Royal Caribbean ship docks in Miami after norovirus sickens nearly 100

Muri Assunção, New York Daily News on Oct 2, 2025

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A Royal Caribbean ship docked in Miami on Thursday after a norovirus outbreak sickened nearly 100 people aboard, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The outbreak at the Serenade of the Seas, which departed from San Diego nearly two weeks ago, was first reported to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program on Sept. 28.

As of Tuesday, 94 passengers — about 5% of the 1,874 on board — and four crew members reported falling ill during the voyage, the agency said.

The predominant symptoms included diarrhea and vomiting.

Among the sickened guests was 87-year-old Bob Pettit, who told NBC South Florida he had “never been this sick in [his] life.”

The 13-day cruise departed from San Diego on Sept.19 and made stops in Mexico, Costa Rica and Colombia before arriving at Miami Thursday morning.

In response to the outbreak, Royal Caribbean International increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, collected stool samples for testing, isolated sick passengers and crew, and consulted with the VSP about sanitation cleaning procedures and reporting ill cases.

According to the CDC, there have been 19 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses on cruise ships under VSP’s jurisdiction so far this year. For the vast majority — at least 14 of them — norovirus was listed as the “causative agent.”

For comparison, the CDC recorded a total of 18 GI outbreaks in all of 2024, 15 of which were caused by norovirus.

Norovirus — often called the “stomach flu,” despite being unrelated to influenza — is a highly contagious virus that causes acute gastroenteritis, or inflammation of the stomach and intestines.

Most people recover within one to three days, but they can continue spreading the virus for several days afterward, according to the CDC.