Tag Archives: Puerto Rico

Illness outbreak affecting 300 passengers on Explorer of the Seas

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By Phil Davies 

Illness outbreak affecting 300 passengers on Explorer of the Seas Ten per cent of passengers on a Royal Caribbean International ship in the Caribbean are reported to have fallen ill with symptoms including vomiting and diarrhoea.

US health officials boarded 3,505-passenger Explorer of the Seas in the US Virgin Islands yesterday to investigate the outbreak of gastrointestinal illness affecting at least 300 people. Twenty-two crew members also reported feeling ill.

The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said 281 of the 3,050 passengers on board the ship had reported getting sick during a Caribbean cruise that left Cape Liberty, New Jersey, last Tuesday.

The ship underwent “extensive and thorough sanitising” to help prevent more people getting sick during a previous call in Puerto Rico, a company spokeswoman said.

The vessel bypassed a scheduled stop at the company’s beach destination in northern Haiti to sail directly to San Juan, Puerto Rico’s capital.

“This was a difficult decision to make; however, we feel it is best to make this itinerary modification to help prevent any more guests from becoming ill,” the spokeswoman told The Guardian.

She added that special cleaning products and disinfectants that are proven to kill norovirus were being used to clean the ship.

The passengers and crew who fell ill have “responded well to over-the-counter medication being administered on board the ship,” she said.

At least two CDC officials, an epidemiologist and an environmental health officer, were expected to investigate and evaluate the response to the outbreak on the cruise liner.

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Cruise ships alter course as Tropical Storm Irene blows in

Aug 22, 2011 08:15AM GMT

Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International have been forced to alter Caribbean itineraries in the face of a tropical storm approaching hurricane strength.

Tropical Storm Irene was heading towards the cruise hub of Puerto Rico after hitting the island of St Criox with heavy winds and rain closing airports and flooding areas of the Leeward Islands.

Maximum sustained winds from the storm have reached 70 miles per hour and it is expected to intensify into a hurricane, according to the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami.

The storm is due to reach the east coast of the Dominican Republic later today, prompting hurricane warnings on the Caribbean island popular with UK holidaymakers.

A state of emergency was imposed in the US Virgin Islands while other eastern Caribbean islands such as Antigua & Barbuda, St Kitts & Nevis, Guadeloupe and St Maarten were also affected.

Ships with revised itineraries include Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas and sister ship Allure of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas as well as Carnival Miracle.

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company said the island was currently under a Tropical Storm warning due to the passing through of Irene.

“All tourist information centres on the island will be available on a 24-hour-a-day basis to offer support to tourists,” it said. “All hotels are operating as normal but have activated their contingency plans to protect guests and employees.”

Although Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan is open, airlines have cancelled flights as a preventive measure. “We recommend that arriving and departing passengers call their airline regarding any changes, delays or cancellations,” the tourism body said.