Nearly 80 cruise guests, crew sick in 15th norovirus outbreak this year

Nearly 80 people got sick in a norovirus outbreak on a recent cruise. 

75 of the Oceania Insignia ship’s 1,028 guests and crew reported being sick during its current 11-night cruise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This breaks down to roughly 11% of the passengers on board. 

The CDC added that the predominant symptoms were diarrhea and vomiting. 

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Oceania Insignia departed Montreal, Canada, on October 16 on an 11-day cruise. The ship is expected to arrive in Boston, Massachusetts, on Oct. 27. Scheduled stops on the voyage include Quebec City; Corner Brook, Newfoundland; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Portland, Maine, among others. 

"At Oceania Cruises, the health and safety of our guests is the number one priority," read an emailed statement shared to USA TODAY. 

"A number of guests on the current voyage of the Oceania Insignia have reported symptoms of acute gastroenteritis. The ship’s Sanitation Officer has activated the CDC approved protocol and all guests experiencing symptoms are being treated."

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The incident marks the 20th gastrointestinal illness outbreak on cruises recorded by the CDC this year. Just one has taken place on an Oceania cruise ship. 

Compared to 2025, 2024 saw 18 gastrointestinal outbreaks from January to December. By Oct. 2024, only 11 gastrointestinal illnesses had been reported to the CDC, with 8 listing the causative agent as norovirus. 

That said, although norovirus is often associated with cruise ships (they’ve even been nicknamed “floating petri dishes”), outbreaks on cruises account for only about 1% of all reported cases.

Read more: Cruise ship gastrointestinal outbreaks hit 18, matching all of 2024 in months