Cruising and the norovirus

The first hint I got that all was not as it should be on the cruise ship is the notice on the door of the library saying it’s temporary closed. And the bookshelves are empty.
 
We are living in a state known euphemistically as “heightened hygiene”. Last week they had an outbreak of norovirus and the rumour machine is rife. One woman collapsed and two others were taken off the ship.
“But it could be more,” said a new friend ominously, “that’s the trouble you are not told anything officially.”
 
The self-service buffet is no longer self-service. We are forbidden to touch any food, not even to pick up a teabag. One man did and instantly got reprimanded.
“It like the Gulag,” he muttered, but the significance of his remark was lost on the young Indonesian girl trying to control the hot drinks machine as bewildered newly arrived passengers tried to get a cup of tea.
 
   
Photo: sunset over Montego Bay, Jamaica.