Cruise ship held up 1 day in port for cleaning

Departure of the Celebrity Mercury was delayed by 24 hours Friday to allow cleaning crews an extra day to sanitize the ship, which had an outbreak of a stomach bug on its last cruise.

New passengers streamed into the State Ports Authority's Cruise Terminal in the afternoon, expecting to board the ship and be on their way at 5 p.m. They were forbidden to board and told their departure had been postponed until today.

Three officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention boarded the ship Friday morning to monitor the cleanup of the norovirus that sickened more than 400 passengers and dozens of crew members on the ship's last cruise.

Passengers who live more than a two-hour drive from Charleston were being put up in area hotels, compliments of the cruise line. All guests were being credited $50 for any extra expenses incurred, plus a $20 credit some already had been given.

To accommodate the delay, the cruise's itinerary was shortened by a day, with a planned call in Key West,

Fla., being canceled. Passengers who sail today were to be given on on-board credit for two-days worth of their fare and a 25 percent discount on future Celebrity cruise bookings, according to a letter to passengers signed by Celebrity President Daniel Hanrahan.

Byron Miller, a spokesman for the State Ports Authority, said the authority worked with Celebrity and the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau all day to help stranded passengers enjoy their unexpected time in Charleston. He said the hotels and restaurants in the city welcome the extra business generated by the layover.

Absolutely Charleston shuttled hundreds of guests to the Mills House Hotel and the Riviera Theater, where staff with the CVB provided brochures and suggestions for killing time.

CVB Executive Director Helen Hill said her organization essentially set up "satellite visitors centers" after collaborating with Celebrity, the State Ports Authority and the city.

"Because we have this extra time with them, we want to make sure they take a motorized tour, a walking tour or a carriage tour, or go to a historic attraction -- or both -- and have a really nice lunch," Hill said. "We want the most economic impact for the city as possible. Cruises have so many first-time visitors to Charleston."

At the terminal Friday afternoon, out-of-town passengers were being huddled onto tour buses for trips to local hotels. Those who live in the Charleston area were trying to make other arrangements.

Brian Allen, 31, of Charleston said he was really looking forward to the 10-night cruise. He and a friend had been planning the trip since last spring.

Allen said he was aware there had been a virus outbreak on the previous cruise and expected there might be some minor delays. He didn't expect to have to get someone to pick him up and take him back home Friday.

"When we got here, we were told we couldn't go on the ship." He didn't learn he would have to spend another night in Charleston until an SPA police officer handed him a copy of the letter from Celebrity's president.

Late Friday afternoon, Allen was having trouble locating his luggage, which had been shuttled to a local hotel. He wanted to gather it up and take it back home.

Allen said he was still looking forward to the cruise despite the delay, and he was not worried about getting sick. "I am a healthy person," he said. He and his friend planned on washing their hands frequently while on board, he said.

Earlier Friday, passengers disembarking from the Mercury shared stories of the ship's singers and dancers toting disinfectants, and dinner parties bumping elbows instead of shaking hands as a norovirus outbreak spread to hundreds of people onboard. The cruise began Feb. 15.

One local man made a retching sound as he hustled away from the passenger terminal and, asked if he would cruise again, said, "No comment."

But most travelers exited the ship in good spirits, praising the Mercury's staffers for their response to the illness.

Columbia resident Sarah Bennett, who did not contract norovirus, said all self-service, including buffets, was halted after the Mercury staff realized a stomach bug was spreading.

"They would not let us touch anything," Bennett said. "Even the silverware, they had to hand to you."

Disembarking passengers spoke of a rumor that the outbreak stemmed to a Caribbean excursion that included punch and cookies, but Celebrity spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said the source remained unknown.

Concord, N.C., resident Kenneth Thompson said he spent a day in quarantine after falling ill with norovirus. A nurse came by his room to check his vital signs and asked that he remain isolated in his room for a day while his wife and the couple they traveled with toured Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Celebrity credited quarantined passengers for lost time, which meant a cash refund for Columbia residents Howard and Sue Rheiner to compensate them for the day she spent in their room recovering. Howard Rheiner said the trip marked the couple's 30th cruise and 16th voyage with Celebrity.

"It can happen on the best of ships," he said, adding that once staff identified the sickness, they sanitized everything from casino chips to seat cushions.

Passengers also learned a new nighttime greeting, Rheiner said. He and his wife demonstrated from the sidewalk outside the terminal by bumping elbows.

"We called it the 'norvo handshake,' " Rheiner said.

Tupelo, Miss., resident Matt Matthews fell ill during the first wave of norovirus before the extent of the outbreak became clear. His wife, Alene Matthews, said passengers seemed upbeat despite the empty dinner chairs and missed excursions.

"We were just concerned," she said. "There were a lot of older people."

Mount Pleasant resident Patrick Thornton said his 83-year-old father-in-law slipped into cardiac arrest after falling ill with norovirus. His mother-in-law performed CPR and called in medical staff.

She promised to call if her husband's status changed as they headed home from the Caribbean. Back in Mount Pleasant, the Thorntons kept the phone close by, grateful it never rang.

Reach Allyson Bird at 937-5594 or abird@postandcourier.com. Reach David W. MacDougall at macdougd@postandcourier.com or 937-5655.