Mercury cruise ship returning early after passengers again fall ill

Carrying hundreds of passengers ill with a stomach bug, the cruise ship Celebrity Mercury plans to return to Charleston a day early on Thursday.

This voyage marks the third local embarkation in which passengers fell sick with what appears to be norovirus. Cynthia Martinez, a spokeswoman for Celebrity’s parent company, Royal Caribbean Cruises, said 342 out of 1,829 passengers became ill this trip.

The cruise will forego a call in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, Martinez said, as the crew continues conducting “enhanced cleaning” in coordination with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Daniel Hanrahan, Celebrity president and chief executive, apologized to passengers in a written statement.

“I have made this decision to delay the sailing, because we want to maintain our high health standards onboard our ships while providing our guests with the best cruise experience possible,” Hanrahan said. “The extra time we are taking to sanitize the ship will help prevent any additional guests from becoming ill.”

Passengers will receive an onboard credit for one day of the cruise fare and a future certificate for 25 percent of the fare paid, according to Martinez.

The Mercury departed Charleston on March 8 and stopped in San Juan, Puerto; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten and Basseterre, St. Kitts. Martinez said Celebrity continues working on its plans for subsequent sailings planned from Charleston, the next of which is scheduled to depart Friday.

For more details, see Tuesday’s editions of The Post and Courier.

Reach Allyson Bird at 937-5594 or abird@postandcourier.com.