Outbreak Aboard Queen Victoria Cruise Ship Leaves 154 Passengers Sick

Queen Victoria

An outbreak of an unidentified gastrointestinal disease has left a total of 154 passengers and crew members experiencing symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea aboard Cunard’s Queen Victoria cruise ship, with the cause currently under investigation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The outbreak was initially reported on February 1, with the number of cases increasing since then to encompass a total of 129 passengers and 25 crew members. However, it’s worth noting that the cumulative total does not represent the number of active infections at any given time.

The Queen Victoria departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on January 22, and is scheduled to dock in Honolulu on February 12. With 1,824 passengers and 967 crew members on board, the cruise line is facing challenges in containing the spread of the illness.

Upon discovering the outbreak, Cunard implemented and affirms its commitment to continuing enhanced health and safety protocols. These measures include increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, isolation of affected individuals, and informing both current and embarking passengers and crew members about the situation on board.

The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program is actively monitoring the situation and assessing the ship’s outbreak response and sanitation protocols. While investigations continue, the cruise line asserts that its priority remains the health and wellbeing of all passengers and crew members on board.

“Cunard confirms that a number of guests had reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness on board Queen Victoria on voyage V405 which departed Florida on [Jan. 22] and arrived in San Francisco on [Feb. 7]. They immediately activated their enhanced health and safety protocols to ensure the wellbeing of all guests and crew on board, and these measures have been effective,” the company said in a statement given to ABC News.

According to cruise tracking website CruiseMapper, the Queen Victoria is in the midst of a 55-day itinerary that will take her around the globe, all the way from Hamburg, Germany to Sydney, Australia. So, it still has quite a way to go before reaching its ultimate destination on March 4.

In its initial report, ABC News noted that this marks the second instance this year of an illness outbreak aboard a cruise ship. The first occurred in January, when 100 people got sick aboard Celebrity Constellation, likewise exhibiting symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. The CDC ultimately determined the culprit in that case to be norovirus, a gastrointestinal disease that also accounted for most of the 14 outbreaks of illness aboard cruise ships seen last year.