Virus outbreak spoils cruise

last updated 8 January 2015

Port Everglades, Fla.

A fast-moving virus sickened some 700 passengers and crew members aboard a Florida-bound cruise ship last week. Carnival Cruise Lines said that several passengers infected with the highly communicable norovirus had boarded the Carnival Liberty in Rome. The virus then spread quickly, possibly via the buffet-style meals that are a staple on cruises. Norovirus, which causes vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps, usually passes within a few days. That was little consolation to stricken passengers, many of whom were hospitalized after the ship docked in Florida. “I threw up black and thought I had the plague,” said one.