It was a disappointment for Tourists when the Oasis Of The Seas, one of the cruise ships of the Royal Caribbean, returned to base without completing its itinerary. The reason was an attack of the dreaded norovirus that affected nearly 300 people on board the ship. There are many popular tourist destinations in the Caribbean, and the passengers missed the chance to take in the sights and sounds because of the illness.
Sky News reports Oasis Of The Seas is a massive ship, boasts of 16 passenger decks and has a capacity of more than 6,000 guests. It is one of the world's largest cruise liners and had to cut short its schedule.
It had to return a day early to a port in Florida due to an attack of gastrointestinal illness among its passengers.
Norovirus an unwanted experience
The passengers had wanted to see around Jamaica but were not allowed to disembark when the Oasis Of The Seas docked in Falmouth. The illness led to total chaos on the ship and it was a sad experience for those to forego the charms of seeing a new place even when they were right there. The passengers expressed their feelings via Twitter. One of the passengers, a woman, was hoping to enjoy her birthday in Jamaica. She was disappointed.
Nearly 300 passengers & crew members aboard the Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas cruise ship got sick & the ship will return to port early, the company said https://t.co/swytLi75GI
— CNN Health (@cnnhealth) January 11, 2019
Royal Caribbean operates the vessel and its spokesman said: "We think the right thing to do is get everyone home early rather than have guests worry about their health." The ship was on a seven-day Caribbean cruise and started the journey from Port Canaveral.
It will return with a day to spare and Royal Caribbean will give a full refund of fares. Once back at base, the ship will undergo cleaning and sanitization and be readied for the next voyage. Incidents of this nature have an adverse effect on its image.
Gastrointestinal illness cuts short the tour
According to NBC News, nearly 300 persons on board the Royal Caribbean's cruise ship Oasis Of The Seas fell sick due to a stomach virus.
The ship left Florida last Sunday and was on a seven-night cruise through the Caribbean. It is coming back without completing the tour. The ship's medical team swung into action and provided over-the-counter medication to those affected by the virus. Incidentally, this is not the first time that a ship of the Royal Caribbean has faced such a problem. A similar incident happened on another ship. It was Independence of the Seas in 2017 where passengers fell sick due to stomach-related illnesses described as gastrointestinal sickness.