Hundreds sick with gastro on New Zealand cruise ship

According to Port Otago, the Sea Princess is expected to visit Dunedin on Tuesday next week.

About 200 people have fallen ill after a significant gastro outbreak on a cruise ship sailing between New Zealand and Australia.

ABC reported the outbreak affected the Sea Princess, which is set to dock in Brisbane today after completing the final leg of a two-week round trip between Brisbane and New Zealand.

According to Port Otago, the ship is expected to visit Dunedin on Tuesday next week.

Queensland Health told ABC on-board testing found norovirus to be the cause of increased gastro cases.

"Around 200 people were believed to have been infected with the virus," a spokesperson said.

"Appropriate sanitation procedures and outbreak control measures have been implemented and the vessel is expected to undergo further comprehensive cleaning while in Brisbane."

In an email sent passengers, Princess Cruises said it had carried out a "comprehensive sanitation program in coordination with several international public health authorities".

The Sea Princess can hold up to 2000 guests and 910 crew.

According to the Dunedin City Council's cruise ship calendar the ship last docked in Port Chalmers on December 8.