1,747 people can't leave cruise ship in France after man, 92, dies

A cruise ship carrying 1,747 people was stranded in Bordeaux, France, after an outbreak of gastroenteritis during its voyage and a man died of an unrelated cause.

The vessel, named Ambition, was stranded on May 13, Reuters and CNN reported.

Ambition is operated by the British cruise line Ambassador Cruise Line.

The ship was scheduled to sail around France and Spain after picking up passengers from Belfast and Liverpool in the United Kingdom on May 8 and 9.

Affected

Up to 50 passengers on board the ship were affected by symptoms consistent with gastroenteritis.

Those who were unwell were treated on board the ship by the vessel’s medical team.

They were also instructed to self-isolate.

Those on board comprised 1,233 passengers, most of them British and Irish, and 514 crew members.

One passenger was a French national.

Some of the passengers were allowed to disembark the ship on the evening of May 13.

French health authorities added they would need to take precautionary health measures, such as washing their hands.

Cardiac arrest

On May 11, a 92-year-old man, identified as a Briton, died on board while the vessel was docked in Brest, Brittany.

He was believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest.

His death did not appear to be associated with the gastroenteritis outbreak.

No reason to link outbreak with Hantavirus

French health authorities said there is no reason to link the gastroenteritis outbreak with the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius Dutch cruise ship.

Gastroenteritis is a stomach flu, a type of gastrointestinal illness.

These illnesses can be common on cruise ships.

In 2026, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported two outbreaks of E. coli and two outbreaks of ​norovirus on cruise ships.

Main symptoms include vomiting and diarrhoea.

It is contagious, but its consequences are not typically major.

However, it can lead to severe symptoms, such as dehydration.

The gastrointestinal illness is unlike the Hantavirus, which has a high lethality rate that requires close contact to be transmitted from person to person in rare cases.