FOR two years Paul Hughes and Francine Miller planned a wedding at sea. The Northampton couple spent £4,000 on their big day and invited 20 friends and relatives.

Last Saturday they stepped aboard the Sea Princess for their first cruise, during which Captain James Burgess would perform the ceremony.

Waiting for them on the bed in their cabin was a letter that read: “Dear Princess Passenger. During the last few days of the previous voyage on Sea Princess, there was an increased incidence of gastrointestinal illness aboard.”

It was suspected that this illness — which leads to violent bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea — was caused by a norovirus, the bug that would cause the Maritime and Coastal Agency to bar another cruiser, the Van Gogh, from leaving port in Essex the next day.

Passengers unfortunate enough to catch it could expect symptoms to last two days and would be confined to cabins for a further two days. They should immediately contact the ship’s medical centre, the letter said, adding: “There will not be a charge for this service.”

Other passengers had noted that the ship’s mooring at Southampton had been some distance from other departing liners, and that the itinerary for their seven-day Mediterranean voyage had been altered, which the management said was to avoid shore trips coinciding with those of other ships.

This resulted in a visit to Guernsey at 7am on a rainy Sunday morning and an excursion into La Rochelle during a French Bank Holiday. The most popular shore break, to Lisbon, was cancelled.

“By the time we knew about the virus, we couldn’t get off,” said Dennis Tennant, of Chichester, West Sussex, who was travelling with his wife and four children. “We wouldn’t have gone. Our youngest, Charlotte, is 14 months. She crawls around and puts everything in her mouth.”

Charlotte began vomiting on Sunday night. “They couldn’t give her injections and she couldn’t keep the rehydration salts down. The doctors said they couldn’t do anything. We were so worried.” Soon her mother and elder sister were suffering the same symptoms.

“It felt like someone ripping your stomach open,” Suzanne Wilson, 44, a mother of two from Bath, said. “My son says it was worse than having his appendix out. The four of us were stuck in a tiny cabin, taking turns to use the toilet.”

The Sea Princess usually accommodates 1,950 passengers, but in this half-term week she had 2,258. Princess Cruises said that 250 caught the virus, including 18 crew.

Passengers complained of staff shortages and said that room service was engaged constantly. In the theatre, a string quartet adjusted to being a trio. The wedding of Francine Miller and Paul Hughes, in the Bay of Biscay, was a hurried affair. “I was cleared to come out of my cabin only an hour before the service,” Mr Hughes said. “Most people did attend, though not for very long. I couldn’t shake hands with the captain, but at least I was allowed to kiss the bride.”

His wife fell ill that evening and remained in her cabin until the final night of the cruise. “I don’t think I will ever forget my wedding,” she said.

Not all the passengers told such stories yesterday in Southampton. “We had a brilliant time,” Sandra Stubbs, 42, from Worthing, said. “We won $140 (£75) at blackjack, the food was delicious and the Elton John impersonator was ever so lifelike.” They disembarked to the sound of disinfectant spray.

Many passengers want a full discount; Princess Cruises has so far offered a 30 per cent refund and £150 in vouchers.

Peter Shanks, a director, said that there was “no evidence the latest outbreak was carried over from the previous cruise”. Nevertheless, Sea Princess was brought home a day early for a more thorough cleaning.

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