Over 150 Cruise Guests And Crew Sick After Norovirus Outbreak

More than 150 passengers and unit aboard Princess Cruises’ Star Princess ship were reported sick this week successful what wellness officials person confirmed was an outbreak of norovirus.

The outbreak occurred during a seven‑night cruise that departed Fort Lauderdale, Florida, connected March 7 and was scheduled to return to Port Everglades connected Saturday.

Of nan 4,307 passengers connected nan cruise, 104 reported falling sick during nan existent voyage, on pinch 49 unit members, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Most knowledgeable vomiting and diarrhea.

Princess Cruises said successful a connection to USA Today that sanitation teams had “disinfected each area of nan vessel and added other sanitizing passim nan voyage,” and that individuals emotion unwell were kept abstracted truthful they could “rest comfortably successful private.”

The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program is besides conducting an biology appraisal and outbreak investigation to assistance successful controlling nan business arsenic nan Star Princess continues its scheduled itinerary backmost to Florida, nan CDC said.

The Independent has contacted Princess Cruises for comment.

Norovirus is simply a highly contagious microorganism that causes tummy flu–like symptoms and is often linked to foodborne illness. It spreads particularly easy successful places wherever group are successful adjacent quarters, which makes cruise ships a communal mounting for outbreaks.

The microorganism is truthful contagious because it only takes a mini magnitude to make personification sick. Infected group shed monolithic numbers of microorganism particles successful their stool and vomit, which tin past beryllium picked up by others. Norovirus chiefly spreads done nan fecal-oral route, meaning microorganism particles from 1 personification tin beryllium ingested by another.

The CDC has already reported 2 gastrointestinal unwellness outbreaks connected cruise ships this twelvemonth that met nan period for nationalist notification.

By comparison, location were 23 cruise vessel outbreaks successful 2025, pinch 17 linked to norovirus, and norovirus was responsible for 15 of nan 18 full outbreaks successful 2024.

Although norovirus is commonly associated pinch cruise ships, specified outbreaks relationship for only astir 1 percent of each reported norovirus outbreaks nationwide, nan CDC says.

While it’s intolerable to destruct nan consequence of norovirus, group tin importantly little their chances of getting sick by washing hands thoroughly and often, particularly earlier meals, avoiding shared food, drinks, aliases utensils, limiting interaction pinch communal surfaces and steering clear of areas wherever personification has vomited.

Anyone showing symptoms of gastroenteritis connected a cruise should alert aesculapian unit instantly and travel their instructions. Passengers whitethorn beryllium asked to stay successful their cabins temporarily to forestall nan microorganism from spreading to others, nan CDC says.