Cruise ship over Swine flu fears

Add Venezuela's Isla Margarita to the list of Caribbean islands turning away cruise ships with suspected cases of the H1N1 swine flu.
Pullmantur's 1,350-passenger Ocean Dream arrived as scheduled at the island Wednesday, but most passengers and crew were not allowed to disembark due to an outbreak of flu among crew on the ship.
The Associated Press reports several hundred Venezuelan passengers who had previously been scheduled to depart the island as their final destination were the only passengers allowed off.
The island is the third this week to deny entry to cruisers from the ship. Grenada and Barbardos turned away the ship earlier on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. Two other Caribbean islands, St. Lucia and Antigua, have turned away a cruise ship this month over swine flu fears.  
As of Wednesday, three crew members on the Ocean Dream had tested positive for the H1N1 swine flu, and 11 more crew members have reported flu-like symptoms. Pullmantur says no passengers have fallen ill.
Several news outlets are reporting Venezuelan officials initially had planned to quarantine the Pullmantur ship for 10 days at Isla Margarita. The Associated Press says Pullmantur has denied that was the case, contradicting a Venezuelan health official quoted by the news agency.
The Ocean Dream is now sailing to Aruba where it is scheduled to arrive today.