GALVESTON, Tex. — In the end, there was never any risk of the Ebola virus aboard what became known as the Ebola Cruise.

Last week, the announcement that a passenger on the Carnival Magic was a Dallas lab supervisor who had handled an Ebola patient’s blood samples transformed a weeklong Caribbean jaunt into a high-seas drama showcasing anxieties over the spread of the virus. Passengers used hand sanitizer, avoided touching railings and offered elbow taps instead of handshakes.

As rumors swirled through the sun decks and dining rooms, the hospital worker and her husband agreed to quarantine themselves in their stateroom. Belize refused to allow the worker to be flown home through its international airport, and Mexico declined to let the ship’s passengers make a day trip to Cozumel. On Saturday afternoon, as the ship headed home, a Coast Guard helicopter swooped in to fetch a blood sample from the hospital worker, to cheers and applause from passengers.