A Royal Caribbean cruise ship with more than 90 sick passengers on board has finally arrived in Florida.
The Serenade of the Seas ship docked at a Miami port on Thursday after it was hit with the norovirus outbreak.
The cruise ship departed from San Diego on Sept. 19 for a 13-day voyage, with stops in Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia.
During the voyage, passengers experienced diarrhea and vomiting, predominant symptoms of the norovirus.
Cruise ships are required to report cases to the CDC when the number of cases reaches two percent of total passengers or crew. In this case, the rate of passengers sickened by the illness was reported at five percent, while crew member cases making up about 0.5 percent.
The outbreak was reported to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program on Sept. 28, nine days after the ship set sail.
The CDC noted that these cases reported are totals for the entire voyage.
“It does not mean all people are sick at the same time, such as when they arrive or leave a port or ship,” the agency said.
NTD reached out to the Royal Caribbean seeking comment but did not receive a response by publication.
Norovirus, often referred to as the stomach flu or stomach bug, typically spreads through contaminated food, water, or surfaces or from person to person.
The CDC said the ship’s crew immediately isolated the ill passengers and crew members. They also increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan and collected stool specimens from gastrointestinal illness cases for testing.
The Serenade of the Seas, which was built in Germany, consists of 13 decks and 1,073 rooms. The high volumes of people and new environments that travelers encounter on the massive ship can lead to illnesses onboard, the CDC said.
The CDC encourages cruise passengers to practice healthy cruising guidelines, which include frequent handwashing and avoiding public areas when sick.