Cruise Trip Cut Short by Spewing Spell

The Sea Princess has become the latest luxury cruise ship to be struck by an outbreak of a vomiting sickness caused by a common virus infection. Around 200 passengers and crew were taken ill on a European cruise that started in Southampton and the company cut short the cruise.

The seven-night tour stopped at ports in Guernsey, France and Spain with 2,500 passengers on board.

A spokesman for the parent company, Carnival UK, said the passengers missed out on a visit to Lisbon, Portugal, and were given a partial refund of their fares. “We brought the ship in 24 hours early so we could sanitize the ship and eradicate the illness to stop the spread to future passengers.”

The sickness has symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps but is not life-threatening. It usually clears up after two days. It is caused by the Norwalk virus after first being identified in an outbreak in Norwalk, Ohio in 1972.

It is highly contagious and spreads easily by person-to-person contact and through contaminated food and water. It is also common in raw oysters.