Norovirus Outbreak On Princess Cruise Ship: Norovirus Outbreak Hits Star Princess Passengers On 15-Day Hawaiian Cruise

A norovirus outbreak on a Princess cruise ship has hit several passengers. The Star Princess was on a 15-day Hawaiian cruise when the outbreak occurred.

According to Cruise Hive, the norovirus outbreak resulted in passengers being taken from the ship by ambulance while another had to fly home. The report doesn’t state exactly how many people have been affected by the outbreak on the Star Princess, but it’s believed to be at least 60 or so. The vessel returned to port in Vancouver, Canada, after the outbreak. Extra cleaning and sanitizing was done by the ship’s crew to ensure the Norovirus outbreak wouldn’t spread on the next cruise. The Star Princess departed for its next scheduled voyage Sunday evening.

CBC News spoke with one passenger who said that at all four ports, people infected with the virus were being taken off the ship in ambulances.

Karen Candy, a spokesperson for Princess Cruises, wrote in an email to CBC that only five of the 2,590 passengers on board had “active symptoms” of the norovirus.

Candy explained that the ship’s crew took precautions after the Norovirus outbreak struck the Star Princess.

“In order to interrupt the spread of illness, we proactively initiated an extensive sanitation campaign onboard… isolating ill guests in staterooms until they are non-contagious.”

She said hand railings, door handles, and elevator buttons were disinfected. The crew also used sanitizing gel throughout the ship. Contagious passengers were isolated to their cabins and encouraged to use their own bathrooms.

Norovirus hits Star Princess cruise, delays massive cruise ship http://t.co/rlOyVPIilk #CBC

— Miyoung Lee (@MiyoungLeeCBC) October 4, 2015

It wasn’t long ago that the Star Princess had a norovirus outbreak. In April 2015, over 135 people aboard got ill, ABC 7 News reports. At the time, some of the passengers were infected with some kind of germophobia.

Norovirus isn’t deadly and is also found on land. This virus is also known as gastrointestinal illness, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea.

It’s believed that the epidemic of norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships has to do more with the number of people sharing a small amount of space together. This is the perfect formula for the virus to take hold and spread like wildfire.

Tilly Enarson, a passenger from Abbotsford, said ship staff was strict in preventing more infections from impacting others.

“They serve you your food so you can’t be touching things like salt and pepper shakers, then they do the sprinkling of the salt and pepper shakers. You can’t pick it up yourself.”

Like the norovirus outbreak that happened during this cruise, the other outbreak that the Star Princess had earlier this spring required staff to bring food to everyone, including the buffet.

Andy Martin, a passenger on the spring cruise, recalled how passengers couldn’t go through a buffet line, nor use salt and pepper shakers.

“You cannot get your own food, they just have to give you everything. Even in the buffet. They have to serve everything. And they won’t even have salt and pepper on the table because they don’t want anybody touching it.”

The ship’s captain didn’t think at the time that it was a norovirus outbreak aboard the cruise ship, but 20 samples showed that was definitely the case.

CBS News mentions in its report that any outbreak of norovirus that reaches over 3 percent requires special protocol and disinfection of the vessel. Officials claimed that “the number of people on the Star Princess who reported illness was fewer than the 3-percent cut-off — in this case, 78 people.”

The Star Princess has 17 decks, four pools, and nine spas.

Will it be a common thing to hear in the news that a Norovirus outbreak has hit a cruise ship? This is Star Princess’ second time in one year.

[Photo Credit: CBC News/Twitter]