French Authorities Finally Release Illness-Plagued Cruise Ship

After a tense day of waiting in Bordeaux, France, Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambition has finally been cleared by health authorities and the up to 1,727 passengers onboard can finally go ashore.

Earlier on May 13, Cruise Hive reported that the ship was held in port by local health authorities for testing in response to gastrointestinal illness onboard, which has been confirmed as norovirus. The number of cases has not been publicly disclosed.

By the night of May 13, the ship was formally cleared and passengers were given permission to disembark.

“Ambassador Cruise Line can confirm that the ship has been cleared, following laboratory analysis undertaken in Bordeaux, French health authorities have completed their review of the health situation onboard Ambition and confirmed that the gastrointestinal illness affecting a number of guests and crew is viral gastroenteritis (norovirus),” the cruise line shared in an update on social media.

“Ambition has now been released by the relevant French health authorities to continue normal operations. Guests are now able to disembark and all scheduled shore excursions will be operating as planned tomorrow,” the cruise line continued.

Understandably, all shore excursions were cancelled for May 13. But as this is an overnight visit, guests will get another change to partake in tours and/or explore on their own on Thursday, May 14. The ship won’t depart until 6 p.m. local time.

Given the fact that this is an overnight visit and the hold was released in less than a day, there will be no itinerary changes to the remainder of the 14-night itinerary.

The 48,200-gross ton vessel is still scheduled to visit Ferrol, Gijon, and Bilbao in Spain and La Rochelle and Lorient in France before disembarking on May 22, 2026, in Belfast, Ireland.

An additional 14-night itinerary, which embarked one day later, will disembark in Liverpool, England, the following day, May 23.

No Serious Cases Reported

The niche cruise brand also used this update as an opportunity to put a stop to panic within the cruise community and the rumors that have been fueling the fire.

First, the cruise line confirmed that a 92-year-old guest did pass away during the current sailing, but their death is not believed to be related to norovirus. The man reported no gastrointestinal symptoms.

“At this stage, no serious cases have been reported. We can confirm that a 92-year-old male guest on the sailing sadly passed away on 10 May 2026. The guest did not report GII illness symptoms,” Ambassador Cruise Line confirmed.

Most of the time, norovirus isn’t life threatening, though it can be for vulnerable populations such as the elderly or very young children. According to the Mayo Clinic, most people recover in one to three days.

Additionally, the illness plaguing Ambition is not connected to any other current or recent cruise ship outbreaks, including the norovirus outbreak onboard Caribbean Princess and the hantavirus crisis unfolding onboard MV Hondius.

These cruise ships were never even in the same place. Prior to arriving in Bordeaux, Ambition was in Belfast, Liverpool, and Brest, France.

Meanwhile, Caribbean Princess is operating in the Caribbean and MV Hondius was stranded off the coast of Cape Verde, Africa.

Increased Sanitation in Place Onboard

In order to mitigate further spread, Ambassador Cruise Line has implemented enhanced sanitation and cleaning measures onboard.

This includes isolating symptomatic guests, encouraging hand washing, increased sanitizing of public spaces and high-touch surfaces, and monitoring the well being of all guests and the approximately 670 crew members.

Guests are encouraged to report any symptoms they may be experiencing, and GI consultations in the onboard medical center are being offered free of charge.

“Throughout this period, the health, safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew have remained our highest priority. Enhanced sanitation measures, medical monitoring and isolation procedures remain in place across the ship in accordance with EU SHIPSHAN public health protocols. Medical consultations relating to GII continue to be provided free of charge,” the cruise line stated.

Guests booked on Ambition’s upcoming sailings, which depart from Belfast and Liverpool on May 22 and 23, should look out for possible communication from the cruise line regarding possible changes to embarkation.

Sometimes, cruise lines will delay the arrival of new guests to allow for a more thorough cleaning of the ship and the cruise terminal when outbreaks occur.