Princess, Viking gastrointestinal outbreaks sicken 140+ cruise guests, crew
Gastrointestinal illness outbreaks on Princess Cruises and Viking ships sickened nearly 150 people.
Among 1,894 guests aboard Princess’ Coral Princess ship, 59 reported being ill during its current voyage, along with 12 crew members, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Their main symptoms were vomiting and diarrhea caused by norovirus, according to the health agency.
The ship departed on Jan. 20 from San Francisco, California, on a 16-day cruise with scheduled stops in Mexico, Guatemala and more, according to CruiseMapper.
On Viking’s Viking Mars vessel, 62 of 887 passengers reported being sick during a voyage that ended Friday with the same predominant symptoms, though the CDC listed the causative agent as unknown. Nine crew members also became ill.
The ship left Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on a Panama Canal cruise on Jan. 10, per CruiseMapper.
Both ships increased disinfection and cleaning measures and isolated sick guests and crew, among other steps. Princess and Viking did not immediately respond to Paste BN’s requests for comment.
The CDC has logged five outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships that met its threshold for public notification this year. There were 18 in 2024, most of which were caused by norovirus. Outbreaks are typically more common during winter months, the health agency said.
The illness is often associated with cruises, but those comprise only 1% of all reported outbreaks.
Dr. Dean Winslow, a professor of medicine and pediatrics at Stanford Medicine, told Paste BN earlier this month that outbreaks tend to happen in congregate settings, especially where people eat and drink. Those include cruise ships, universities, nursing homes and “even hospitals,” he said.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for Paste BN based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.