Bush family sets sail on cruise

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Former President Bush and his son, Gov. Jeb Bush, embarked Thursday on a three-night holiday cruise with family and security agents, undeterred by the recent outbreak of stomach viruses that have sickened some cruise passengers.

The family, including the Bush wives, was joining about 2,500 other passengers aboard the Disney Wonder, its stern adorned with a figure of Donald Duck.

The departure was delayed an hour because two of the 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.

"This is a personal, family vacation, a much deserved and needed one," said Katie Muniz, the governor's spokeswoman.

The ship was bound for the Bahamas under blue skies and an unusually chilly wind.

Jeb Bush has said he was undeterred by the outbreak that sickened hundreds. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is looking into more than 20 outbreaks on cruise lines, more than it has seen in the four previous years combined. The agency considers an outbreak to be 3 percent or more of a ship's passengers or crew members getting an illness.

"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 last week.

No restricted areas

Disney spokesman Mark Jaronski said no parts of the ship would be restricted and that he expected the Bushes to eat in the main dining room with the other passengers. The dozen or so relatives will be joined by agents from the Secret Service and state law enforcement.

The ship, which is about the length of three football fields with 875 staterooms, has stops in Nassau and Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. It returns Sunday morning.

Former President Carter took a similar trip with his family during last year's holiday season.

The Bushes are paying their family's expenses, while the federal and state governments are paying for their security detail. Muniz and a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service cited security concerns in declining to comment on government costs for the cruise.