Over 100 People Sick in Outbreak on Princess Cruises Ship in the Caribbean

Norovirus strikes again. More than 100 passengers onboard Caribbean Princess have fallen ill from the notorious stomach bug during the vessel’s current 13-night Southern Caribbean voyage, which embarked in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on April 28, 2026.

This marks the fourth outbreak of the year for US-based cruise ships, and is the second outbreak for a Princess Cruises’ ship. Cruise Hive previously reported that the new Star Princess experienced a norovirus outbreak that sickened over 150 people in March.

The current outbreak was confirmed by the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) on May 7, 2026. For context, cruise ships are required to report gastrointestinal outbreaks once 3% of the onboard population becomes ill.

At the time of this writing, 102 of the 3,116 guests onboard have experienced gastrointestinal symptoms, which equates to 3.3% of the passenger population.

Additionally, 13 of the 1,131 crew members onboard, or 1.2% of employees, have fallen ill. This means that a total of 115 people have become sick, and it’s always possible that more cases will surface before the one-way voyage disembarks in Port Canaveral on May 11.

Caribbean Princess will proceed with its planned calls to Amber Cove, Dominican Republic, on May 8 and Nassau, Bahamas, on May 10 before the sailing concludes, with no itinerary changes reported as a result of the outbreak.

The 112,894-gross ton ship has already visited Princess Cays in the Bahamas, several of the islands in the Netherlands Antilles, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Enhanced Cleaning and Sanitation Underway

Princess Cruises has rolled out enhanced cleaning and sanitation procedures onboard in accordance with the brand’s outbreak prevention and response plan and under the guidance of the VSP.

This includes increased cleaning of high-touch surfaces and public spaces, as well as isolating ill passengers and crew members to mitigate further spread.

Additionally, stool samples have been collected from symptomatic passengers to confirm that the causative agent was indeed norovirus.

Next, the Grand-class ship and cruise terminal will be thoroughly disinfected on May 11 before a new round of guests are welcomed onboard in Port Canaveral.

Passengers booked on the May 11 departure should keep an eye out for communication about potential changes to their embarkation. Sometimes the cruise line will ask guests to delay their arrival at the port when deep cleans are required.

However, there are no expected itinerary changes for the upcoming 6-night Eastern Caribbean sailing as a result of the outbreak or related cleaning.

Nassau is the first port call on the next itinerary, and the Bahamas’ capital is only around 180 nautical miles away from Port Canaveral.

Should Cruisers Worry About Outbreaks?

Between news of Caribbean Princess’s outbreak and the hantavirus crisis unfolding onboard MV Hondius in the Atlantic Ocean, it’s only natural for some cruisers to feel nervous about getting sick during their cruise.

However, the number of outbreaks for ships under the VSP’s jurisdiction is actually trending down compared to last year, and CDC officials have continued to affirm that the hantavirus poses a very low risk to the general public.

In terms of gastrointestinal outbreaks, 17 outbreaks were confirmed by the VSP by mid-May of 2025. So far, only four have been reported in 2026, which is a 76.5% decrease in outbreaks when comparing year-over-year.

Outbreaks on ships outside of the VSP’s jurisdiction are not reflected in these numbers, but it’s still encouraging to see the pattern trending downward.

For context, the VSP only oversees ships that have 13 or more passengers, are operating international itineraries, and call at US ports.