MEDICAL experts were this morning poised to go aboard the virus-hit cruise liner Aurora when she docked in Southampton.

The ship, which has suffered a severe outbreak of the norovirus, causing some 500 of the 1,800 passengers to suffer vomiting and diarrhoea, was expected to dock in the city at 6am.

P&O Cruises, which ran the trip, could now be facing compensation payouts of as much as £2.5m, according to solicitors who have handled similar claims.

Clive Garner, partner with Irwin Mitchell Solicitors International Travel Litigation Group, said each passenger taken ill could claim as much as £6,000 for ruined holidays.

They paid an average of £1,875 for the cruise.

It was reported yesterday that two passengers on board the ship had died during the cruise, but P&O stressed that neither death was as a result of the virus.

Just two or three of the sufferers are still showing symptoms of the illness and P&O Cruises is to make special arrangements to ensure they get home safely and comfortably.

Dr Mike Barker, communicable diseases expert for Southampton, said the rest of the passengers would be able to disembark as normal, from 8am, as the virus was not infectious once the symptoms had disappeared.

He stressed that city residents did not need to worry about an outbreak of the illness hitting Southampton.

A team from the city's Port Authority has been working with P&O Cruises and staff on board the ship, receiving daily updates to monitor the situation as closely as possible.

A spokeswoman for tourism watchdog ABTA said it was difficult to tell what impact the virus outbreak would have on the city's cruising industry.

She added: "People will be more aware of this kind of thing. Theoretically it shouldn't make any difference because we've seen it all before. These kinds of outbreaks do happen - they're the second most common virus after a cold.

"A lot of people have been on cruises before and they know the experiences that can happen. We will have to wait and see."

Aurora left Southampton for a 17-day Adriatic voyage on October 20 and stopped at Majorca, Sicily, Venice and Dubrovnik in Croatia before passengers were quarantined when the 76,152-ton liner stopped at Piraeus, near Athens.

Supplies were taken on board before the ship headed for Gibraltar, but passengers suffering from the bug were fed in their cabins in a bid to prevent the virus - which was thought to have been brought on board by a passenger - from spreading.

Among those waiting for passengers to disembark in Southampton this morning was Heather McCourt, 28, whose parents from the Isle of Wight were supposed to have been on their dream holiday.

The 28-years-old's mum, Mary, 60, and dad Raymond, 70, from Staplers Road, Newport, had both suffered from the illness at the start of the cruise and her dad had a recurrence yesterday. The couple's family had paid more than £3,500 for their trip,

Mary said: "It was supposed to be a holiday of the lifetime.

"My dad hasn't been abroad for 20 years and my mum has never been abroad. When we came here 17 days ago they were all excited but now it is totally different. I spoke to my dad this morning and told him I was here. I think he will be pleased just to get off."

Queen of the ocean: Daily Echo business editor Ron Wain has been given an exclusive tour of Queen Mary 2 at her shipyard in western France. Go to the Queen Mary 2 section of 'This is Shipping'.