French authorities have confined over 1,700 passengers and crew aboard a British cruise ship in Bordeaux following an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
Outbreak Details
The vessel, named the Ambition and operated by Ambassador Cruise Line, was midway through a 14-night voyage from Belfast and Liverpool, with scheduled stops in northern Spain and along France's Atlantic coast. It arrived in Bordeaux on Tuesday evening.
The prefect of Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and Gironde department, Étienne Guyot, suspended disembarkation and restricted the ship's interactions with the port, acting on the recommendation of the regional health agency, the Agence Régionale de Santé Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Up to 50 passengers displayed symptoms consistent with acute digestive infection after the captain alerted French authorities on Tuesday evening. Those affected were treated by the ship's doctor and isolated in their cabins. A medical team was dispatched, and samples are being analyzed at a Bordeaux hospital.
No Link to Hantavirus
Authorities dismissed any connection to a deadly hantavirus outbreak on another vessel, the MV Hondius, which has prompted a multicountry response and resulted in three deaths and nine confirmed cases. The joint statement emphasized: "There is no reason to establish a link between this outbreak aboard a cruise ship from Belfast and Liverpool and the hantavirus cases detected aboard the MV Hondius."
Previous Incident and Industry Context
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 23 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships visiting U.S. ports in 2025, the highest annual total in over a decade. Most were caused by norovirus, including a new strain driving the recent surge.
Ambassador Cruise Line reported earlier that a 92-year-old male passenger died on Sunday, though he had not reported symptoms consistent with the illness, and his cause of death is pending a coroner's investigation. As of late Wednesday morning, 48 passengers and one crew member were displaying gastrointestinal symptoms.
The company noted that cases rose after passengers boarded in Liverpool on May 9. All shore excursions in Bordeaux were canceled, and affected passengers offered full refunds. Ambassador Cruise Line, a British operator targeting passengers over 50, was founded in 2021.
