Historic Cuba cruise returns to U.S. with suspected outbreak
MIAMI - Passengers on the historic first cruise ship to Cuba in decades have returned to South Florida on Sunday morning.
The ship, the Carnival Adonia, part of the new Fathom fleet, will have to get a cleaning when it gets back because several passengers got sick while onboard.
It arrived at the Port of Miami around 6:30 a.m.
It was a week ago that the ship left South Florida on its journey to Cuba.
This marked the first time in fifty years that a vessel has made its way to Cuba, making it a historic and important day for many passengers that took the trip.
Cruise ships stopped crossing the Florida Straits from the U.S. after a brief window in the late 1970s when President Jimmy Carter allowed virtually all U.S. travel to Cuba. U.S. cruises to Cuba once again become possible after Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro declared detente on Dec. 17, 2014.
While heading back to Miami, there were reports that several passengers were sick.
Fourteen passengers reported being sick with stomach-related symptoms.
Carnival released a statement confirming that fourteen passengers were recovering, according to the doctor on the ship.
It's believed that they were suffering from a norovirus but the cruise line has not yet confirmed that.