Cruise that became the holiday from hell

The Sea Princess, part of the Princess Cruises fleet, left Southampton for a seven-night European tour last Saturday but had to return to its home port a day ahead of schedule to be disinfected.

Philip Wilson, 50, who became ill along with his wife Suzanne, 44, and children Emily, 15, and James, 12, said: "It was a holiday from hell. That's not even describing it. It was worse than that."

Mr Wilson, from Radstock, near Bath, said the ship's staff could not cope because many of them were sick as well.

"It was just a nightmare. The World Health Organisation recommends 48-hour isolation but they released me after 24 hours and told me to go back into circulation.

"My wife then went down with it after 24 hours and they isolated her for 48 hours. They told me they didn't think it was serious at first to keep us isolated for 48 hours."

Mr Wilson added: "How would you feel if you had paid 2,000 for a cruise and spent seven days in a cabin with very limited food and drink?

"It was like being in a prison cell, except prisoners get treated better."

Passengers said they were informed of the first outbreak when they got to their cabins on Saturday, when a precautionary health notice through their door advised of widespread "norovirus activity".

Mr Wilson said the captain eventually announced: "We tried to disinfect the ship in Southampton and obviously we didn't do a good enough job."

David Cordon, 40, who married his wife Michelle, 27, on board the ship, said the virus had ruined the wedding.

Mr Cordon, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, said his brother and father also caught the virus.

He said: "My father-in-law was especially bad and he was just able to walk his daughter down the aisle, then he had to go straight away.

Norovirus lasts 48 hours and causes vomiting and diaorrhea. It affects between 600,000 and a million people in the UK each year and is easily transmitted by human contact, eating contaminated food or touching contaminated surfaces.

Princess has offered a 30 per cent refund and a 150 voucher per person towards a future cruise to the 2,258 passengers on the trip.

But passengers leaving the ship reacted angrily to the offer.

Peter Shanks, a company spokesman, said most passengers had recovered and only about eight were still ill.

He told the BBC the illness had not originated on board but had been brought from onshore.

The ship will be disinfected and will sail as scheduled on her next cruise from Southampton today at 5pm, Carnival said.