Cruise ship Balmoral was infected with vomit bug BEFORE setting sail

The cruise ship which docked in the US with more than 250 sick passengers on board was infected with a vomiting bug before the vessel set sail, the Standard can reveal.

The Balmoral docked in Portland, Maine, on Sunday and passengers, mostly Britons, suffering norovirus were quarantined in their cabins.

Holidaymakers Trevor and Mo Beeforth were on board the ship, operated by Fred Olsen Cruises, at the end of a cruise hours before it set sail for a new five-week “Old England to New England” trip from the UK to the US.

The couple, who were on the preceding cruise on the same vessel, said it was “obvious illness had broken out” on their trip and were surprised that new travellers were allowed to board hours after infected passengers had disembarked.

The pensioners boarded the Balmoral in Southampton on April 3 for a 13-day cruise to the Canary Isles and Madeira. A few days into the holiday, passengers began falling ill with what was assumed to be the vomiting virus.

Mr Beeforth, a retired university reader, said: “The ship reacted to people falling ill by putting in place quite stringent measures.

"There were hand sanitisers every few yards, the theatre was fumigated, morning bridge and evening gaming were stopped and swimming pools and the library were closed.”

He said his wife had fallen ill with the virus and the couple were confined to their cabin for 48 hours.

He said the crew made frequent announcements reminding all passengers to take precautions. “Everything slowed down greatly and inevitably, frustration developed,” he said. “Clearly a very serious problem had developed.”