Passenger refunds after norovirus outbreak

Cruise passengers involved in vomiting bug outbreak will get their money back.

Travel Insurance News - 13/07/2009

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After nearly 400 passengers and crew members fell ill with norovirus symptoms, the cruise ship Marco Polo was forced to dock for three days at Invergordon, on the Cromarty Firth.

Transocean Tours, the cruise operator, revealed that passengers would receive a refund of their fares as a “gesture of goodwill”.

Fifty per cent discounts are being offered on a future Transocean cruise, and over 750 passengers will be receiving a refund of the money they spent on alcohol on board.

Marco Polo departed Invergordon on Thursday with approximately 600 passengers on board. Around 120 of the passengers opted to travel home on a train that had been specially chartered for them.

The ship was due to arrive in Tilbury on Saturday, seven days after it departed on its ill-fated cruise.

An elderly man died on board last Monday – unrelated to the norovirus outbreak.

Several passengers required hospital treatment as the norovirus spread throughout the cruise ship while it was docked at Invergordon.

The company issued a statement on Friday that read in part: “The investigation into the virus outbreak that has affected this cruise is still ongoing and, at this time, its cause remains unknown.”

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