When you go to a hotel or a theme park and get infected with a virus, you don't know exactly what happened. Maybe you caught the virus at the airport, in a rest stop, on an airplane, or even at your hotel or in a restaurant.
That's generally because by the time you get sick, you're no longer at the place where you got infected. Cruise ships, however, lack the same plausible deniability, and historically viruses spread quickly on ships.
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On a seven-day cruise, you might actually have picked up an illness at the supermarket or at work, but when you get sick on the ship, people blame the cruise line. When someone falls ill, cruise lines don't actually care where they got infected. They simply want to slow down the spread of the disease.
That has always been the case, but the Covid pandemic and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shutting down the cruise industry from the U.S. for over a year put shipboard illness under a bigger microscope. For months, the federal agency reported on onboard Covid levels and did little to share all of the steps the major cruise lines had taken to mitigate outbreaks.
Now, with Covid becoming less of a concern, Royal Caribbean has shared some big news about its efforts to control another virus, norovirus, which spreads quickly on ships.
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Royal Caribbean has made ships safer
"Norovirus is a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea. Anyone can get infected and sick with norovirus. Norovirus is sometimes called the 'stomach flu' or 'stomach bug.' However, norovirus illness is not related to the flu, which is caused by influenza virus," according to the CDC.
The virus can cause problems on cruise ships, but it's actually a pretty rare occurrence.
"Norovirus is the most frequent (over 90%) cause of outbreaks of diarrheal disease on cruise ships and these outbreaks often get media attention, which is why some people call norovirus the 'cruise ship virus.' However, norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships account for only a small percentage (1%) of all reported norovirus outbreaks," the federal agency reported.
You are much more likely to get norovirus in a land-based restaurant or healthcare facility than on a cruise ship, but cruise outbreaks make for good stories and get widespread media attention.
Royal Caribbean began its Norovirus Eradication Campaign in 2023. It's a six-step program that has worked to stop outbreaks on its ships, the Royal Caribbean Blog reported.
Royal Caribbean's plan has worked
Royal Caribbean has enacted a comprehensive plan designed to contain norovirus and prevent its spread.
- Enhanced acute GI training for onboard medical teams and traveling doctors
- Increased doctor oversight of its Outbreak Prevention Plan, which covers requirements like hand washing, buffet oversight, and disinfectant mandates for all public areas aboard its ships.
Switching to PDI SaniCloth Prime hospital-grade disinfectant wipes, wipes certified to kill norovirus by the EPA.
New contactless tap technology, eliminating the need for crew to handle guest cards
Enhanced crew training on what to do when experiencing acute GI symptoms and how to avoid cross-contamination in food and beverage service areas
An update to Royal Caribbean's Safety & Quality Management system to stop self-service in buffets if the onboard norovirus rate exceeds 1.5%
"After the eradication campaign was implemented in June 2023, there was not a single norovirus outbreak onboard any Royal Caribbean International or Celebrity Cruise ship for the remainder of 2023," the report shared.
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Celebrity Constellation, however, did have an outbreak in January 2024 that was listed on a CDC website, according to Royal Caribbean Blog.
