Mystery outbreak affects passengers aborad Royal Caribbean cruise
The outbreak occurred after the ship departed from Los Angeles on July 4, with the vessel docking in Puerto Vallarta on July 8 and returning to Los Angeles on July 11.
Passengers who reported illness were isolated, and the ship underwent a thorough cleaning, with stool samples also collected for testing.
The CDC has not yet determined the cause of the outbreak, though vomiting and diarrhea are common signs of norovirus.
This incident follows a similar outbreak last September, when 180 people became sick on Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas during an Alaska cruise.
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Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
Five essential things to know before you board a Hebridean Island Cruises ship
Hebridean Princess is one of cruising's most unusual ships. Under its previous name, Columba, it was commissioned by the Ministry of Defence in 1964 as a floating nuclear bunker for VIPs during the Cold War, then used as a car ferry before being converted to carry overnight passengers. Even then, there was still some vehicle space, so guests could drive around the islands it visited. In its present form, as a cruise ship for 48 passengers, it was chartered twice by the late Queen for royal holidays. The 28 cabins, spread over four of the five decks, are named after Scottish landmarks. There's a brick inglenook fireplace in the lounge and a Welsh dresser with plates in a corridor, enhancing the atmosphere of a laird's country house at sea. As well as the Columba restaurant, the ship has a small library, two bars and a shop. In 2020, Hebridean Island Cruises, headquartered in Yorkshire, acquired Lord of the Glens – now mainly chartered out to groups – followed a year later by Lord of the Highlands. Prices for a week start at £2,670pp and can top £14,000 for the best cabin on Hebridean Princess at the height of the season; however, fares include drinks, tips and excursions. 1. Where does Hebridean Island Cruises sail? From its home port of Oban, just over a three-hour train ride, or 100-mile road journey from Glasgow, Hebridean Princess visits the Inner Hebrides, such as Skye and Mull – with its colourful capital Tobermory – and smaller islands including Rum, Islay and Iona. Other itineraries take it to the Outer Hebrides islands of Lewis, and Harris, or as far as the remote archipelago of St Kilda. Heading north-east the ship also offers calls to Orkney and Shetland or goes down to Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Wales, the Channel Islands and Isles of Scilly, or the south coast of England and northern France. Some 'surprise' cruises are left to the captain's choice of favourite destinations. Lord of the Glens and Lord of the Highlands are both small enough to head inland to the Caledonian Canal and Great Glen, sailing between Inverness and Fort William. Excursions include the Culloden battlefield and Clava Cairns – the inspiration for the Outlander time travel series – before a cruise along Loch Ness and through the magnificent flight of eight locks known as Neptune's Staircase. However, the two ships also head into open water as far as the Inner Hebrides and the west coast, often passing what is regarded as one of the most picturesque Scottish castles, Eilean Donan. Lord of the Highlands also sails as far as Orkney. On all three ships, expect plenty of excursions to do with history, whisky and Scottish produce, including cheese, oysters and honey. You may get the chance to call into the most remote pub on the British mainland, The Old Forge at Inverie, or enjoy a champagne reception at Duart Castle, the seat of Clan Maclean. Some itineraries include specialist speakers on subjects including gardens, music and the local wildlife, such as red deer, seals and seabirds. 2. Who does Hebridean Island Cruises appeal to? The line's average age is 75, with 95 per cent coming from the UK. The rest are American, Canadian, New Zealanders and Europeans. They are loyal, too, with 70 per cent of passengers having sailed with the line before. This is slow travel, with occasional itinerary changes due to weather, but many customers come along primarily for the journey, the food and the company. They're also the sort of people who think a minimum of £5,340 for a couple on a week-long cruise in or around Scotland is good value for the high standard of service and quality of locally sourced ingredients on board. If you're the kind of cruiser who enjoys a theatre, casino, spa or a laundry service, this definitely isn't for you – although walkers will enjoy the island stops and photographers will revel in the changing scenery and abundant wildlife. Hebridean Princess also has bicycles on board for those wishing to explore on two wheels. People-watching and getting to know your fellow passengers on these small ships is fascinating – organised entertainment is limited to the occasional visit from musicians and country dancers. Children under 12 are not allowed to sail. 3. The fleet Hebridean Princess (48 passengers) This sturdy cruise ship is the only one ever to have received a royal warrant and celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2024. Although fitted with 21st-century technology, the vessel still boasts its Manchester-made machinery and preserves an engine order telegraph communications device on it. Tartan furnishings and a small decanter of complimentary whisky in each cabin help preserve the Scottish spirit. Even the porridge is offered 'with a wee dram should you wish'. Sails to Inner and Outer Hebrides, West Coast of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Wales, Channel Isles, Isles of Scilly, south coast of England, Northern France. Lord of the Glens (50 passengers) The royal yacht Britannia, now moored as a tourist attraction at Leith, near Edinburgh, gave the inspiration for the ship's refurbishment from an Aegean Sea ferry when it belonged to the magnificently named Magna Carta Steam Ship Company. Now part of the Hebridean Island Cruises fleet, Lord of the Glens is not often on general sale, but is mainly used for groups and charters. The upper deck is the social hub of the ship, with a bar, lounge and outside terraces. Sails to Caledonian Canal and Great Glen, Inner Hebrides, West Coast of Scotland Lord of the Highlands (38 passengers) This very Scottish-looking ship is a long way from home, having started life in 2012 as a ferry that carried up to 700 passengers between Greece and Turkey. It took three years to convert to its current use. The upper deck has a restaurant, bar and lounge with panoramic windows, and an outdoor bow balcony. Twelve cabins sit on the same level as the bridge below. The lowest deck includes a suite with windows to both port and starboard. Sails to Caledonian Canal and Great Glen, Inner Hebrides, West Coast of Scotland, Orkney 4. Loyalty scheme The line does not run a loyalty scheme, however loyalty savings up to 5 per cent are available for regular guests at certain times of the year. 5. Access for guests with disabilities None of the ships are accessible – there are no lifts and no adapted rooms. Going ashore from Hebridean Princess when the ship itself is unable to dock is by one of the two boats, Shona and Sanda, or a beach landing by zodiac inflatable.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Inside the town addicted to Coca-Cola where residents drink 800L every YEAR and children are bottle-fed with soft drink for heartbreaking reason
In a remote mountain town where clean drinking water is considered a luxury, locals are turning to Coca-Cola - and not just for refreshment. In Mexico 's poorest and southernmost state of Chiapas, fizzy drinks are deeply ingrained in the local culture. And in the town of San Cristobal de las Casas, the obsession has spiralled out of control, with some residents guzzling up to two litres of Coca-Cola every day, or around 800 litres a year, according to the Chiapas and Southern Border Multidisciplinary Research Center. The iconic red and white logos line shop shelves, street stalls and even sacred shrines. And the town's obsession with Coca-Cola does not stop there, as some residents are even known to fill their children's baby bottles with Coke instead of milk. An hour away from San Cristobal, in the Indigenous town of San Andres, locals consider the fizzy beverage liquid gold. Shamans will use it as part of their religious ceremonies and regularly pray over bottles of Coca-Cola as they carry out rituals. Fridges stocked with bottles of Coke sit next to their sacred shrines, ready to sell to faithful locals who use them as offerings, as many believe the drink has healing powers. But religion is not the only reason for the state's dependency on Coca-Cola, and behind the ritual lies a dark reality. With a growing population, safe drinking water has become increasingly scarce in the area, with some neighbourhoods only having access to running water a few times a week. Just seven percent of households in Chiapas believe their water is safe to drink, according to a 2023 national survey, forcing many to buy bottled water or the fizzy drink, which is just as cheap. A local plant owned by Femsa, a food and drink conglomerate that owns the rights to bottle and sell Coca-Cola in Latin America, is allowed to extract more than 1.3 million litres of water a day as part of a concession with the federal government, all while local communities struggle to find safe drinking water. Critics believe the multinational is guilty of having created a web of addiction. Doctor Marcos Arana, who campaigns against the power and influence of Coca-Cola, says that 'Coca-Cola has developed a strategy precisely so that it's available anywhere. 'They convince consumers to sell soft drinks on a small scale and obviously generates many captive customers'. The crisis goes back to 1994, when Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which paved the way for cheap and accessible soft drinks. As a result, Coca-Cola has flooded the market and has become embedded in Mexico's daily life and culture. But Coca-Cola's popularity has led to a 'catastrophic' obesity crisis in Chiapas, health officials say, with several residents now suffering from Type 2 diabetes. Mexico's children consume more junk food than anywhere else in Latin America, according to UNICEF, which classifies the nation's childhood obesity epidemic as an emergency. Sugary drinks and highly processed foods account for 40 percent of the total calories that children consume in a day, the agency reports. One third of Mexican children are already considered overweight or obese, according to government statistics. A 2020 study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed Mexico stands to lose the greatest amount of life expectancy - an average of at least four years - due to obesity-related problems. In coming years, the country could lose over five percent of its GDP to obesity-related problems, including lost work hours and health costs. Health authorities say about 39 percent of Mexicans are overweight and 36 percent are obese. About 10 percent of Mexicans have some form of diabetes. In Coca-Cola-addicted Chiapas, which boasts a population of more than 5,000, people die from diabetes-related illnesses, making it the second leading cause of death after heart disease in the state. Obesity levels in Chiapas are largely linked to the consumption to the high-calorie sugary drink.
Times
15 hours ago
- Times
Casa Chablé hotel review: romantic barefoot escapism in Mexico
Enveloped by coconut palms, Casa Chablé sits on a skinny jungly peninsula of the protected Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve, sandwiched between the beautiful turquoise Caribbean Sea and an inland chalky green lagoon where wildlife roams. It's reached by an exciting (but expensive) 35-minute boat ride or a 90-minute car trip from Tulum, and the location on a wild stretch of beach is nothing short of spectacular. Smart bungalows dot the softest of sand and are backed by a restaurant, a beautiful underutilised lobby designed by the Mexican architect Paulina Morán and a small, oblong pool. Locals, who know the lay of the land intricately, lead boat trips to spot jumping dolphins, surfacing manatees, marine turtles, rays and flamingoes, and glimpsing bioluminescence in the lagoon under the stars is a particularly unmissable experience. The service is excellent, thanks to a fabulous team of attentive staff that tend to your every need. This article contains affiliate links that will earn us revenue Score 10/10Casa Chablé's light eco-footprint accommodates just five guest rooms and five thatched wooden bungalows on the sand. The pick of the bunch is the master beachfront bungalow Hunab Ku — translated as 'the beginning of everything' — which stands apart from the other rooms and gives the impression of being cocooned by its own private beach. A large terrace with an alfresco shower is perfect for early morning coffee and croissants, delivered to your door, as well as watching the sunrise and the raccoon-like coatis that mooch about the sand. The spacious bungalows, designed in natural tones of biscuit, cream and cocoa, and accented with Yucatec-made bedspreads, come with their own hammocks, fat-cushioned sunloungers and tipis. The rooms, found in the main building behind the lobby, are equally attractive although smaller and while all bathrooms have showers, only some come with tubs. The hotel's eco focus is genuinely impressive: 1,848 solar panels generate 60 per cent of the property's energy needs and its own water plant recycles and purifies the supply by reverse osmosis. Score 10/10Meals are served by the delightful staff in K'úum, a handsome open-sided restaurant on stilts overlooking the palm-dotted sand and ocean. The menu riffs on regional Mexican cuisine: examples include Yucatec cochinita pibil (slow-roasted marinated pork) and local sausage with a reduction of black beans; tacos al pastor, hailing from Puebla, served with octopus rather than the traditional pork; and Oaxacan tlayuda, a toasted tortilla dish, covered in refried beans, avocado, Oaxaca cheese, pepian (rich Guatemalan meat stew), roast cauliflower and a delicious roasted asparagus purée. You'll need a week to savour everything from the menus. Breakfasts of eggs, fabulous chilaquiles (fried tortillas covered with a variety of ingredients), acai bowls or pancakes are full of flavour. And be sure to take one of your dinners at a lantern-lit romantic spot set up on the beach, or at a pop-up with candlelight arranged amid the hotel's extensive orchard and vegetable garden. Dishes might include tuna with ponzu sauce, coriander and amaranth tostadas, and the most citrusy of ceviches. Elsewhere, expect moreish cocktails like margarita de Jamaica, made with Cointreau, lemon juice, orange and strawberries. • Best hotels in Tulum• Cancun v Tulum: which is better? Score 9/10A small gym and a spa are found tucked away near the hotel lobby where great massages are as rhythmic as the sound of the waves you can hear. On offer too are sound-healing experiences and a shamanic ceremony at the boat dock for all guests as the sun sets (it's here that you can spy bioluminescence at night under the stars). You can walk or bike along the main peninsula track to spot small Mayan ruins and some of the 300 species of birds found here, and the hotel offers a huge array of complimentary wellness and wildlife tours including snorkelling and kayaking. Score 9/10For lovers of wild beaches, the natural world and dark skies, this is a small slice of heaven on earth in a Unesco-protected nature reserve. Those looking for a Tulum party scene may not feel entirely comfortable here. The local boat trip is a must. Price B&B doubles from £550Restaurant mains from £13Family-friendly YAccessible N Claire Boobbyer was a guest of Casa Chablé ( • Best beaches in Tulum and Cancun• Discover our full guide to Mexico
