Last year, there were 16 outbreaks on cruise ships, from norovirus, salmonella, E. coli or other unidentified pathogens that cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea or vomiting. That's the largest number of cruise ship outbreaks in 12 years.

Beth Knowles and her family left on a Caribbean cruise in late December, but they missed every port. They got too sick to disembark during a norovirus outbreak on board. Knowles got an email from Cunard Line one day before their Dec.

What's sneaky, super contagious and bound to cause diarrhea and vomiting? If you answered "norovirus," you'd be correct. But what is it, and why is it so often associated with cruises?

Entering the final day of 2024, the CDC counted 16 stomach illness outbreaks on cruise ships this year, the most since 2012, which also saw 16. Onboard gastrointestinal sickness plummeted during the pandemic, when the cruise industry shut down for more than a year and then restarted with limited capacity and enhanced cleaning measures.

In 2024, cruise ships experienced the highest number of gastrointestinal outbreaks in over a decade, with norovirus as the leading cause, according to CDC data.

Norovirus, often coined the “cruise ship virus,” causes more than 90% of diarrheal disease outbreaks on cruise ships, according to the CDC. Still, norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships account for only a small percentage of all reported norovirus outbreaks.

A virus known as the stomach bug that has surged across parts of the country is the cause of nearly all diarrhea outbreaks reported on cruise ships that docked at U.S. ports in 2024, federal data shows.

Around 900 passengers aboard cruise ships were reportedly sickened from gastrointestinal disease in December as virus outbreaks occur globally. The shocking data has been revealed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.