Norovirus has stranded over 1,700 passengers and crew in Bordeaux after a British cruise ship was forced to dock in the French port while health authorities investigate an outbreak of the highly contagious stomach bug.
The vessel, the Ambassador Cruise Line ship Ambition, arrived in the western city with approximately 50 people reporting symptoms consistent with norovirus. French officials have ordered everyone on board to remain on the ship pending test results, leaving more than 1,200 passengers and around 620 crew confined to the vessel. The majority of the passengers are from Britain and Ireland.
The Ambition had set out from the Shetland Islands on May 6 on what was scheduled to be a 14-night “Delights of Western France & Spain Explorer” cruise. It stopped in Belfast, Liverpool and Brest before reaching Bordeaux, from where it was due to continue to Spain. The first symptoms were recorded on May 11, just two days before the ship docked in Bordeaux.
In a separate development that has drawn international attention, three people have died on another cruise vessel, the MV Hondius, following an outbreak of hantavirus. That outbreak was confirmed after the virus was detected in a passenger who disembarked in late April and was treated in South Africa. The strain found on the ship can spread from human to human, unlike most hantaviruses, which are typically transmitted through contact with rodents. Health officials are investigating how the virus got on board. The World Health Organisation said on Monday that there were now nine reported cases.
Ten Britons from the South Atlantic islands of St Helena and Ascension Island who are connected to the Hondius are being brought to the United Kingdom, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed. The group, understood to include people who left the cruise ship in St Helena as well as medical staff who have been in contact with them, is being relocated “as a precautionary measure”. The UKHSA said the move involves “some contacts who are already isolating, to places where they can safely self-isolate with access to appropriate specialist medical services”.
French authorities have stressed there is no link between the norovirus outbreak on the Ambition and the hantavirus cases on the Hondius.
Enhanced sanitation and prevention protocols
Ambassador Cruise Line said it took illnesses on board “extremely seriously” and had immediately implemented enhanced sanitation and prevention protocols across the ship in line with established public health procedures after the first reports of illness.
A spokesman for the line said: “Enhanced sanitation and prevention protocols were immediately implemented across the ship in line with established public health procedures following the initial reports of illness. The comprehensive health and safety measures introduced onboard include increased cleaning and disinfection measures in public areas, assisted service in selected dining venues and ongoing guidance to guests regarding hand hygiene, including regular hand washing, use of hand sanitisers and the prompt reporting of any symptoms to the onboard medical team.”
The company also said it had followed due protocol by advising the French health authorities of the situation. French officials have since dispatched a specialist medical team and sanitation consultants to the vessel, and samples from affected passengers have been sent to Bordeaux University Hospital for testing.
Norovirus, often called the winter vomiting bug, is highly contagious and causes severe vomiting and diarrhoea. It spreads easily through contaminated food or water, direct contact with an infected person, or touching contaminated surfaces. Symptoms typically appear 12 to 48 hours after exposure and include nausea, stomach cramps, fever, headache and body aches. While most people recover within one to three days, the virus can lead to dehydration, particularly in the elderly, young children and those with weakened immune systems. Infected individuals can shed the virus while symptomatic and for several days after recovery.
Norovirus outbreaks are not uncommon on cruise ships, where passengers live and eat in close quarters. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has reported numerous outbreaks in recent years, with an elevated trend since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ambition was built in 1999 and has previously sailed under the names Mistral, Grand Mistral, Costa neoRiviera and AIDAmira. It was refitted in 2023. Ambassador Cruise Line, a relatively new British operator, was established in May 2021. The ship has a capacity of approximately 1,200 passengers and a crew of around 622.
Meanwhile, a 90-year-old passenger on the Ambition has died. Although initial reports linked the death to the norovirus outbreak, the cause of death is pending a coroner’s report, and the deceased did not report any gastrointestinal symptoms prior to death.