At a glance
Learn about the gastrointestinal illness outbreak on Royal Caribbean International ship Radiance of the Seas in April 2024, including outbreak details and actions taken in response.
Outbreak details
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean International
Cruise Ship: Radiance of the Seas
Voyage Dates: April 8–April 22, 2024
Voyage number: 20095
Final case counts:
- Number of passengers who reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 67 of 1,993 (3.36%)
- Number of crew who reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 2 of 924 (0.22%)
Predominant symptoms: diarrhea and vomiting
Causative agent: norovirus
Actions in response to the outbreak
In response to the outbreak, Royal Caribbean Cruises and the crew aboard the ship reported the following actions:
- Collected stool specimens from gastrointestinal illness cases for testing.
- Isolated ill passengers and crew.
- Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to the ship's outbreak prevention and response plan.
VSP conducted an environmental assessment and outbreak investigation to assist the ship in controlling the outbreak.
More information
Cases
Gastrointestinal illness is a commonly used term for acute gastroenteritis (AGE). Cruise ships report cases that meet our case definition for AGE. We define a reportable case of AGE as
- Three or more loose stools within a 24-hour period or what is more than normal for that person OR
- Vomiting along with one of the following symptoms: diarrhea, muscle ache, headache, abdominal cramp, or fever.
Case totals
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.