Norovirus on Celebrity Cruises' ship Constellation

About 350 passengers had fallen ill with the vomiting and diarrhoea bug

A cruise ship delayed its departure from Southampton after a suspected outbreak of norovirus on board.

Celebrity Cruises' vessel Constellation arrived in the city's port at 06:00 GMT at the end of a 12-night cruise.

Southampton's Port Health Authority said about 350 passengers had fallen ill with the vomiting and diarrhoea bug.

Its departure was delayed until 20:00 while deep cleaning took place.

The authority's Rosie Zambra confirmed it was informed of "concerns over an increased levels of what appeared to be norovirus" several days before the ship's arrival.

'Bad sanitation'

About 2,200 and 900 crew had been on a wine cruise around the coasts of France and Spain.

A representative of the health authority has since been on board and verified the affected cabins and public areas had been deep cleaned.

Passenger David Mattey said his holiday had been "completely ruined" when he went down with severe vomiting and diarrhoea.

He said: "The sanitation on that ship is bad."

A statement from Celebrity Cruises said the crew was conducting "extra cleaning and sanitising on board the ship and within the cruise terminal as preventative measures."

It added its hygiene procedures on board were "comprehensive and always strictly adhered to".