Royal Caribbean decided to cut short Oasis of the Seas’current sailing as the number of passengers suffering from a suspected norovirus outbreak rose to at least 277.
That is a significant jump on the 167 earlier reported since the ship docked in Falmouth, Jamaica on Wednesday.
All shore excursions were canceled as passengers were forced to stay onboard.
As a result the ship will return to Port Canaveral a day earlier on Saturday.
All of the passengers on board will receive a full refund.
The early return will give the line more time to ‘completely clean and sanitize the ship’ said Royal Caribbean spokesman Owen Torres.
"We think the right thing to do is get everyone home early rather than have guests worry about their health," Torres told the AP.
That means a scheduled call at Cozumel, Mexico is canceled.
"We hoped to give you an amazing vacation this week and we are sorry we fell short. As a result, in addition to the onboard credit we provided valued at one day of your cruise when we missed Falmouth, we will be refunding you for the additional six cruise days, equaling a full refund of your cruise fare," the line said in a letter to all passengers.
The number of cases of shipboard gastrointestinal outbreaks is actually on the decline, and was significantly down in 2018 compared to the previous year.
Last year just 547 cases were recorded on 10 cruises according to data compiled by the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program.
By Charles Kao
