Suspected Norovirus Outbreak Forces Royal Caribbean to Cut Cruise Short
The Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas cruise ship departed from Port Canaveral in Florida to embark on a 7-night journey, starting Sunday. Plans included stops in Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico. However, the ship will be returning to Florida by Saturday, a day earlier than was initially planned. Some passengers revealed that they were not allowed to leave the ship while they had stopped in Jamaica.
This past Thursday, Royal Caribbean announced that 277 passengers on board had fallen ill, but by the next day, this number increased dramatically, meaning that 475 people were now afflicted by a gastro-intestinal sickness. Reportedly, some passengers began feeling sick as soon as the ship departed from Port Canaveral in Florida.
In light of this situation, it was decided that it’s best for the ship to cut the cruise short and return to Florida early as Royal Caribbean believes it’s best to prioritize the health of the passengers. 3.3 percent of the total passengers were suffering from the symptoms. Royal Caribbean has also shared that it will be refunding the passengers for the cruise due to them returning earlier than promised.
The suspected cause of this situation is believed to be the norovirus. Contracting it isn’t particularly rare, whether one is on land or sea. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain. The norovirus basically causes inflammation in the intestines, the stomach, or both. The most complicated aspect of the illness is the fact that it’s extremely contagious. One can contract the virus by either making contact with an infected person or touching surfaces and objects that the infected person has touched. Clearly, this explains how the sickness spread so quickly.
Due to the contagious nature of the illness, Royal Caribbean also shared that ending the trip early is beneficial for them as well since it provides them more time to thoroughly sanitize the ship and make sure it’s in perfect condition for its next slated cruise. Apparently, according to some passengers, the sanitizing efforts were already underway; for example, the rock-climbing wall would be cleaned after every use.
In the past year, there were 11 cases of gastro-intestinal outbreaks on cruise ships and of those 11 cases, 5 were determined to be related to norovirus. According to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the last time the Royal Caribbean dealt with such a situation was in 2017 aboard the Independence of the Seas.