Cnn
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More than 240 people aboard the Luxury Cruise Ship Queen Mary 2 fell ill with the stomach bug of very contagious Norovirus.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) reported that the Cunard cruise epidemic approached the end of a four-week return trip from the United Kingdom to the Caribbean.
Queen Mary 2 regularly sails on transatlantic passages. It is a trip – and a ship – designed to return to the golden age of luxury oceanic coatings. Cunard belongs to Carnival Corporation
The ship has navigation on March 8 from Southampton and is expected to return to the English port on April 6. During the trip, 224 of the 2,538 passengers fell ill with the gastrointestinal virus, while 17 of the 1,232 crew members have also become unwavering, according to CDC data.
The expert in infectious diseases, Dr. William Schaffner, professor at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told CNN Travel earlier this year that Norovirus is “obviously known as the cruise ship”.
Norovirus is notoriously contagious and, therefore, people in close neighborhoods – like a cruise ship – may be more likely to spread the disease.
The CDC also notes the spread of the virus among travelers in other similar confined areas such as camps, dormitories and hotels.
“This is a virus that can infect you with very few viral particles. In other words, the infectious dose is very small,” said Schaffner. “It can persist for days or even a week on environmental surfaces, which means that if you put your fingers on a contaminated surface, you can pick up some viral particles, touch your mouth, then initiate an infection.”
The predominant symptoms aboard the Queen Mary 2 are diarrhea and vomiting. The CDC said the Cunard line increased cleaning and disinfection on board the ship after the recent confirmed epidemic. The infected passengers were also quarantined by the others on board and the stools are tested.
The Sanitation Program of CDC ships (VSP) which keeps a trace of epidemics at sea, also confirmed that it “monitored the situation remotely, including examining the response to ship epidemics and sanitation procedures”.
The VSP also confirmed that Cunard Line had consulted the program on cleaning procedures on Queen Mary 2 and the disease on board.
Cunard told CNN Travel that the cruise line “continues to closely monitor” customers with gastrointestinal symptoms.
Cruise driving also underlined the “complete deep cleaning of the ship” and said that its rapid activation of health and safety protocols was effective, adding that “we already see a reduction in reported cases”.
The epidemic comes from the worst year for gastrointestinal epidemics based on cruise ships in more than a decade, according to CDC data. The majority of these gastrointestinal epidemics records 2024 at sea were linked to norovirus.
The CDC reported a total of 16 gastrointestinal cruise epidemics in 2024, the highest in more than a decade, while in 2023, there were a total of 14 reported epidemics.
Addressing CNN Travel in January, a spokesperson for the CDC said that “while 2023 and 2024 both had a higher number of cruise ships than in the years preceding the pandemic, we do not yet know if this represents a new trend.”
There was fewer reports during the period 2020-2022, during which the cruise industry stopped – then slowly restarted – following the coronavirus pandemic. In 2019, there were 10 reported epidemics, according to CDC data.
“Travels of cruise ships during the COVVI-19 pandemic were limited, and before that, we saw that the rates of gastrointestinal diseases on cruise ships decreased (in 2006-2019),” said CDC spokesman.
CDC data only cover ships under the agency’s jurisdiction – which means that the ship’s trip must include an American port, a foreign route and transport more than 13 passengers. Although these criteria count for a large part of the world fleet of the cruise ship, it does not cover all the ships crossing the oceans of the world.
In a press release provided to CNN Travel in January, the organization of the Cruise Lines Association industry said: “The incidents of the disease on board cruise ships are extremely rare.”
The CDC also notes that “epidemics are found and reported more quickly on a cruise ship than on earth”, thanks to report protocols. On average, some 19 to 21 million cases of norovirus disease occur each year in the United States, according to the CDC.
Until now, in 2025, the CDC has reported 11 epidemics of gastrointestinal diseases aboard cruise ships, including Queen Mary 2. Of these cases, nine have been caused by Norovirus.
Cruise passengers who have symptoms of stomach insects can help limit the propagation of infection by “quickly signaling their illness if they are sick and to follow recommendations for medical personnel”, according to the CDC spokesman who advised CNN trip earlier this year.
Passengers are also invited to practice “wash your hands often, especially after using the toilet and before eating or drinking”.
Cruise ships are also proud to take measures to control epidemics, as recently demonstrated Queen Mary 2.. Measures include quarantine passengers and crew with symptoms, and the increase in cleaning and disinfection of impacted ships.
However, the expert in infectious diseases, Schaffner, said that because of the supremely infectious nature of the Norovirus, “he is likely to go beyond all these barriers and interventions that have been put in place” by cruise lines.
Schaffner’s advice on potential cruise passengers are “the number one, if you feel badly sick, stay at home, notes a later cruise.
“Number two, pay meticulous attention to all the hygienic instructions given to you on the cruise ship and pay particular attention to hand hygiene. And in this circumstance, soap and water are actually better than using the wipes or the health handles that we use, because norovirus is not very affected by the alcohol which is in wipes and housing. ”
