Those on the shortened Explorer of the Seas cruise will be compensated, Royal Caribbean says. The 10-day Caribbean cruise was cut short after hundreds of passengers and dozens of crew members came down with a gastrointestinal illness.
According to USA Today, Royal Caribbean released a statement saying that all passengers on the ship will get a 50 percent refund and a 50 percent credit for a future cruise. Those who were sick will get even more. The cruise line will also offer additional compensation to those who were confined to their cabin due to illness for each day that they were confined.
The Explorer of the Seas is on its way back to Bayonne, N.J. and will arrive on Wednesday, two days earlier than scheduled. The cruise line will also reimburse passengers for airline change fees and other costs connected to traveling home earlier than expected.
Royal Caribbean said that the rate of illness dropped sharply by Monday and those who were sick were feeling better. "The drop in new cases is encouraging. However, it is not unusual in an outbreak to still have smaller, secondary spikes," the line said according to USA Today.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that 595 out of 3,050 passengers and 50 out of 1,165 crew members reported feeling sick while on board. A cause of the illness has not been determined, but it is likely norovirus.
The CDC will work with Royal Caribbean on its disembarkation in New Jersey and its plans to clean the ship. Royal Caribbean said once the ship is back at its terminal, a thorough sanitation program will be carried out to make sure all traces of the illness are eliminated.
"It will be the third aggressive sanitizing procedure the ship has undertaken since we became aware of the issue, and will additionally provide a window of more than 24 hours where there are no persons aboard the ship, which is a significant help," the line said.
The Explorer of the Seas ship is set to leave for its next sailing on Friday, January 31st.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
