CDC Reported 13.5% of People ill On The Cruise BEFORE Mine – Here’s How it Affected Us

Taking a Transatlantic crossing on the last Ocean Liner at Sea has long been on my “bucket list”.

I knew that I would only want to take that crossing with so many sea days on the Queen Mary 2.

I do get seasick, and she was specifically designed to cope with the rough weather that you often find in the Atlantic during winter months.

Having found a good deal on a January Transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2, I quickly booked it and looked forward to the whole Cunard experience.

I was a little worried when an email from Cunard popped into my inbox two days before I was due to set sail…

An Email From Cunard

I received an email from Cunard containing “Important information about your voyage”. It said:

We are writing to advise you that, during this current sailing, a number of guests on board have reported mild symptoms of gastrointestinal illness. As a precaution, an additional deep clean of the ship will be undertaken before embarkation in New York.
To support this, embarkation will commence later in the afternoon, and we kindly ask that you arrive at the terminal two hours later than the time printed on your boarding pass. This will allow our specialist cleaning team sufficient time to complete an enhanced deep clean of the public and guest areas.  Please note that the cruise terminal will remain closed until embarkation begins.
Once on board, your stateroom will be ready slightly later than usual. However, you are welcome to enjoy the ship’s facilities while you wait.  Announcements will be made to inform you when staterooms are ready.
The health and wellbeing of our guests and crew remain our utmost priority. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Cunard Email

The upside of this was that we got to spend a few more hours in New York, visiting Grand Central Station and the “Hudson’s Yard” area of the city.

It did mean though, that by the time we got to board the ship, shortly after 3 pm, there wasn’t much daylight left to enjoy the views of New York City from the balcony.

Our rooms were ready as soon as we boarded, so we could quickly check out our cabins, visit our muster station and start to explore the ship.

Find out everything you need to know about muster drills here:

What is a Muster Drill on a Cruise? Everything You Need to Know (REVIEW of Traditional and Virtual Muster Drills)

How Many People Had Been ill?

A Norovirus outbreak was reported to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program on 23rd December 2024.

(CDC is the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention).

The final case counts for the voyage before ours were:

• Number of passengers who reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 346 of 2,565 (13.5%)
• Number of crew who reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 71 of 1,233 (5.8%)

The main symptoms reported were diarrhoea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps. This was due to Norovirus.

13% of the passengers ill is quite a high percentage by cruise ship standards.

According to the CDC:

These outbreaks often get media attention, which is why some people call norovirus the “cruise ship virus.” However, norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships account for only a small percentage (1%) of all reported norovirus outbreaks.

CDC ( Centres for Disease Control and Prevention)

Where Had the Ship Been Sailing?

Queen Mary 2 left Southampton on 14th December 2024 and sailed across the Atlantic to New York.

She had then continued her voyage on to the Caribbean, visiting St Maarten, Dominica, St.Lucia, Barbados and St.Kitts. She then returned to New York City, where I boarded for my Transatlantic crossing.

Many of the passengers onboard had taken the full voyage. They had completed a total trip of 28 days by the time they returned to Southampton.

What Differences Did I See Onboard?

There were plenty of crew cleaning onboard, and the ship was spotless, but the main difference I found was in the buffet.

For the first two or three days, all buffet food was served to you by the crew. I personally quite like that, I don’t really want to be sharing tongs with other guests, when I know there has been a Norovirus outbreak onboard!

The crew were also serving the tea, coffee and hot drinks at the drinks stations in the buffet.

Once we had been onboard a few days, things returned to normal in the buffet, with guests serving themselves.

There was a crew member stationed at the entrances of the buffet, making sure everyone who entered had cleaned their hand with sanitiser before entering. There were also sinks at the buffet entrance, although I never saw them used.

There were also hand sanitiser dispensers at the entrances to bars, the theatre and other venues.

Apart from that, there were no differences that I could see from any other cruise – although I am sure that the crew were working very hard in the background to cause as little disruption to guests as possible.

Further Information From Cunard

Further information from Cunard in the email said:

As spread is from person-to-person by touching surfaces such as handrails, door handles and elevator buttons, we recommend you follow these precautions: Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, particularly before eating, and after using the bathroom
Use hand sanitisers where handwashing facilities are not available
If you have experienced gastrointestinal symptoms within the last 24–48 hours, we kindly ask that you do not travel.

Cunard.

I am pleased to report that neither I, or anyone in my family was ill due to Norovirus during our crossing.

I did suffer a little from seasickness towards the middle of the crossing – but we had 6-metre/20-foot waves, with the sea state being described as “Moderate” or “Rough”.

Knowing how motion-sick I am, it was no great surprise.

Much as I enjoyed my Cunard Transatlantic crossing, I don’t think I would do it again.

If you are considering crossing the Atlantic and are worried about seasickness, Queen Mary 2 is the ship to sail on.

I was very grateful I wasn’t on a different ship, she handled the sea conditions so much better than other ships I have sailed on.

Before You Go

Find out the important differences between cruise ships and Ocean Liners here. They are designed in a very different way, are far faster and have a different purpose to cruise ships:

Ocean Liners and Cruise Ships Differences

If you do get ill on a cruise ship, you can get medical care – but it can be very costly. Find out more about that here:

How Much Does Medical Care Cost on a Cruise? Real Examples (X-Rays, Consultations & More)