Investigation Update on the Arcadia

Cruise Line: P&O Cruises

Cruise Ship: Arcadia

Voyage Dates: January 3–April 13, 2023

Voyage Number: J301

Number of passengers who reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 88 of 1,752 (5.02%)

Number of crew who reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 20 of 815 (2.45%)

Predominant symptoms: vomiting and diarrhea

Causative agent: norovirus

Actions: In response to the outbreak, P&O Cruises and the crew aboard the ship reported the following actions:

  • Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to the ship’s outbreak prevention and response plan
  • Collected stool specimens from passenger and/or crew gastrointestinal illness cases
  • Notified embarking guests of the situation onboard and encouraged illness reporting and good hand hygiene.

VSP epidemiologists and environmental health officers will board the ship on January 13 to conduct a formal outbreak investigation.

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.