What is it that is secretive, extremely contagious, and can cause diarrhea and vomiting? If you answered “norovirus,” you would be correct. But what is it, and why is it often associated with cruising?
Norovirus cases are increasing this winter both on land and at sea. “The total number of outbreaks reported during the 2024-2025 seasonal year exceeds that reported during the same periods during the 2012-2020 and 2021-2024 seasonal years,” according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and PreventionThe increase in news reports about norovirus cases may make you think that cruise ships are dirty or that you There is a possibility of falling ill if you go sailingI’m here to set the record straight.
Find out why norovirus has been incorrectly labeled a cruise ship disease, what cruise lines do to reduce spread onboard, and whether you should be concerned about it on your next trip.
What is cruise ship norovirus?
Norovirus is the most common of several viruses that cause severe gastrointestinal illness or acute gastroenteritis. Symptoms can include diarrhea and vomiting, as well as stomach cramps, headaches, muscle aches and fever – an unpleasant experience any time, but especially when you’re on vacation.
Norovirus is highly contagious and spreads when you touch a contaminated surface and then put your fingers in or near your mouth, such as when eating without washing your hands. It is also often spread through contaminated food, sometimes earning the nickname “food poisoning”, although there are many pathogens that can cause food-borne illnesses. You may also commonly call it a stomach bug or stomach flu, despite the fact that noroviruses are not the same as flu viruses.
How does norovirus spread on cruise ships?
What causes norovirus on cruise ships anyway? Norovirus spreads easily in close quarters, such as those found on cruise ships. Although it can spread by person-to-person contact on ships, it most commonly spreads when passengers wash their hands after coming in contact with high-touch areas such as handrails, elevator buttons, and serving utensils at onboard buffets. fail in.
Infected travelers who don’t wash their hands after coughing, sneezing or using the toilet are the first to become contaminated. To avoid spreading your own germs and catching others’ germs, wash your hands frequently, especially before eating, with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds, including around your fingernails and your fingers. Make sure to rub in between.
Contaminated food is also a cause, but it is not as common on ships, where staff are carefully trained to follow health and safety guidelines for hygiene. The standards are enforced by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (See next section for more details.)
What do cruise ships do to prevent norovirus outbreaks?
Cruise lines employ dedicated staff to keep public areas and high-touch surfaces clean. Galley crew and waiters receive extensive training on food safety and handling.
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The lines also screen passengers for signs of illness when boarding the ship. They ask passengers who feel sick during travel to report symptoms to the medical center and isolate themselves in their cabin.
On ships where there is an outbreak, the crew deep cleans the ship after passengers disembark and before the next voyage begins. In cases where the outbreak is particularly severe, subsequent sailings may be canceled to allow more thorough sanitation.
moreover, CDC’s Ship Sanitation ProgramImplemented in the 1970s, all passenger ships carrying 13 or more people were subject to random, unannounced inspections if they wished to call at ports in the U.S.
As part of the program, ships are required to follow stringent health and safety protocols that dictate everything from cleaning of high-touch areas to how food is stored in freezers, refrigerators and galleys.
VSP inspectors board ships and investigate thoroughly To ensure compliance – and standards are high. A score less than 86 out of 100 is considered failing. You can find the latest inspection scores and list of violations for each ship VSP website,
Should you worry about getting norovirus on a plane?
The short answer is no. Cruise ships are responsible for the smallest number of norovirus cases annually in the US. Most cases develop in restaurants, schools, hospitals and nursing homes. If you’re not worried about norovirus on land, you don’t have to worry much in the ocean.
However, you are more likely to hear about outbreaks on ships because ships are required to report cases while other entities are not.
“Health officials continue to monitor illness on cruise ships,” the CDC says. VSP Norovirus FAQ Page“So outbreaks are found and reported more quickly on a cruise ship than on land.”
one in Case study of acute gastroenteritis From 2006 to 2019 (before the COVID-19 shutdown of the cruise industry), the CDC found that the number of cases on ships declined over those 14 years. It was also noted that the number of cases tended to be higher on larger ships and on voyages of a week or more.
“Illness rates for passengers and crew on cruise ships declined during 2006-2019,” the report said. This is good news for cruisers.
During that time frame, approximately 127 million passengers sailed on 252 cruise ships under VSP jurisdiction. Of those 127 million cruisers, 26,450 reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness while onboard. This sounds like a large number, but it is only 0.02% (two hundredths of 1%) of cruisers over those 14 years, with the total number of cases decreasing from 4,507 in 2006 to 1,201 in 2019.
However, if more cases of norovirus are being reported on land in 2025, you can expect cruise ship cases to increase accordingly. You should take the same precautions to keep yourself healthy on vacation as you do at home.
If you want to check out outbreak information, you can find a detailed list of ships that have had outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis (many of which were caused by norovirus), listed by year, about halfway through. CDC outbreak page,
For more information on how to keep yourself healthy on board, visit TPG’s story How to avoid getting sick on a plane?,
Why are there so many cruise norovirus reports in the news?
The simple answer is that cruise ships are required to report cases of acute gastroenteritis to the CDC, even if the numbers are small. In contrast, other institutions are not.
Specifically, each cruise ship’s medical staff must submit a report with the number of ill passengers within 24 to 36 hours of the ship’s arrival at a U.S. port from a foreign port, even if no cases of gastrointestinal illness are present. They must also submit a report if 2% or more of the passengers and crew become ill and the ship is scheduled to visit a US port within 15 days. If the number rises to 3% or more, cases must be reported to the CDC, even if the ship is not scheduled to call at a U.S. port within the next 15 days.
This means that data on norovirus on cruise ships is more readily available than from other entities. It’s easy to make norovirus case numbers sound alarmist, but context matters. For example, 100 cases on one ship may seem like a lot, but on a ship like the Oasis of the Seas, which carries more than 5,400 passengers, 100 cases represent only 2% of the population onboard.
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Should you be worried about contracting norovirus or any other gastrointestinal illness while traveling? The CDC says that the fewest cases each year in the US are due to cruises.
You’re less likely to be confined to your room and bent over the toilet for a week when you go sailing, especially if you take common sense precautions like washing your hands and handling drinks, utensils and other items. Not sharing which easily spreads germs.
Do you have more cruise questions? TPG has the answers:
