France Holds Ambition Passengers in Bordeaux After Norovirus Outbreak
By Thursday morning, Ambassador reported sixty passengers and four crew with symptoms aboard Ambition; French authorities said no serious cases had been reported.
French health authorities confined more than 1,700 passengers and crew aboard Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambition at Bordeaux on Wednesday after a gastrointestinal outbreak during a 14-night cruise from Belfast and Liverpool. Laboratory testing at Bordeaux University Hospital later confirmed norovirus, and passengers without symptoms were permitted to leave the ship while affected guests and crew remained under isolation protocols.
The order suspended a scheduled port call until local officials established the cause of the illness, with all Bordeaux shore excursions cancelled for the day and refunds offered.
Testing in Bordeaux confirmed viral gastroenteritis
Etienne Guyot, prefect of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and Gironde department, suspended disembarkation and limited the vessel’s contact with the port on the recommendation of the Agence Régionale de Santé Nouvelle-Aquitaine. A specialist medical team boarded Ambition to review health records and collect samples, which were sent to Bordeaux University Hospital for analysis.
Ambassador initially reported 48 passengers and one crew member with active gastrointestinal illness; by Thursday morning it said 60 passengers and four crew members were experiencing symptoms. French authorities said no serious cases had been reported.
The same authorities also addressed the separate hantavirus outbreak on MV Hondius. There was “no reason to establish a link” between the Ambition illness and the Hondius cases, the regional health agency said; the Hondius response had included hospitalizations in Britain, France, Spain and the United States after three deaths and nine confirmed cases.
Sanitation measures stayed in force after clearance
Ambassador said its response began after the first illness reports, with more frequent disinfection of public areas, crew-assisted service in selected dining venues, hand-hygiene reminders and free medical consultations for gastrointestinal symptoms. “We take any illnesses aboard our fleet extremely seriously,” the company said.
Guests reporting symptoms were treated by the ship’s doctor and isolated in cabins. After clearance, all scheduled shore excursions were operating on Thursday, while isolation and reinforced hygiene procedures continued for anyone still affected.
A 92-year-old passenger died on Sunday during the voyage. Ambassador said he had not reported gastrointestinal symptoms and that the cause of death had not been established pending the coroner’s full report; French authorities said the death did not appear to be tied to the outbreak at that stage.
Ambassador adjusts onward sailing
Ambassador, founded in 2021 as a British no-fly cruise line, was operating Ambition on a Western France and Spain itinerary that departed Belfast on May 8 and embarked additional guests at Liverpool on May 9. The line said cases rose after the Liverpool embarkation.
Norovirus is highly contagious and spreads through contact with infected people, surfaces, food or water. For U.S.-port cruise traffic, the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program inspects ships and monitors gastrointestinal illness reports; the agency recorded 23 cruise-ship gastrointestinal outbreaks last year, most due to norovirus, and has listed four such outbreaks so far this year across norovirus and E. coli.
Ambition remained in Bordeaux overnight and was scheduled to resume sailing Friday, May 15, on a revised itinerary to avoid forecast unsettled weather in the Bay of Biscay. The next call at El Ferrol is set for 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., with Gijon, Bilbao, La Rochelle and Lorient still on the return schedule before Belfast on May 22.
