According to USA TODAY, among the 2,593 guests aboard Holland America Cruise Line’s Rotterdam ship, 81 reported getting sick, along with eight crew members.
It was reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The main symptoms for the sick passengers and crew were diarrhea and vomiting.
It was listed by the health agency that the impacted voyage dates were December 28th through January 9th. The cruise began in Fort Lauderdale with scheduled stops in Curaçao, Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and more. The cruise line told USA TODAY in an emailed statement that the “cases were mostly mild and quickly resolved.”
“The health of our guests and crew is a top priority, and consistent with CDC protocols, we conducted a comprehensive sanitization of the ship when the cruise ended Friday in Fort Lauderdale,” the cruise line added.
Norovirus is often associated with cruises, but makes up just 1% of all reported outbreaks. Sarah R. Michaels, an assistant professor at Tulane University’s Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, told USA TODAY, “[Outbreaks are] often taking place within the community, and oftentimes we don’t know that they’re happening. Really, when we have these areas where people … are in really close contact, things like day care facilities, nursing homes, and cruise ships, it’s more likely (to be) diagnosed, reported, and brought to our attention.”
One of the best ways to help beat sickness onboard your own cruise is to wash your hands with warm, soapy water before using the bathroom and eating, but it’s never a bad idea to stop to wash your hands after meals and activities.
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My brother, sister-in-law and kids are on the Disney cruise out of the same port and their kids were just quarantine for 24 hours vomiting everywhere. Hopefully it’s no related.