Hundreds of Princess passengers hit with stomach illness

By Ashley Kosciolek, Cruise Critic

Princess Cruises?has announced delayed embarkation times for the next sailings of?Crown Princess?and?Ruby Princess, following an increased number of suspected Norovirus cases on each of the ships' current voyages.

According to a statement from the line, 81 of Ruby Princess' 3,133 passengers and nine of its 1,186 crewmembers have come down with a stomach illness. Meanwhile, the?Miami Herald?reports that 140 of 3,103 passengers and 18 of 1,168 crew on Crown Princess are affected.?

Although the numbers are relatively small, cruise lines are required to report all cases of illness to the CDC, and a "special report" is created when numbers reach 2 percent of a ship's total onboard population. (Ruby Princess' have reached about 2.6 percent and Crown Princess' about 4.5 percent.)?

Because the gastrointestinal illness is highly contagious, both ships will be given special cleanings upon their return to their?Fort Lauderdale?homeport. As a result, embarkation for Crown Princess' next cruise will be delayed on Saturday, and Ruby Princess' will be pushed back until 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Cruise Critic is awaiting a statement from the line, regarding Crown Princess, which was slated to arrive back in Port Everglades at 7 a.m. Saturday. There has been no word yet on whether the rest of the ship's itinerary, a seven-night?Southern Caribbean?sailing, will be impacted. However, Princess spokeswoman Karen Candy says Ruby Princess' itinerary, a seven-night?Eastern Caribbean?sailing departing Sunday, should be otherwise unaffected.

Although many people refer to it as such, Norovirus is not unique to cruise ships?or limited to sea-going vessels. It is actually the second most prevalent illness in the U.S. after the common cold, and the CDC estimates that there are more than 20 million cases annually.

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Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/04/10318599-hundreds-of-princess-passengers-hit-with-stomach-illness

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