“HONOLULU —  State health officials have identified the highly contagious Norwalk virus in an outbreak that affected about 220 passengers aboard the Norwegian Cruise Lines ship Pride of Hawaii.

Lab tests confirmed the presence of the virus, which causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, said Janice Okubo, spokeswoman for the Hawaii Department of Health.

The virus infected about 9 percent of the ship’s 2,500 passengers, according to NCL. The ship returned to Honolulu on Monday morning after its weekly seven-day cruise around the islands.” (Link)

Being sick on a cruise is one thing, but joining 10% of the ship in being sick is much worse.  People go on cruises for vacation, not to catch a contagious flu like illness.  However, the cruise line is handling the problem very well.  Anyone affected is asked to stay in their room for 24 hours.  Those people are given a $200 dollar on ship credit.

Cruises change passengers every seven to fourteen days.  With so many people, germs are a common find on the ship.  Sanitation has to be a big thing, because people do not want to arrive to a dirty ship.  The cruise liner is not being put on “leave”, however the next set of passengers have been notified.  While the ship has been declared safe, the next set of passengers have been given the option to not sail on the ship.

I am not sure if I would want to sail on a ship that has been recently overcome with a contagious illness.  However, if I had been planning a cruise for a few months, I would not want to back down.  If the company assured me that everyone was safe, I would most likely deal with my fear of germs; and enjoy my vacation.

-Justin

[tags]Outbreak, flu, cruise, quarantine, jfcapasso [/tags]