Health Outbreaks at Sea in 2005

We sailed from San Diego to Auckland Nov. 17/05 to Dec. 22/05. There was an outbreak of GI illness involving at least 60 - 70 passengers and unknown number of crew. My husband was very ill for 24 hours and nauseous for a week but they didn't count him as they said he wasn't sick enough. Passengers who were treated had to pay large fees - they said the illness came on board with people who boarded in Peru.

	2002 Box Score		2003 Box Score		2004 Box Score		2005 Box Score
Illness:	# of reports	Total Sick	# of reports	Total Sick	# of reports	Total Sick	# of reports	Pax Sick	Crew Sick	Total Sick
Gastrointestinal (including Noro virus)	35	3070	36	3187	40	3350	34	4109	544	4653
E coli	1	240			1	86
Salmonella	3	51					1	1	20	21
Shigella	1	169
Other	3		2	7
Total	43	3530	44	3556	42	3675	35	4110	564	4674
NOTE: Box Score includes outbreaks confirmed by the CDC or those reported by multiple sources with reliable numbers. Estimates given by passengers are generally not included in the table.

Date	Ship Cruise Line	Event	Source of Info
December 30	Zuiderdam Holland America Line	On the last night/morning, many people were stricken with a gastrointestinal illness that caused diarrhea and vomiting. A great deal of vomit was on the stairs, elevator and other public areas by Friday morning. I was one of the seemingly many people that fell sick, and had to endure an extremely difficult day of travel home to Canada. Advice: the cruise line may benefit from providing some sort of follow up information service when so many passengers become sick on their ship; they may also benefit from frequent changing of serving utensils in the buffet areas.	PAX
December	Statendam Holland America Line	We sailed from San Diego to Auckland Nov. 17/05 to Dec. 22/05. There was an outbreak of GI illness involving at least 60 - 70 passengers and unknown number of crew. My husband was very ill for 24 hours and nauseous for a week but they didn't count him as they said he wasn't sick enough. Passengers who were treated had to pay large fees - they said the illness came on board with people who boarded in Peru.	PAX
November 30	Diamond Princess Princess Cruises	The Brisbane Courier-Mail reports that doctors are "battling to contain a highly contagious gastrointestinal virus among almost 4000 passengers and crew on the luxury cruise liner." The ship is on a 16-day cruise which began in Beijing on November 20. Passengers were given a health advisory about norovirus when they boarded the fully-booked ship; by day 4 they were advised that 37 cases have been reported and instructed to practice good personal hygiene. The number of ill was revised to 58 (of 2650 passengers) on November 30. A passenger aboard the previous cruise (November 8 -- Bangkok to Beijing) reports that a number of people had norovirus symptoms --"there was never an official notice but it was common knowledge ."	Media
November 26	Splendor of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	The CDC has reported that 135 of 1592 passengers (8.48%) and 12 of 729 crew (1.65%) have reported ill with symptoms consistent with norovirus. The 14 day cruise began in Barcelona and ended November 26 in Galveston.	CDC
November 13	Westerdam Holland America Line	Reported by a passenger: An outbreak Norwalk type flu on cruise returning to Fort Lauderdale Nov 13. Captain informed us that forty passengers involved and nine remained in stateroom as of Nov 12. Precautionary measures were taken: no self service or articles on tables. According to another passenger, HAL took great care in preventing the spread of the disease -- she was told 40 passengers and 10 crew members had reported ill.	PAX
November 5	Seadream I Seadream Yacht Club	The CDC has reported that 27 passengers (29.03%) and 5 crew (5.26%) have reported ill with symptoms consistent with norovirus.	CDC
November 3	Seadream II Seadream Yacht Club	More than a dozen passengers (10%+) reportedly contracted gastrointestinal illness believed to be Norovirus. Crew members told some passengers that more than 30 passengers (30%) were reportedly ill on the previous cruise.	PAX
October 30	Seadream I Seadream Yacht Club	The CDC has reported that 5 passengers (5.15%) have reported ill with symptoms consistent with norovirus.	CDC
July 2	Legend of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	A passenger is in a Spanish hospital after contracting what is believed to be Legionnaires' Disease. On June 27 the passenger became very ill and was rushed to hospital when the ship docked in Barcelona. Doctors diagnosed Legionella Pneumophilia, the bacterium which causes Legionnaires' Disease. The ship was detained in Barcelona for an extra day while authorities decided if there was a risk to the 2,000 passengers.	Media
July 2	Jewel of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	Passengers on the cruise ending today (June 20 - July 2) in Harwick (England) report more than 100 passengers became ill with diarrhea and vomiting. One passenger says a staff person in the medical centre said that many of the crew had it and had had it on the previous cruise. Another says her daughter's blood test indicated a bacterial source for the disease which suggests food or water contamination, though descriptions provided suggest the source of the outbreak was noro or similar virus. It is unlikely that further information will be made available given that the ship is not required to contact or provide information to the Centers for Disease Control because it was operating outside the US.	PAX
May 27	Oceana P&O Cruises	According to the British media, about 200 passengers (10%) on the ship have reported being ill from norovirus. The ship left Southampton on a 17-night Mediterranean cruise on May 19 and returns June 5.	BBC
May 23	Voyager of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	Several passengers (including postings at Cruise Critic) have said there was an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness on the May 15th cruise. Some passenger say the number affected exceeds 100, but officially this has not been designated an outbreak by the CDC which requires that at least 3% of passengers report ill (in Voyager's case, more than 100). I have received e-mail saying there was also illness on the cruise beginning May 22. Here are numbers provided by the CDC: May 15 - 22: 45 pax, 14 crew reported ill; May 22 - 29: 85 pax and 14 crew. These are less than 3%, but still substantial numbers.	PAX
May 16	Sun Princess Princess Cruises	The CDC reports that 121of 2000 passengers (6.05%) and 4 of 852 crew members (.47%) reported ill during the May 9 - 16 cruise ending in Whittier, AK.	CDC
May 16	Dawn Princess Princess Cruises	The CDC reports that 76 of 1974 passengers (3.9%) and 9 of 864 crew members (1.0%) reported ill during the April 29 - May 14 cruise ending in San Francisco.	CDC
April 30	Horizon Celebrity Cruises	The CDC reports that 42 of 1309 passengers (3.2%) and 14 of 650 crew members (2.1%) reported ill during the April 23 - April 30 cruise ending in Norfolk.	CDC
April 22	Crystal Symphony Crystal Cruises	The CDC reports that 20 of 570 passengers (3.5%) and 3 of 560 crew members (.5%) reported ill during the April 14 - April 25 cruise ending in Ft. Lauderdale.	CDC
April 3	Zenith Celebrity Cruises	From a Passenger: As you know, there was widespread illness on the Zenith sailing that returned to JAX on March 13, 2005. The illness continued on the following cruise (ending March 27) as well.They had sprayed down with disinfectant all the public area surfaces and left it there to dry (mirrors, walls, handrails, etc.), and gave us a lengthy lecture on hand washing at embarkation. They had installed gel hand sanitizers at the entrance to all food service areas, and would not allow "serve yourself" in buffet lines for the first week. Then they eased up, wiped down all the surfaces and let us help ourselves. Then people started getting ill. From what I heard, approx. 150 people were quarantined. The bad part was they made it sound like pax would get free treatment at the ship's doctor for flu like symptoms, in an effort to control another outbreak. But, I had breakfast with a couple who had spent over $600 on mandatory doctor visits, flu "vaccines", injections, antibiotics and various other prescribed treatments. No compensation was offered for staying quarantined for 72 hours, or for the medical treatment. (Added to "Box Score" with 100 ill -- second cruise in a row with an outbreak.)	PAX
March 29	Norwegian Crown Norwegian Cruise Line	The CDC reports that 60 of 1020 passengers (5.88%) and 4 of 531crew members (.75%) reported ill during the March 13 - March 28 cruise ending in Miami. The ship had just returned from its South America itineraries and as noted below (February 1 - 27) had had health outbreaks on previous cruises. These earlier illnesses were reported by passengers but were not reported by the CDC because cruises that don't include a US port in their itinerary are not required to report health outbreaks to the CDC.	CDC
March 23	Royal Princess Princess Cruise	The CDC reports that 41 of 1163 passengers (3.27%) and 15 of 541crew members (2.77%) reported ill during the March 7 - March 24 cruise ending in Fort Lauderdale.	CDC
March 14	Veendam Holland America Line	The CDC reports that 88 of 1267 passengers (6.95%) and 6 of 554 crew members (1.08%) reported ill during the March 5 - 12 cruise ending in Tampa. Third outbreak on ship in 2005	CDC
March 14	Amsterdam Holland America Line	A passenger wrote: There was an outbreak of influenza and bronchitis on the cruise from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Valparaiso, Chile. It was very widespread, as it seemed that nearly everyone was coughing severely. Nearly everyone we met on the ship was infected. The doctor on the ship diagnosed me with “what everyone else has”, influenza/bronchitis, and the flu shot was ineffective against this flu. I know of one hospitalization in Puerto Montt, and the person was left there. I was given an antiviral med and Z-Pak antibiotic, as was nearly everyone that I talked to. At no time during the cruise did the captain or any other crew member acknowledge that there was a problem, except the doctor. Rumor has it that several people got off the ship in Buenos Aires with possible pneumonia.	PAX
March 7	Zenith Celebrity Cruises	The CDC reports that 138 of 1308 passengers (10.55%) and 17 of 656 crew members (2.59%) reported ill during the February 27 - March 13 cruise ending in Jacksonville. The cruise returns to Jacksonville in another week, so the numbers will likely increase.	CDC
February 27	Windsurf Windstar Cruises	A passenger wrote about an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness on the February 20 - 27 cruise to/from Cozumel. My wife, who was unaffected by the outbreak, estimated that 5-10% of the passengers were impacted by the outbreak, judging from the number of passengers in the lounge, restaurant, on deck, etc. and conversations with fellow passengers. (10% of passengers on this ship would be 30) . The response to the passenger's request to Windstar/Holland America for some sort of compensation has essentially been “these things happen and you can’t hold us responsible.” This is a disappointing attitude given Windstar’s premium price point and service reputation Cruises that don't include a US port in their itinerary are not required to report health outbreaks to the CDC.	PAX
February 26	Sensation Carnival Cruise Line	The CDC reports that 78 passengers (3.38%) reported ill during the February 21-26 cruise.	CDC
February 25	Celebration Carnival Cruise Line	The CDC reports that 89 of 1,647 passengers (5.26%) and 30 of 693 crew members (4.33%) reported ill during the February 21 - 26 cruise to/from Jacksonville, FL. SECOND CRUISE IN A ROW WITH OUTBREAK (Several passenger wrote and estimated the number ill were at least double CDC's numbers)	CDC
February 23	Seven Seas Mariner Radisson Seven Seas Cruises	The CDC reports that 1 of 551 passengers (.18%) and 20 of 444 crew members (4.5%) reported ill during the February 12 - 24 cruise disembarking in Ft. Lauderdale. The illness was caused by salmonella.	CDC
February 20	Celebration Carnival Cruise Line	The CDC reports that 89 of 1,692 passengers (5.26%) and 35 of 688 crew members (5.09%) reported ill during the February 17 - 21 cruise to/from Jacksonville, FL.	CDC
February 13 - 27	Norwegian Crown Norwegian Cruise Line	A passenger wrote the following: Both my husband and I got the norwalk virus and I know lots of other people got norwalk. Another passenger reported that approximately half of the passengers onboard became ill. Cruises that don't include a US port in their itinerary are not required to report health outbreaks to the CDC. Second cruise in a row with an outbreak -- allowing for exaggeration, the table includes 250 passengers and 75 crew members.	PAX
February 1 - 13	Norwegian Crown Norwegian Cruise Line	Passengers boarding at Valparaiso on February 13 were advised there had been "small" outbreak of a benign gastrointestinal bug that affected about 3%, or 34, of the passengers on the previous cruise that they said was brought onboard by passengers/crew at one of the ships ports-of-call, and they had taken numerous steps to eradicate the virus before the cruise ended. Passengers were given an option to cancel and get credit for a future cruise. Due to the timing of this notice, no one likely accepted the offer. There are also reports of a large-scale outbreak (some estimate 15% of passengers) of viral illness on the Jan 16-29 cruise. Cruises that don't include a US port in their itinerary are not required to report health outbreaks to the CDC.	PAX
February 1	Xpeditions Celebrity Cruises	There have been reports on Cruise Critic of recurring health problems over the past several months (gastrointestinal illness) on the ship. The ship is not normally be inspected by the CDC because the ship operates outside US waters.	PAX
January 3 - 31	Infinity Celebrity Cruises	From a passenger on the cruise beginning January 17: At least 600 people were ill with upper respiratory and norwalk virus. They were calling it an epidemic. People were so ill and most quarantined to their staterooms. From a passenger on the cruise beginning January 3: there were hundreds of people who got a stomach/diarrhea problem, and hundreds of others who contracted a bronchitis-type problem that required twice daily nebulizer treatments. By the 9th day of the cruise, workers were constantly and meticulously scrubbing everything in sight, the food servers for the first time began to wear medical-type latex gloves, and there were dispensers of hand cleaning liquid at the beginning of each buffet line. Cruises that don't include a US port in their itinerary are not required to report health outbreaks to the CDC. Two successive outbreaks -- allowing for exaggeration, the table includes the following: 2 outbreaks affecting 400 passengers and 100 crew members.	PAX
January 30	Carnival Miracle Carnival Cruise Line	Two days after returning from a 7 day cruise ending January 30, a 21 year old man died. His family filed a class action suit against Carnival Cruise Lines (reported by the Sun Sentinel on January 21, 2006) claiming that several passengers developed flu-like symptoms from consuming food or water contaminated with the Norovirus. The suit further identifies the cause of death as "norovirus infection and complications thereof".	Media
January 29	Veendam Holland America Line	The cruise was ended 13 hours ahead of schedule. It is reported that 200 of 1,220 passengers (16.4%) and 30 of 572 crew members (5.2%) reported ill during the Jan 15 - 29 beginning and ending in Tampa. SECOND CRUISE IN A ROW WITH OUTBREAK	CDC
January 27	Empress of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	The CDC reports that 68 of 1,544 passengers (4.4%) and 5 of 685 crew members (.7%) so far have reported ill during the January 17 - 28 cruise based from San Juan, Puerto Rico.	CDC
January 24	Ryndam Holland America Line	The CDC reports that 562 of 1,223 passengers (46.148%) and 36 of 574 crew members (6.2%) so far have reported ill during the January 13 - 29 cruise from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale.	CDC
January 22	Mariner of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	The ship is set to dock at Port Canaveral on January 23 at the end of a western Caribbean cruise. 276 of 3,465 passengers (7.9%) and 27 of 1,190 crew members (2.2%) were reportedly sickened by Norwalk-like virus.	CDC
January 18	Sun Princess Princess Cruise	The CDC reports that 93 of 2,035 passengers (4.57%) and 5 of 865 crew members (.58%) reported ill with norovirus during the Jan 8 - 18 cruise beginning and ending in Fort Lauderdale. Plans were to have the ship "fogged" before the next cruise.	PAX/ CDC
January 15	Veendam Holland America Line	A passenger reports there was an outbreak of norovirus on the cruise ending today. The cast was unable to perform the last shows due to illness and the ship was on full scale control measures. Guests were not allowed to touch any utensils, salt and pepper disappeared, and crew were constantly wiping down everything. We had to vacate cabins early on arrival so they could "super-sanitize" the ship. In sum, 214 of 1,236 passengers (17.32%) and 35 of 571 crew (5.99%) reported ill.	PAX/ CDC
January 14	Diamond Princess Princess Cruises	Several passengers posted messages at Cruise Critic indicating a significant number (a busload) of passengers experienced symptoms consistent with norovirus during the cruise Jan 7 - 14 (ending in Los Angeles). NOT CONFIRMED BY CDC -- This case not in numbers above.	PAX
January 8	Enchantment of the Seas Royal Caribbean International	The ship returned to Port Everglades from a 5-day cruise on which 103 of 2,136 passengers (4.82%) and 8 of 756 crew (1.06%) reported illness from a Norwalk-like virus.	CDC
January 7	Coral Princess Princess Cruises	A passenger reports that there was an increased number of passengers and crew with gastrointestinal illness and estimates between 40 and 100 passengers and 25 to 30 crew members have been affected. The CDC reported 84 of 2116 (3.97%) passengers and 31 of 913 crew (3.4%) reported ill on this cruise to/from San Juan.	PAX/ CDC