Monday, January 11, 2010

Norovirus or no, Queen Victoria arrives.


Cunard's newest cruiser, the 90,000 grt Queen Victoria, as I saw her this morning from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, passing Governors Island and the Statue of Liberty en route to the cruise ship terminal on Manhattan's West Side.

News reports were that the ship might be denied permission to dock here because some passengers had been infected with norovirus, which causes gastrointestinal distress and nausea. Evidently, the crew and medical personnel on the ship were able to contain the outbreak before it reached a level sufficient to justify such action. Several other cruise ships have had similar problems recently.

Photos of Queen Victoria docked during her maiden visit to New York two years ago are here

Addendum: Was it all the fault of H.R.H. the Duchess of Cornwall? Perhaps she could use some bottle-smashing lessons.