A British cruise ship carrying more than 1,700 passengers and crew members was ordered to remain in port in Bordeaux after an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness, according to French health authorities on Wednesday. The Ambition, operated by Ambassador Cruise Line, was midway through a 14-night voyage originating from Belfast and Liverpool when it arrived in Bordeaux on Tuesday evening. The vessel had been scheduled to visit ports in northern Spain and along France’s Atlantic coast.
According to the ship’s operator and French authorities, approximately 50 passengers displayed symptoms consistent with acute digestive infection after the vessel’s captain notified French officials on Tuesday evening. Those showing illness were isolated in their cabins and treated by the ship’s doctor. A medical team was dispatched to investigate, and samples were collected for laboratory analysis at a Bordeaux hospital. Ambassador Cruise Line reported that 48 passengers and one crew member exhibited gastrointestinal symptoms as of late Wednesday morning, with cases rising following passenger boarding in Liverpool on May 9.
French regional authorities, including the prefect of Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and the regional health agency, suspended disembarkation from the vessel and restricted its interactions with the port. All planned shore excursions at Bordeaux were canceled, and affected passengers were offered full refunds. French officials explicitly stated there was no connection between this outbreak and a separate hantavirus outbreak on another cruise ship, the MV Hondius, which had prompted a multicountry response and resulted in three deaths.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been tracking cruise ship outbreaks, recording 23 gastrointestinal incidents on vessels last year, primarily caused by norovirus strains. A recent outbreak aboard the Caribbean Princess affected more than 140 passengers and 15 crew members. Ambassador Cruise Line, a British operator founded in 2021 that targets passengers over 50, also noted that a 92-year-old male passenger had died on Sunday, though he had not reported symptoms consistent with the illness and the cause of death was pending coroner determination. Further updates were expected once laboratory results became available.
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