The British Ambition cruise ship docked in Bordeaux after an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness that French authorities later confirmed was caused by norovirus, a highly contagious stomach bug. Authorities initially ordered passengers and crew to remain onboard, but then allowed people who were not affected to disembark in the French port city, according to reporting on the situation and the cruise operator’s update.
French officials confirmed that samples from Bordeaux University Hospital tested positive for norovirus. Local authorities said at the time that no serious cases had been reported and that sick passengers were being cared for onboard by the ship’s medical team, while unaffected passengers were cleared to leave.
Ambassador Cruise Line said that as of Thursday morning, 60 passengers and four crew members were experiencing gastrointestinal illness. The company said it initially had more than 1,700 passengers and crew aboard under an order for them to stay on the ship, before French authorities decided late Wednesday to permit disembarkation for those not showing symptoms.
The operator said passengers could disembark “with all scheduled shore excursions operating as planned today.” The reporting also described a passenger leaving the vessel who was seen with his arms raised in a sign of triumph, as others departed during the change in authorities’ plan.
Authorities and the cruise operator also addressed questions about whether the outbreak was connected to health alerts in Europe tied to a deadly hantavirus outbreak involving a Dutch vessel in recent weeks. French authorities said there was no link to that situation.
The Ambition was midway through a 14-night cruise that started from Belfast and Liverpool, with scheduled stops in northern Spain and along France’s Atlantic coast. The ship reached Bordeaux on Tuesday evening, and after the disembarkation process it was scheduled to remain in Bordeaux overnight before resuming its journey on a revised itinerary Friday to avoid forecast unsettled weather conditions in the Bay of Biscay.
The operator said the revised plan would reduce exposure for guests and crew dealing with gastrointestinal illness and would also provide additional time for crew who had worked through the outbreak. The company said it has a passenger focus on people over 50, and that it was founded in 2021.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracks outbreaks on voyages that call on U.S. and foreign ports, recorded 23 gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships last year, most of them caused by norovirus. The reporting also said a 92-year-old male passenger died on Sunday, and that the operator did not report symptoms consistent with gastrointestinal illness in relation to that death.