Nearly 90 sick with norovirus on Holland America cruise that left Florida

Almost 90 passengers and crew members aboard a cruise ship that left Florida have fallen in poor health with norovirus, in response to the Facilities for Illness Management’s Vessel Sanitation Program.

The Holland America Line vessel, the Eurodam, departed from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 19 for a 10-day cruise with a number of stops within the Caribbean. It is scheduled to return to Florida on Saturday.

A complete of 88 folks—79 passengers and 9 crew members, amounting to round 3% of the folks on board—have reported feeling sick, with diarrhea and vomiting the most typical signs. Norovirus may trigger muscle aches, complications, stomach cramps and fever.

The crew is at the moment conducting enhanced sanitation procedures and isolating sick folks in accordance with CDC insurance policies. In a submit on a cruise ship message board, a passenger on the Eurodam reported the crew going as far as to sterilize paddles and balls throughout a ping pong match.

Based on the CDC, roughly 19 million to 21 million folks within the U.S. get contaminated with norovirus every year. It’s the most typical an infection to trigger gastrointestinal sickness.

The company reported 16 totally different outbreaks aboard cruise ships in 2024. 9 have already been recorded in 2025—together with on two different Holland America cruises, one among which additionally departed from Fort Lauderdale.

The CDC encourages cruise passengers to scrub their palms usually and drink loads of water to keep away from dehydration.

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