Cruise ship docks with hundreds of sick passengers
Passenger: 'They did try to handle it very well'
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Passengers leave the ship in Galveston, Texas, after returning Saturday from a five-day cruise to Mexico.
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GALVESTON, Texas (AP) -- A Carnival Cruise Lines ship returned from a five-day cruise to Mexico on Saturday with more than 300 people sick with a gastrointestinal illness.
Carnival officials said preliminary tests show the outbreak might have been caused by a norovirus. The virus is spread through contaminated food, contact with infected people or poor hygiene. It can be prevented by regular hand-washing.
"They did try to handle it very well, from a cleaning perspective and disinfecting and sanitizing things," passenger Christal Davis said after leaving the ship. "I wouldn't go back on this ship, but we'll definitely cruise again."
The Celebration left Galveston on Monday. On Wednesday, Carnival contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to report an unusual number of ill passengers, with predominant symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea.
By Friday, 297 of 1,576 passengers and 19 of 689 crew members were ill, according to the CDC.
CDC investigators boarded the 733-foot ship after its regularly scheduled arrival. They were conducting tests and inspecting the ship.
Miami-based Carnival said it plans to compensate passengers who got sick.
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