In a surprising coincidence, not one, but two Princess cruise ships sailing through Australia have experienced gastrointestinal outbreaks in a very short time period.
The first outbreak occurred during Diamond Princess’s 21-night New Zealand-bound cruise, which disembarked on November 12, 2024, in Adelaide, Australia.
However, according to passengers currently onboard Crown Princess, the Carnival-owned brand is now in the middle of battling a second, unrelated gastrointestinal outbreak.
In fact, up to 2,080 guests were strongly encouraged to disembark in Darwin, Australia, during the port call on November 14, 2024, to allow crew members to conduct a deep cleaning onboard.
“To help control the spread of illness, we are conducting a comprehensive ship wide cleaning and disinfection program on Thursday 14th November 2024 during our stay in Darwin,” reads a letter from Princess that was delivered to all cruise cabins.
“We strongly recommend you consider spending some time ashore exploring the beautiful port of Darwin whilst our teams diligently complete the disinfection operations,” the letter suggested.
The cruise line added that the cleaning process would begin mid-morning and take approximately two hours to complete – during which time some amenities onboard could be unavailable.
Guests were also informed that the cleaning wouldn’t be limited just to public areas, but would also include all 1,545 guest staterooms.
Passengers would be required to vacate their staterooms during the cleaning unless they had become sick and were in isolation.
“If you are not planning to spend time ashore, please vacate your stateroom if requested to do so by one of our team members. Guests who are currently in isolation are not required to vacate their rooms and should remain in their staterooms,” continued the update.
It’s unclear how many people onboard have fallen ill or what pathogen is making them sick, although norovirus is usually the cause of most gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships.
Multiple Princess Ships Take Action Against Illness
If this story sounds familiar, it’s likely because a similar outbreak onboard Diamond Princess also came to light in early November – and both Diamond Princess and Crown Princess are currently sailing in Australian waters.
In the case of Diamond Princess, guests were asked to leave the ship three times to allow for deep cleanings – twice in Melbourne, Australia, and once in Auckland, New Zealand.
With the disturbance happening several times, guests onboard Diamond Princess were given a $50 onboard credit to make amends for each time they were asked to disembark – whereas no compensation has been announced regarding the outbreak on Crown Princess as of the time of publication.
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That said, the cleaning and outbreak have not caused any known delays for the 113,500-gross ton Crown Princess – which is currently sailing through Eastern Australia and operating six itineraries at once, which range in length from 15 nights to 28 nights.
As she sails on, the approximately 1,200 crew members are following strict protocols to prevent any further spread of illness, and any subsequent delays that might follow a large outbreak.
For example, sick guests have been told to isolate themselves in their cabins and anyone who suspects they may be falling ill have been instructed to return to their stateroom and contact the onboard medical team.
“Please remember that if you develop any symptoms of gastrointestinal illness, return to your stateroom, and notify the medical staff by telephoning 911,” urged the letter from Princess.
In these situations, it’s also common for the cruise lines to take extra precautions, such as by having crew members serve guests in the buffet (instead of self service) and cleaning high-touch surfaces more frequently.
Current passengers have also reported seeing a higher number of other guests wearing masks around the ship and that they are taking their own preventive measures, such as washing their hands more often and carrying hand sanitizer.
