BORDEAUX (AP) — Health officials in France have permitted travelers who remained healthy during a gastrointestinal illness outbreak aboard a British cruise vessel to leave the ship in Bordeaux, after laboratory tests identified the culprit as norovirus, a contagious stomach illness.
Initially, French health officials required all passengers and crew members aboard The Ambition — numbering more than 1,700 people — to stay on the vessel, but reversed course Wednesday evening by allowing healthy individuals to disembark. A traveler was observed celebrating with raised arms as he exited the ship.
Officials have not disclosed the exact number of people who departed the vessel.
Health authorities in France emphasized that this incident bears no connection to a fatal hantavirus situation on a vessel from the Netherlands that has concerned European health officials in recent weeks.
The Ambition had completed half of its planned 14-day voyage departing from Belfast and Liverpool, with intended visits to ports in northern Spain and France’s Atlantic coastline when the illness struck. The ship arrived in Bordeaux Tuesday evening, according to its operator, Ambassador Cruise Line. Whether the voyage will continue remains uncertain.
Laboratory testing conducted at Bordeaux University Hospital verified the presence of norovirus. Regional officials stated that no severe medical cases have emerged and that ill travelers received treatment from the vessel’s onboard medical staff.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which monitors illness outbreaks on ships visiting American and international ports, 23 digestive illness outbreaks occurred on cruise vessels during the previous year. Norovirus, including a newer variant, caused the majority of these incidents.
Ambassador Cruise Line, a British company serving travelers aged 50 and older, began operations in 2021.
