100 Get Virus as Cruise Goes On

More than 100 passengers have contracted the highly contagious norovirus on a ship that is touring the California coast. But the cruise line said today it has no plans to end the voyage early. Some 104 passengers and 25 crew members on the Crown Princess had been infected by the cruise's fifth day, but fewer than 15 were still complaining of the gastrointestinal symptoms that come with the virus, said a Princess Cruises spokesperson. Fifty people have been quarantined in their cabins because they could still be contagious.

The Crown Princess is on a seven-day cruise from Los Angeles that includes stops in San Francisco and Santa Barbara. The ship was in San Diego today and is scheduled to return to LA on Saturday. Passengers can leave the cruise voluntarily at any of the planned stops, said the spokesperson. The cruise line had to alert the CDC because about 3% of the 3,100 passengers have been affected. The ship was getting a thorough cleaning while docked in San Diego and would get an even more intensive one at the end of the journey. (More cruise ships stories.)