Investigation Update on the Celebrity Solstice
This website is archived for historical purposes and is no longer being maintained or updated.
Cruise Line: Celebrity Cruises
Cruise Ship: Celebrity Solstice
Voyage Dates: April 8 to April 25, 2013
Number of passengers who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 183 of 2849 (6.42%)
Number of crew who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 2 of 1188 (0.18%)
Predominant symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea
Causative agent: Norovirus
Actions: In response to the outbreak, Celebrity Cruises and the crew aboard the ship took the following actions:
- Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan,
- Making announcements to both notify onboard passengers of the outbreak and encourage case reporting,
- Collecting stool specimens from ill passengers and crew for submission to the CDC lab,
- Making twice daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to the VSP,
- Consulting with CDC on plans for:
- Passenger notification procedures and the planned delayed embarkation schedule in Honolulu, Hawaii on 25 April,
- Disembarkation plans for active cases, terminal and transport infection control procedures.
A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and an epidemiologist will board the ship on arrival in Honolulu, Hawaii on April 25, 2013 to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Specimens will be sent to the CDC lab for testing.