Britons among thousands of passengers trapped on Norway’s Dawn ship floating ‘aimlessly’ off the coast of Africa after it was banned from docking in Mauritius ‘to avoid health risks’ amid fears of a cholera outbreak

British holidaymakers are among 2,200 passengers trapped on board the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship after Mauritius authorities banned the ship from docking following reports of a possible cholera outbreak.

About the same number of tourists were unable to board the ship and had to queue at the port before being put up in hotels when it became clear the ship could not dock.

The 12-day cruise had left South Africa via Mozambique and was due to dock in Port Louis on Sunday, but arrived a day early after missing a stop on Reunion Island.

A Briton due to embark on his cruise this weekend said he has tried to cancel his trip and is considering taking expensive flights back to Britain because he is ‘afraid of getting on a contaminated ship’.

‘[I am] not on the ship, but waiting to board and not wanting to… it’s been complete chaos on shore,” he told MailOnline, saying he had received no updates and that the situation was a “complete mess” used to be.

The 59-year-old tourist said his partner ‘now refuses to get on the ship no matter what’ and said they are expecting £1,600 flights home.

He said this would mean they would lose any possible refund during the trip, but they would like to get home regardless.

The ship has about 1,000 crew members, and of the more than 3,000 on board, at least 15 people – 14 passengers and one crew member – are said to be in isolation with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea.

A passenger on board photographed a tanker ship near the ship while it was off the coast of Mauritia.

A group of journalists were scheduled to take a press trip on the ship on Sunday before learning that cholera was suspected to be on board. USA Today reports this.

A mother of two children on the ship told the Dutch newspaper BN DeStem that the passengers had been told that there might be cholera on board, and that they could be quarantined for up to ten days if this is confirmed.

“You can imagine that the atmosphere among the passengers is not pleasant,” says Dutch holidaymaker Esther Verdaas.

“Flights are being missed, people have lost money on hotels booked in Mauritius. Guests are angry, rebellious, sad. These are of course luxury problems. But what I find difficult is that so much is unclear. Can we go home? When? How? Where do we get tickets?’

Mrs Verdaas explains that ‘the trouble started’ when they were supposed to dock in Réunion on Saturday, but were turned away by the authorities.

“That meant an extra long day of aimless floating on the open sea,” says the tourist, who is traveling with her husband and their two daughters.

One passenger on the ship wrote on Facebook earlier today: ‘We are not given an explanation as to why we are stuck outside Mauritius but the theory is that we have had an outbreak of [gastro intestinal] problems, probably due to food poisoning.’

Another tourist on the ship said today that passengers were “fed up” and that there were “limited facilities” to deal with being stuck at sea.

Although cholera is uncommon in countries such as Britain and the US, there have been significant cholera outbreaks in southern Africa in recent months, with at least 188,000 cases since January 2023 in seven countries and more than 3,000 deaths.

“The decision not to allow the cruise ship access to the quay was taken to avoid health risks,” the Mauritius Ports Authority said.

“The health and safety of passengers and that of the country as a whole are of the utmost importance to the authorities,” it added, without giving any details on the nature of the health risk.

A spokesperson for US-based Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement that during the ship’s voyage to South Africa on February 13, some passengers had experienced mild symptoms of a stomach-related illness.

Once in Port Louis, the ship’s management worked with Mauritian authorities to ensure precautions were in place and everyone on board was OK, the spokesperson said.

The port authority said the test results would be known within 48 hours.

The ship has 2,184 passengers and 1,026 crew members. Of these, about 2,000 passengers were said to have disembarked in Port Louis after completing their cruise, while another 2,279 new passengers were expected to board the ship, the port authority said.

“Passengers who were due to board the ‘Norwegian Dawn’ and start their cruise from Mauritius today will not be able to do so due to potential health risks,” the report said.

Those who disembarked or joined the cruise will now do so on Feb. 27, the Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson said.

MailOnline has contacted Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd for comment.

Cholera can be contracted by drinking unclean water, eating food that has been soaking in unclean water, and eating food that has been handled or prepared by someone infected with cholera.

Shellfish in particular have an increased risk of infection.

However, according to the NHS, the risk of becoming infected while traveling is very small. It is especially common in places without a clean water supply or modern sewerage, such as parts of Africa and Asia.

To prevent cholera, people are advised to wash their hands regularly with soap, especially after using the toilet and before touching or eating food.

In places where cholera is more common, it is also recommended to drink only boiled tap water or bottled water and only brush your teeth with bottled or boiled water.

In such places it is advised not to eat uncooked fruits or vegetables (including salad) that have not been washed with clean water, not to eat seafood, and not to eat ice cream or use ice in drinks.

It is possible to get vaccinated against the infection, which is recommended for people traveling to remote places of higher risk and without access to medical care.