An outbreak of norovirus has cast a shadow over the holiday plans of passengers aboard Holland America Line’s Rotterdam.
During its current voyage that began on December 8, 2024, and won’t conclude until December 20, 83 passengers and 12 crew members – 5 percent of the vessel’s total capacity – have fallen ill to the highly contagious virus.
Rotterdam, which departed on its 12-night roundtrip cruise from Fort Lauderdale, had been enjoying a warm-weather journey in the Caribbean ahead of the holidays with excited passengers visiting Curacao, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, and Jamaica.
The 99,935-gross-ton vessel also transited through the Panama Canal and spent a day at the newly renamed and private RelaxAway at Half Moon Cay, jointly operated by Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Line, both owned by Carnival Corporation.
While calling in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on December 18, the medical team aboard Rotterdam reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that it was experiencing an outbreak of suspected norovirus, sometimes referred to as a “stomach flu” or “stomach bug.”
Norovirus is “the leading cause of vomiting and diarrhea, and foodborne illness in the United States,” according to the CDC.
It says symptoms of norovirus develop within 12 to 48 hours after being exposed and also include nausea, stomach pain, fever, headache, and body aches.
The ship of 2,192 passengers and 953 crew is now under close observation by the CDC and Holland America Line has taken immediate steps to contain the outbreak by intensifying cleaning and disinfection procedures as outlined in its outbreak prevention and response plan.
Recurring Outbreaks
This is the second Holland America ship in a week to experience a norovirus outbreak, with the line’s 82,305-gross-ton Zuiderdam seeing nearly 80 passengers and crew members sick during a 10-night Caribbean voyage.
That cruise, which also departed from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on December 4, was reported to the CDC on December 11, with 74 of 1,923 passengers and four of the ship’s 757 crew members experiencing symptoms of norovirus.
Another outbreak took place aboard another Carnival Corporation vessel earlier in the month. Details of on outbreak aboard P&O Cruises’ Ventura were leaked to media from passengers on the ship on December 4, 2024.
The vessel had been completing a 12-night Canary Islands cruise that had departed from Southampton on November 23.
Unfortunately, the same ship, which carries up to 3,200 passengers, experienced an outbreak on multiple sailings between April and June, including a voyage that had more than 500 passengers falling ill.
In fact, Carnival Corporation was indicated in a lawsuit from 115 former passengers on November 15, 2024, cruise, alleging its cruise line was negligent in providing proper sanitation and communication during the outbreaks.
Once norovirus is found aboard a cruise ship, vessels implement strict measures to prevent further spread and manage an outbreak.
These include isolating affected passengers, limiting buffet service, health screenings, collaborating with health authorities, and conducting frequent disinfection in high-traffic and high-touch areas.
Once Rotterdam returns to port on December 20, it will likely be undergoing a further deep clean that could delay embarkation for its following itinerary, a 9-night Southern Caribbean adventure scheduled to depart at 3 p.m.
