[Grammar] having had

[Oceanlike]

I'm trying to re-write the following sentence with the word, "Having" fixed at the beginning.

- He did not join the cruise as he was having a fever.

My answer: Having had a fever, he did not join the cruise.

Given answer: Having a fever, he did not join the cruise.

I thought I have to use "had" (as a past participle), but frankly I don't know why. It just sounds better. If "had" is necessary, why is it so?

The given answer sounds wrong, but I don't know for sure.

 

[GoesStation]

Your sentence suggests he no longer had a fever when the cruise departed. The version with the present participle says he had a fever at that time. The reader deduces that the fever was the reason he abandoned the cruise.

 

[Oceanlike]

Sorry, I don't really understand your explanation.

Based on the question (to be re-written), I understand it as his fever was the reason he did not join the cruise.

Based on this understanding, is the below answer correct?
Having had a fever, he did not join the cruise.

OR

Having a fever, he did not join the cruise.

Thank you.

 

[jutfrank]

As post #2 says, they are both correct but they have different meanings.

The second sentence means he had a fever at the time of the cruise.
The first sentence means he had a fever some time before the cruise.