EFN

One Eastern Caribbean cruise that will not be forgotten for any passengers was aboard the Mercury ship for Celebrity Cruise line.

The eleven day trip began February 15 leaving Charleston, South Carolina returning to the docking point at 1:30 am February 26. The harrowing experience began on Sunday, the 21st, when the first of many passengers had fallen ill with a gastrointestinal illness; by Monday hundreds of other passengers began to have the same symptoms of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Passengers were being treated with over the counter medications and asked to stay confined within their rooms. Out of the 1838 passengers aboard, 435 reported being ill as well as 32 crew members. Passengers and crew members were nervous about everyone becoming ill and were relieved to have this experience behind them.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Atlanta has reported this outbreak as the norovirus after medical samples had been tested in a lab. This is not the first incident for the Celebrity Mercury ship, there have been two cases reported just last winter. In 2009 there are a total of fifteen gastrointestinal outbreaks that were investigated by the CDC for cruise lines calling at American ports.