Man Dies, 415 Mysteriously Stricken Ill on Cruise Ship

One elderly man died and 415 other passengers and crew members of a San Pedro-based cruise ship were reported ill Thursday with a mysterious gastrointestinal ailment that forced the Viking Serenade back to port a day early from a trip to Baja California, officials said.

Investigators from the federal Centers for Disease Control boarded the ship to determine the source of the illness. But an agency spokesman said it was too early to confirm suspicions of widespread food poisoning or an infectious disease.

“I got sick, really sick--fever, terrible diarrhea, chills. People were dropping like flies. I was so weak, I couldn’t lift my head from the bed,” said Caren Blumfield, a West Hills resident who took her children on what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation before the start of school. None of her three children were stricken, she said. While at least six people remained hospitalized Thursday night, most of the others who were stricken appeared to be recovering without intensive medical assistance. Officials said the affliction seems to have largely run its course.

After returning to San Pedro at 8 a.m. Thursday, nearly all 1,734 passengers and 612 crew members remained on board the Bahamas-registered ship through the afternoon, awaiting clearance from health and customs officials. About 500 of the passengers, including the Blumfield family, finally left in the late afternoon and the others remained for the night, many awaiting airplane connections.

Six passengers had been taken off the white-and-blue vessel and hospitalized in Ensenada, one of the stops on what was to be a four-night journey of sightseeing, dining and shipboard gambling.

One of those six, a 78-year-old man, died in the Ensenada hospital, said a spokesman for the ship’s owner, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Dr. David Luna Gonzalez, medical director of the Hospital de las Americas, identified the dead man as Clarence Bazar of Long Beach. Even before the cruise, Bazar was very ill, suffering from heart disease, diabetes and cancer in one of his kidneys, Gonzalez said. Bazar had seemed to be recovering from the vomiting and diarrhea when he died of a heart attack Thursday morning, officials said.

The other five passengers hospitalized in Ensenada--three men and two women from 65 to 80 years old--were expected to be released in a day or two, Gonzalez said.

Another man, 81-year-old Robert Hoge of Riverside, was taken by ambulance from the ship to San Pedro Peninsula Hospital Thursday morning. He was listed in fair condition. .

Centers for Disease Control officials said they planned to obtain body tissue and samples from the deceased man to aid in the investigation. Blood, urine and stool samples were taken from many other passengers, and the agency’s epidemiologists conducted surveys on the dining and other activities of the passengers and crew.

“We are trying to find out what some people did differently from others that may have resulted in their becoming ill,” said agency spokesman Tom Skinner in Atlanta.

The ship’s water supply, refrigeration system and food-handling equipment were inspected Thursday, but no immediate clues were discovered, officials said.

The Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises firm promised full refunds to the passengers. Depending on cabin size and location, fares ranged from $599 to $1,899 a person including air fare, travel officials said. Passengers who did not require an air connection paid $150 less.

Richard D. Fain, Royal Caribbean’s chairman, promised cooperation in the health inquiry. Passengers’ “safety and well-being has always been our first concern, and we will be working very closely with authorities to determine the cause of this outbreak,” Fain said in a prepared statement.

The Viking Serenade passed its most recent government sanitation inspection in February. On a scale of 100 points, it rated 89, with a score of 86 considered passing, Skinner said. Skinner said he was aware of no past inspection failures for the ship.

However, Susan Mackey, of Rancho Santa Margarita, said an identical illness struck passengers on the Viking Serenade on a March 7 cruise to Mexico, with symptoms including diarrhea, vomiting and dizziness.

“This cruise line knew that something was wrong, because we complained about it,” she said.

Such outbreaks of shipboard illness are rare, occurring one to four times a year on ships that enter American waters or ports, officials said. One veteran customs worker at the Los Angeles port said he could not recall any such dramatic incident in the past 20 years.

In July, the cruise ship Horizon out of New York was contaminated with Legionnaires’ disease bacteria, leading to the death of one man and frightening symptoms for about 30 other passengers. Investigators said sand used in water filters was “strongly implicated.” bacteria.

Monday morning, the Viking Serenade left San Pedro; the first reports of illness occurred Tuesday while it was docked off Santa Catalina Island. The number of ill mounted steadily as the ship headed toward Baja California

“We heard 10 people were sick. Then 20. Then 100. Then 400,” Caren Blumfield said. “There were rumors everywhere--that it was cholera, that we’d all be quarantined forever.”

“It was scary because they wouldn’t let us know anything,” said Melina Keith, 17, of Irvine, who was traveling with her family. “I saw a man collapse in the hallway right in front of me.”

“All around us, people were sick,” said Melina’s mother, Ann. “We saw lots of pale people, people in wheelchairs.”

In all, 408 of the 1,734 passengers and eight of the 612 crew members reported symptoms. That so few crew members were ill may prove to be a vital clue.

“Why didn’t more of the crew get sick?” Blumfield said. “I just don’t understand it.”

Many of the other passengers praised the captain and crew for keeping people calm and aiding the sick.

“The crew was very helpful, very nice. There was not any panic,” recalled Brick Price, a Calabasas resident, who took his family on the cruise. He was mildly ill and his 8-year-old daughter recovered after she was given medication, he said.

Built in 1982, the Viking Serenade previously was a car-and-passenger ferry called the Stardancer, company officials said. It was rebuilt and re-christened three years ago for cruises along the California coast.

The 40,000-ton ship is 607 feet long and has 757 cabins. Among its amenities are 173 slot machines and roulette wheels, a swimming pool and a library.

For some passengers unaffected by the illness, the cruise was a happy experience, said Lisa Gasho of Newport Beach, who was a passenger with her boyfriend, Steve Schroder. “The food was great, the beer was great,” she said. “We didn’t get sick, and we had a fantastic time!”