Curse of the Costa Concordia: Sister Ship Ruby Princess Hit by Virus
The curse of Costa Concordia's wrecked ship is haunting its parent company, Carnival, as one of its US-based liner has been hit by stomach virus that made 100 passengers violently ill.
Ninety passengers and 13 crew members on the Ruby Princess cruise ship contracted the Norovirus, a contagious gastrointestinal illness that causes vomiting and diarrhoea for one to three days.
The vessel was cleaned on Sunday in Florida and departed soon afterwards.
Another cruise ship, the Crown Princess, sailed from Florida after cleaning. Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Sea left New Orleans a couple of hours late Saturday because of the same illness.
Carnival is facing a financial setback after Costa Concordia ran aground off the Italian coast in January. The disaster tainted its image and raised concerns over the safety of the entire luxury cruise liner industry. The Costa Concordia overturned off the coast of Italy, killing 17 people. Fifteen people are still missing.
Carnival said on January 30 it would take a profit hit ranging from $155 million to $175 million this year because of costs related to the wreck, Reuters reports. The company has said it will release revised full-year earnings forecast in March.
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