Almost 600 people comprising of the crew and passengers became ill with a gastrointestinal illness during a 10-day Royal Caribbean that forced an early return home for vacationers, the Associated Press reported.
The Center for Disease Prevention and Control sent officials on board the Explorer of the Seas ship in the U.S. Virgin Islands when the cruise made one of their port calls, according to the AP.
Of the 3,050 passengers onboard, 577, including 49 crew members, became ill with the main symptoms with what is believed to be the norovirus which causes vomiting and diarrhea , the AP reported. The cruise left Bayonne, New Jersey, on Tuesday.
After the CDC was made aware of the break out of the illness and boarded the ship, they recommended the cruise come to an end and CDC officials are remaining on board to treat the ill until it arrives back in New Jersey, according to the AP.
Bernadette Burden, a spokeswoman for the CDC, said the vessel will arrive back in the U.S. later this week, the AP reported.
A full sanitation program of the ship will be implemented after the ship reaches its home port on Wednesday, and Royal Caribbean said special cleaning products and disinfectants used to kill the norovirus were already being used aboard the ship, according to the AP.
"New reports of illness have decreased day-over-day, and many guests are again up and about. Nevertheless, the disruptions caused by the early wave of illness means that we were unable to deliver the vacation our guests were expecting," Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said in a statement, the AP reported.
CDC officials believe the cause of the sick passengers is the norovirus, which a fast-spreading and often causes the symptoms passengers are experiencing on board, but tests have yet to confirm the cause of the outbreak, according to the AP.
Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Janet Diaz said CDC officials boarded the ship when it docked in St. Thomas, and the ship went through an "extensive and thorough sanitizing" during a port call in Puerto Rico to keep the virus from spreading, the AP reported.
Diaz added those who had become ill were recuperating and "responded well to over-the-counter medication being administered onboard the ship," according to the AP.
In a statement, Royal Caribbean said they were "taking several steps" to ensure the ships condition in time for the next voyage and to compensate the passengers to the inconvenience of their shortened trip, the AP reported.
