The Celebrity Summit is the latest cruise ship to experience a gastrointestinal outbreak requiring the involvement of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) this year. The Celebrity operated cruise ship reported 152 of 2,144 (7.09%) passengers and 25 of 963 (2.60%) crew members experienced gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses . A total of 177 people
For those of you who read Cruise Law News know that I report regularly on the numerous norovirus cases which plague the cruise industry. I am rather fascinated by the cruise lines’ PR departments which always blame norovirus outbreaks on the passengers for bringing the virus aboard, rather than contaminated food and water which infect the passengers.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports numerous outbreaks of norovirus on cruise ships operated by Celebrity Cruises, Cunard, Holland American Lines, and Royal Caribbean.
Every time there is an outbreak, the cruise lines blame the passengers who board the cruise ships. The media picks up in this theme and often reports that the problem is