P&O bosses have today pledged that all passengers aboard the virus hit cruise liner Aurora will have "their good will restored".

David Dingle, managing director of the company, made the promise as hundreds of people disembarked from the ship when it docked at Southampton this morning.

Many passengers spoke of how they had suffered from the highly contagious "Noro" virus but all said it had not ruined their holiday.

Mr Dingle said: "This morning, the cruise is at an end and The Aurora is in Southampton on schedule.

"We have been maintaining the highest levels of sanitation throughout the cruise and over the last few days we have had a very low level of new cases, which shows our measures have worked.

"Throughout today, we will be continuing with those sanitation measures and into the next cruise which is a short cruise."

He added that P and O would be waiting until they had had correspondence from passengers about their experiences before a decision was made over any possible compensation.

He said: "We will make sure that everybody feels they have been dealt with fairly and their good will will be restored.

"This is an incident which we would have preferred not to have happened but I firmly believe that cruising is continuing as a strong growth.

"This is a very temporary setback and we will overcome it shortly and put it all behind us."

The ship, which has suffered a severe outbreak of the norovirus, causing some 500 of the 1,800 passengers to suffer vomiting and diarrhoea, arrived at the city's docks early today.

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.

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.

The ship was refused entry to Greece but allowed to dock in Gibraltar where it was at the centre of a diplomatic row when Spain closed its border with the island as a result

The virus is thought to have been brought on to the ship by a passenger who boarded at Southampton but at the time was not showing any symptoms.

Meanwhile holidaymakers and crew coming off the ship at the Mayflower Terminal in Southampton today gave their views of the trip.

Ray Benwell, of Whitwell, on the Isle of Wight suffered from the illness during his holiday.

Mr Benwell, who was travelling with his wife Linda and their ten-year-old daughter Hannah, said: "It did ruin things a bit. It was a little bit down key but we've already booked another cruise although not on this ship."

Another person who was taken ill was Desmond McCarthy, 75, from Brokenford Lane, Totton. He said: "I was ill for four days. I was disappointed obviously because one of the highlights of my cruise would have been a visit to Dubrovnik and I couldn't get off the ship.

"A lot of people have been ill but all the doctors and the medical staff have been fantastic and they have done everything to curtail it.

"It's not put me off at all."

Desmond's sister Mary McCarthy was travelling with him on the cruise.

The 69-year-old from Mayfield Avenue in Totton said: "Apart from all the disasters on there it was fine.

"In a way it ruined things because my brother was confined to the cabin and he was not able to get out at Dubrovnik which was where he really wanted to go.

"This is our fourth time on the Aurora. We might give it a break for a little while because of what has been going on but it would not really put me off for the future."

One passenger who was still suffering this morning was Marie Schofield, 77, from Godshill, on the Isle of Wight.

She said: "I was ill and it came back again this morning. It just strikes you straight away.

"There was no salt and pepper on the tables and the flowers went as well.

"They put salt on your plate but you could not handle anything.

"It's rather like shutting the stable door when the horse has bolted.

"But they did all they could. They've got armies of cleaners on there."

Paul Brammer, 34, from Hythe, a city forestry contractor displayed a "Help" sign from the side of the stricken vessel.

He was on holiday with his wife Nicky, 32, and his two children who both contracted the virus.

He said: "It was not really a holiday. I just wanted to get home. It ruined it completely. We tried to come home on the October 30 but all our rights were taken away from us. We were the only family to have our passports taken because we wanted to get flights from Gibraltar. "Although the waiters and other crew treated us well the senior staff were not so helpful. I don't know whether I am going to take action but all I want to do now is just get home."

Alfred Harper, 74, from Ashurst in the New Forest was on holiday with his wife Elizabeth, 67.

Mr Harper said he was "very ill" with the virus.

He said: "I don't feel too bad now. It did ruin the holiday a bit. But I haven't thought about suing yet."

Mr Harper said: "We were treated very well and the staff did their utmost to help us."

Steve Oaten, 47, a company director from Bishopstoke in Eastleigh said: "I wasn't struck down by the virus but all the people on our table were ill.

''The staff were cleaning the ship every night to try and prevent it getting any worse. It did ruin the holiday but I don't think it was P and O's fault. I don't see the point in suing. I think all the hype was over the top."

But Keith Trewhitt, 62, of Wilton Road, Shirley, who worked on the ship as a cocktail pianist, said: "This is my 15th different cruise ship and it 's certainly the cleanest I have ever been on.

"The standard of cleanliness on that ship is the best I have seen and I have worked on the QE2.

"I think they have done everything they can to make sure that the outbreak was contained."