Cruise ship ‘is hit with CHOLERA outbreak’: Thousands of passengers stuck in quarantine ‘misery’ on illness-hit Norwegian Dawn liner ‘floating aimlessly’ off Africa after vessel was barred from docking on Mauritius

A cruise ship has been barred from docking in Mauritius after a possible cholera outbreak on board, with passengers fearing they could face days of quarantine.

Norwegian Dawn, which has around 2,200 passengers and 1,000 crew on board, has been ‘aimlessly floating’ in the open sea, one guest said, after Mauritian authorities decided to block it ‘to avoid any health risks’.

At least 15 people – 14 passengers and one crew member – are said to be in isolation with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. 

A mother-of-two on the ship said passengers were told that there could be cholera on board, and that they could face up to ten days in quarantine if it is confirmed.

‘You can imagine that the atmosphere among the passengers is not pleasant,’ Dutch holidaymaker Esther Verdaas said.

‘Flights are being missed, people have lost money on hotels booked in Mauritius. Guests are angry, rebellious, sad. These are luxury problems, of course. But what I find difficult is that so much is unclear. Can we go home? When? How? Where do we get tickets?’

Ms Verdaas explained to regional Dutch paper BN DeStem that ‘the misery started’ when they had been due to dock at Réunion on Saturday, but were refused by the authorities there.

‘That meant a long extra day of aimless floating on the open sea,’ said the tourist, who is travelling with her husband and their two daughters.

‘The decision not to allow the cruise ship access to the quay was taken in order to avoid any health risks,’ the Mauritius Ports Authority said.

‘The health and safety of passengers as well as that of the country as a whole are of the utmost to the authorities,’ it added, without giving any details about the nature of the health risk.

A spokesperson for the U.S.-headquartered Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement that during the ship’s trip to South Africa on February 13, some passengers had experienced mild symptoms of a stomach-related illness.

Once in Port Louis, the ship’s management worked with Mauritian authorities to make sure precautions were in place and all on board were okay, the spokesperson said.

The Norwegian Dawn’s planned itinerary. It had been due to travel from South Africa to Mauritius

The port authority said its test results would be known in 48 hours.

The ship has 2,184 passengers and 1,026 crew members. Of these, about 2,000 passengers would have disembarked in Port Louis after completing their cruise while another 2,279 new passengers had been expected to board the ship, the port authority said.

‘Passengers who were due to board the ‘Norwegian Dawn’ and begin their cruise from Mauritius today will not be able to do so due to potential health risks,’ it said.

Those who were disembarking or joining the cruise will now do so on Feb. 27, the Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson said.