One cruise ship has reported a gastrointestinal illness outbreak on its current sailing, with over 120 sick guests and crew members on board.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Princess Cruises' Ruby Princess reported 102 ill guests aboard its current voyage. Additionally, 23 crew members are reportedly ill.
The outbreak was reported to the CDC on June 28, 2026, with 3.4% of passengers and 2% of crew members reporting gastrointestinal symptoms. There are currently 3,032 guests and 1,144 crew members on the vessel.
Ruby Princess is one of Princess Cruises' mid-sized vessels, accommodating around 3,000 passengers and measuring 113,561 gross tons.
Most guests on Ruby Princess suffered from diarrhea and vomiting — two of the predominant symptoms of gastrointestinal illness. In this case, the CDC listed the causative agent as norovirus, a highly contagious virus that spreads easily through contaminated water, food, and surfaces.
Ruby Princess is currently wrapping up a 20-night cruise to Alaska, according to CruiseMapper. The ship departed from San Francisco, California, on June 12, 2026. The itinerary included stops in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Skagway, Valdez, and Seward, Alaska, among other ports. The ship is scheduled to return to San Francisco, California, on Thursday, July 2.
The CDC reported that the cruise line has collected stool specimens from infected passengers for testing, and ill passengers and crew members have also been isolated to reduce the spread of norovirus.
Additionally, Princess Cruises is actively consulting with the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) to address the outbreak. Based on the report, VSP is monitoring the situation and reviewing Ruby Princess' sanitation procedures and outbreak response.
Another norovirus outbreak in Alaska was reported to the CDC on June 28
Cruise Blog previously reported that a gastrointestinal illness outbreak on the National Geographic Sea Bird sickened nearly 30% of guests and crew.
Among the 68 guests aboard the ship, 19 reported being ill during the sailing that ended on June 30, 2026, along with one crew member, according to the CDC.
This breaks down to around 28% of passengers and 3.7% of crew members who experienced gastrointestinal issues during the five-night voyage.
Moreover, this was the second time that the National Geographic Sea Bird reported a norovirus outbreak this year, with the first outbreak occurring during the May 26, 2026, sailing.
Thankfully, norovirus cases are on the decline at sea
Despite recent headlines, gastrointestinal illness outbreaks have dropped significantly in 2026 – both on land and at sea.
According to CDC data, there were 1,287 norovirus outbreaks reported by NoroSTAT-participating states between August 1, 2025, and June 11, 2026. In comparison, there were 2,596 norovirus outbreaks reported during the same seasonal period last year.
At sea, there were just five cases of norovirus aboard ships reported to the CDC from January to June 2026, including:
- Princess Cruises, Ruby Princess (June 12-July 2, 2026)
- Lindblad Expeditions, National Geographic Sea Bird (June 25-30, 2026)
- Lindblad Expeditions, National Geographic Sea Bird (May 26-31, 2026)
- Princess Cruises, Caribbean Princess (April 28-May 11, 2026)
- Princess Cruises, Star Princess (March 7-14, 2026)
This reflects a 58% decline from the 12 cruise ship norovirus cases reported to the CDC between January 2025 and June 2025.
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Having sailed on over 30 cruises across different lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Margaritaville at Sea, and Princess, she loves sharing her insight and expertise on all things cruising!
In addition to writing for Cruise.Blog, Elizabeth has bylines in Business Insider, Royal Caribbean Blog, and Cruiseshipfood.com.
