Celebrity Cruise Ship Hit with Third Bacterial Outbreak
An estimated 15 million Americans choose cruises for their travel getaways. Over the years, there had been more reports of passengers suffering ailments due to bacterial infection outbreaks aboard cruise ships. On March 18, 2010, the Celebrity Mercury cruise ship was hit by an outbreak of intestinal illness for a third straight trip from South Carolina, according to a recent Associated Press news report.
Celebrity Cruises brought in extra crew members to scrub the ship down for three days, The company said 369 of more than 1,800 passengers became ill following a March 8 departure. Hundreds of passengers got sick with the norovirus on two previous Mercury cruises this year from Charleston. The norovirus can spread quickly in closed quarters with symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the cause of the outbreak on the latest cruise has not yet been determined, but passengers reported symptoms including diarrhea and vomiting.
When the first Mercury cruise returned February 26, the vessel remained in port an extra day for cleaning. This time, the Mercury will remain three days for cleaning before it is scheduled to sail again on Sunday.
Celebrity Cruises spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said the line is bringing 50 additional crew members to Charleston to help clean and a local company will steam the carpets in all staterooms and public areas. Celebrity Cruises is owned by Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
CDC spokesman Ricardo Beato said the sailing could be delayed if government vessel sanitation officials or if the Celebrity Cruises staff feel there hasn’t been enough time to decontaminate.
The sailings by the Mercury marked the start of Charleston’s first year-round cruising season. There will be 67 cruise calls by various lines in the city this year. In the past, there had been only a handful of winter cruises.
