Topic: Falklands cruise holiday refusal over the top, says expert

I've seen ships banned from other ports when they've had Noro on board- in fact, we'd just been on Sea Princess in 2006, and were following her when she came to the UK for the summer, and she was banned- was it from Gibraltar? I didn't know much about cruise ships then, nor that Noro was just the winter sickness bug, which appeared in our school every winter.
Jo.

QUOTE:

As I said.
Who knows.
Rules is rules...and then some.

I could bet my bottom dollar that the chief medical officer (or equivalent) was not involved in the decision.

It was a crazy decision not based on science but more likely a rush of blood to a civil servant's head.

Yes rules are rules - this time to official over stepped the mark!

I can guarantee that nobody was happy with that decision - the passengers who lost the opportunity to visit and the local who lost significant income from tours etc.

QUOTE:

I've seen ships banned from other ports when they've had Noro on board- in fact, we'd just been on Sea Princess in 2006, and were following her when she came to the UK for the summer, and she was banned- was it from Gibraltar? I didn't know much about cruise ships then, nor that Noro was just the winter sickness bug, which appeared in our school every winter.
Jo.

Exactly = just the WVB! Not a big deal a ubiquitous virus albeit very unpleasant but for most of us sorted in 48 hours!

Lets face it these passengers were hardly taking a tour to the local ICU!

QUOTE:

I've seen ships banned from other ports when they've had Noro on board- in fact, we'd just been on Sea Princess in 2006, and were following her when she came to the UK for the summer, and she was banned- was it from Gibraltar? I didn't know much about cruise ships then, nor that Noro was just the winter sickness bug, which appeared in our school every winter.
Jo.

A similar problem affected P&O's Aurora in October / November 2003.

More than 600 passengers became infected with Norovirus, and the authorities at Piraeus decided that nobody should be allowed to board or disembark. Aurora anchored offshore in the harbour - and additional medical supplies were ferried to the ship in small boats. Apparently, the authorities in Athens were concerned that an epidemic might disrupt preparations for the Olympic Games.

Passengers were allowed ashore at all subsequent ports, including Gibraltar, where Spain seized the opportunity to close the border for the day. One loud-mouthed couple on the ship, who had previously appeared in the wife-swap TV series, thought they were film stars and dispayed a "Save us" banner from their balcony. The TV news channels had a field day.