The Barf Boat

If you were boarding a ship that had just had a cruise featuring 380 barfing people from an intestinal illness, how sure would you be that the problem was fixed? For 106 people on the next cruise, the problem wasn't fixed:

MIAMI - The world's largest cruise ship was held in port Monday for intensive cleaning after a second outbreak of gastrointestinal illness in two voyages sickened 106 people.

More than 380 passengers and crew members aboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas were sickened by norovirus during a Nov. 26-Dec. 3 Caribbean cruise. The ship was cleaned before its next cruise, but 97 passengers and 11 crew members became sick with the same illness last week, officials at the Miami-based cruise line said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommended keeping the ship in port and will oversee repeated cleaning of "high-touch" surfaces such as door handles, railings and elevator buttons, officials said. Two additional doctors and 45 more cleaning staff will be aboard for its next voyage, now scheduled to begin Tuesday.

The ship carried more than 3,900 passengers on its latest cruise.

Another ship, Princess Cruises' Sun Princess, also undergoing a thorough cleaning after docking at Port Everglades on Sunday with 97 sick passengers.

I think I'll skip the cruises for now. If I want to get sick I'll just go hang out in the emergency room.