A cruise ship sailing in Alaska has been hit with their second norovirus outbreak in the past month after 28% of guests on board reported being sick.
National Geographic Sea Bird from Lindblad Expeditions completed its most recent cruise yesterday, and 19 of 68 (28%) guests reported being ill during the cruise. One of the 27 crew members was also sick during the voyage.
The CDC is reporting that predominant symptoms were vomiting and diarrhea, and the causative agent was norovirus. The cruise ship reported the outbreak to the CDC on June 28, 2026. The CDC noted that the total number of guests that were sick were from the entire cruise, and does not mean they were all sick at the same time.
Due to guests being sick on board, the crew reported the following actions:
- Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures
- Isolated ill passengers and crew
- Consulted with VSP about sanitation cleaning procedures and reporting ill cases
The ship also had a norovirus outbreak at the end of May when 13% of passengers got sick on a five-day cruise to Alaska.
The CDC considers it an outbreak when 3% or more of passengers or crew members on a ship report being ill. This is the sixth GI outbreak on a cruise ship this year, which is significantly lower than 2025.
Out of the six outbreaks, four were caused by norovirus and two from E. coli.
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.
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