Boudicca cruise ending early... Norovirus hits 36% of the passengers.

British line ends cruise early after hundreds of passengers fall ill

Britain's Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has ordered an early end to a cruise
to the Canary Islands after a massive outbreak of what is believed to
be norovirus.

The UK's Daily Mail reports at least 289 of 795 passengers on Fred
Olsen's Boudicca this week have been struck down by the illness. At
36% of passengers, it's one of the most widespread outbreaks of a
norovirus-like illness recorded on a cruise ship in years. Even the
worst outbreaks of norovirus rarely spread beyond 10% of passengers.

The outbreak, moreover, is the third in a row for the ship and comes
as another Fred Olsen vessel, the Balmoral, also struggles with a
major outbreak of norovirus-like illness -- it's third in a year.

Norovirus has hit cruise ships sailing out of the UK hard over the
past two years even as the number of outbreaks on ships sailing out of
U.S. ports has declined.

At least 180 of 800 passengers on the Boudicca's Dec. 6 cruise to the
Canary Islands were hit by norovirus and around 50 more came down with
the illness on the ship's Dec. 18 voyage, the Daily Mail says. In the
wake of both cruises, the line declared the ship virus free after a
cleaning, according to the news outlet.

The Boudicca returned to Portsmouth, England on Monday, a day ahead of
schedule, and now will undergo an unusual three days of intensive
cleaning, the Daily Mail reports.

Fred Olsen's Balmoral, meanwhile, is scheduled to return to Dover,
England today from a Canary Islands cruise during which more than 250
passengers fell ill. The UK's Daily Mirror today reports health
officials could impound the ship.

"We can have it detained to avoid more harm if we think bosses aren't
doing what they ought," the Association of Port Health Authorities
tells the news outlet.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruis...&ak=13618.blog