BBC News reported on November 6, 2012, that the Celebrity Cruises vessel CELEBRITY CONSTELLATION delayed its departure from Southampton, England, after a suspected outbreak of norovirus. The United Kingdom’s Southern Daily Echo reported that a spokesman for Celebrity Cruises said that “a small number of guests experienced a gastrointestinal type illness,” but BBC reported that Southampton’s Port Health Authority said about 350 passengers on the roughly 2,000-passenger ship had fallen ill with vomiting and diarrhea.

“The sanitation on that ship is bad,” passenger David Mattey told BBC, saying his holiday had been “completely ruined.” The 73-year-old Mattey told the Echo that he was bed bound for seven days and had to go to the medical center on board three times for intravenous drip to rehydrate.

“For elderly people to go down with something like this is horrendous,” Mattey told the Echo. “I have never suffered from anything like it before I still feel very weak and I am relieved I am home.”

This is the second time this year that the Celebrity Cruises vessel has experienced a norovirus outbreak. According to an investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 102 of 1,992 passengers and 12 of 946 crewmembers reported being ill from norovirus on the CELEBRITY CONSTELLATION when it arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on February 12, 2012.

Passengers who sustain cruise ship injuries after becoming ill on board may be entitled to compensation, but their tickets determine when and where they can file a lawsuit. Latti & Anderson LLP understands national and international laws, and our Boston maritime attorneys know how to pursue a case on your behalf that can maximize your compensation. Our firm has been representing individuals who became ill because of food poisoning or sustained injuries because of rough weather on cruise ships for more than 50 years.

Additional information about admiralty law can be found on our website, and you can contact our firm at (800) 392-6072 or fill out the form on this page to let our Boston maritime trial lawyers review your case if you or a loved one sustained serious injuries on a cruise ship.

Latti & Anderson LLP – Boston maritime attorneys