FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Holland America cruise ship that was on a 12-day voyage for New Year’s returned to Port Everglades last Friday after a norovirus outbreak occurred on the ship.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Rotterdam ship departed from Port Everglades on Dec. 28 and returned on Friday after making stops in Half Moon Cay; the Antilles; Cartagena, Colombia; Colon, Panama; Puerto Limon, Costa Rica and Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
The CDC confirmed that 85 out of 2,593 passengers experienced norovirus symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhea. Nine out of 1,005 crew members also fell ill.
In response, the cruise line increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, isolated passengers and crew who fell ill, and reviewed the ship’s outbreak response and sanitation procedures, the CDC reported.
“During its previous voyage, a number of guests onboard Rotterdam reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness,” Holland America told Local 10 News in a statement Tuesday. “The cases were mostly mild and quickly resolved. The health of our guests and crew is a top priority and consistent with CDC protocols, we conducted a comprehensive sanitization of the ship when the cruise ended Friday in Fort Lauderdale.”
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