Out of the 2,700 passengers and crew members on board in a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, a total of 108 caught the gastrointestinal illness. The outbreak was the latest scandal for the cruise industry, trying to recover its sea legs after several high-profile calamities.

“Vision of the Seas experienced an elevated number of persons with a gastrointestinal illness on its last sailing,” Royal Caribbean International said in a statement.

Royal Caribbean said those sickened had responded well to the over-the-counter medicine they were given. It said 105 of 1,991 passengers and 3 of 772 crew members aboard fell ill.

At Royal Caribbean International we have high health standards for all our guests and crew,” company officials said in a statement. “During the sailing, we conduct enhanced cleaning on-board the ship, to help prevent the spread of the illness.”

The ship and the cruise terminal have been thoroughly sanitized and the cruise liner will depart later on Friday as scheduled on a new sailing, the company said.

“Guests received a letter at boarding that asks if they have experienced any gastrointestinal symptoms within the last three days,” Royal Caribbean officials said.

Vision of the Seas just concluded an 11-night Caribbean sailing that included port calls to Basseterre, St. Kitts; Roseau, Dominica; Bridgetown, Barbados; St. George’s, Grenada; Kraledijk, Bonaire; and Oranjestad, Aruba.

Sicknesses such as the norovirus are easily spread on cruise ships due to the close proximity of the passengers and crew members. Norovirus is a highly contagious illness that can spread through contact with an infected person or by contaminated surfaces and objects.

Norovirus causes an inflammation of the stomach or intestines called acute gastroenteritis, producing stomach pain, nausea and diarrhea, and is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in the United States.

Each year, norovirus causes some 21 million illnesses, of which 70,000 require hospitalization. It kills about 800 people a year, the CDC says.

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