British holidaymakers are among 2,200 passengers stuck on board the Norwegian Dawn cruise liner after Mauritian authorities barred it from docking following reports of a possible cholera outbreak.
As it is
Around the same number of tourists have been unable to board the vessel, and were forced to queue at the port before being put up in hotels when it became clear the ship could not dock.
The 12-day cruise had sailed from South Africa via Mozambique, and had been scheduled to dock in Port Louis on Sunday, but arrived a day earlier after missing out a stop at Reunion Island.
Some Tourists Are Afraid
One Brit, who had been due to start his cruise over the weekend, said that he has tried to cancel his trip and is considering getting expensive flights back to the UK as he is ‘scared to get on a contaminated ship’.
‘[I am] not on the ship but waiting to get on and not wanting to… it has been complete chaos onshore,’ he said he had received no updates and that the situation was a ‘complete shambles’.
Details About His Situation
The 59-year-old tourist said his partner ‘is now refusing to get on the ship regardless of what happens’ and said they are looking at £1,600 flights home.
He said that this would mean they would lose any possible refund on the trip, but that they are keen to get home regardless.
The ship has a crew of around 1,000, and of the more than 3,000 on board at least 15 people – 14 passengers and one crew member – are said to be in isolation with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea.
A tanker vessel has been pictured near the ship by a passenger on board as it remains off the Mauritian coastline.
Is There Cholera on Board?
A group of journalists had been due to embark on a press trip on the vessel on Sunday before they heard that there was suspected cholera on board, USA Today reports.
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A mother-of-two on the ship told Dutch newspaper BN DeStem that passengers had been 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 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.
One passenger on the ship wrote on Facebook earlier today: ‘We are not getting an explanation as to why we are stuck outside of Mauritius but the theory is because we had a breakout of [gastro intestinal] issues, most probably due to food poisoning.’
