Cruise exec's honeymoon goes to potty

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[I am now leaning to the opinion that these outbreaks are caused by US-hating foreign nationals who work in the cruise ship kitchens who are deliberately practicing unsafe food prep. Think Jesse Jackson who used to spit in food when he worked in a restaurant--or perhaps that's all he'll admit to.]]

MIAMI - The latest victim of the stomach-churning virus plaguing the nation's cruise lines is an executive whose job it is to book holiday passengers.

John Paradis returned to the Port of Miami yesterday after celebrating his honeymoon sitting on the porcelain throne in his room aboard Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas.

"Nobody could drink, nobody could have fun," said Paradis, a vice president of FlagshipCruises.com. "People were sitting on a toilet."

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Lynn Martenstein said 42 of the 3,000 passengers and crew members reported gastrointestinal illness on the ship, which is below the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 3% threshold for an outbreak. Paradis insists the actual number of sick was in the hundreds and said many did not report their illness because they feared they'd be confined to their cabins.

Martenstein said that confinement is voluntary, but the cruise lines expect guests to be responsible, she said.

The CDC agrees that he number of ill is often underreported, because the agency is only informed of those who contact the ship's medical staff.

The ship was disinfected with a chlorine-based solution but was back on the high seas last night.

Paradis is the latest victim of the Norwalk-like virus that has sickened thousands of passengers on several major cruise lines out of Florida.

The ailment, which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, cramps and fever, has recently also been detected on land - including at a Long Island hospital and nursing home.

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2002


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