Carnival cruise ship passengers sick after foul odors: Coastguard

• Carnival Cruise passengers have reported to the Coast Guard that they are ill due to foul odors and fumes on board.
• Carnival told Insider that a painting project on board the ship has impacted some guests.
• The ship returned to Norfolk on Thursday, where guests disembarked, Carnival said.

Passengers traveling on a Carnival cruise ship have reported bad smells coming from the ship, which they believe made them sick, the US Coast Guard said Thursday.

Some guests aboard the cruise liner, called Carnival Magic, were “affected by an odor from an exterior paint project yesterday,” Carnival Cruise Liner said in a statement to Insider.

The Coast Guard told Insider on Thursday it was investigating the incident involving reports of “foul smells and fumes, as well as passengers reporting illnesses.”

There were no reports of immediate distress, the Coast Guard said, adding it had no other information at the time.

The Carnival Magic, which can accommodate more than 3,600 guests, returned Thursday to the city of Norfolk, Virginia, where all passengers disembarked, Carnival Cruise said. Coast Guard investigators boarded the cruise liner after it arrived in Norfolk, authorities tweeted.

Carnival said crew members responded quickly to the incident and helped passengers. The company did not disclose details of the trip to Insider but told the magazine People that he returned to Norfolk from the Bahamas as planned.

Vanessa Burgard, a guest aboard the ship, said 13News Now that there was a strong chemical smell on the second floor where she was based. The crew asked some passengers to sign nondisclosure agreements, Burgard told 13News Now.

Carnival says on its website there are three cruises with the 1,004-foot-long Carnival Magic that depart from Norfolk and sail to the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada and New England and last up to eight days.

The company had two incidents this year when two passengers from separate cruises jumped ships. Looking for a woman who jumped up from the 10th floor of Carnival’s Valor ship on a trip to Mexico was canceled after 2 p.m., Insider previously reported.