Investigation Update on the Grandeur of the Seas

Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean International

Cruise Ship: Grandeur of the Seas

Voyage Dates: March 7–March 19, 2020

Number of passengers who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 98 of 1,764 (5.56%)

Number of crew who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 7 of 798 (0.88%)

Predominant symptoms: vomiting and diarrhea

Causative agent: norovirus

Actions: In response to the outbreak, Royal Caribbean International and crew aboard the ship reported the following actions:

• Increasing cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan.
• Collecting stool specimens from passenger and crew gastrointestinal illness cases for testing.
• Making announcements to notify onboard passengers and crew of the outbreak, encourage case reporting, and encourage good hand hygiene.
• Making multiple daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to VSP.
• Consulting with CDC on plans for their comprehensive sanitation procedures in Baltimore, MD, on March 19, 2020, including
  • Planning staged disembarkation for active cases to limit the opportunity of illness transmission to well guests.
  • Planning sanitation of terminal and transport infection control procedures.

VSP is monitoring the outbreak and the ship’s response procedures. Specimens have been collected, tested onboard, and found to be positive for norovirus. The specimens will be sent to CDC for genome sequencing.

VSP is sending an investigation team to investigate the causative agent and assist with preventing further spread of illness.

Note: The gastrointestinal illness cases reported are totals for the entire voyage and do not represent the number of active (symptomatic) gastrointestinal cases at any given port of call or at disembarkation.

Learn how passengers can protect themselves with these tips for healthy cruising.