Passengers on board the Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambition saw passengers being sick in public areas while staff worked to clean it up and maintain hygiene measures after a norovirus outbreak
Passengers watched as fellow travellers threw up as norovirus swept through the ship(Image: GUILLAUME PINON/EPA/Shutterstock)
Passengers on a cruise ship hit by an outbreak of norovirus have shared the grim scenes witnessed on board, including travellers vomiting in public areas after they became stranded.
More than 1,700 passengers and crew, including hundreds of Brits, became stuck on the Ambition cruise liner off the coast of Bordeaux amid an outbreak of the highly contagious vomiting bug. The ship, operated by Ambassador Cruise Line, left the Shetland Islands on May 6 before stopping in Belfast, Liverpool and Brest in France.
However, when it reached Bordeaux, it did not depart for Spain as scheduled after norovirus spread among passengers with 49 people falling ill. Now, guests have described the horrendous scenes they have witnessed, including one woman who said she saw someone throw up on the deck and another on a bus.
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Carol Landa-Vance, from County Antrim, is on board the ship with her husband. She spoke to the BBC on Wednesday after French authorities said passengers with no symptoms were being allowed to leave the ship, with Ambassador adding that normal operations including shore excursions would continue.
“We’ve had the good news tonight that the Grench government have tested and it’s a norovirus, that’s definite, and we’re free to move about the ship tomorrow, and we’re free to get off the ship tomorrow,” she told the BBC. But she added that she had noticed on Sunday that “we were not allowed to help ourselves at the self-service buffet”, saying: “Condiments were removed and knives and forks were wrapped up and handed to us. The pools were closed and the jacuzzi was also closed.”
David Munster, from Dundonald, County Down, who is on board with his wife said that after the ship left Liverpool they were told a number of fellow passengers had “become ill.” He said those who were ill were self isolating in their cabins while other passengers were able to use facilities which were open.
He added that he had not witnessed people being sick but had seen the “clean-up of people being sick”, adding that staff had been “very hardworking.” Ambassador Cruise Line confirmed the outbreak in a statement issued via social media on Wednesday, saying they “take any illnesses onboard our ships extremely seriously.”
The Essex-based cruise company added: “Enhanced sanitation and prevention protocols were immediately implemented across the ship in line with established public health procedures following the initial reports of illness. The comprehensive health and safety measures introduced onboard include increased cleaning and disinfection measures in public areas, assisted service in selected dining venues and ongoing guidance to guests regarding hand hygiene.”
However, people flooded the company’s post with complaints about fellow passengers’ hygiene habits, with one guest writing: “Some passengers need a lesson in hygiene. One lady coughing in the dining room with no hand over her mouth. Disgusting.”
“The crew try their best to keep the ships public areas clean… some of the passengers on the other hand just don’t seem to care,” wrote another. While other commenters praised the staff on the ship, with one saying: “We’ve been looked after really well, staff doing their very best, room service and plenty [of] water provided, non-stop cleaning.”
The cruise company’s statement also confirmed that a 92-year-old British man had passed away on board the ship on Sunday, but said he did not report any norovirus-related symptoms and his cause of death is unknown. According to local media, the passenger died of cardiac arrest.
As part of the scheduled stop at Bordeaux, the operator said it had informed French health authorities of the situation. At 2am on Wednesday, a team from the university hospital was airlifted to the vessel at the port entrance to review patient records with staff onboard, a second team boarded at 5am to collect samples for analysis. The cruise line confirmed: “Ambition has now been released by the relevant French authorities to continue normal operations.”
