P&O Cruises have denied reports there is a gastroenteritis outbreak on the Pacific Jewel after an elderly passenger died aboard the ship.
Police boarded and inspected the ship when it docked in Cairns and 79-year old Margaret Carlson died of natural causes.
An autopsy will be carried out, Australian media reported.
The woman’s family said she had exhibited signs of a gastric bug in the days leading up to her death and two companions also became sick after boarding the ship.
The ship’s medical staff told her she had probably brought the bug with her.
The ship is on a 10-night ‘Barrier Reef Discovery’ cruise which departed Sydney on September 6.
The woman’s family blamed the cruise line for the tragedy.
"None of them were sick before they went on the ship, and it was several days in when it struck. When they saw the ship’s nurse, they were accused of bringing it on to the ship," said daughter Vanessa D’Souza.
