More than 100 passengers and crew members fell sick during a norovirus outbreak on the Caribbean Princess cruise ship, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC said that 102 passengers and 13 crew members reported becoming ill during the voyage, which took place from April 28 to May 11.
In response to the norovirus outbreak, Princess Cruises and the crew aboard the ship reported increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to its outbreak prevention and response plan and isolated ill passengers and crew, the agency said.
The Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP), which helps the cruise ship industry prevent and control the introduction and spread of gastrointestinal illnesses on ships, is conducting a field response for an environmental assessment and outbreak investigation to assist the ship in controlling the spread.
Norovirus is highly contagious and thrives in places where people gather in close quarters, making cruise ships susceptible to outbreaks. There have been two norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships so far this year, the CDC reports.
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According to the CDC, norovirus can be contracted from an infected person, contaminated food or water or by touching contaminated surfaces. The virus causes inflammation of the stomach or intestines, which leads to stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.
Norovirus illness can be serious, especially for young children and older adults, but it is different from the hantavirus, which recently sickened passengers on the MV Hondius cruise ship.
Hantavirus usually spreads by inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings and, in rare cases, can be transmitted from person to person, according to the World Health Organization. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.
A total of 3,116 passengers and 1,131 crew members are on the Caribbean Princess cruise ship, the CDC reports. The vessel left Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on April 28 and is expected to arrive in Florida on Monday.
“Princess Cruises can confirm that a limited number of individuals reported mild gastrointestinal illness during the April 28 Caribbean Princess voyage from Port Everglades,” Princess Cruises said in a statement on Friday.
“We quickly disinfected every area of the ship and added extra sanitizing throughout the voyage,” the cruise line added.
Global News has reached out to Princess Cruises for further comment, but has not received a response.
The outbreak on the Caribbean Princess comes more than a month after another norovirus outbreak was reported on the cruise line’s Star Princess ship.
In March, the CDC reported that 141 passengers and 52 crew members reported becoming ill with norovirus on the Star Princess cruise ship. The ship left Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and made stops in the Caribbean, Honduras, Belize and the Mexican Riviera.
Last April, 240 people had fallen sick on the Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 following a norovirus outbreak.
The CDC said in an outbreak report that 224 of the ship’s 2,538 passengers had fallen ill from the virus, as well as an additional 17 staff members.
The vessel departed Southampton in the U.K. on March 8, 2025, for a nearly month-long cruise to New York and then through the Caribbean, making various stops along the island chain. It was due back in Southampton on April 6, 2025.
According to the CDC, passengers experienced vomiting and diarrhea during the outbreak. The health agency said Cunard had stepped up its cleaning and disinfection protocols, and that sick passengers and crew were being quarantined.
— with files from Global News
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