What to do when your cruise goes wrong

A series of recent cruise incidents shows how quickly trips can go wrong, from health alerts to itinerary disruptions and sudden departures. In April, 11 passengers aboard the MV Hondius tested positive for hantavirus; the report says three died and 125 passengers and crew from 23 countries were repatriated from Spain’s Canary Islands on government-chartered flights. In May, about 1,700 passengers and crew on Ambassador’s Ambition were quarantined in Bordeaux after a norovirus outbreak infected 50 passengers. Other cases cited include an 80-year-old who died on Lizard Island in the Great Barrier Reef in October after being left behind by a cruise ship, and hundreds of passengers stranded in Hawaii in July when a tsunami warning forced a rapid departure.