The world's largest cruise ship, Freedom of the Seas, will unexpectedly spend the next two days in Miami getting the most comprehensive cleaning yet after returning to port Dec. 10 with sick passengers for the second consecutive cruise.

While the number on board Freedom that apparently came down with the norovirus was nowhere near the levels that have contracted the illness on other cruises, the fact that it had not been eradicated led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to issue a rare "no sail" recommendation.

Freedom of the Seas was scheduled to sail from Miami on the evening of Dec. 10th for a seven-day Western Caribbean cruise, but now it will leave on Dec. 12th for a modified five-night itinerary.

''This is an ongoing issue, and we hope that taking this action will settle the issue,'' said CDC spokesperson Curtis Allen.

Interestingly, another cruise ship, the Sun Princess, returned to Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 10th with 119 cases of norovirus -- more than the 110 on Freedom of the Seas -- but the CDC did not issue a ''no sail'' recommendation and Sun Princess sailed later in the day.

Concern over Freedom clearly stemmed from the fact that after returning from a cruise on Dec. 3rd with 380 sickened passengers and crew, its extensive cleaning efforts failed to eradicate the stubborn norovirus.

"This extra time (in port) will allow the company to conduct enhanced cleaning procedures onboard the ship, all of which are being done in close coordination with the CDC," a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said. "Additional heightened cleaning procedures will be carried out throughout the ship during its modified sailing."

Royal Caribbean announced the following package of options for passengers booked on the Dec. 10 cruise.

• Guests who do not live in South Florida and need accommodations Sunday and Monday nights will have those provided by Royal Caribbean.
• Royal Caribbean will have staff manning a hospitality desk at each hotel being used, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday - to assist guests with any questions.
• Royal Caribbean will provide every guest with a total of $250 for meals, taxis and transportation, incidentals and other expenses guests may incur until Tuesday's boarding.
• Guests who sail with the ship on its modified itinerary will receive a 50 percent refund of their cruise fare and a 50 percent discount on a future Royal Caribbean sailing.
• Guests who choose to cancel their cruise will receive a full refund of all monies paid to Royal Caribbean and a 25 percent discount on a future Royal Caribbean sailing.
• Guests who need to alter flight arrangements and are charged an airline rebooking fee, up to $200 per person, will be reimbursed by Royal Caribbean.

The outbreaks on Freedom of the Seas and the Sun Princess come only a month after some 700 passengers and crew members were sickened during a trans-Atlantic repositioning sailing by the Carnival Cruise Lines ship Carnival Liberty from Italy to Fort Lauderdale.