At a glance
Learn more about outbreaks of gastrointestinal (GI) illness on cruise ships from 2019 through 2023 in the Vessel Sanitation Program's (VSP) jurisdiction.
Earlier outbreaks (2023)
| Cruise Line | Cruise Ship | Sailing Dates | Voyage Number | Causative Agent | Case Counts (Passengers) | Case Counts (Crew) |
| Virgin Voyages | Scarlet Lady | 10/8-10/13, 2023 | 10000687 | Salmonella and E. coli | 71 of 2,198 (3.23%) | 7 of 1,163 (0.60%) |
| Viking Cruises | Viking Neptune | 6/6-6/20, 2023 | 10005092 | Norovirus | 110 of 838 (13.1%) | 9 of 455 (1.98%) |
| Celebrity Cruises | Celebrity Summit | 5/15-5/25, 2023 | 58978 | Norovirus | 152 of 2,144 (7.09%) | 25 of 963 (2.60%) |
| Holland America | Nieuw Amsterdam | 5/6-5/21, 2023 | 539 | Norovirus | 246 of 1,971 (12.4%) | 38 of 826 (4.60%) |
| Princess Cruises | Grand Princess | 3/31-4/28, 2023 | AP311 | Norovirus | 99 of 1,727 (5.73%) | 32 of 1,089 (2.94%) |
| Princess Cruises | Emerald Princess | 3/17-4/1, 2023 | EP307 | Norovirus | 99 of 2,123 (4.66%) | 21 of 1,192 (1.76%) |
| Royal Caribbean International | Enchantment of the Seas | 3/23-3/31, 2023 | 16812 | Norovirus | 117 of 2,362 (5.0%) | 20 of 917 (2.18%) |
| Royal Caribbean International | Enchantment of the Seas | 3/11-3/23, 2023 | 16811 | Norovirus | 155 of 2,148 (7.22%) | 10 of 880 (1.14%) |
| Celebrity Cruises | Celebrity Equinox | 3/9-3/18, 2023 | 63524 | Norovirus | 122 of 2,579 (4.7%) | 14 of 1,222 (1.1%) |
| Celebrity Cruises | Celebrity Constellation | 3/6-3/17, 2023 | 59750 | Norovirus | 87 of 2,062 (4.2%) | 10 of 960 (1.04%) |
| Princess Cruises | Ruby Princess | 2/26-3/5, 2023 | RU305P | Norovirus | 284 of 2,881 (9.9%) | 34 of 1,159 (2.9%) |
| Royal Caribbean International | Jewel of the Seas | 1/28-2/3, 2023 | 852 | Norovirus | 68 of 2,185 (3.11%) | 1 of 865 (0.12%) |
| Royal Caribbean International | Brilliance of the Seas | 1/16-1/21, 2023 | 22948 | Norovirus | 70 of 2,160 (3.24%) | 8 of 838 (0.95%) |
| P&O Cruises | Arcadia | 1/3-4/13, 2023 | J301 | Norovirus | 88 of 1,752 (5.02%) | 20 of 815 (2.45%) |
Earlier outbreaks (2019-2022)
| Cruise Line | Cruise Ship | Sailing Dates | Causative Agent | Case Counts (Passengers) | Case Counts (Crew) |
| P&O Cruises | Arcadia | 12/29/2022-1/3/2023 | Norovirus | 84 of 1,986 (4.23%) | 10 of 818 (1.22%) |
| Silversea Cruises | Silver Moon | 12/21/2022-1/6/2023 | Unknown | 15 of 521 (2.8%) | 13 of 413 (3.15%) |
| Carnival Cruise Line | Carnival Splendor | 5/24/2022-5/31/2022 | Norovirus | 77 of 2,109 (3.65%) | 16 of 1,079 (1.48%) |
| Seabourn Cruise Lines | Seabourn Odyssey | 4/28/2022-5/19/2022 | Unknown | 15 of 380 (3.95%) | 5 of 347 (1.44%) |
| Viking Cruises | Viking Sea | 11/29/2021-12/13/2021 | Vibrio and E. coli | 116 of 640 (18.13%) | 4 of 404 (1.0%) |
| Royal Caribbean International | Grandeur of the Seas | 3/7/2020-3/19/2020 | Norovirus | 98 of 1,764 (5.56%) | 7 of 798 (0.88%) |
| Holland America Line | Westerdam | 3/1/2020-3/16/2020 | Unknown | 2 of 18 (11.11%) | 25 of 680 (3.68%) |
| Princess Cruises | Caribbean Princess | 2/16/2020-3/1/2020 | Norovirus | 240 of 3,039 (7.9%) | 19 of 1,162 (1.6%) |
| Princess Cruises | Caribbean Princess | 2/2/2020-2/16/2020 | Norovirus | 371 of 3,035 (12.2%) | 32 of 1,161 (2.8%) |
| Norwegian Cruise Line | Norwegian Joy | 11/8/2019-11/24/2019 | Unknown | 127 of 3,602 (3.53%) | 6 of 1,769 (0.34%) |
| Aida Cruises | AIDAdiva | 10/3/2019-11/13/2019 | Norovirus | 83 of 2,251 (3.7%) | 10 of 610 (1.6%) |
| Aida Cruises | AIDAluna | 9/28/2019-10/12/2019 | Norovirus | 85 of 2,166 (3.9%) | 10 of 612 (1.6%) |
| Aida Cruises | AIDAdiva | 9/5/2019-11/23/2019 | Norovirus | 117 of 2,055 (5.7%) | 8 of 610 (1.3%) |
| Carnival Cruise Line | Conquest | 9/7/2019-9/14/2019 | Norovirus | 17 of 3,241 (0.52%) | 35 of 1,158 (3.02%) |
| Oceania Cruises | Oceania Marina | 3/18/2019-4/5/2019 | Unknown | 36 of 1,066 (3.38%) | 4 of 763 (0.52%) |
| Princess Cruises | Island Princess | 2/8/2019-2/18/2019 | Norovirus | 101 of 2,193 (4.61%) | 9 of 905 (0.99%) |
| Viking Ocean Cruises | Viking Star | 2/7/2019-2/14/2019 | Norovirus | 36 of 904 (3.98%) | 1 of 461 (0.22%) |
| Viking Ocean Cruises | Viking Sea | 1/18/2019-1/28/2019 | Norovirus | 38 of 925 (4.1%) | 0 of 455 (0%) |
| Royal Caribbean International | Oasis of the Seas | 1/6/2019-1/13/2019 | Norovirus | 561 of 6,285 (8.91%) | 31 of 2,169 (1.45%) |
About outbreak reporting
We post outbreaks when they meet both of the following:
- Ship is under VSP jurisdiction (on voyages including both U.S. and foreign ports)
- Voyage has 3% or more of passengers or crew reporting symptoms of GI illness to the ship's medical staff
We may also post other outbreaks of public health significance.
Notes about the data
GI illness is a commonly used term for acute gastroenteritis (AGE). Reporting GI illness on cruise ships is important. When passengers and crew tell the medical center onboard about their symptoms, it helps GI outbreaks get detected quickly. This allows steps to be taken to limit the spread of illness. Medical staff evaluate symptoms to see if they meet our case definition for AGE:
- Three or more loose stools within a 24-hour period or what is more than normal for that person OR
- Vomiting along with one of the following symptoms: diarrhea, muscle ache, headache, abdominal cramp, or fever
Cruise ships are required to report these cases to us.
Learn more
Learn how passengers can protect themselves with these tips for healthy cruising.
Find more information on
- VSP outbreak response
- Recent outbreaks
- Archived outbreaks (1993–2018)
Read our publication on cruise ship GI outbreaks during 2006-2019.
Content Source:
National Center for Environmental Health