Passengers disinfected their hands after disembarking from the liner

The Black Prince set out last weekend on a seven-night cruise of the Norwegian fjords.

However, 136 cases of what was thought to be the Norovirus were confirmed on the Fred Olsen cruise liner.

Its next sailing will be delayed until Sunday so that the liner can be thoroughly disinfected.

The virus causes severe vomiting and diarrhoea and usually affects sufferers for between 24 and 48 hours. The company said passengers who were infected were confined to their cabins.

The ship arrived back at Leith Docks on Saturday morning and 80 passengers who still had symptoms of the bug were declared fit to travel by the ship's medical staff.

The passengers disembarked at 0830 BST to the strains of a bagpiper.

We've been looking forward to this trip for a long time, it's cost a lot of money...and we've had nothing, absolutely nothing Passenger Ron Milward

The 11,209-tonne vessel had left Leith Docks on 3 June for a tour of the fjords, with 210 crew and 412 passengers on board.

Passenger Ron Milward said he had been almost completely confined to his cabin from Monday onwards.

He said: "We've been looking forward to this trip for a long time, it's cost a lot of money, by my standards anyway and we've had nothing, absolutely nothing.

"It was like being in prison."

However, fellow passenger Gordon Burgess said: "It's a lovely, clean ship and I'm sure that whatever happened, it's nothing to do with the crew. Goodness knows where the bug came from."

Wendy Hooper Greenhill, of Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, said: "We routinely carry outcleaning programmes but the ship is being given an even more intensive deep clean all day today to ensure it is completely disinfected before it heads off tomorrow.

The liner's next sailing will be delayed due to intensive cleaning

"Any compensation for passengers will be settled on a case-by-case basis."

There have been a number of outbreaks of infection on cruise ships recently, including 63 cases on the MV Funchal, which set out from Dundee for a tour of Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands last week.

The cruise ship Van Gogh was affected by two outbreaks in the space of a fortnight and docked in Harwich on Friday.

Commenting on that outbreak, a Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokeswoman said: "Viruses like this are very common. It is not that the Van Gogh has any sort of health and safety issues."

We asked if you had been affected by the virus? Were you on board the Black Prince? Had you experienced similar problems elsewhere? Here are the comments we received.

I have just returned from a cruise on the Athena which is run by Travelscope who have had the same problems with their other two vessels recently - the Van Gogh and the Funchal. Hygiene on board is taken very seriously and ships are cleaner than any hotel. Awful for passengers affected and the cruise liners but they couldn't do more to try and avoid the problem.
Simon, London

My sister-in-law is due to return home today from the Black Prince cruise. They have been confined to their cabin since Tuesday. A surprise 60th birthday present for my sister-in-law has been a very unpleasant experience though they are full of praise for the care received from the crew of the ship. I just hope they get a replacement cruise free of charge.
Sid McDowell, Lisburn

I have sailed on the Black Prince from Leith to the North Pole. It is a great ship, not too big and not too small. The ship, its staff and hygiene are five star. My concern with such bugs is the ventilation systems as like in planes, it just takes one person and then the virus spreads like wildfire. Those confined to cabins will be given five star service. If the ship is delayed for cleaning for the next cruise, other passengers need not worry, the owners of this ship will have it cleaned to five star excellence. I'd happily take anyone's place in the next sail out of Leith.
S Wallace, Scotland

We returned from a coach tour holiday last Saturday and we found that this virus is spread all across Scotland. The hotel we were in had 140 cases three weeks before we went and at the coach interchange everyone was saying that at their hotel people were going down with it. The week we were there were 10 people had it.
Mrs V Brabazon, Cannock

My parents came back from a cruise on the Black Prince last week. My dad had severe vomiting for three days and my mum had it on the third day for two days. They said the hygiene levels were very high with holiday makers' hands being sprayed as they went in for every meal. Looks as though they're doing all they can, but it only takes one person to affect the rest in an enclosed environment such as a ship.
Stuart Wylie, Hertfordshire

Friends of mine returned from a short cruise in the Caribbean and stated that it is expected that at least half the passengers returning will have had or bring with them the Norovirus, it is seen as something that is just par for the course in Florida.
Jean, Florida

We have cruised once a year for four years on the Black Prince and found her and the staff very aware of hygiene in all parts of the ship. They even have hand cleanser at the bottom of the gangway which must be used before boarding after every visit ashore. She's our favourite but we also found Van Gogh and Voyager spotless.
Bill Rose, Old Kilpatrick

Washing your hands after visiting the bathroom and before eating is a custom that will take some time to establish in the west. It needs to be taught in schools, where kids can wash their hands before lunch.
Munir, Guildford

My wife and I are big fans of Fred Olsen cruises, having been on the Black Prince five times. Our last cruise was on 20 May, 2006 when a number of passengers were struck down by a similar virus, they were confined to their cabins for 48 hours which were then disinfected. It has always been my opinion, however, that the company take the whole issue of hygiene and passenger well being very seriously, as previous posters have stated as you board the ship or enter the restaurant you are given a hand cleansing rub. On a cruise last year a friend of mine who is a poor traveller was sick on the coach en-route between airport and cruise ship (Fred Olsen's Braemar). On arrival at the ship she was taken immediately to the ship's medical section where she had to undergo an examination before being allowed to have her holiday, that is how seriously they take their responsibilities.
John Hynds, Ayr