Source:  www.cruisejunkie.com

Illness Outbreaks on Cruise Ships

2011




2009
Box Score
2010
Box Score
2011
Box Score
Illness:
# of
reports
Pax
Sick
Crew
Sick
Total
Sick
# of
reports
Pax
Sick
Crew
Sick
Total
Sick
# of
reports
Pax
Sick
Crew
Sick
Total
Sick
Gastrointestinal
(including Noro virus)
30
3565
235
3800
36 6799 299 7098 20 1629 105 1734
E coli




        2 105 32 137
Salmonella




               
Shigella




               
Other
3
235
162
397
1   3 3 1 100   100
Total
33
3800
397
4197
37 6799 302 7101 23 1834 137 1971
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.

Summary of Illness Outbreaks, 2002 - 2010
(Click on Year for More Detail)

Year
# of Reports
Total Sick
2002
43
3530
2003
44
3556
2004
42
3675
2005
35
4674
2006
54
7215
2007
42
4577
2008 39 3743
2009 30 4197
2010 37 7101



Swine Flu and Cruise Ships - Reported Cases and Issues




2011
Date
Ship
Cruise Line
Event
Source
December 31 Norwegian Spirit
Norwegian Cruise Line
The CDC reports reports 94 of 2409 passengers (3.90%) and 13 of 945 crew (1.38%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer boarded the ship on arrival in New Orleans, LA on December 25, 2011 to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluated the outbreak and response activities. Ship crew completed a full comprehensive super-sanitation turn around between disembarking and embarking passengers. Stool specimens were sent to the CDC lab for testing, which revealed that this outbreak was caused by Norovirus.The ship is on a 7 day cruise ending December 25th.
CDC
December 31 Mariner of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
The following message was sent on December 22 to passengers booked for the cruise from Galveston, 12/26/2011 to 01/02/2012: We are contacting you to provide you with important information regarding your sailing on Mariner of the Seas on Monday, December 26, 2011. During Mariner of the Seas' last sailing, a number of guests onboard experienced gastrointestinal illness.  In an abundance of caution, we are conducting enhanced sanitizing onboard the ship and within the cruise terminal to help prevent any illness from affecting your cruise. Because of this additional sanitizing, the check in and boarding process is now anticipated to take place between 2:00 p.m and 5:00 pm.  We sincerely apologize for this delay. Due to the limited seating in the cruise terminal in Galveston, Texas, please do not arrive at the pier before 2:00 pm on Monday.   As a gesture of goodwill, and to thank our guests for their understanding and cooperation, Royal Caribbean will provide each guest with a $20 credit to their onboard account to cover lunch in Galveston and any incidental cost they might incur due to the delay in boarding.  
Cruise Line
December 30 Aurora
P&O Cruises
The Daily Echo reports around 25 passengers were showing symptoms of norovirus last night. Sick passengers are being told to isolate themselves in their rooms while a “comprehensive” disinfection programme is rolled out on the ship, which set sail from Southampton last week. Yesterday the vessel was on a day call in Tenerife ahead of the next leg of its 15-day voyage – a cruise to Gran Canaria. Aurora is due to return to Southampton on January 4.
Media
December 16 Ryndam
Holland America Line
The CDC reports reports 69 of 1298 passengers (5.32%) and 6 of 574 crew (1.05%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and an epidemiologist will board the ship on arrival in Tampa on December 18, 2011, to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. The ship is on a 7 day cruise ending December 18th.
CDC
December 12 Carnival Conquest
Carnival Cruise Lines
From a passenger: There was an outbreak of something vomiting and diarrhea starting on Tuesday of the cruise (4-11 Dec). My husband got sick on Thursday morning and was asked to stay in cabin on isolation. On Friday I came down with vomiting and diarrhea. We were told there were lots of people sick. We were basically left to fend for ourselves. It may have taken 2 to 3 hours to get a powerade. They sent up crackers one time. They did not even help us get off the ship with our luggage. This was our second trip on the Conquest and our last. They had half the staff they did on our first voyage. The Cezenne dining room was dirty most of the time with dirty tables. After 7 pm it was hard to find anything other than pizza. I talked to Carnival and they said they had cut back on dining times and menu. They said they were sorry we got sick. Another passenger writes: On our final day at sea suddenly all the crew was wearing gloves and none of the passengers were allowed to get their own plate or food at the buffet. Everything had to be served by the staff and they were constantly wiping down everything and making announcements about hygiene. We asked if something was going on and we were told no however by that night 3 of the seven people in our party were very sick and once we walked in on an employee in the bathroom vomiting very badly. A casino employee told us that night many of the crew and passengers were very sick. When we were getting off the boat Sunday we saw stacks and stacks of mattresses in plastic they were loading on the ship. We still have people from our group sick and I wish we had been told something. We received no information and since I was traveling with two children and my seventy year old father I continue to be concerned.
Pax
December 9 Celebrity Constellation
Celebrity Cruises
From a passenger: I just returned home. I did a 13 night that got into FLL on 12/3 from Barcelona and it was delayed boarding 5 hours because of a deep clean. The whole cruise was very different: no boarding drinks, no captain's club buffets, no brunches. The entire cruise everything including beverages were served. Not even napkins were available. Bleach ruined some of my clothes from the "deep clean" They were spraying bleach in every room with a steam machine after each event. The prior cruise Istanbul/ Turkey was so bad it was reported people got #2 at the buffet, and in the Solarium Jacuzzi!!! The men in orange suits arrived, but people continued to eat. :(
Pax
December 8 Celebrity Solstice
Celebrity Cruises
The CDC reports reports 128 of 2730 passengers (4.69%) and 11 of 1211 crew (0.91%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. Three CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologists will board the ship on arrival in Fort Lauderdale on December 11, 2011, to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. The ship is on a 14 day cruise ending December 11th.
CDC
December 5 Carnival Legend
Carnival Cruise Lines
From a passenger: I went on a cruise November 26. There was a outbreak of an illness, on the 2nd day at sea. At the beginning of the day you couldn't walk into a bathroom unless you wanted to see people throwing up, and by the afternoon it got worse. You couldn't walk anywhere! there were people vomiting in hallways. I hid out in my teen club, i was the only one there.. Eventually i began to get hungry, so i decided i would venture to go get something from the buffet. As i leave the teen club, i notice the deck is empty. there is no one. It was 1pm, and I was all alone on the pool deck. I get to the buffet, and usually at this time there will be long lines to get food. but there were 5 other passengers in the buffet with me. It felt so empty. Later that day i was walking to one of the ships daily activities in the empty hallway, and see crew members taping barf bags to walls, and putting them in bathrooms. It was so weird feeling like the only passenger who wasn't sick. It was nice but eerie. Also the weather was so horrible that they closed the pool deck on the 3rd day for most of the cruise, because of high winds. I went out on the deck and i got pushed by the wind. it was bad.
Pax
November 27 Oasis of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
NBC Miami reports dozens of peoplehad a gastrointestinal illness, but the ship was sanitized as has since set sail on another cruise, the company said. The ship completed the Caribbean trip on Saturday at Port Everglades. During the trip, 54 guests and 10 crew members fell ill with what was thought to be Norovirus, the company said in an email statement. The people were treated with over-the-counter medication aboard the ship. The crew sanitized the ship in the port to avoid spreading the illness, and the vessel left port again on Saturday and is on a seven-day cruise through the western Caribbean.
Media
November 22 Veendam
Holland America Line
The New York Post reports at least 72 passengers and seven crew members were affected by an unspecified ailment (gastrointestinal) on the journey from Chile. Anvisa officials who boarded the ship when it docked in Rio Tuesday found only two people still showed symptoms of intestinal discomfort, Azaro said. The Vancouver Sun subsequently reports that 79 passengers and 7 crew member reportedly became ill with gastrointestinal illness.
Media
November 18 Ryndam
Holland America Line
The CDC reports reports 148 of 1188 passengers (12.46%) and 11 of 732 crew (1.92%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and two epidemiologists boarded the ship on arrival in HAL's private island in the Bahamas on November 18, 2011, to conduct a comprehensive environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. The ship is on a 14 day cruise ending November 20th.
CDC
July 1 Sea Princess
Princess Cruises
USA Today reports that after three earlier incidents, the Sea Princess experienced yet another outbreak of norovirus, prompting what Princess Cruises officials called a "prolonged and intensive sanitization" before the ship set sail this week from San Francisco on a 10-day Alaska sailing. The extensive cleaning delayed the departure of the ship by more than five hours on Wednesday. A spokeswoman said it was too soon to tell whether the illness had been contained; whether there were any sick passengers or crew on the ship's current sailing. A total of 53 (or 2.4%) of 2,196 passengers were affected by the gastrointestinal illness during the previous sailing, a 10-day cruise that had departed San Francisco on June 19 and returned on Wednesday. The Sea Princess' current norovirus issues began in May when 44 passengers were reported ill on the ship's May 10 sailing from San Francisco to Alaska.
Media
June 19 Superstar Virgo
Star Cruises
Nation Multimedia reports about 100 passengers on a cruise from Singapore to Vietnam suffered food poisoning. Passengers became ill after the ship docked in Vietnam. Investigations were ongoing to find out the cause of the symptoms, which included vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, fever and chills. Passengers, contacted after the ship returned to Singapore on Friday, described the scene on the vessel as "chaotic," with crowds at its onboard clinic, the paper said. "We were quarantined in our rooms for the rest of the trip," said passenger Cynthia Lim, 22, who suffered cramps and had fever on Wednesday morning and was admitted to the ship's intensive care unit. "If we got food poisoning from a roadside stall we picked ourselves, it would have been our fault. But this was food given to us by Star Cruises," The Straits Times quoted Lim as saying.
Media
June 15 Sea Lion
Lindblad Expeditions
The CDC reports 17 of 61 passengers (28.87%) and 6 of 24 crew (25%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness on the cruise from May 21 - 28. There was a relatively high percentage of passengers who became ill on subsequent cruises: 5/28/2011 – 6/3/2011: 2 of 63 passengers (3.2%), 1 of 24 crew (4.2%); 6/4/2011 – 6/11/2011: 4 of 66 passengers (6.1%); 6/11/2011 – 6/18-2011: 2 of 62 passengers (3.2%).
CDC
June 8 Sea Princess
Princess Cruises
The CDC reports 135 of 2128 passengers (6.3%) and 6 of 840 crew (0.7%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer will board the ship on arrival in San Francisco on June 09, 2011 to conduct a comprehensive environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. NOTE: Breaking Travel News reports it will be necessary for the ship to undergo a prolonged and additional disinfection in San Francisco on Thursday, June 9, 2011. As a consequence, embarkation will be delayed. Cruise check-in is now scheduled to begin at 5:30pm. All passengers must be onboard by 7:30pm. In addition, the delayed departure will require itinerary changes. The call to Juneau on June 12 has been cancelled and replaced with a call to Sitka. The call to Haines on June 14 has also been cancelled and replaced with a call to Juneau.
CDC
May 30 Sea Princess
Princess Cruises
The CDC reports 128 of 2053 passengers (6.23%) and 13 of 838 crew (1.55%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers boarded the ship on arrival in Juneau, AK on May 24, 2011 to conduct a limited, targeted environmental health assessment and evaluated the outbreak and response activities.
CDC
May 27 Celebrity Millennium
Celebrity Cruises
The CDC reports reports 104 of 2058 passengers (5.1%) and 9 of 921 crew (0.98%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers boarded the ship on arrival in Juneau, AK on May 24, 2011 to conduct a limited, targeted environmental health assessment and evaluated the outbreak and response activities.
CDC
May 19 Coral Princess
Princess Cruises
The CDC reports 64 of 1990 passengers (3.22%) and 3 of 873 crew (0.57%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The ship arrives in San Francinco today following a 15-day cruise that began in Ft. Lauderdale.
CDC
May 6 Emerald Princess
Princess Cruises
From a reader: I just got a note from my parents who are on the Emerald Princess 16-day transatlantic for the past week or so since 4/27. Apparently they put the ship on Red Alert today for sickness onboard as they have shut down all the self-serve areas of the buffets and are forcing everyone to use hand sanitizer. From a passenger onboard: We were told there were aound 50 cases among pax -- about 2% of pax. quoting from a leter from the Chie Medical Officer and announcement from Captain: "...I would like to advise you that unfortuantely over that last 24hours, we have seen an increase in the number of reported cases of gastrontestinal illness which are strongly suggestive of Norovirus. In order to interrups the sread of illness, we have proactively initiated an extensive santitation program ... You are liely to notice evidence of thee additional measures around the ship." UPDTATE May 10: Things have gotten worse - per captain's message tonight. Rumor is 400 pax sick, but I doubt those numbers. Regardless, they are acting as if we are at red alert. NOTE: Cruise ships are not required to report illness outbreaks when they do not stop at a US port - thus this outbreak will not be eported by th CDC.
PAX
May 4 Coral Princess
Princess Cruises
The CDC reports 66 of 1507 passengers (4.38%) and 3 of 874 crew (0.34%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness determined to be E coli. The ship arrives in Ft. Lauderdale today following a 10-day cruise that began April 24.
CDC
March 15 Marina
Oceania Cruises
The CDC reports 39 of 1126 passengers (3.46%) and 29 of 789 crew (3.68%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness determined to be E coli. The ship arrives in Miami today following an 18-day cruise that began February 26.
CDC
February 2 Celebrity Solstice
Celebrity Cruises
According to a letter sent to travel agents by Celebrity Cruises, We are writing to provide you with important information regarding your clients booked on the February 6, sailing of Celebrity Solstice. Please provide this information, as soon as possible, to your clients booked on this sailing. During Celebrity Solstice’s last sailing, a small number of guests onboard experienced a gastrointestinal illness, thought to be a norovirus. In an abundance of caution, we are conducting some enhanced sanitizing onboard the ship and within the cruise terminal, as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, to help prevent any illness from affecting your client’s cruise. Because of this additional sanitizing, check in and boarding is now anticipated to begin at approximately 3:00 p.m. We apologize for this delay to your client’s boarding. Since parking and seating at the cruise terminal is very limited, we ask that guests arrive at the terminal between 3:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m
Cruise line
January 7 Radiance of the Seas
Royal Caribbean International
The CDC reports 153 of 2336 passengers (6.42%) and 3 of 861 crew (0.35%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The ship arrives in Tampa, Florida January 8th following a five-day cruise that began January 3. The following cruise on January 8th will leave 5 hours later than scheduled in order to accommodate sanizing the ship. CDC


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