Princess Cruises has said it is happy to sign up to industry protocols on how passengers should be dealt with following a third outbreak of norovirus on a cruise ship in a week.
Sea Princess was forced to return to Southampton last Friday a day early and miss a port of call after 230 passengers fell ill. All 2,000 passengers were offered a 30% refund, £150 off a future cruise and compensation for any expenses incurred.
The outbreak followed problems on Travelscope’s Van Gogh and Fred Olsen’s Black Watch the previous weekend after which the Passenger Shipping Association said it was working on protocols with cruiselines.
Princess Cruises UK director Peter Shanks said the cruiseline, along with all others in the Carnival UK group, advise passengers about such viruses before travelling and have handwashing facilities on board as well as further information placed in cabins.
“Anything the PSA is looking at, we will be already far ahead of. All we can do is to have the best possible preventative measures in place and do the best we can to manager the situation should it occur,” he said.
Shanks said the outbreak was not linked to a previous smaller outbreak on the previous cruise, a view backed up by Dr David Perl, chief executive of travel industry crisis support firm Docleaf, who believed, based on how quickly illness took hold, people would have got on the cruise with the virus.
“It can be difficult to say 100% that this was not on the ship when the new passengers came on board but if people get sick straight away then the chances are somebody brought the virus on board,” he said.
Perl said the infection, which is prevalent in the population, can be transmitted rapidly in a confined place like a ship, particularly if passengers do not observe good personal hygiene.
He said agents should offer the following advice to customers:
- Pack appropriate over-the-counter medication such as rehydration tablets;
- If there is an outbreak, make sure you wash you hands properly before eating and drinking;
- If there is a severe outbreak, try to stay in your cabin as much as possible or find less populated areas on board;
- If you catch the virus drink clear fluids for 24 hours and introduce bland foods gradually avoiding dairy, caffeine and alcohol.