Passengers allowed to leave norovirus-hit cruise ship in France

A norovirus-hit cruise ship carrying British and Irish passengers has had its lockdown order lifted.

All 1,701 people on board the Ambition were stopped from disembarking for more than 24 hours after the ship docked in Bordeaux on Tuesday, following the death of one person and dozens of cases of norovirus.

Local authorities allowed those without symptoms to disembark from Wednesday afternoon, while those who had been infected were ordered to remain on board in isolation.

The person who died was a 92-year-old British man who had a heart attack.

His death appears to be unrelated to the norovirus outbreak, health authorities said.

Essex-based operator Ambassador Cruise Line said on Wednesday that 48 passengers and one crew member had “active cases of gastrointestinal illness”.

There were a total of 1,187 passengers and 514 crew members onboard.

Norovirus is a highly contagious form of gastroenteritis that causes vomiting and diarrhoea.

The ship set sail from Belfast on May 8 and called at Liverpool a day later, for a 14-night voyage to France and Spain.

Cases of gastroenteritis increased after the embarkation of passengers in Liverpool.

Ambassador Cruise Line said in a statement: “We would like to reassure guests that we take any illnesses aboard our fleet extremely seriously.

“Enhanced sanitation and prevention protocols were immediately implemented across the ship in line with established public health procedures following the initial reports of illness.

“The comprehensive health and safety measures introduced include increased cleaning and disinfection measures in public areas, assisted service in selected dining venues and ongoing guidance to guests regarding hand hygiene, including regular hand washing, use of hand sanitisers and the prompt reporting of any symptoms to the onboard medical team.”

A spokesman for the cruise line said there was no link with the outbreak of hantavirus on the MV Hondius cruise ship.