As the new year sets sail, it looks like 2024’s tumultuous year for virus outbreaks aboard cruise ships looms large.
Just days into 2025, two cruise ships have already reported virus outbreaks to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including Holland America Line and Oceania Cruises.
Holland America Line’s Eurodam, carrying 2,139 passengers and 832 crew members, may have departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 30, 2024, in celebratory mode. However, it is returning from its roundtrip voyage on January 8 with illness onboard.
After welcoming in the New Year at sea, guests enjoyed days in the ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao before 86 passengers (4 percent) and eight crew members caught norovirus, as reported to the CDC on January 4, 2025.
Symptoms of this acute gastroenteritis (AGE) include vomiting, along with diarrhea, muscle ache, headache, abdominal cramp, or fever.
While Eurodam was sailing its 9-night Southern Caribbean itinerary, the ship actually launched a 16-night voyage on December 23, returning to Port Everglades on December 30, with some passengers from the first leg that had sailed to Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and the US Virgin Islands remaining on board for an 18-night journey.
This means the outbreak could have begun on the earlier voyage, as the CDC says symptoms may not appear for up to 48 hours and can be spread for 2 weeks or more after a person recovers.
Norovirus is passed to others through contact with contaminated objects or persons, which is why the ship is isolating sick passengers and crew and implementing cleaning and disinfection procedures in accordance with the CDC’s prevention and response plan.
With Eurodam slated to head back to sea on January 8, 2025, at 3 p.m., it is likely passengers excited to embark on its next adventure will have to wait a bit longer, as the vessel will undergo a deeper clean between cruises – a wait worth it considering the next voyage will travel in the Caribbean for 21 nights.
Nautica Also Hit With an Outbreak
Meanwhile, Oceania Cruises’ smaller vessel, Nautica, carrying 639 passengers and 398 crew, is dealing with its own health hurdle.
The ship reported an outbreak to the CDC on January 3, 2025, revealing that 15 guests were experiencing symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting due to an unspecified gastrointestinal illness. There are also 16 crew members with the bug.
Passengers aboard Nautica departed from Miami on December 23, 2024, for a lively holiday voyage and are sailing to Los Angeles via a Panama Canal crossing.
They are expected to arrive on January 8 after visiting Caribbean and Pacific Coast ports in the Bahamas, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Mexico.
Cleaning measures have been increased, and the ship is isolating guests and crew members who are experiencing symptoms.
Nautica is scheduled to embark on its highly anticipated 180-day East-to-West World Cruise from Los Angeles following extra cleaning on January 8, 2025.
Guests boarding at 6 p.m. may be delayed as the crew aims to eradicate the virus before sailing 18 nights to Tahiti on its first segment.
These outbreaks are a carryover from last year’s highest incidence of gastrointestinal problems aboard cruise ships in more than a decade, as highlighted by the CDC’s latest data.
The majority of 2024 outbreaks were caused by norovirus, with the virus responsible for illness on five ships from Cunard Line, Holland America Line, and Princess Cruises in December alone.
Despite the gloomy figures, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) reassures that such incidents are exceedingly rare and affect only a very small percentage of the more than 37 million passengers expected to cruise in 2025.
