Seeing cases of gastrointestinal illness isn’t uncommon on cruise ships, but given the millions of people that sail each year the chances of it happening to you personally is relatively small.
Still, given the consequences, it’s certainly not anything you want to happen to you at any time, much less on vacation.
Because cruise ships have so many people in close proximity, it is susceptible to viruses spreading. And arguably one of the most contagious are stomach bugs like norovirus.
In fact, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) actually tracks outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness like norovirus on cruise ships sailing from the United States. Cruise ships are required to report GI cases onboard and when an outbreak reaches the threshold of 3% or more of passengers or crew reporting illness, then the outbreak is posted to the CDC website.
Overall the number of cruises impacted are relatively small given the number of ships and trips they take each year. For instance, 2023 saw 14 outbreaks reported. Last year saw 18 outbreaks. Typically the winter and spring are busy times for cases, with fewer in the summer and fall.
So far in 2025 there have already been 12 reported outbreaks across eight different cruise lines. Remember, however, that each outbreak represents at least 3% of the passengers and crew. So a single outbreak can be hundreds of ill people on the ship and across all the lines it can add up into the thousands:
Across the dozen ships reporting outbreaks, the total number of passengers and crew reported as ill reached 1,389 people. Keep in mind that figure doesn’t account for anyone that might have gotten sick after the cruise. It also doesn’t figure anyone on other ships that might have fallen ill but the ship didn’t reach the 3% threshold. So it’s likely the cases are actually higher.
Of those gastro outbreaks reported, norovirus was the most common cause with 10 out of 12 listing it as the cause. The other two were e. Coli and ciguatera.
According to the CDC, diarrhea and vomiting were predominant symptoms in nearly every outbreak.
What to Do to Limit Your Chances of Falling Ill
Obviously no one wants to get sick, much less on their vacation. If you’re worried about these outbreaks and have a cruise upcoming, what can you do?
There’s some common sense moves you can make, of which the most recommended is to simply wash your hands often.
We also suggest limiting contact with shared surfaces like handrails, serving utensils, and elevator buttons. And when you do come in contact with these, washing hands or using hand sanitizer afterward should help.
If you do get sick on the cruise, then you want to isolate yourself as much as you can and also let the medical staff know. This will help them to implement measures around the ship — including increased cleaning — to limit the possible spread.
The good news is that despite the headlines, the individual risk is fairly low of getting sick. Taking a few precautions, however, can make it so you have an even smaller chance of getting sick on your cruise.
