According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the stomach bug outbreak affected 134 passengers and 7 crew members.
KEY FACTS:
- Cruise Outbreak Hits Over 140: A Royal Caribbean sailing wrapped up with 134 guests and 7 crew members sick with stomach troubles such as vomiting and diarrhea.
- CDC Investigating Cause: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is testing samples to figure out what made people ill; norovirus is the leading suspect.
- Voyage Cut Short by Illness: The Navigator of the Seas was on a routine 7-day Mexican loop, now heading back to Los Angeles on July 11 with dozens quarantined.
- Royal Caribbean Responds: The cruise line stepped up deep cleaning and moved sick passengers to isolation, saying guest health and safety always come first.
- Norovirus Surge Continues in 2025: CDC figures show 18 cruise-ship outbreaks so far this year-on par with all of 2024-and mirror a nationwide spike in norovirus cases.
A recent week-long cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas ended on a sour note after dozens of passengers and crew came down with an upset stomach.
Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say 134 guests and 7 crew members reported symptoms such as vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea. That means slightly more than 140 people out of nearly 3,900 on board fell ill during the voyage, which returned to Los Angeles on July 11.
Though the CDC has not yet pinpointed the exact germ that caused the cruise ship illness 2025, the agency is looking into passenger reports and lab tests. Meanwhile, the ship had been sailing to Mexican ports and back on a standard week-long loop.
Following the outbreak, the cruise line stepped up cleaning, put sick individuals in isolation, and rolled out other precautions to keep the illness from spreading further.
“The health and safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit are our top priority,” a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean Group told USA TODAY in an email. “To support that priority, we use extensive cleaning procedures, many of which go well beyond public health guidelines.”
In 2025 the CDC reported eighteen outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships that reached its threshold for public notice, most traced back to norovirus. That number matches the total for 2024, and drops from fourteen infections in 2023.
In April, the CDC acknowledged that the recent number of cruise-ship outbreaks is higher than before the pandemic, but it cautioned that researchers still cannot tell if this wavy spike marks a lasting trend.
The agency also noted that a new strain now shows up in most norovirus cases on land. Ships usually mirror the pattern seen on shore, so the rise this season was not surprising.
Norovirus is often linked to cruises in headlines, yet vessels account for barely 1 percent of all reported outbreaks in the United States.
