Balmoral cruise ship: Hundreds on board sick with norovirus

Hundreds of passengers on a British cruise ship docked in the US have fallen ill with norovirus, health officials say.

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said 252 of the 919 passengers on board the Balmoral cruise ship had fallen ill with the stomach virus.
Most of those on board are British, the ship's owners, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, said in a statement.

The ship has suffered other outbreaks of norovirus in previous years.
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines said it was "undertaking extensive sanitisation measures and cleaning of the ship" adding that at no point during the cruise had the ship been quarantined.

The Balmoral docked in on Sunday, having left Southampton on England's south coast on 16 April.
It is expected to arrive in in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, on Monday.

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While docked in Baltimore on 30 April and 1 May, experts from the CDC boarded to carry out tests on people who had fallen ill, the organisation said in a statement.

Since then, the number of patients with norovirus, also known as winter vomiting bug, has increased. As well as the 252 passengers, eight of the 520 crew have also contracted the illness, the CDC said.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines said cases were "particularly highlighted" on cruise ships, where people were in close confines. There were 15 passengers confined to their cabins, it said.
The company said it was "co-operating fully" with maritime authorities and would "continue to make every effort possible to ensure the safety and well-being of all its guests and crew".
An eight-day Scandinavian cruise on the same ship was cut short last May after a number of people fell ill with norovirus.

In 2010, at least 310 people on board the ship were reported to suffering diarrhoea and vomiting when it docked in Los Angeles.

And an outbreak of norovirus hit more than 100 people on the Balmoral on a cruise of Scotland in 2009.

The CDC has reported 10 outbreaks on ships docked in the US so far this year, compared to 12 for the whole of last year.

Symptoms of the illness include a sudden onset of vomiting and/or diarrhoea and some people may have a temperature, headache and stomach cramps.
The sickness, spread by human or surface contact, usually lasts one or two days.

Vomiting bug outbreak on Fred Olsen's Balmoral ship

Vomiting bug outbreak on Fred Olsen's 

Balmoral ship

Vomiting bug outbreak on cruise ship. by James Franklin, Political reporter 

A CRUISE liner has been forced to return to Southampton after dozens of passengers were laid low with a “gastroenteritis-type” bug.

Fred Olsen vessel the Balmoral returned to the port after passengers were hit with the bug which causes vomiting and diarrhoea.

The firm said it was company policy not to reveal the number of passengers affected, but one contacted the Daily Echo to say that he understood as many as 250 had contracted the bug.

The eight-day cruise to the Norwegian fjords had begun in Southampton on May 3, but was forced to return to the city yesterday, one day ahead of schedule.

Passengers were informed about the outbreak on the evening of May 6, and Fred Olsen says it is offering compensation including a refund representative of one days’ cost of the cruise, a voucher and other “out of pocket” expenses.

The firm said the Balmoral had returned to Southampton one day early so it could be “systematically sanitized” ahead of her setting sail on a 13-day Madeira and Azores cruise this evening.

A spokesman said the illness, which is more contagious than the common cold and is spread by contact with surfaces and from person to person, lasts for about one or two days.

The spokesman added: “Fred. Olsen’s cruise ships meet, at all times, the highest safety, hygiene and health standards, and comply fully with the strict requirements and inspections of their Flag State, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and other relevant authorities.

“At Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, the health, safety and well-being of all our guests and crew is paramount, and we believe that our systems for preventing the spread of illness on board our ships are amongst the best within the industry.”

Only 1% of norovirus outbreaks are on cruise ships, says CDC

By Jerry Limone

Norovirus outbreaks most often makes headlines when they happen on cruise ships, but these only account for about 1% of all reported outbreaks, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

About 20 million people get sick from norovirus each year, according to the CDC Vital Signs report “Preventing Norovirus Outbreaks.”

In norovirus outbreaks for which investigators reported the source was food contamination, 70% are caused by infected food workers, CDC reported.

Of outbreaks caused by food workers, 54% involve touching ready-to-eat foods (i.e., food that is ready to be served without additional preparation, such as washed raw fruits and vegetables, baked goods or items that have already been cooked) with bare hands.

According to the CDC, observations of food service workers have shown that they practice proper hand washing only one out of four times. The CDC recommends that workers “wash hands carefully and often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds, especially after using the restroom.”

“Norovirus often gets attention for outbreaks on cruise ships, but those account for only about 1% of all reported norovirus outbreaks,” the report said.

“Norovirus is very contagious, and outbreaks can occur anywhere people gather or food is served.”

Norovirus outbreaks said to hurt cruise industry’s image

By Tom Stieghorst

Outbreaks of norovirus early this year on several cruise ships, including Explorer of the Seas, led to a decline in the trust in cruising and intent to purchase a cruise, according to a Harris poll.

The consumer polling company released an update of its research last year that showed a decline in the industry’s image after the widely publicized Carnival Triumph fire.

Harris said polling done Feb. 10-14 found that perceptions were trending upwards in January, although still below levels before the Triumph incident. But the norovirus outbreaks reversed those gains.

Harris said the average perceived quality score for the cruise industry was down 11% compared with before the Triumph incident, with trust down 12% and purchase intent down 13%.

The seven brands in the survey all declined in at least one of the measures after the norovirus incidents, and most were down from pre-Triumph levels to begin with.

“We’ve all heard the saying that a rising tide lifts all boats,” says Deana Percassi, vice president and public relations research consultant for Nielsen, which acquired Harris in February. “But the inverse also holds true. In a field as crowded as the cruise industry, bad press for a small handful of brands — or even a single one — can have negative repercussions for major players across the board.”

Boudicca docks in Belfast after illness outbreak

By Phil Davies

A cruise ship that was hit with an outbreak of a gastroenteritis-type illness has docked in Belfast.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines is reported by Sky News as saying 84 of its 763 passengers on board the ship Boudicca were affected.

The ship left Belfast on September 23 on a 10-night Scandinavian cities cruise.

The vessel is due to undergo a sanitation and cleaning programme before it sails again later today.

It is the second sickness outbreak to hit a Fred Olsen cruise in weeks, after around 130 people contracted a gastroenteritis-type illness on Black Watch last month as it sailed from Fife to Scandinavia and St Petersburg.

Boudicca is scheduled to leave on a 12-night a cruise to Madeira and the Canary Islands.

The cruise line said in a statement to Sky News: "It is extremely unfortunate that a number of guests on board this Scandinavian cruise have experienced this illness.

"In such instances, every precaution is taken on board to ensure the swift containment of the illness, and a number of public areas, including all public toilets and the self-service buffet, are closed.

"Frequent cleaning of all areas of the ship is carried out, and any guest showing symptoms of the virus is asked to remain in their cabin, with complimentary room service and in-cabin entertainment, until they are considered to be symptom-free by the ship's doctor, before being able to join the rest of the ship.

"Fred Olsen would emphasise that, as with all its sailings from regional UK departure ports, it works closely with the relevant Local Health Authorities and Port Health Authorities to ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of all its guests and crew, which are the company's utmost priority.

"All of Fred Olsen's cruise ships meet, at all times, the highest safety, hygiene and health standards."

The line added that people booked on Boudicca's next cruise had been informed of the situation.

Customers threaten Island Cruises with legal action

By Phil Davies

A group of 50 passengers are taking legal action after an outbreak of illness on the ship Island Escape.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell has been instructed to investigate the concerns of 50 passengers who travelled on the Tui UK & Ireland ship between March and June this year.

The solicitors said many were confined to their cabins after suffering diarrhoea and sickness and there were also complaints about food, damp rooms and overflowing toilets, the Yorkshire Evening Post reports.

Leeds pensioners Ralph and Patricia Hewitt said they were left traumatised when the ship listed violently to one side after leaving the port of Civitavecchia, near Rome.

The ship lurched suddenly to one side, throwing passengers – many of whom were in bars and restaurants – to the floor and causing injuries, they said.

Then the second week of their trip was ruined when they caught a sickness bug which had been rife onboard

The grandparents joined the Island Escape in May for a week’s Mediterranean cruise and then a week in a hotel in Majorca.

A spokeswoman for Island Cruises said: “We are sorry to hear of this experience on board the Island Escape. As this case is now subject to legal proceedings it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.

“The ultimate priority for Island Cruises is the health, safety and comfort of all our customers. We operate stringent health and hygiene procedures in line with industry standards.”