Another norovirus outbreak sickened passengers on board the cruise ship Coral Princess in February, marking the second outbreak this year on the ocean liner operated by Princess Cruises, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sixty-nine passengers and 16 crew members fell ill during the February outbreak, the CDC said. There were 1,906 passengers and 895 crew members on the ship overall. The outbreak happened during a 16-night voyage from Los Angeles, California, through the Panama Canal, according to a description of the trip from Princess Cruises.
It was unclear whether those who reported developing symptoms on the ship became sick at the same time, or at different points along their journey. The Coral Princess left Los Angeles on Feb. 21 and returned March 9 to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to the CDC. CBS News contacted Princess Cruises for comment but did not receive an immediate reply.
Princess Cruises said the Coral Princess crew took steps to minimize the spread of norovirus once it was detected on the ship, according to the CDC. Their actions included: increasing cleaning and disinfection procedures in line with the cruise company’s outbreak prevention and response plan; testing people with norovirus symptoms; isolating sick passengers and crew; and disinfecting the ship with guidance from the CDC’s vessel sanitation program, which the agency says monitored the outbreak remotely. The program is a resource for cruise companies to prevent and manage public health problems on ships.
Norovirus, also known as a stomach bug, is a highly infectious disease that typically causes symptoms like diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting. Symptoms usually last between one and three days, but a person can still transmit the notoriously contagious virus to others for two weeks or longer after their symptoms subside, the CDC said on its website.
Outbreaks of norovirus are often seen on cruise ships, in congregate living situations like jails and nursing homes, and in other places like schools where groups are gathered close together. As cases of the illness surged around the U.S. toward the end of last year, the CDC reported hundreds of cruise passengers caught the virus on three different ships in December alone. One of those outbreaks happened on a Princess Cruises ship, the Ruby Princess, as it sailed around Hawaii. The other two affected Holland America’s Rotterdam and Zuiderdam on voyages through the Caribbean.
The CDC said more norovirus outbreaks spread on cruise ships in December 2024 than any other month last year. In total, the agency tracked 14 norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships in 2024, several of which occurred on trips run by Princess Cruises. In December, about 100 passengers and 12 crew reported being ill during the Ruby Princess outbreak, after an outbreak on the Coral Princess in November where 55 passengers and 15 crew came down with the virus.
Princess Cruises’ latest outbreak is the second since the start of 2025 on the Coral Princess. In January, another voyage on the same ship saw 128 passengers and 20 crew on board develop the virus, the CDC said.
Emily Mae Czachor is a news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and issues involving social and criminal justice. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.
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