The world's largest cruise ship, Freedom of the Seas, sailed on a shortened 5-day Western Caribbean cruise Dec. 12th after spending two days in Miami getting a scrubdown designed to put an end to the norovirus.

When Freedom returned to Miami Dec. 10th with 108 passengers and crew showing gastrointestinal symptoms matching norovirus, the ship's voyage was delayed two days -- at the urging of the Centers for Disease Control -- so extra cleaners could disinfect the ship.

Freedom of the Seas had been scheduled to sail on Dec. 10th for a seven-day cruise. It was not immediately know how many passengers -- put up by Royal Caribbean in luxury Miami hotels and feted for two days by the cruise line -- sailed on the shortened cruise.

Concern over Freedom clearly stemmed from the fact that after returning from a cruise on Dec. 3rd with 380 sickened passengers and crew, 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."

Two additional doctors and 45 more cleaning staff were aboard for the delayed sailing. And in an effort to insure that the outbreak is over, Freedom sailed in what the line called a "code red" status.

Among among other measures, all surfaces were to be sprayed every 30 minutes with bleach, no self-service was to be permitted in the Windjammer buffet, and there was to be no buffet on the ship's stop at Labadee.