CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) – After an 11-day cruise to the Caribbean in which more than 400 passengers and crew members came down with a strain of norovirus, the Celebrity Cruise Line ship, Mercury, returned to Charleston early Friday morning.
"We've been planning [this cruise]," explained Marge Ritter.
Ritter and her husband were ready for the perfect cruise vacation.
"[We're] looking forward to it. Doing all the shopping and doing all the things [like]picking out the right clothes to take," she said. "Then we drove into Charleston and got on board."
However, a few days into their trip on the Celebrity Mercury Cruise Liner, they started noticing something wasn't right.
"You could see some people weren't at dinner. You could see some people were getting sick," said Ritter.
As passengers filed off the ship, many described the unpleasant symptoms that plagued the trip.
"It starts out, you know, you're just feeling a little queasy, and then it ends up nausea, diarrhea, vomiting," Ritter said. "It was not pleasant. Fortunately, it only lasts about 24 hours. But then you're kind of weak and achy."
"It was just convulsive vomiting, and then followed by diarrhea through the morning," said Robert Mack, another sick passenger on the ship.
Some passengers talked of hearing about other sick people on the ship having to receive fluids intravenously.
Celebrity Cruise Officials say more than 400 of the 2,600 people on board were affected, including the ships own personnel.
"[Cruise personnel] just took such good care of everyone, and they did so even with I would say a tenth of their staff down and out at one point or the other," said Ritter.
"[The crew was] very good. They went over and above what I think they should have done, really," said sick passenger Kenneth Thompson. They were doing all they could. They brought people in."
"Everywhere you looked there was somebody scrubbing and cleaning and trying to keep everybody healthy," Ritter said.
The ship's captain even brought in extra medical staff to treat the victims of the Norovirus outbreak.
"We contacted the medical facility and then they told us someone would be around to the room to tend to us," Mack said.
Doctors were able to prescribe antibiotics for many patients. For others they recommended over-the-counter nausea medicines. But they also insisted all of those infected with the Norovirus remain in their rooms for 24 hours until the illness subsided.
While many on the ship said the outbreak was an untimely annoyance, few said it was bad enough to ruin their whole vacation.
However, even with the quick response, AAA Travel Agent Sandra Horton says people are still worried about catching the virus.
"People are calling and they're asking about their current booking," said Horton.
Horton says she doesn't believe the outbreak will hurt business, but that hasn't stopped the calls about what to do if their cruise gets a breakout.
Ritter says expect frequent hand washing, and a new way to greet one another.
"Everybody developed the elbow bump. It was really kind of fun," she laughed.
Celebrity Cruise officials say the ship will be completely cleaned before going on any other trips.
Copyright 2010 WCSC. All Rights Reserved. WMBF contributed to this report.
