MIAMI - They came to pick up friends disembarking from the cruise ship Amsterdam at Port Everglades yesterday clad in latex gloves and surgical masks.
"We thought it would be amusing," said Kathy Lawlor, a retired teacher from Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, as she and her husband loaded a white Lincoln Town Car with luggage for friend Marty Cohn.
Cohn took the joke in good humor, but he was glad to be off the ship, on which more than 500 people have contracted a stomach ailment since mid-October, including 76 on the latest trip.
"They should have canceled the cruise," Cohn said.
Holland America Line, operator of the 1,380-passenger Amsterdam, did just that for the 10-day cruise scheduled to depart yesterday from Fort Lauderdale. The 780-foot ship will remain docked at Berth 29 in Port Everglades while it gets thoroughly decontaminated for a Dec. 1 cruise.
"The main thing is breaking the cycle of transmission" of the Norwalk virus from one cruise to the next, said Eric Elvejord, spokesman for Seattle-based Holland America.
Elvejord said Holland is technically not required to clear the ship with the U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention before its next sailing: "But we certainly want their blessing."
Passengers leaving the ship had mixed opinions about how Holland America managed the voyage, which was a Big Band theme cruise with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
"I think they handled it very well," said Olga Neill, from Windsor, Ontario. "They had us washing our hands every five minutes."
A little less satisfied was Silvia Sigano of Nutley, N.J., who praised Holland America but also thought she and her husband should have been given more opportunity to back out of the cruise.
Pearl Williams, who lives near Dallas, said it was a little frightening to see crew members in gloves and masks.
"I think in made a big difference in the quality of the cruise," she said. Williams said she suffers from ulcers and would have been in danger had she gotten sick.
About 51 passengers and 16 crew members had already left the ship when it arrived at Port Everglades, Elvejord said. They were flown home, with full refunds and credit toward future cruises.
Other sick passengers were confined. One who would not stay in his cabin was upgraded to a suite, but a 24-hour guard was posted outside the door.