Norovirus Outbreaks on Cruise Ships Setting Records

As the summer vacation season 2025 gets underway, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cruise ship illness inspections are on pace to set new, unfortunate records.

As of May 5, 2025, the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program had reported 16 gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses on cruise ships this year, 14 of which were classified as norovirus.

This data compares with 18 GI outbreaks in all of 2024 and just 14 in 2023.

The CDC says traveling on cruise ships exposes people to new environments and thousands of other voyagers. Health risks come from contaminated food or water or, more commonly, through person-to-person contact and a lack of hand-washing.

The most recent report was from the cruise ship Eurodam. As of April 28, 2025, the final case counts were:

Number of passengers who reported being ill during the voyage: 148 of 2,038 (7.26%),

Number of crew who reported being ill during the journey: 22 of 830 (2.65%),

The predominant symptoms were diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps, and the causative agent was norovirus.

The CDC offers this quick tip to help about 20 million people vacationing on a North American cruise ship in 2025: To avoid getting sick, wash your hands often, especially after visiting a public bathroom and before/after eating a group-served meal.

With Disney soon to cruise to the western Caribbean from Galveston, Texas, more people should follow this CDC advice for the years ahead.

While norovirus vaccine candidates are being tested in clinical research to help prevent outbreaks, none are available in 2025.