Illness Outbreak Hits 13% of Passengers on U.S Flagged Cruise Ship

A gastrointestinal (GI) illness was reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that took place on a U.S. flagged cruise ship that is currently sailing in Alaska.

The illness outbreak on Lindblad Expeditions’ National Geographic Sea Bird took place during the ship’s most recent cruise to Alaska.

During the six-day cruise that ended on Sunday, the CDC has reported that 13.6% of passengers reported being ill and 12.5% of crew members on the small ship that carries 66 guests. The predominant symptoms of the outbreak were vomiting and diarrhea. It is unknown at this time if it was norovirus or another causative agent.

Cruise lines are required to report to the CDC anytime that 2% or more of passengers/crew members report being sick on a voyage. If the number crosses 3%, it is officially labeled as an outbreak and listed on the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program’s (VSP) portion of their website.

In response to the outbreak, the crew on board the ship reported the following actions:

• Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan
• Isolated ill passengers and crew
• Consulted with VSP about sanitation cleaning procedures and reporting ill cases

The VSP has remotely monitored the situation. This includes reviewing the cruise ship’s outbreak response and sanitation procedures.

This is the fifth illness outbreak of 2026, down from 17 during the first five months of the year compared to 2025.

Out of the five this year, two were from E. coli and the other two from norovirus.

The CDC states that determining the causative agent of an illness outbreak can take some time. When an outbreak occurs, people whose symptoms met the case definition are asked to provide stool or vomitus samples. These samples are tested to determine the causative agent.

About Sea Bird

National Geographic Sea Bird, a cruise ship which helped define expedition travel, is currently in its final year of cruising.

The 31 cabin cruise ship can access many unique places that larger ship’s cannot go to. It has six Zodiacs and 16 kayaks, perfect for expedition cruising in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.