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 cholera scare.
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.
Norwegian Cruise Line said that some guests experienced ‘stomach-related illness’ but there were ‘no confirmed cases or evidence of cholera on board the vessel’.
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 told MailOnline, saying he had received no updates and that the situation was a ‘complete shambles’.
Passengers have been left stranded on the ship after Mauritian authorities refused to let it dock ‘to avoid any health risks’ due to a possible cholera outbreak. This picture was taken by a passenger on board the Norwegian Dawn liner near Mauritius
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
Holidaymakers pictured queuing at the port on Sunday. The ship was not allowed to dock on Saturday and cruise customers were put up in hotels
Dutch holidaymaker Esther Verdaas with her husband and daughters
The 12-day cruise had sailed from South Africa via Mozambique, and had been scheduled to dock in Port Louis on Sunday. It is now off the coast of Mauritius
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.
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.
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.’
The view from the ship off the coast of Mauritius, shared by a passenger on board
The Norwegian Dawn’s planned itinerary. It had been due to travel from South Africa to Mauritius
Another tourist on the ship said today that passengers were ‘fed up’ and that there were ‘limited facilities’ to deal with being stuck at sea.
While Cholera is uncommon in countries such as the UK and the US, there have been significant cholera outbreaks in southern Africa over the last few months, with at least 188,000 cases recorded across seven countries since January 2023 and more than 3,000 deaths.
‘The decision not to allow the cruise ship access to the quay was taken in order to avoid any health risks,’ the Mauritius Ports Authority said.
‘The health and safety of passengers as well as that of the country as a whole are of the utmost to the authorities,’ it added, without giving any details about the nature of the health risk.
A spokesperson for the U.S.-headquartered Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement that during the ship’s trip to South Africa on February 13, some passengers had experienced mild symptoms of a stomach-related illness.
Once in Port Louis, the ship’s management worked with Mauritian authorities to make sure precautions were in place and all on board were okay, the spokesperson said.
The port authority said its test results would be known in 48 hours.
The ship has 2,184 passengers and 1,026 crew members. Of these, about 2,000 passengers would have disembarked in Port Louis after completing their cruise while another 2,279 new passengers had been expected to board the ship, the port authority said.
‘Passengers who were due to board the ‘Norwegian Dawn’ and begin their cruise from Mauritius today will not be able to do so due to potential health risks,’ it said.
Norwegian Dawn, which has some 2,200 passengers and 1,000 crew on board, has been floating off the coast after Mauritian authorities decided to block it ‘to avoid any health risks’ (file image)
Those who were disembarking or joining the cruise will now do so on February 27, the Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson said.
A spokesman for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd said: ‘Upon Norwegian Dawn’s arrival to Port Louis Mauritius on Feb. 25, 2024, there were a small number of guests experiencing mild symptoms of a stomach-related illness.
‘Despite previous reports and speculations, there were no confirmed cases nor any evidence of cholera on board the vessel.
‘Although only six guests were being monitored due to mild symptoms of a stomach-related illness, the government of Mauritius required testing in an overabundance of caution, thereby delaying the ship’s original disembarkation scheduled for Feb. 25, 2024.’
‘Following the results of the regulatory testing by the government of Mauritius and their confirmation that no trace of cholera was found during their testing, Norwegian Dawn has been cleared for entry into Port Louis, Mauritius, and disembarkation of all guests will commence early morning Feb. 27, 2024 local time.’
