Ship Of Fools

[T]he former president George Bush senior and former first lady Barbara, as well as their son Jeb, the Governor of Florida, and a host of minor relations and a hefty security detail are aboard the good ship Disney Wonder bound from Fort Canaveral to the Bahamas....

No comment was available from the 41st president but his son Jeb was brushing aside the medical risks. "I'm not worried at all about the health issue; I'm more worried about just being on a boat, getting along without e-mail and stuff," he said with a laugh.

Thursday night's departure of the Disney Wonder was delayed for an hour because two unidentified Bush granddaughters were late. President George W Bush's daughters Jenna and Barbara were listed on the ship's manifest, although it was not immediately known if they were the latecomers on what a spokeswoman described as a "much-deserved and needed personal family vacation". The President has flown to his ranch in Texas for a two-week break with his wife, Laura.

Although the sickness plaguing the cruise industry is far from life-threatening, it is most unpleasant. The symptoms include acute stomach pains, diarrhoea and vomiting, and can last up to a week.

The Bush clan, it is claimed, will not be enjoying any special privileges, apart from the secret service entourage. The family will be eating in the main dining room with others of the 2,500 passengers, and no part of the vessel will be sealed off.

Poppy and the grandaughters were looking for a place where they'd have an excuse for vomiting in public. The "minor relations" include Neil, Marvin and Doro. Meanwhile, Noelle was left at home, a severe blow to the Bahamian economy.