Luxury Ship Delays Boarding to Undergo ‘Super Sanitizing’

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The string of viral outbreaks recently reported on various cruise ships continues to impact ship operations, including aboard luxury line Silversea Cruisesโ€™ Silver Ray, which is on a return leg to Fort Lauderdale.

The 728-guest ship is coping with an outbreak of a gastrointestinal illness that affected 5.5% of guests, and will undergo a โ€œsuper-sanitizingโ€ upon return to Port Everglades. As a result, embarkation for Silver Rayโ€™s next voyage, departing on January 20, 2025, will be delayed until 4 p.m.

Silver Rayโ€™s 16-night cruise from the Florida port to Lima, Peru, began on January 5, 2025, calling at ports in Ecuador, Columbia, and Aruba, and transiting the Panama Canal. 

The type of gastrointestinal bug was not immediately identified, but the ship reported to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that 38 guests and 5 crew members are experiencing diarrhea and abdominal cramps.

Silver Ray currently has 681 passengers onboard. Cruise ships are required to notify the CDC if more than 3% of guests or crew members report symptoms.

The ship has already intensified cleaning and sanitizing methods, which appears to have limited the spread of the illness, but Silversea will bring a special cleaning crew onboard upon arrival at Port Everglades.

โ€œThe ship is currently implementing and will continue to follow a special cleaning and sanitizing protocol developed in conjunction with the (CDC),โ€ states the notification from Silversea Cruises

โ€œOne element in the cleaning program is what is referred to as super-sanitizing the vessel and terminal facilities between voyages. A special cleaning crew is brought on board the ship. To enable this team to complete their work, they must postpone boarding time,โ€ said the notification from Silversea Cruises.

Silversea's Silver Ray
Silversea’s Silver Ray (Photo Courtesy: Silversea)

As a result of the enhanced cleaning, embarkation on January 20, 2025 will begin at 4 p.m. The all-aboard time is 6 p.m.

Read Also: What You Should Never Do at the Cruise Ship Buffet

Silver Ray is the cruise lineโ€™s second Nova-class ship. The 54,700-gross ton ship entered service in June 2024. Her upcoming 12-night voyage to Lima will call at Cozumel, Mexico, and Manta, Ecuador, and transit the Panama Canal before concluding with an overnight in Lima.

Spate of Illnesses Impacts Multiple Cruise Lines

The incidence of stomach bugs has hampered several cruise ships since late 2024 and have continued into the new year.

In December, Cunardโ€™s iconic Queen Mary 2 reported back-to-back gastrointestinal illnesses as the ship sailed Caribbean cruises from New York.

On the shipโ€™s Christmas holiday voyage, 223 guests and 44 crew members experienced diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps. The shipโ€™s previous voyage reported that 150 guests and crew had similar symptoms.

Other cruise lines that have dealt with gastrointestinal disorders include Holland America Line and Oceania. Both cruise lines reported their outbreaks to the CDC.

Holland America Lineโ€™s Eurodam reported a stomach bug on her 10-day holiday sailing that departed Fort Lauderdale on December 30, 2024. The ship, with 2,139 guests and 832 crew members aboard, told the CDC that 86 guests and 8 crew members had norovirus. 

The virus can cause symptoms that include vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches, headache, abdominal cramps, and fever, according to the CDC.

Oceania Cruisesโ€™ Nautica reported that an unspecified gastrointestinal illness affected 15 guests and 16 crew members on an 11-night cruise that departed PortMiami on December 23, 2024.

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Donna Tunney
Donna Tunney
Donna Tunney is a travel news/feature writer and editor with 20-plus years covering cruise news, luxury travel, and Europe and UK destinations. A former staffer at Travel Weekly and at the USAToday Network, she also was a luxury travel columnist at Travel Market Report, and a cruise columnist at Sherman's Travel.

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