After more than 600 passengers and crew members aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise fell ill with what looks like the highly contagious norovirus, the ship is turning around.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the ship, the Explorer of the Seas, is on its way back to Cape Liberty, New Jersey, cutting short the 10-day cruise by two days. According to a statement from Royal Caribbean, the ship will undergo an "aggressive sanitizing procedure" after returning. Two similar procedures were undertaken previously.
"We are glad to see many guests are feeling better," reads a statement from Royal Caribbean. "Still, in the end, the exceptional disruptions caused by the early wave of illness meant that we were unable to deliver the vacation our guests were expecting."
To make it up to guests who spent their vacation battling nausea, stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting Royal Caribbean is offering a 50 percent refund of their cruise fare. Additionally, all guests will receive a 50 percent future cruise credit.
CBS News reports that nearly 700 passengers and crew members were sickened by the outbreak. By the third day the cruise had become a "ghost ship" as activities were canceled.
Royal Caribbean says that this is a rare event, although passengers on another of its cruise ships were sickened weeks before, reports CBS News. The ship will sit with no human contact for 24 hours and all precautions will be taken to prevent a similar outbreak before the same ship leaves for another cruise on Friday.
Cruise ships are required to report outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the agency, there were nine outbreaks last year, and the incident on the Explorer of the Seas was the second to occur in 2014.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
