Royal Caribbean “Freedom of the Seas” Sick Again with Norovirus

What’s worse than one outbreak of the norovirus on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship? How about a second out break aboard the same ship on consecutive cruises? Correction … this is actually the third consecutive cruise that someone became ill.  That is exactly what happened on Monday when the Royal Caribbean “Freedom of the Seas” was held in port for extensive cleaning. The question that needs to be asked is why can’t Royal Caribbean provide a clean and healthy environment for its passengers and crew? Two outbreaks of the norovirus on two consecutive cruises. That is unacceptable. At what point are cruise lines going to change their policies & procedures when dealing with the norovirus, rather than just acting after the fact?

More than 380 passengers and crew members aboard Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas were sickened by norovirus during a Nov. 26-Dec. 3 Caribbean cruise. The ship was cleaned before its next cruise, but 97 passengers and 11 crew members became sick with the same illness last week, officials at the Miami-based cruise line said. (AP)

2 more ships hit by virus. Two ”sick ships” returned to South Florida ports Sunday, prompting a federal health agency to dock one vessel for two days.

Two cruise ships returned to South Florida ports Sunday morning with passengers sick with norovirus. One of them, a Royal Caribbean ship, will not sail for 48 hours after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a ”no sail” recommendation.

The CDC issued the advisory — a rare occurrence, according to a CDC spokesman — for the Freedom of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, when the vessel returned to the Port of Miami with sick passengers on its third consecutive cruise. (Miami Herald)