By Andy Hodges From Cruisers Choice

A Royal Caribbean passenger who sailed on the Majesty of the Seas last November contracted Legionnaires’ disease during his cruise.

The passenger, from Ohio, filed a lawsuit against Royal Caribbean. The passenger alleges that the cruise line notified him that Legionella had been found in the ship’s water system.

After the passenger returned home, he began experiencing symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease. He visited a doctor and was hospitalized.

The lawsuit lists kidney, heart and pulmonary failure among other complications he suffered as a result of the disease.

Legionnaires’ is the most serious disease a cruise passenger can contract on a ship. The disease is a severe pneumonia caused by inhaling aerosolized water containing Legionella organisms.

Whirlpool spas and portable water supply systems are the most common ways to spread Legionella on cruise ships. Some symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease include coughing, shortness of breath, high fever, and muscle aches.

The disease is so serious that 5 percent to 30 percent of people who contract Legionella will die, even if they’re being treated by an antibiotic.

Royal Caribbean sent an email to all passengers from the cruise that they may have been exposed to the disease. They warned passengers to seek immediate medical attention should they become ill.

Royal Caribbean confirmed that two Majesty of the Seas passengers were infected on separate cruises with Legionnaires’ disease, and a third had symptoms. One passenger was infected in July 2015, and the other person was infected in October 2015.

The cruise line claimed that it treated the Majesty of the Seas with two rounds of treatment using extra chlorine.

For more on this story go to: http://www.cruiserschoice.com/news/royal-caribbean-passenger-contracts-legionnaires-on-majesty-of-the-seas-r1456/