Norovirus Hits Caribbean Princess, 115 Sick at Sea

A norovirus outbreak has swept through the Caribbean Princess cruise ship, sickening 115 people — 102 passengers and 13 crew members — during what was supposed to be a dream 13-day voyage through the Caribbean. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the outbreak on May 7, with vomiting and diarrhea as the primary symptoms.

The ship, operated by Princess Cruises, departed Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on April 28 and made stops in the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Aruba, St. Maarten, Curaçao, and Bonaire. With 3,116 passengers and 1,131 crew members aboard, the 115 cases represent about 3.3 percent of the passenger count — just above the threshold that requires cruise lines to report outbreaks to the CDC.

Despite the numbers, some passengers say life on board has remained remarkably normal. Jan van Milligen, who has spent the last 21 days on the ship with relatives and friends from South Africa, told NBC News on Saturday that the mood hadn’t soured. “The normal atmosphere is still here,” he said. “We went to a show last night, had dinner and breakfast this morning.”

Van Milligen did notice the stepped-up precautions. “The cruise line made all precautions to stop the spread,” he said, noting that passengers were becoming more careful about hygiene and hand-washing. One of the most visible changes: the self-serve buffet was shut down entirely. “Passengers were no longer allowed to serve themselves,” he said.

Florida passenger Donna Leonte boarded in Fort Lauderdale on April 28 with her husband and four friends to celebrate her 21st wedding anniversary. She’s been keeping a close eye on the situation — and says the crew has handled it well. “We are doing well. Safety precautions are in place but nothing deadly,” she told NBC News. She described hand-washing stations being actively manned so passengers couldn’t bypass them, and Purell sanitizers stationed throughout the ship. “The buffet is well-staffed and they are handing out dishes, utensils and food,” she said. “They’re doing an excellent job.”

Leonte also said ship staff kept everyone in the loop throughout the ordeal. “They’ve said it’s been sanitized, that they’ve been cleaning everything. They let us know if there’s any more people that have contracted it.” Sick passengers were quarantined to their rooms and checked on by medical staff daily.

What Princess Cruises Is Doing About It

Princess Cruises has been in contact with the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program, which is conducting a field response — an environmental assessment and outbreak investigation — to help the ship control the spread. The cruise line increased cleaning and disinfection across every area of the ship, collected stool samples from affected passengers and crew for testing, and isolated anyone showing symptoms.

In a statement, Princess Cruises spokesperson Negin Kamali said: “Princess Cruises can confirm that a limited number of individuals reported mild gastrointestinal illness during the April 28 Caribbean Princess voyage from Port Everglades. We quickly disinfected every area of the ship and added extra sanitizing throughout the voyage. Upon arrival to Port Canaveral on May 11, Caribbean Princess will undergo comprehensive cleaning and disinfection before departing for her next voyage.”

A Port Canaveral spokesperson confirmed the ship is expected to arrive Monday morning.

A Familiar Problem for Princess Cruises — and Cruise Ships in General

This isn’t the first time the Caribbean Princess has dealt with a norovirus situation. Back in 2020, over 300 passengers fell ill on the ship, forcing a 14-day voyage to end early. And just this past March, more than 150 passengers aboard another Princess Cruises vessel, the Star Princess, contracted norovirus during a Caribbean itinerary. This latest outbreak is the fourth gastrointestinal illness outbreak reported on a cruise ship in 2026.

Norovirus — sometimes called the winter vomiting bug — is the leading cause of vomiting, diarrhea, and foodborne illness in the United States, according to the CDC. Most people develop symptoms within 12 to 48 hours of exposure, with additional symptoms including stomach pain, headaches, and fever. The good news: most people recover within one to three days. The catch: they can still spread the virus for a few days after feeling better.

Cruise ships are particularly vulnerable to outbreaks because of how many people are living in close quarters. The virus spreads through direct contact, contaminated food, water, and surfaces — all of which are harder to control when thousands of people share the same dining rooms, pools, and corridors. Proper handwashing remains the CDC’s top recommendation for prevention.

The Caribbean Princess is expected to dock at Port Canaveral Monday morning, where the full deep clean will begin before the ship heads out again. For the passengers still onboard celebrating anniversaries and sailing with friends from across the world, the countdown is almost over — even if the voyage didn’t go quite as planned.