France confines more than 1,700 on British cruise ship in Bordeaux after
gastroenteritis outbreak
[May 14, 2026]
By THOMAS ADAMSON
PARIS (AP) — Over 1,700 passengers and crew on a British cruise ship
were ordered to remain on board after an outbreak of gastrointestinal
illness, French authorities said Wednesday.
They dismissed any link to a deadly hantavirus outbreak on another
vessel that has put European health authorities on alert.
The Ambition was midway through a 14-night cruise from Belfast and
Liverpool that was due to take in ports in northern Spain and along
France’s Atlantic coast.
It reached Bordeaux on Tuesday evening, according to the operator,
Ambassador Cruise Line.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracks
outbreaks on voyages that call on U.S. and foreign ports, recorded 23
gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships last year. Most were caused
by norovirus, including a new strain.
Last week, a Caribbean Princess cruise ship reported a norovirus
outbreak during a voyage with more than 3,100 passengers aboard,
according to the U.S. health agency. More than 140 passengers and 15
crew members fell ill during the trip, which ended Monday, the CDC said.
The prefect of Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and Gironde department, Étienne
Guyot, suspended disembarkation from the Ambition and restricted the
vessel’s interactions with the port of Bordeaux.
He acted on the recommendation of the regional health agency, the Agence
Régionale de Santé Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the joint statement said.
Up to 50 passengers showed symptoms consistent with acute digestive
infection after the ship’s captain alerted French authorities on Tuesday
evening, the statement said.
Those affected were treated by the ship’s doctor and isolated in their
cabins.
A medical team was dispatched to the vessel, and samples are being
analyzed at a Bordeaux hospital.
“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,” the joint statement said.
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Passengers stand aboard the British cruise ship Ambition, as French
authorities have ordered 1,700 passengers and crew to stay on board
due to a gastrointestinal illness outbreak, in Bordeaux,
southwestern France, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Caroline
Blumberg)
 The hantavirus outbreak aboard the
Hondius last month prompted a multicountry response and the
hospitalization of passengers in Britain, France, Spain and the
United States. Three passengers died and there have been nine
confirmed cases, with another two suspected.
An update is expected later on Wednesday, once analysis results are
available.
Ambassador Cruise Line said earlier Wednesday that a 92-year-old
male passenger had died on Sunday, although he had not reported
symptoms consistent with the illness, and that his cause of death
was yet to be established by a coroner.
The company said 48 passengers and one crew member were displaying
gastrointestinal symptoms as of late Wednesday morning.
Ambassador said its data showed cases had risen after passengers
boarded in Liverpool on May 9. All shore excursions at Bordeaux had
been canceled and affected passengers offered full refunds, the
company said.
Ambassador Cruise Line, a British operator targeting passengers over
50, was founded in 2021.
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Associated Press writer Jonathan Poet in Philadelphia contributed.
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