As many as 91 cruisegoers have been struck down by a norovirus aboard the Sun Princess cruise ship, which experienced back-to-back outbreaks in February.

Passengers afflicted with the virus during a 10-day cruise of the South Pacific suffered diarrhoea and vomiting, among other symptoms.

The Sun Princess can carry 2010 passengers and 924 crew.

Norovirus outbreaks occurred onboard the ship twice during February, as the ship sailed into Brisbane from Papua New Guinea and then on to New Zealand.

At the time, cleaning procedures came under question. but parent company Carnival Cruises insisted all precautions were taken to limit the spread of such viruses.

A Carnival spokesman would not confirm numbers afflicted with norovirus on the latest cruise, but said the virus was currently widespread in the general community in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

“Proactive and successful steps were taken on board Sun Princess to limit any spread of the illness,” he said.

“The first case was reported on day one of the cruise, suggesting the illness was introduced to the ship during embarkation in Brisbane.”

The spokesman said “out of abundance of caution”, deep cleansing was conducted on the ship and in the terminal for the ship’s turnaround in Brisbane on Thursday.

That had resulted in a slight delay in the ship’s scheduled departure.

Passengers who contract infectious illnesses during a cruise are generally confined to their cabin until symptoms ease.

– ABC