With norovirus and other gastrointestinal illnesses surging in many areas, it is not surprising that cruise ship outbreaks are also likely to be reported.
These outbreaks are not confined to the largest ships with thousands of guests onboard, however.
Silversea Cruises’ newest ship, Silver Ray, has a guest capacity of just 728 passengers. The vessel is currently experiencing an outbreak as she makes her way from Lima, Peru to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The 16-night sailing departed Lima on Saturday, January 5, 2025, following an overnight embarkation stay.
The ship has visited Ecuador as well as enjoyed passage through the famed Panama Canal and a port call in Colombia. Aruba is the last planned port of call as the ship continues on to Port Everglades.
Unfortunately, all has not been smooth sailing for the new ship as an unidentified outbreak of gastrointestinal distress has been reported onboard.
While conclusive testing is not yet complete and the exact causative agent has not been determined, affected guests and crew members are reporting diarrhea and abdominal cramps.
Thus far, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 38 of the ship’s 681 passengers have reported the symptoms, along with 5 of the 532 crew members aboard. This means 5.58% of passengers and just under 1% of crew members have reported the illness.
Whenever more than 3% of a ship’s passengers or crew members report such symptoms, the outbreak is required to be reported to the CDC. This directive applies to any cruise ships with more than 13 passengers that visit any US port.
To be clear, the guests onboard Silver Ray may not all have reported the symptoms at the same time. The total number of impacted passengers is counted for the duration of the voyage, but could mean that some travelers were ill early in the sailing while others did not feel any distress until several days later.
The ship has already implemented enhanced sanitation measures as well as isolating both passengers and crew members who have reported the illness. These steps will hopefully mitigate any further spread.
When the ship reaches Port Everglades on Monday, January 20, 2025, further deep cleaning is likely to be done before new guests embark for Silver Ray‘s next sailing, a 12-night sailing that will return to Lima, Peru.
At this time, there is no change for embarkation timing, but booked guests will be notified if any delay becomes necessary.
What Illness Is It Among Passengers and Crew?
Though the illness onboard Silver Ray has not yet been identified, norovirus is one of the most common and widespread gastrointestinal illnesses. Of 18 reported outbreaks in 2024, 14 were confirmed as norovirus.
Interestingly, the only 2024 outbreak aboard a Silversea Cruises ship was not due to norovirus, but E. coli – which is commonly spread through contaminated food or water.
That outbreak occurred on Silver Nova, sister ship to Silver Ray, in early April. In that incident, 28 out of 633 guests reported symptoms, while 1 out of 538 crew members was affected.
Norovirus spread in similar ways, as well as through contaminated surfaces. For both illnesses, diarrhea is a very common symptom.
Both these outbreaks aboard Silversea Cruises ships clearly demonstrate that illnesses can spread even aboard luxury vessels or when fewer numbers of guests are onboard.
Similarly, an outbreak aboard Sea Cloud Cruises’ Sea Cloud Spirit earlier in January 2025 noted that no passengers out of the 120 aboard were ill, though 28 of 93 crew members (30.1%) reported illness. That outbreak is presumed to be ciguatera, a foodborne illness.
Travelers should always be sure they are washing their hands frequently and taking other steps to stay healthy while on a cruise to minimize any risks of contagion that could dampen their oceangoing vacation.
