This marks the second cruise ship this week to have been boarded by the CDC after being stricken with an outbreak of the norovirus

By Shepard Ambellas

(INTELLIHUB) — Thursday, the Princess Cruises cruise ship “Caribbean Princess” set its course astray, docking in calm waters later that night, after a reported “weather incident” cut the cruise short one day earlier than expected.

Although logs show that “fog” caused the ship to turn back, it is thought that the reported “weather incident” may be a cover, masking the second outbreak to strike a cruise ship this week and the third to strike already this year.

The CDC was scheduled to board the vessel in Texas waters to screen for norovirus and is expected to release updates.

CNN reported:

At least 162 passengers and 11 crew members have reported being ill on board Princess Cruises’ Caribbean Princess, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 […]

To compare the cruises, 5.22% of passengers on the Caribbean Princess reported being ill, versus 20.5% on the Explorer of the Seas.

The outbreak on board the Caribbean Princess has been confirmed as norovirus, according to Julie Benson, a spokeswoman for Princess Cruises.

It is not yet fully understood why outbreaks on cruise ships are becoming more common. However, rest assured it will not reflect good on the cruise ship industry as it will become known that ships are disease traps for travelers.

Fox News reported:

The Caribbean Princess outbreak is the third on a U.S.-based cruise ship this year, according to the CDC’s vessel sanitation program. In 2013, there were nine reported incidents, seven of which were caused by norovirus, the Houston Chronicle reported. 

Nearly 700 passengers and crew members became sick with a gastrointestinal illness during a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas earlier this week. The voyage was cut short and the ship returned to port Wednesday in New Jersey.

People on that cruise were reported to have been roaming the halls covered in feces and vomit.

The company is offering passengers an apology and 20% off of future cruises.

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Writer Bio:
Ambellas, Shepard - Bio IconShepard Ambellas is the founder and editor-in-chief of Intellihub News and the maker of SHADE the Motion Picture. You can also find him on Twitter and Facebook.
For media inquires, interviews, questions or suggestions for this author, email:[email protected] or telephone: (347) 759-6075.
Visit Shepard’s blog here.

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