Cruise ship hit by virus

Over 230 people have been hit with a vomiting virus onboard a cruise of the Canary Islands and West Africa. Nearly 50 people have been confined to their rooms after the outbreak, which has affected the Fred Olsen ship the Balmoral.

The Balmoral was supposed to take an 18 day cruise around the Canary Islands and West Africa and left Dover in January, the ship has now been denied entry to the Cape Verde Islands since the outbreak.

A spokesperson from Fred Olsen said: “The total number of people infected has been a little over 200 in total, but currently there are only about 50 in isolation”.

And added that: “there are 1,846 people on board so it is a small number affected.”

The vomiting virus, thought to be Norovirus is often known as the winter vomiting bug and causes diarrhoea and vomiting, which can last up to three days.

 Fred Olsen has also stated that passengers who have been confined to their rooms will receive compensation, at the ships daily rate.
The Balmoral is now heading to the Canary Islands.

This is another setback for the ship, which earlier this year, was forced to dock in the Spanish Port of La Coruna, as it was hit by 50ft waves in the Bay of Biscay. Two people were injured and taken to hospital, and the ship was forced to cancel two stops and return to the UK.

The Bay of Biscay is renowned for its bad weather; I know that I’d rather have a cruise of the Caribbean where the water is calmer.