OUTBREAK ON FLORIDA CRUISE SHIP
Over 100 people have fallen ill with norovirus on a cruise ship returning to Florida this week.
The report states 107 out of 2,614 passengers, or 4.1%, are sick. The illness is affecting 12 of 969 crew members, or 1.2%.
Those affected reported experiencing vomiting and diarrhea, which was determined to be caused by norovirus.
In response to the outbreak, the cruise line reported that it is isolating sick passengers, upping its sanitization procedures and consulting with health officials to monitor the spread of the illness.
The Rotterdam outbreak is the fourth norovirus outbreak reported to the CDC this year. The ship set sail from Port Everglades on Feb. 2 and is expected to return on Friday.
This comes days after a ship returned to Tampa with 168 sickened passengers and crew members. Those aboard Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas also reported experiencing diarrhea and vomiting, but the source of the illness is unknown, according to the CDC.
Norovirus, which is sometimes called the “cruise ship virus,” causes more than 90% of diarrheal disease outbreaks on cruise ships, according to the CDC. However, norovirus outbreaks can happen anywhere, and outbreaks on cruise ships account for only a small percentage of all reported norovirus outbreaks.
There are about 2,500 reported norovirus outbreaks in the U.S. each year.
In 2025 so far, the CDC has logged six outbreaks on cruise ships — three of which were attributed to the norovirus. One of the outbreaks this year, on Silversea Cruises’ Silver Ray voyage in January, was caused by E. coli, the CDC said.
A voyage is included on the CDC’s list if it reported more than 3% of its passengers or crew reporting gastrointestinal symptoms.
Norovirus outbreaks are usually more common during cooler months, typically happening from November to April in countries above the equator, according to the CDC.
