Cursed UK Cruise Ship hit by Bug

A British cruise ship dubbed as "cursed" by some media after a bottle failed to smash at its launch has been hit by an outbreak of a vomit-inducing infection, reports said on Monday.

The MS Queen Victoria was launched less than a month ago by Prince Charles's wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, but a bottle of champagne failed to crack open against its bows, fueling superstitious warnings.

"The Duchess will no doubt be hoping that the 300-million-pound vessel can shake off the curse of the unbroken bottle," the Times wrote at the time.

Now on a cruise around the Spanish Canary Islands off the African coast, nearly 80 passengers were struck down with the norovirus, more commonly known as "winter sickness bug", which causes severe vomiting and diarrhea.

"Those who have been infected have been confined to their rooms. To prevent a spread of the infection and we have ordered regular cleaning of handrails all over the ship," company spokesman Eric Flounders told the Times.

He confirmed that 78 passengers out of 3,000 people on board the boat, owned by the Cunard shipping line, had contracted the illness, although only 25 are still sick and were in their cabins on the ship in Lanzarote on Sunday.