What is the stomach virus on cruise ships?

Or maybe it's norovirus, a contagious virus that often keeps you at the toilet for several days. Some people know it as the “cruise ship virus” because it's often the cause of over 90% of diarrhea outbreaks on cruise ships, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



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Norovirus Norovirus — marked by diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain — is to blame for more than 90 percent of diarrheal disease outbreaks on cruises, according to the CDC.

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Norovirus. On cruise ships, >90% of GI illness outbreaks with a confirmed cause are due to norovirus.

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Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. In May, two outbreaks were reported on voyages led by Celebrity Cruises and Holland America. In March, Celebrity Cruises reported two norovirus outbreaks, as did Royal Caribbean International and Princess Cruises.

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Studies have shown that quick application of hand sanitizers does not kill the norovirus. It takes about 30 seconds of hard rubbing with hot water and soap to kill it. The cause of most cruise line norovirus outbreaks is contaminated food or water. The way it spreads is through physical contact.

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More than 300 sickened on Ruby Princess cruise ship, CDC says. Hundreds of passengers and crew members fell ill while on board a Princess Cruises ship, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. In total, 284 of 2,881 passengers on the Ruby Princess reported being sick during the voyage between Feb.

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Top 3 Tips on How to Avoid Norovirus on a Cruise Ship
  1. Wash Your Hands Frequently. The most important thing that you can do to avoid Norovirus on a cruise ship is to wash and sanitize your hands as frequently as possible! ...
  2. Make Sure Food is Protected. ...
  3. Keep Your Immune System Strong.


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Cruise ships in particular have many of the conditions that make people susceptible to norovirus—close quarters, enclosed spaces, communal dining, and high turnover of passengers. “The virus is often associated with cruise travel simply because health officials are required to track illnesses on ships,” Shah said.

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In the U.S., the risk of getting norovirus each year is about 1 in 15; a cruise passenger has about a 1 in 5,500 risk of getting laboratory-confirmed norovirus during a shipboard outbreak.

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Cruises are exciting! Seasickness though is not. If you get motion sick while in a car or plane, odds are you're likely to get sick on a cruise ship as well. However, that doesn't mean you have to stay home.

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Going on a cruise should be an enjoyable experience where people are able to leave behind the worries and cares of their daily lives. For the most part, cruises are very safe; however, some characteristics of cruise ships make things such as food poisoning and other injuries more likely to happen than they are on land.

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The CDC's tally of norovirus outbreaks so far confirmed on cruise ships in 2023 is already higher than any annual outbreak tallies since 2012, when the health agency recorded 16 outbreaks.

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