Dozens of passengers were sick during their holiday aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Majesty of the Seas. The cause was a gastrointestinal illness that had many people wishing they were somewhere else.
A statement by Royal Caribbean on Friday said that many passengers began experiencing a gastrointestinal illness suspected to be norovirus. Over the course of the 4-day journey, 66 out of 2,581 guests and two out of 844 crew members experienced the illness.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that norovirus is a very contagious virus that can infect anyone. You can get it from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces.
The cruise line released the following statement regarding the reports of illness: “During the sailing, we conduct enhanced cleaning onboard the ship, to help prevent the spread of the illness. Additionally, when Majesty of the Seas arrived to PortMiami, Florida, today, we conducted an extensive and thorough sanitizing onboard the ship and within the cruise terminal, to help prevent any illness from affecting the next sailing.”
One of the cruise passengers, Frank Weinger said he didn’t even get to enjoy Nassau because he spent the day sick in his stateroom.
“I spent like the whole night on the toilet,” Weinger told Local 10’s Liane Morejon. “It was terrible.”
Royal Caribbean is giving letters to the next passengers boarding the ship for Friday’s cruise, asking if they have experienced any gastrointestinal symptoms within the last three days.
“If guests are uncomfortable taking their cruise, for reasons related to personal health or otherwise, our staff assisted them in rescheduling their sailing for another time,” according to the company statement issued Friday morning.
“We are concerned,” said Sergio Mendoza, who is scheduled to sail with his family Friday afternoon. “We all bought medication and we’ll make sure that we are more cautious.”
Image via Royal Caribbean
