A Bahamas cruise with hundreds of sick passengers docked in Brevard County yesterday morning. The sick passengers aboard the Mariner of the Seas reportedly fell ill with the gastrointestinal illness, described as the Norwalk Virus that was believed to have been contracted on one of the Caribbean islands visited, perhaps The Bahamas, during a weeklong Caribbean voyage that originated in Port Canaveral. The illness was believed to be the upset-stomach, diarrhea-inducing norovirus.
Royal Caribbean Cruises officials said the virus struck up to 221 of the ship’s 3,660 passengers – including children and older adults and with six crewmembers. Easily spread by unwashed hands, the ailment typically lasts two days.
This is the second outbreak aboard the Mariner of the Seas this year. In January, the ship reported an illness that affected 276 passengers and 27 crewmembers.
Now, reports of accidents at sea are threatening the $15 billion cruise industry, a U.S. newspaper says.
News of injuries and accidents are, creating doubts about the safety of cruise vacations, even as the industry points to a good statistical safety record, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.
