Illness outbreak aboard ship forces Florida cruise delay

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – An outbreak of intestinal illness among passengers on Royal Caribbean International's Radiance of the Sea cruise ship has delayed the next sailing so the ship can be sanitized, the company said in a statement on Saturday.

Radiance of the Seas returned to the Port of Tampa Saturday morning from a five day cruise to Costa Maya and Cozumel in Mexico and was scheduled to leave Saturday night for the same ports. Royal Caribbean said the sailing would be delayed by five hours while the ship is cleaned.

"During Radiance of the Seas' last sailing, a number of guests experienced some gastrointestinal illness," Royal Caribbean said. "In an abundance of caution, we will conduct some enhanced sanitizing on board the ship and within the cruise terminal to help prevent any illness from affecting the next sailing.

"If you have experienced any gastrointestinal symptoms during the past three days, we ask that you please consider rescheduling your cruise," the company told passengers.

The ship can hold 2,500 passengers.