anybody heard about this? it's interesting...

Cruise Ends After 300 Sickened by Virus

Tue Sep 2, 1:08 PM
NEW YORK - A cruise across the North Atlantic was cut short Tuesday after more than 300 passengers and crew members became sick with a highly contagious stomach virus that caused vomiting and diarrhea.

Only two passengers remained ill when the Regal Princess docked in New York City one day earlier than scheduled, said Steve Nielsen, vice president of Caribbean and Atlantic operations for Princess Cruises. They were expected to be well enough to leave the ship on Wednesday.

It was the latest in a line of cruise ships in the past year to be infected with a norovirus, which are spread through food and water and close contact with infected people. The virus caused some passengers on the Regal Princess to vomit in the dining room and on the deck.

Of the 1,528 passengers aboard the Regal Princess, 301 passengers became ill, said Julie Benson, spokeswoman for Princess Cruises. She said 45 of 679 crew members were stricken.

Passengers leaving the ship Tuesday described poor conditions.

"The commodes backed up on portside on two different occasions. There were dirty dishes, a lot of unsanitary conditions," said George Zimmermann, 79, of Malvern, Pa. Zimmermann said neither he nor his wife got sick, but the extent of the illnesses indicated that "this ship should have come in before today."

It was not known what exactly caused the infections, but Benson said the company believes one or two people who boarded the ship in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Aug. 18 had already been infected.

After leaving Denmark, the Regal Princess made stops at the English ports of Dover and Plymouth, where passengers began getting sick, Benson said. The ship then docked at ports in Ireland, Scotland and Iceland before proceeding to its destination of New York.

The Regal Princess was scheduled to set sail for a 15-day cruise to New England and Canada on Thursday. Nielsen said a cleaning crew washed down all the ocean liner's walls and doorknobs.

The Regal Princess scored above average in its last inspection in September 2002, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 1998, Princess Cruises had to cancel an Alaskan voyage of the Regal Princess after nearly 300 people became sick with a gastrointestinal virus. The virus affected three of the ship's Alaska voyages that year.


http://www.comcast.net/News/DOMESTIC...21d700399.html

to learn more about the virus:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/...rovirus-qa.htm


yah i'm definitely never gonna be on a cruise... Titanic.... Poseidon Adventures..... Virus.... Ghost Ship.... and this