Illness can be a fact of life for some cruise travelers, from simple seasickness to overindulgence to contracting a cold or other communicable disease.
While most outbreaks are small enough that they aren’t very noticeable, when greater numbers of passengers and crew members report symptoms, it becomes classified as an official outbreak.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now tracking such an outbreak aboard P&O Cruises Arcadia.
The ship’s current sailing is a 30-day roundtrip US and Canada sailing that departed from Southampton on Tuesday, September 3, 2024. Various ports the ship has already visited include St. Johns, Boston, and New York, with destinations like Halifax and Sydney yet to come.
A total of 87 passengers have thus far reported symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, along with 11 crew members. In total, this amounts to 98 of the 2,758 people onboard the ship – 1,959 guests and 799 crew members.
While this is just 3.5% of everyone onboard, cruise ships are required to report outbreaks that surpass 3% of the passengers or crew. It is important to note, however, that the number of cases reported is a total, and not everyone reporting symptoms may be sick simultaneously.
On longer sailings such as this month-long cruise, outbreaks are more easy to recognize because some passengers may be sick just a day or two after embarkation.
Others may not exhibit symptoms until 10 days later, but still on the same voyage. This requires reporting, even though on a shorter cruise those cases would not be immediately connected.
P&O Cruises confirmed the outbreak with a statement noting the symptoms and the precautions taken onboard.
“Upon embarkation all guests were provided with an advisory notice with precautionary health measures for on board and on shore, as is standard procedure across our fleet,” the spokesperson from P&O Cruises said. “Following reports of guests with gastrointestinal symptoms, P&O Cruises swiftly implemented approved, proven and enhanced sanitisation protocols to uphold the wellbeing of everyone onboard.”
Typical protocols often include more frequent cleaning of high-traffic, public areas and surfaces, reminders for guests to practice frequent and thorough handwashing, and onboard announcements to ensure everyone is aware of the need for precautions.
The CDC does list the causative agent for the outbreak to be norovirus, a highly contagious cause of gastroenteritis that leads to stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, muscle aches, and possibly a low-grade fever. Symptoms typically begin 12-48 hours after exposure to the virus and resolve within 48-72 hours for most individuals.
Previous Cruise Ship Outbreaks
This is the seventh reported cruise ship illness outbreak attributed to norovirus in 2024, with previous outbreaks noted on Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Summit, Princess Cruises’ Sapphire Princess, Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas, Holland America Line’s Koningsdam, Cunard Line’s Queen Victoria, and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Constellation.
Two other illness outbreaks have also been noted this year. In early April, an e. coli outbreak was reported aboard Silversea Cruises’ Silver Nova, while in May, Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas reported an illness outbreak of an unknown origin.
Read Also: Top 10 Tips to Prevent and Avoid Seasickness on a Cruise
In 2023, a total of 13 norovirus outbreaks aboard cruise ships were reported to the CDC, including a previous outbreak aboard Arcadia during a lengthy sailing from January 3 through April 14. At that time, a total of 108 guests and crew members reported symptoms.
This followed a late 2022 outbreak also aboard Arcadia with 94 reported cases. It is not unusual for more severe outbreaks to last through successive cruises, though cruise lines do take every possible precaution to limit any spread.
The 84,342-gross-ton Arcadia, part of the Carnival cruise family, can welcome 1,952 travelers at double occupancy, or up to 2,388 guests when fully booked with all berths filled. The ship currently homeports from Southampton, offering Mediterranean, Spain, Canary Island, and northern Europe itineraries, among others.
