Cruise ship health alert exaggerated, say passengers

Passengers leaving the ill-fated cruise ship Aurora yesterday blamed the outbreak of a highly contagious stomach virus on the poor personal hygiene of some passengers.

Several passengers also claimed that those seeking compensation had exaggerated the extent of the crisis.

After the liner docked at Southampton at the end of its 17-day Mediterranean voyage, many of those disembarking rounded on fellow passengers while defending the ship's owners, P&O Cruises.

Sam Turner, 64, a consultant in the food industry, said: "There was nothing more that P&O could have done to contain the virus.

"I believe someone came on board with it, who didn't have good personal hygiene standards. We were issued with wipes to use before handling anything, and I saw people using them to wipe the trays, not their hands. P&O have to cater for idiots."

Dave Dutton, 56, said: "Some people didn't help themselves by seeking publicity. Headlines like 'Left adrift on ship from hell' - we had a laugh about that. People had a good time."

Two passengers died on board the cruise, but neither death was linked to the Norwalk-like virus, which causes bouts of diarrhoea and vomiting.

Both were elderly men with heart conditions.

After the symptoms appeared on board, strict "no touch" regulations were enforced to contain the spread of the virus, which is passed onby contact. Passengers spoke of pushing lift buttons with their elbows and using tissues to turn doorknobs.

Cruets were removed from dining tables and chairs in public areas were wiped down every time a passenger stood up. Even the chips in the casino were sanitised.

The Aurora sailed with two doctors and four nurses but P&O Cruises flew an extra doctor and nurse out to join the ship when it arrived in Greek waters last week.

More than 500 of the 1,800 passengers fell ill, as did 29 of the 800 crew members, but the cruise company said everyone on board had recovered by the time the ship arrived in Southampton.

David Dingle, the managing director of P&O Cruises, described the size of the out break as unprecedented, and admitted it had put the ship's medical team under pressure.

He refused to discuss details of what compensation might be offered to passengers.

"I'm not jumping to any conclusions until we've received all the correspondence. The circumstances will tend to be different for different people, so we need to take a balanced view," he said.

The Aurora was refused entry to the port of Piraeus in Greece, and sparked a diplomatic spat in Gibraltar when Spain closed the border after the ship docked there on Monday morning.

Some passengers insisted that P&O had failed to act swiftly enough to contain the virus in the first week of the cruise, and said they would be pressing for compensation for holidays that cost between £1,000 and £5,000.

Raymond McCourt, 70, who was ill for three days, said: "Their treatment was a case of 'the horse had bolted before they shut the door'. I won't go through this again. As far as I'm concerned, it's P&O once and once only."

Michelle Seaborn, 35, who appeared in the Channel 4 show Wife Swap, said: "It was an absolute nightmare and I will never go on a cruise again.

"We will be suing for being held hostage on the ship. I felt like I was kidnapped.

"We had tickets bought by GMTV to fly back from Gibraltar but the staff on board would not give us our passports."

But Mrs Seaborn was criticised by fellow passenger Andy Banks, 42, who said: "The person who was shouting the loudest was from a programme called Wife Swap. Quite frankly, anyone who goes on a programme like that has no credibility whatsoever."

Joan Johnson, from Mansfield, said: "Everybody is compensation crazy these days. People saw a way to make money - I hope they don't get any. Someone at our table got it. She got over it.

"People are too namby-pamby these days. If you get sick, that's life."

Yesterday afternoon the whole ship was sprayed with disinfectant by teams of cleaners wearing face masks.

The Aurora was due to set sail last night for a cruise around the Channel Islands. The ship had been hired by a corporate hospitality firm for a business conference.