Ninety-eight people have fallen ill with norovirus aboard Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas, according to a CDC report on September 28th. The outbreak includes 94 passengers and 4 crew members on the ship’s one-way voyage from San Diego to Miami, which began September 19th and ends October 2nd.
This is the 19th GI outbreak reported to the CDC this year and the third reported by Royal Caribbean. Cruise ships were on blistering pace for gastrointestinal (GI) outbreaks at the start of the year with 16 outbreaks in the first four months. Since then, there have been only 3 outbreaks over the last 5 months for a total of 19 this year.
Cruise ships report GI outbreaks to the CDC as part of the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP). Cruise ships are required to report outbreaks when 3% or more of passengers and staff have symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea.
The majority of the GI outbreaks reported are norovirus which has earned its reputation as the “cruise ship virus.” Unsurprisingly, cruise lines often blame passengers and their “poor hygiene” for norovirus outbreaks.
Norovirus is highly contagious. The tight living quarters and shared eating spaces on cruise ships are the ideal environment for it to spread. Norovirus spreads through contaminated food, water, surfaces, and even air in short distances.
The number of passengers and crew infected may increase with the Serenade of the Seas still at sea for 2 more days.
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October 2 2025 Update:
The Serenade of the Seas has reached Miami. The New York Times covered the story. “There have been 19 norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships so far this year, according to the C.D.C. Last year, there were 18 for the entire year. In 2023, there were 14 — the highest level in a decade.”
Images: Serenade of the Seas – Wiki
