Pacific Eden Cruise Ship Rocked by Claims It Is a Floating Sick Bay
by Julie Power of smh.com.au
Passengers aboard P&O’s newly-launched cruise liner say it is anything but a Pacific Eden, with a gastrointestinal outbreak affecting a number of passengers ahead of its return to Sydney on Monday.
The ship Pacific Eden, which docked in Sydney on Monday morning, has been accused of being a “floating disaster” and some passengers are seeking a refund.
Several passengers have contacted the Herald, claiming a norovirus gastrointestinal outbreak has affected a large number of passengers.
But a spokeswoman for P&O, which owns the ship, disputes the allegations. She said only 11 out of 1500 passengers aboard are ill, including five who were in isolation on Saturday. That number had reduced to two by Sunday.
This is about the same rate as the general population at any time, she said.
The departure of the 55,820 tonne cruise ship from Sydney on December 16 was delayed three to four hours to allow the crew to sanitise the ship after an outbreak of gastro on the previous trip. Yet the spokeswoman said she understood the previous cruise had a similar number of people who were sick with norovirus.
