An outbreak on a British cruise ship that followed the death of an elderly passenger from a heart attack has been blamed on a gastrointestinal virus, and has been declared over in France after the asymptomatic passengers were released.

In the past, the authorities had ordered the vessel to be locked down for the more than 1,700 passengers and crew on board, but there had been no link to the hantavirus outbreak that has been suspected of killing three people aboard the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius cruise ship, raising international alarm.

Samples taken showed the outbreak on the Ambition cruise ship was “a gastrointestinal infection of viral origin,” the local government and regional health agency said in a statement.

There were no severe cases, they said, and the asymptomatic passengers could now get off board, but the infected passengers had to stay on board to be kept in isolation.

The death of a 92-year-old British passenger, as a dozen others were upset with their stomachs, brought news of the ship’s death to the forefront.

However, health officials indicated that the man had had a heart attack and that his death did not seem to be related to the illnesses.

They said, “At this point, there is no connection with the gastroenteritis episode.

His body was left on board, “in accordance with international conventions”, port authorities said.

A passenger from Belfast says: ‘People just getting on with their lives as normal’

There were 80 people aboard with “symptoms of an acute digestive infection” since Monday, authorities said.

It was issued as an “abundance of caution” and to “avoid psychosis”, they said, in view of the worldwide concern over the hantavirus outbreak on the Hondius, which departed from Argentina and is now returning to the Netherlands after it was evacuated.

Operated by the British and Irish-owned Ambassador Cruise Line company, the Ambition was in Bordeaux yesterday with 1,233 passengers, mainly from Britain and Ireland, and 514 crew.

One of the passengers who was trapped in the lockdown, Belfast’s Seos Guilidhe (52), messaged reporters on Facebook as he was “playing bingo”.

This is not as bad as Covid when everyone was locked down, he wrote, “We are on board with additional sanitation protocols in place. People are just going about as normal.

It was possible to spot passengers taking pictures of the French city on the deck.

Mr Guilidhe later texted a message saying that they are allowed to leave the ship, that restrictions have been lifted.

Others weren’t so lucky.

An infected passenger wrote on Facebook, “Two of us in one cabin with the bug is a challenge.”

On Monday, the ship was docked in Brest, where passengers on board the Ambition exhibited the symptoms of the infection at its highest, according to officials.

The dead man passed away before the cruise liner arrived at the port in the far north-west of Brittany in France.

Set out from the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland on 6 May, the ship was first detained in Belfast and then in Liverpool, England, before sailing for Bordeaux, and then ultimately for Spain.

It was initially supposed to dock back in Liverpool on 22 May.

The cruise line company posted an update on Facebook stating their data indicated that the number of sick passengers rose on board from Liverpool on Saturday.

Ambassador Cruise Line said in a statement to RTÉ News that “enhanced sanitation and prevention protocols were immediately put in place on the ship in accordance with public health protocols upon hearing about the initial illness” earlier.

The extensive health and safety protocols put in place involve enhanced cleaning and disinfecting protocols in public spaces, assisted service on specific dining facilities and continued guidance to passengers on hand hygiene, such as regular hand washing, hand sanitisers, and immediately informing the medical team on board of any symptoms.

The ship’s medical team is supporting and isolating any guests or crew with symptoms as recommended by EU SHIPSHAN public health guidelines, and consultations are being made available free of charge.