MIAMI — A Royal Caribbean cruise ship arrived at PortMiami Thursday morning following a 13-night trip in which dozens of passengers fell ill from a norovirus outbreak.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 94 passengers and four crew members onboard the Serenade of the Seas ship fell ill on the voyage.
The ship departed San Diego on Sept. 19 and made stops in Mexico, Costa Rica and Colombia before arriving in Miami.
“You suddenly got kind of violently ill shortly after dinner,” one passenger said in a video posted to TikTok.
Cruisers who contracted the bug recounted their experience on social media.
“Today we noticed they removed the salt and pepper shakers, things like that. Last night, they were sanitizing in the casino, they were even making you sanitize your hands before you came into the theater, so they’re all over everybody about washy washy and sanitize,” Joshua Pettit said.
“Anytime you have more than 2% in a crowded area, it’s considered an outbreak and must be reported to the Vessel Sanitation Program at the CDC,” infectious disease expert Dr. Aileen Marty said.
Marty says norovirus is known for spreading quickly in contained spaces, like cruise ships.
“Anytime you have crowds and lots of eating environments and people who don’t wash their hands properly after going to the bathroom, then you can easily contaminate surfaces that others will touch. And people will grab fries or bread and put that in their mouth -- that’s how people get infected,” she said.
Royal Caribbean released a statement, saying “The health and safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit are our top priority. To maintain an environment that supports the highest levels of health and safety onboard our ships, we implement rigorous cleaning procedures, many of which far exceed public health guidelines.”
Experts say commonly cleaning surfaces and washing your hands with soap and water for at least 60 seconds are the best ways to stop the spread.
“Make sure your hands are clean, so what you put into your mouth is safe,” Marty said.
Officials said they will continue to monitor the outbreak and will speak with arriving passengers about their experience on board.
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