The Caribbean Princess cruise ship docked at Port Canaveral in Florida on May 11, ending nearly two weeks at sea after 160 people on board reported symptoms of norovirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Princess Cruises can confirm that a limited number of guests reported mild gastrointestinal illness during the April 28 Caribbean Princess voyage from Port Everglades,” a company spokesperson told The Epoch Times in a May 11 email. “Our crew responded promptly by implementing enhanced sanitation protocols across the ship, and cases have since decreased and remain low.”
The cruise left from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and sailed in the Atlantic Ocean on a 13-day Caribbean Sea trip. The ship visited the Bahamas, Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas before returning to Florida.
Princess Cruises, which operates the cruise line, will complete a comprehensive cleaning and disinfection of the Caribbean Princess cruise ship before the vessel leaves later in the afternoon for the next voyage, as scheduled, a spokesperson told The Epoch Times.
The Caribbean Princess is the fourth cruise to report a passenger outbreak of foodborne illnesses, and the second outbreak of norovirus on a Princess Cruises ship this year, according to the CDC’s outbreak log.
Princess Cruises’ Star Princess also reported an outbreak of norovirus on a one-week cruise in the Caribbean from March 7 to March 14 that sickened 141 passengers and 52 crew members, the CDC reported.
Two cruise ships also reported E. coli outbreaks this year.
The CDC reported 21 passengers and six crew members were sickened in the outbreak. The sick passengers and crew were isolated, and the ship was sanitized, according to the company.