BORDEAUX — French authorities ordered more than 1,700 passengers and crew aboard the British cruise ship Ambition to remain on board after an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness was reported as the vessel arrived in Bordeaux on Tuesday evening. Nearly 50 suspected cases of gastroenteritis were reported among the 1,233 passengers and 514 crew on the ship.
Étienne Guyot, prefect of Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and Gironde department, suspended disembarkation from the Ambition and restricted the vessel's interactions with the port of Bordeaux on the recommendation of the Agence Régionale de Santé Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Up to 50 passengers showed symptoms consistent with acute digestive infection after the ship's captain alerted French authorities on Tuesday evening, according to a joint statement. The affected passengers were treated by the ship's doctor and isolated in their cabins.
A medical team supervised by France's maritime medical coordination service, under the authority of the maritime prefect, was dispatched to the Ambition. Samples are being analyzed by the infectious diseases department of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Bordeaux to identify the pathogen, assess transmission risks and determine further measures. All shore excursions at Bordeaux were canceled and affected passengers offered full refunds.
"Once clearance is granted, guests will be permitted to disembark," Ambassador Cruise Line said in a Facebook post. The company said enhanced sanitation and prevention measures had been introduced immediately on the vessel, and that 48 passengers and one crew member were displaying gastrointestinal symptoms as of late Wednesday morning. Ambassador said its data showed gastrointestinal cases rose after passengers boarded in Liverpool on May 9.
The Ambition was midway through a 14-night cruise from Belfast and Liverpool that was due to take in ports in northern Spain and along France's Atlantic coast. It was carrying mostly British or Irish nationals and one French national when it arrived in Bordeaux.
A 92-year-old British passenger died on board the Ambition of cardiac arrest on Monday during a stop in Brest, Brittany, according to the Gironde prefecture, which said the death did not appear to be associated with the gastrointestinal outbreak. Ambassador said the 92-year-old male passenger died on Sunday, had not reported symptoms consistent with the gastrointestinal illness, and that his cause of death was yet to be established by a coroner.
The joint statement said there was no reason to establish a link between the gastrointestinal outbreak aboard the Ambition and the hantavirus cases detected aboard the MV Hondius. The hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius last month prompted a multi-country response and the hospitalization of passengers in Britain, France, Spain and the United States, with three passengers dying and nine confirmed cases recorded, along with two further suspected cases.
Ambassador Cruise Line is a no-fly British operator targeting passengers over 50, founded in 2021 by Christian Verhounig, the former chief executive of Cruise & Maritime Voyages. Gastroenteritis commonly causes vomiting and diarrhea and, while highly contagious, is usually not serious although it can lead to dehydration. Viruses can spread quickly in enclosed spaces, making gastrointestinal outbreaks relatively common on cruise ships. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 16 gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships in 2024, most caused by norovirus and linked to a new strain, and reported four such outbreaks on cruise ships visiting U.S. ports so far in 2026, including cases linked to E. coli and norovirus.