P&O Cruises passengers fall ill with suspected norovirus
According to reports, numerous travellers were affected by stomach illness aboard the P&O Cruises vessel Ventura
A P&O spokesperson said that there had been reports of guests with “gastrointestinal symptoms” aboard the vessel Ventura. Leaving Southampton on 11 May, the ship embarked on a two-week cruise around the Canary Islands.
The P&O spokesperson said: “Upon embarkation, all guests were provided with an advisory notice with precautionary health measures for on board and on shore.”
The spokesperson confirmed that the staff aboard Ventura had “implemented approved and enhanced sanitisation protocols” while, on Friday, “a further enhanced and extended sanitisation took place in Tenerife”.
The illness is yet to be confirmed, but norovirus remains one possible cause of the guests’ symptoms.
Sources have told news outlets that the problem began before the ship set off for the Canary Islands. Speaking to the BBC, passenger Elaine Bland said P&O Cruises notified her of “gastrointestinal” problems onboard the Ventura shortly before she boarded on 4 May with six friends for a week-long trip to the Mediterranean.
Bland said their embarkation was delayed by 90 minutes while the ship was deep-cleaned.
“But you can’t just get rid of this problem in a couple of hours,” she said.
According to Bland, she and her friends all became ill with sickness and diarrhoea on the third day of the trip.
“P&O knew it was onboard and they didn’t address it properly,” she said, before suggesting that the cruise line was downplaying the situation.
Earlier this year, almost 100 passengers fell ill after a norovirus outbreak aboard a Celebrity Cruises ship.