“People [were] throwing up in restaurants, on decks, outside cabins.” That is how one passenger on P&O Cruises’ Iona described the ship to Sky News while it sailed off the coast of Belgium, where passengers fell ill with stomach symptoms believed to be norovirus.
P&O put the scale far lower than the passenger did. A spokesperson told FOX Business that fewer than 1% of guests were affected on the sailing, and that the Iona left on a new cruise the following Saturday. The passenger had told Sky News that “a large number” of guests and staff were sick and that “people have been dropping like flies.”
Complaints about medicine and entertainment
The same passenger said the shows suffered too. Scheduled acts could not perform, and a “cobbled-together entertainment program” took their place.
The sharper complaint was about supplies. “Not one shop or medical center onboard could supply guests with gastrointestinal suspension medication or replacement salts/fluid sachets,” the passenger said, calling it “incredulous.” Replacement salts and fluids matter with this illness, because dehydration is one of the main risks for anyone infected. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises people with norovirus to drink plenty of fluids while they recover.
What the cruise line said
P&O’s statement said the line works with global, national and regional public health authorities on “approved, stringent and proven protocols” across its fleet. It added that it had “proactively stepped up” those measures through the UK winter, and that every guest traveling or embarking receives communications about their wellbeing.
The ship
The Iona is based in Southampton and has been in service since 2021. P&O’s website pitches it at families, couples and first-time cruisers. It can carry 5,200 guests and up to 1,800 crew. P&O is part of Carnival Corporation & plc and says more British holidaymakers sail with it out of the UK than with any other line.
The CDC calls norovirus “a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea,” and says anyone can catch it. The agency notes that it is sometimes called the stomach flu, though it is unrelated to influenza. It also publishes tips for healthy cruising.
