How Royal Caribbean deals with norovirus outbreaks as almost 100 more passengers infected
Royal Caribbean has stringent protocols in place for when illnesses begin spreading on their cruise ships
Nearly 100 passengers travelling onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise have fallen ill after an outbreak of norovirus swept over the ship.
The outbreak is said to have taken hold of the Serenade of the Seas ship ahead of its final stop in Miami, having departed from San Diego on 19 September.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it had been made aware of the outbreak on Sunday, 28 September, as 94 passengers and four crew members on a cruise ship were reported to have been affected.
It's the 19th gastrointestinal outbreak on a cruise ship so far this year, 14 of which were caused by norovirus. It's the third norovirus outbreak on a Royal Caribbean ship reported to the CDC this year.
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Fortunately only a small percentage of people onboard appear to have been struck down with the bug, with the Royal Caribbean ship said to have 1,874 passengers and 883 crew onboard, making the affected number around four percent.
Norovirus is also known as the winter vomiting bug and causes sudden sickness and diarrhoea that usually lasts around two days.
Other symptoms can include aches and pains, headaches and a temperature.
"The health and safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit are our top priority," Royal Caribbean Group said in a statement.
"To maintain an environment that supports the highest levels of health and safety onboard our ships, we implement rigorous cleaning procedures, many of which far exceed public health guidelines."
How Royal Caribbean deals with sickness outbreaks
Given the highly infectious nature of something like norovirus, and the huge number of people living in close proximity on a ship, cruise liners have rigorous protocols in place to limit the spread of illness in situations like these.
The first step will usually involve encouraging all passengers and crew who are experiencing symptoms to report to the ship's medical centre so the captain can gain a proper understanding of the severity of the situation.
The medical team will keep track of the number of people affected and if three percent or more of people onboard become unwell, the CDC will be informed. Stool samples will often be taken from unwell passengers for testing.
In their 2024 Seastainability Report, Royal Caribbean said testing for acute gastroenteritis (AGE) involved sampling even before one percent of passengers are experiencing symptoms if a cluster of cases is identified.
They also send negative norovirus tests back to land-based labs for further analysis, while conducting 170 public health inspections in 2024.
On their website, the cruise company adds that anyone experiencing symptoms of an infectious disease like norovirus will need to be quarantined in their room 'either until they can be safely disembarked at a port of call with private transport home, or when the sailing concludes back at the home port where it started'.
Topics: Travel, Health, Royal Caribbean, Cruise Ship
Emma Rosemurgey