The Daily Populous Wednesday May 13rd, 2026 evening edition
Authored by theguardian.com and submitted by jackytheblade

French authorities have confined more than 1,700 passengers and crew members to a cruise ship docked in Bordeaux after a suspected norovirus outbreak, officials have said.

The vessel, Ambition, which is carrying 1,233 passengers, most of them British or Irish nationals, arrived in Bordeaux on Tuesday. About 50 people had shown symptoms of the virus, French health officials said.

A 92-year-old passenger died on the cruise on Sunday. However, the operator, Ambassador Cruise Line, said the guest did not report any symptoms of gastrointestinal illness and the cause of death had yet to be established, pending a coroner’s full report.

Ambassador confirmed there were 48 active gastrointestinal illness cases among the passengers and one among the crew on the vessel, which was on a 14-night cruise. It also said French shore authorities had instructed guests and crew members to remain onboard.

The ship departed Belfast on Friday and Liverpool on Saturday. Figures from the operator showed an increase in cases after the embarkation of guests in Liverpool.

A statement from the company said: “We would like to reassure guests that we take any illnesses aboard our fleet extremely seriously. Enhanced sanitation and prevention protocols were immediately implemented across the ship in line with established public health procedures following the initial reports of illness.

“The comprehensive health and safety measures introduced include increased cleaning and disinfection measures in public areas, assisted service in selected dining venues and ongoing guidance to guests regarding hand hygiene, including regular hand washing, use of hand sanitisers and the prompt reporting of any symptoms to the onboard medical team.”

The statement said medical consultations regarding gastrointestinal illness were being provided free of charge.

The authorities in Bordeaux had requested they conduct a routine review of the ship’s health status and records, Ambassador said, adding that a specialist medical team and “sanitation consultants” had also been dispatched to the vessel.

While onboard, the specialist medical team collected existing samples for laboratory testing at Bordeaux University hospital, with results requiring a minimum of six hours to be processed.

“While the investigation and testing are ongoing, all guests and crew have been instructed to remain onboard under the direction of the local shore authorities,” the operator said. “Once clearance is granted, guests will be permitted to disembark.”

Schenckster on May 13rd, 2026 at 12:27 UTC »

I caught norovirus last year and I have never vomited and diarrheaed so hard in my life. It was 10 hours of pure torture I needed to be hospitalized for.

Edit: Never thought I'd get an award for describing how badly I shat and spewed uncontrollably.

Fywq on May 13rd, 2026 at 11:52 UTC »

Erhm is this a particularly bad strain of Noro virus? It's a pretty common virus normally, and a 90yo dying from an illness that is known to lead to acute gastrointernal symptoms like vomitting and diarrhoea seems to be a bit excessive. (Edit for clarification: As reason for quarantining the whole ship.)

Any medical professionals with input?

Edit 2: When this was first posted the article was very short and listed as "developing" or "being updated" or similar. It seems there's more information now including some questions regarding if the death was related to Noro.

Healthy_Pen_7683 on May 13rd, 2026 at 11:48 UTC »

why am i seeing nothing but cruise viruses lately? has it always been like this??