Illness-hit cruise ship to resail

The Island Sky is one of the world's most modern cruise liners

A luxury cruise ship where several people fell ill is expected to sail on schedule from Grangemouth on its next trip around the Scottish coastline.

About 20 people on board the Island Sky reported vomiting and diarrhoea during a Western Isles to Orkney voyage.

The vessel is due to start a trip on Thursday to Portsmouth stopping at ports including Aberdeen and Dublin.

A ship spokeswoman said officials were confident the virus was under control. A sanitisation process is under way.

The ship berthed in Kirkwall on Wednesday, where environmental and public health officials boarded it.

Incubation period

It later sailed to Leith, where passengers were due to disembark at the end of the £2,995-a-head cruise from London.

The ship was understood to have had about 90 passengers on board, all of whom have now left the boat. Those affected by the illness were said to be recovering well.

The Island Sky had been chartered by the Noble Caledonia firm, which organises cruises across Europe and North Africa.

A spokeswoman for Noble Caledonia said the ship would undergo a full sanitation procedure before leaving Leith dry docks later on Thursday.

The ship doctor did a very good job of limiting its spread by confining affected passengers to their cabins for 48 hours Noble Caledonia spokeswoman

She added: "Health officials have told us that, because of the incubation period, the illness is likely to have been brought on board the ship.

"The ship doctor did a very good job of limiting its spread by confining affected passengers to their cabins for 48 hours.

"All of those affected are recovering well. The passengers were due to disembark in Leith on Thursday anyway, and they are all now getting on with the rest of their itinerary."

The spokeswoman said the ship's scheduled cruise from Leith to Portsmouth on Thursday would go ahead as planned.

The Island Sky was built in Italy in 1992 and carries a maximum of 116 passengers. It features a piano bar, library and spa pool.

Last year, the boat had to be towed out to sea by the Tobermory lifeboat after drifting onto rocks at Calve Island.