A norovirus outbreak aboard a Holland America cruise ship sickened nearly 90 passengers and crew members during a Caribbean voyage that departed from Fort Lauderdale late last month, officials said.
The Rotterdam carried 2,593 passengers and 1,005 crew on a 12-night voyage, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency reported 81 passengers and eight crew members suffered gastrointestinal symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhea.
Holland America reported the outbreak to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program on Jan. 8. The ship returned to Fort Lauderdale on Friday and underwent a full sanitization, Holland America said in a statement to USA Today. (RELATED: Crew Member Dies After Going Overboard On World’s Largest Cruise Ship)
The cruise line told the outlet that “cases were mostly mild and quickly resolved.”
Nearly 90 people sick in Holland America cruise norovirus outbreak https://t.co/muuBZEotCW
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) January 12, 2026
The cruise line and crew members increased cleaning activities, collected stool specimens for testing and isolated infected passengers and crew, according to the CDC.
The Rotterdam has now experienced three norovirus outbreaks in the past 12 months. A February 2025 outbreak sickened 185 people, the CDC said. In March 2025, another incident affected 93. Holland America recorded seven gastrointestinal outbreaks across its fleet in 2025, more than any other cruise line since Jan. 1, 2025, Cruise Line News reported.
Norovirus spreads easily in close quarters but cruise ships account for just 1% of all reported outbreaks, according to the CDC.
“Really, when we have these areas where people are in really close contact, things like day care facilities, nursing homes and cruise ships, it’s more likely (to be) diagnosed, reported and brought to our attention,” Tulane University’s Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine Assistant Professor Sarah R, Michaels told the USA Today.