The departure of cruise ship Ruby Princess (IMO 9378462) from Galveston, Texas, on March 6th was delayed by a few hours as a result of increased sanitation that took place after passengers on the previous cruise had disembarked.
A number of guests on the previous cruise had experienced gastrointestinal-related illness during the voyage between February 26th and March 5th.
The US Centers For Disease Control (CDC) launched an investigation into the incident, which saw 199 passengers out of 2,881 and 20 crew members out of 1,159 report symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea.
The Ruby Princess had sailed from Galveston on February 26th and called at Cozumel, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; and Mahogany Bay, Honduras. Princess Cruises and the ship’s crew acted swiftly in response to the outbreak, implementing increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, according to the ship’s outbreak prevention and response plan.
2008-built, Bermuda-based, 113,561 gt Ruby Princess is owned and managed by Princess Cruise Lines Ltd of Valencia, California, USA. It is entered with Steamship Mutual (Americas Division) on behalf of Carnival Corp, and with UK Club, on behalf of Carnival Corp. As of March 8th the vessel was underway off Honduras.