The Celebrity Mercury will be grounded for three days after three of the ship’s last four sailings were hit with major outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness believed to be norovirus.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the Mercury a "no-sail recommendation" of at least four full days "given the history of the previous outbreaks."
Celebrity said that it mutually agreed with the CDC on the three-day period, from Thursday, March 18, to Sunday, March 21. Celebrity will use the extra time to sanitize the ship.
The CDC said it has not been able to determine why controls Celebrity has been following have not been effective in preventing the proliferation of gastrointestinal illness on Mercury sailings.
Boarding for the next cruise is expected to occur on Sunday for a shortened itinerary that will visit Key West, Cozumel, Costa Maya and Nassau.
Celebrity is offering passengers on that itinerary an onboard credit equivalent to two days of their paid fare and a future cruise certificate in the amount of 25% of their paid fare.
The onboard credit will be applied directly to onboard accounts and may be used for any onboard purchases or service. Any unused portion of the onboard credit will be refunded at the end of the cruise, Celebrity said.
In addition, Celebrity will give passengers who choose not to sail on the modified itinerary a full refund of their cruise and a future cruise certificate in the amount of 15% of their paid fare.