Departure of the Celebrity Mercury, owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., was delayed by a day following extra cleaning by the crews to sanitize the ship. This came because the ship on its last cruise was hit by an outbreak of a stomach bug.

New passengers who came into the State Ports Authority's Cruise Terminal in the afternoon, were informed that the departure was postponed by a day.

To monitor the clean up process, three officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention boarded the ship Friday morning. This was to ensure that the norovirus that sickened more than 400 passengers and dozens of crewmembers on the ship's last cruise does not occur all over again.

Passengers who live more than a two-hour drive from Charleston were being put up in area hotels. $50 for any extra expenses incurred was being credited to all guests apart from a $20 credit that had been given.

The itinerary of the cruise was shortened by a day to compensate for the delay.

According to a letter signed by Celebrity President Daniel Hanraha, passengers will be given on-board credit for two-days worth of their fare and if they book a cruise in future then they will get 25 per cent discount on that booking.

CVB Executive Director Helen Hill said, "Because we have this extra time with them, we want to make sure they take a motorized tour, a walking tour or a carriage tour, or go to a historic attraction, or both and have a really nice lunch. We want the most economic impact for the city as possible. Cruises have so many first-time visitors to Charleston."