BackRoyal Caribbean ship to return 2 days early after over 300 fall ill
A report says 281 of 3,050 passengers and 22 crew members aboard the ship have gastrointestinal illnesses
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Washington/Chicago: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd said one of its ships will return home from the Caribbean two days early after hundreds of passengers and crew became sick.
Officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention boarded the Explorer of the Seas in the Virgin Islands on Sunday to assess the situation. The agency said in a report on its website last week that 281 of 3,050 passengers aboard the ship had gastrointestinal illnesses such as diarrhea. Twenty-two of the vessel’s 1,165 crew members also were sick.
“We think the right thing to do is to bring our guests home early, and use the extra time to sanitize the ship even more thoroughly," the cruise operator said in a statement. “While new reports of illnesses declined, we were unable to deliver the vacation our guests were expecting."
The ship left Cape Liberty, New Jersey, on 21 January for a 10-day cruise in the Caribbean and now will return on 29 January. Royal Caribbean said the ship, once home, will undergo a complete sanitization, its third since the outbreak began.
“Our doctors tell us symptoms are consistent with that of norovirus, but that they are awaiting the results of tests to confirm that diagnosis," the company said in the statement.
Bernadette Burden, a CDC spokeswoman, said agency personnel were meeting with the ship’s crew and medical staff in St. Thomas to get an updated case count, as well as review and validate the initial reports of sickness.
“This isn’t an unusual occurrence," Burden said in a telephone interview. “We often meet up with cruise ships in mid-voyage."
Royal Caribbean is set to report fourth-quarter results on Monday. The company is projected to post a profit of 18.5 cents a share, according to the average of 25 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
The stock fell 3.5% to $47.13 on 24 January and has risen 23% in a year. Bloomberg
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