Bush family cruises into perilous world of luxury ships

Let no one say the Bushes do not lead by example. Last week it was President George Bush getting one of those risky new smallpox vaccinations, as befits the commander-in-chief of a military that might be about to face biological warfare in the Gulf. Now it's much of the rest of America's ruling family, taking to the perilous, bacteria-ridden world of the luxury Caribbean cruise.

No matter that a thousand cruise passengers have been stricken by vicious stomach bugs in the past few weeks – including the latest batch of 80 on a Royal Caribbean Cruises ship in the past few days – the former president George Bush senior and former first lady Barbara, as well as their son Jeb, the Governor of Florida, and a host of minor relations and a hefty security detail are aboard the good ship Disney Wonder bound from Fort Canaveral to the Bahamas.

Not that they will want for comfort aboard the floating city, whose stern is embellished with a giant Donald Duck. The vessel is as long as two and a half football pitches, and has no fewer than 875 state rooms. The Disney Wonder is wending its stately way to Nassau via the private Disney island of Castaway Cay, before returning to Florida tomorrow night.

No comment was available from the 41st president but his son Jeb was brushing aside the medical risks. "I'm not worried at all about the health issue; I'm more worried about just being on a boat, getting along without e-mail and stuff," he said with a laugh.

Thursday night's departure of the Disney Wonder was delayed for an hour because two unidentified Bush granddaughters were late. President George W Bush's daughters Jenna and Barbara were listed on the ship's manifest, although it was not immediately known if they were the latecomers on what a spokeswoman described as a "much-deserved and needed personal family vacation". The President has flown to his ranch in Texas for a two-week break with his wife, Laura.

Although the sickness plaguing the cruise industry is far from life-threatening, it is most unpleasant. The symptoms include acute stomach pains, diarrhoea and vomiting, and can last up to a week.

Since the autumn, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have identified more than 20 outbreaks on cruise vessels of the virus, more than in the previous four years combined.

The Bush clan, it is claimed, will not be enjoying any special privileges, apart from the secret service entourage. The family will be eating in the main dining room with others of the 2,500 passengers, and no part of the vessel will be sealed off.