Mass gastro hits Princess Cruises ship after hundreds fell sick on Royal Caribbean cruise

JUST a day after a cruise was forced to cut short its trip when hundreds fell ill, a second ship has been hit by an outbreak.

Cruise ship Caribbean Princess in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

JUST a day after a cruise ship was forced to cut short its trip when hundreds fell ill, a second ship has been hit by an outbreak.

At least 162 passengers and 11 crew members have reported being ill on board Princess Cruises' Caribbean Princess, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US.

The seven-day cruise is being cut short by one day and health officials are expected to board the Caribbean Princess in Houston to investigate.

But Julie Benson, a spokeswoman for Princess Cruises, told Reuters the trip was being cut short because of fog, not because of the outbreak.

It follows an outbreak that affected almost 700 passengers and crew on board the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Explorer of the Seas. Health investigators suspect norovirus is the cause of the illness.

That voyage was cut short and the ship returned to port in New Jersey, where it is being sanitised in preparation for its next voyage, on Friday afternoon US time.

The latest count puts the number of those sickened at 630 passengers and 54 crew members. The ship, scheduled for a 10-day cruise, was carrying 3050 passengers.

If norovirus is to blame, it would be one of the largest norovirus outbreaks on a cruise ship in the last 20 years, the CDC said. A 2006 norovirus outbreak on a Carnival Cruise Lines ship also sickened close to 700.

Norovirus - once known as Norwalk virus - is highly contagious. It can be picked up from an infected person, contaminated food or water or by touching contaminated surfaces. The virus causes bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea for a few days.

Royal Caribbean is providing all guests a 50 per cent refund of their cruise fares and an additional 50 percent future cruise credit.

It's also reimbursing airline change fees and accommodation for guests who had to change plans for travelling home.

Stricken guests who were confined to their staterooms are being provided a credit of one future cruise day for each day of confinement.

- With AP