Ship Causes Mixed Reactions from Passengers
ByThe Caribbean Princess cruise ship returned to its port a day early after more than 170 people were affected by illness.
According to the Houston Chronicle, the Princess is the third case in less than a month of an illness outbreak on a U.S.-based cruise ship. More than 170 passengers and crewmembers had symptoms of the norovirus and were confined to their rooms.
The ship arrived back at Bayport Terminal Port in Houston Thursday night, 24 hours earlier than scheduled. The passengers disembarked from the ship Friday morning.
Passengers told the Chronicle the captain announced a stop in Belize would be cancelled due to fog. One person guessed the captain did not want to cause a panic, since the disease is known to travel fast.
Robert Fisher, 68, of Houston, said he told the ship's medical crew he had symptoms of norovirus and was told to stay in his room. No medical personnel came to visit him and he said he would never choose the Caribbean Princess again.
"We were confined to our room for three days," said Steve Juneau, who was travelling with Fisher. "They threatened us, saying if we left they would call the Coast Guard. The cruise sucked."
Jack Roden, 70, of Clear Lake, told the Chronicle he thought the crew handled the situation as well as they could.
"All the staff were wearing gloves. We weren't allowed to touch serving utensils. They were handing out hand sanitizer all over the place," he said. "What can they do? People get sick, they handled it very well."
Doris Hajewski, 66, of Waukesha, Wis., told the Associated Press the passengers were alerted of the norovirus on the second day of the cruise. That is what caused people to question the validity of the report that fog forced the captain to cut the trip short.
"People were unhappy with that and the sentiment on the ship became more that it wasn't because of the possible fog," she said. "I was worried I might come down with the illness, but as days went by I didn't, so I felt more comfortable."