Over 90 passengers and crew members aboard the Royal Caribbean International’s Radiance of the Seas became ill with a gastrointestinal infection during a weeklong cruise that began in Tampa, Florida, on February 1.
The outbreak led to symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea among those affected. The ship made several stops at popular destinations, including Cozumel, Roatan Islands, Belize City, and Costa Maya, before returning to port on Saturday.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the illness was first reported to the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) on Tuesday, midway through the ship’s voyage. The cause of the illness remains unclear.
The ship carried 2,164 passengers and 910 crew members. Of those, 89 passengers and 2 crew members fell ill. All affected individuals were isolated, and the crew began collecting stool samples for testing.
Janet Kruse, a 57-year-old passenger from the Chicago suburbs, was on the cruise with her dance group, Dance with Janet. She reported that while she remained healthy, approximately 10% of her group, made up of individuals aged 50 to 80, became sick. The first case of illness in her group occurred just one day after boarding the ship.
Kruse recalled hearing an announcement on Sunday about the rising number of passengers reporting illness. The ship’s crew responded by enhancing cleaning and sanitation efforts to prevent further spread of the illness.
The CDC confirmed that it was remotely monitoring the situation, reviewing the ship’s sanitation procedures and outbreak response. To prevent more passengers from becoming sick, crew members began serving food at the breakfast buffet and disinfecting handrails multiple times a day.
Passengers who fell ill were quarantined in their cabins for 24 to 36 hours. Kruse shared that during this period, sick passengers received complimentary food, medication, and a letter at the end of the trip offering compensation for their quarantine time.
Despite the inconvenience, Kruse described the response from the Royal Caribbean crew as calm, professional, and organized. “There was no panic. They were very matter-of-fact about it,” she said.
Though the illness was never officially named, Kruse mentioned that Royal Caribbean collected information through surveys asking passengers if they had been sick. While the company did not confirm norovirus as the cause, the CDC stated that norovirus is often linked to gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships.
Samples from affected passengers are still pending confirmatory testing, according to the CDC.
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