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Norovirus Confirmed on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas After Dozens Fall Ill

CDC data show cruise-ship gastrointestinal outbreaks in 2025 have already exceeded last year’s total.

Serenade of the Seas cruise ship. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Serenade of the Seas
Image
Royal Caribbean Cruises liner Serenade of the Sea leaves the access channel from Le Havre harbour, northern France, on May 8, 2019.

Overview

  • The ship reported increased gastrointestinal illness to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program on Sept. 28, and testing confirmed norovirus.
  • Seventy-one of 1,874 passengers (about 3.8%–3.9%) and one of 883 crew reported symptoms primarily involving diarrhea and vomiting.
  • Royal Caribbean isolated sick individuals, intensified cleaning and disinfection, and collected stool specimens while the CDC remotely monitors the response.
  • The 13-night voyage departed San Diego on Sept. 19 with stops in Mexico, Costa Rica, the Panama Canal and Colombia, and is scheduled to arrive in Miami on Oct. 2.
  • So far in 2025, the CDC has logged 19 cruise gastrointestinal outbreaks, 14 confirmed as norovirus, and has cautioned against overreliance on hand sanitizer versus soap-and-water hand washing.