The Oceania Insignia reported to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that 74 passengers and 1 crew member are sick with Norovirus. This is the first gastrointestinal (GI) outbreak for Oceania Cruises and the 20th outbreak across all cruise lines this year.

Twenty GI outbreaks are the most ever reported by the CDC since 1994, the earliest year for which data is publicly available. The second most outbreaks came in 2024 with 18 outbreaks and the third most was 2012 with 16 outbreaks.

This year started with an incredible 16 outbreaks in the first 4 months, almost guaranteeing a record year. The pace of outbreaks has slowed to 4 since April. The most recent GI outbreak prior to the Oceania Insignia was on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas when 135 passengers and crew fell sick with Norovirus.

Unsurprisingly, Norovirus has been the primary causative agent of the outbreaks with 15 cases this year. Norovirus is highly contagious and cruise ships are the perfect environment for the disease to spread, given the tight living arrangements and shared dining spaces.

Despite this being the 20th outbreak this year, the cruise industry has offered little explanation for the surge in outbreaks and how they plan to limit them. Cruise lines continue to operate as if Norovirus and other GI outbreaks are an unavoidable part of cruising rather than a preventable public health failure. Expect to hear the usual blame on passengers and their “poor hygiene” rather than any real accountability by the cruise industry.

Cruise ships are required to report GI outbreaks when 3% or more of passengers and crew have symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea as part of the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP). Currently, 11.6% of passengers and 0.3% of crew members are sick with Norovirus on the Oceania Insignia.

The number of passengers sick may increase with the Oceania Insignia still at sea until October 27 when the ship disembarks in Boston, Massachusetts. The ship departed from Montreal, Canada on October 16 and reported the outbreak on October 20.

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October 25, 2025 Update:

The Quietside Journal cites this article in its article Cruise ship with highest number of virus cases of 2025 to dock in Portland Sunday; residents wary.

Image: Oceania Insignia – Wiki; sick individual- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention