Passengers aboard a British-operated cruise ship docked in France are getting an extended stay on board they didn't sign up for. Authorities in Bordeaux have temporarily barred around 1,200 passengers and 500 crew from disembarking the Ambition after dozens of passengers came down with gastrointestinal symptoms, the BBC reports. French health officials say 49 people, including one crew member, have shown signs of illness such as vomiting and diarrhea; three passengers are confined to their cabins.
Ambassador Cruise Line says a 92-year-old man died onboard on Sunday, but he had not been showing symptoms and it's not clear whether his death is connected to the suspected norovirus outbreak, the Telegraph reports. A regional health agency sent a medical team on board, collected samples, and halted disembarkation "as a precaution" while tests are processed. Officials stressed there is no sign the outbreak is tied to the hantavirus outbreak on another ship. The Ambition departed from the Shetland Islands last Wednesday. It left Belfast on Friday and stopped in Liverpool the next day before arriving in Bordeaux with 1,187 guests and 514 crew.
The cruise line says cases appeared to climb after the Liverpool boarding. The ship had been scheduled to stop at ports on France's Atlantic coast and northern Spain during the 14-day cruise, the AP reports. Passenger David Munster from Northern Ireland tells the BBC that staff have been "very hardworking" and passengers are free to use ship facilities that are open. "At this stage we don't know if we will be kept on the ship and just have to sit here until this is dealt with, or whether we'll be allowed to get off and see Bordeaux, which is obviously what we'd love to do," he says.
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