A Princess Cruises ship has had a gastrointestinal outbreak for the second consecutive cruise.
This second illness outbreak on Caribbean Princess follows the previous sailing that was shortened after 403 passengers and crew members reported symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. Cruise lines are required to report to the CDC anytime more than 3% of the passengers and crew members report illnesses.
The current 14 night sailing on Caribbean Princess has seen 186 (6.1%) passengers and 15 (1.3%) crew members report similar symptoms. The exact cause of the illness is not known at this time. Note, the symptoms are similar to those of norovirus and has absolutely nothing to do with coronavirus.
In response to the outbreak, the cruise line has completed intense cleanings of the cruise ship on February 21 and 23.
In addition, crew members are increasing cleaning and sanitation procedures implemented according to outbreak prevention and response plan.
The cruise ship is sending daily gastrointestinal illness reports to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program and to the Caribbean public health port authorities.
The CDC is sending an investigation team to investigate the causative agent and assist with preventing further spread of illness.
Caribbean Princess is currently on a 14 night cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to the Southern Caribbean. The ship is scheduled to arrive back in Port Everglades on March 1.
The cruise ship’s original itinerary had port stops in St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Martinique, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Curacao, and Aruba.
