French Authorities Clear British Cruise Ship in Bordeaux After Testing for Gastrointestinal Illness

French authorities on Wednesday confined more than 1,700 passengers and crew aboard the Ambassador Cruise Line vessel Ambition after it docked in Bordeaux, then cleared the ship following tests. The British-flagged ship arrived in the French port on Tuesday after departing the Shetland Islands on May 6 and calling at Belfast, Liverpool and Brest.

Ambassador Cruise Line reported that symptoms consistent with a stomach bug first appeared among guests shortly after the ship left Liverpool.

The company stated that a 92-year-old man died aboard the ship earlier this week. He did not report any symptoms at the time of death and the cause remains unestablished. Ambassador Cruise Line reported 49 active cases of gastrointestinal illness, representing just under 3 percent of the ship's total population of 1,187 guests and 514 crew members.

The vast majority of guests are British, with the remainder mostly Irish.

French health authorities requested a routine review of the ship's health status and records upon arrival, according to statements carried by AFP and France 24. Samples were sent for testing at Bordeaux University Hospital, where results require a minimum of six hours to process.

Planned shore activities were cancelled. Enhanced sanitation and prevention protocols, including increased cleaning, assisted dining service and reinforced hand-hygiene guidance, were implemented immediately after the first reports of illness.

The operator stressed that the gastrointestinal illness is not believed to be in any way linked to the separate hantavirus outbreak involving the MV Hondius. That outbreak has killed three people and produced 11 total reported cases, nine of them confirmed, according to health officials.

A French woman infected during that outbreak remains critically ill in a Paris hospital. All confirmed and suspected hantavirus cases have occurred only among that ship's passengers or crew. "At the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak," an official stated.

Roughly 50 people initially showed symptoms of norovirus aboard the Ambition, according to initial reports. The ship had been scheduled to sail onward to Spain. Once clearance is granted by French officials, guests will be permitted to disembark and will receive a full refund.