Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas has reported a gastrointestinal illness outbreak on its current sailing with nearly 100 sick guests onboard.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Radiance of the Seas reported 89 ill guests onboard its current voyage. Additionally, two crew members are reportedly ill with gastrointestinal symptoms onboard.
The outbreak was reported to the CDC on February 4, 2025, with 4.1% passengers and 0.2% crew members reporting symptoms of the illness. There are currently 2,164 guests onboard and 910 crew members on the vessel.
Radiance of the Seas is one of Royal Caribbean’s smallest vessels, accommodating around 2,500 passengers at maximum capacity and measuring 90,090 gross tons.
Most guests on Radiance of the Seas are showing symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting - two of the predominant symptoms for gastrointestinal illness. Other common symptoms include muscle aches, headaches, abdominal cramps, or fever.
Radiance of the Seas is currently sailing on a 7-night itinerary to the Western Caribbean. The ship departed from Tampa, Florida on Saturday, February 1, 2025. The itinerary includes stops in Cozumel (Mexico), Roatan (Honduras), Belize City (Belize), and Costa Maya (Mexico). Radiance of the Seas is scheduled to return to Tampa, Florida on February 8, 2025.
Along with these details, the CDC included multiple steps taken by crew members aboard Radiance of the Seas in response to the outbreak. First, the cruise line increased cleaning and disinfection on the ship, based on Royal Caribbean’s outbreak prevention and response protocol.
In addition, the cruise line has collected stool specimens from the gastrointestinal illness cases to be used for testing. This can help identify the cause of the outbreak, which could be norovirus. Ill passengers and crew members have also been isolated to reduce potential illness spread.
Royal Caribbean is consulting with VSP to address the outbreak, which is the Vessel Sanitation Program run by the CDC. Based on the report, VSP is monitoring the situation and reviewing Radiance of the Seas’ sanitation procedures and outbreak response.
Is this an outbreak of norovirus?
At this time, it’s unclear if the gastrointestinal illness outbreak is caused by norovirus. The CDC does not list a causative agent for the outbreak, which is defined as the specific organism responsible for the development of the disease.
However, the CDC states, “Norovirus is often a cause of gastrointestinal illness outbreaks on cruise ships, but we don't always know the cause of the outbreak when we begin an investigation.”
“Finding the agent that caused an outbreak (causative agent) can take time. When an outbreak occurs, people whose symptoms met the case definition are asked to provide stool or vomitus samples. These samples are tested to determine the causative agent. In this outbreak, samples are pending confirmatory testing,” continues the CDC.
Cruise ships are required to report cases of gastrointestinal illnesses to the CDC. The government agency states, “Reporting gastrointestinal illness is important. When passengers and crew tell the medical center onboard about their symptoms, it helps GI illness outbreaks get detected quickly. This allows steps to be taken to limit the spread of illness.”
Outbreaks of norovirus are on the rise across the U.S.
Norovirus cases have been surging over the recent weeks in the United States based on CDC data. The total number of outbreaks reported in the 2024–2025 season exceeds the range recorded during the same period in the 2012–2020 and 2021–2024 seasons.
The CDC reported 91 suspected or confirmed norovirus outbreaks in the United States for the first week of December 2024. This is the highest number recorded for that week since 2012. Outbreaks of norovirus are most common from November to April with millions of people getting sick each year.
No one knows for sure why norovirus cases are surging this season. YaleMedicine states the current strain was once uncommon in the United States, meaning many people lack immunity to the specific strain circulating. Cases normally surge in the winter months when people tend to congregate inside, particularly around the holiday season.
(Number of Suspected or Confirmed Norovirus Outbreaks Reported by NoroSTAT-Participating States Per Week, 2012–2025)
Norovirus is not respiratory, meaning it does not spread by sneezing or coughing. Instead, norovirus spreads by contaminated food, water or surfaces, making it highly contagious. Because of this, proper handwashing with soap and water is the best way to prevent the spread. Most hand sanitizers don’t work well against the virus.
Radiance of the Seas is the sixth vessel to report an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness, according to data provided by the CDC. The following ships have reported outbreaks in 2025, along with the identified causation agent.
• Royal Caribbean International: Radiance of the Seas (2/1–2/8/2025) – Unknown
• Princess Cruises: Coral Princess (1/20–2/5/2025) – Norovirus
• Viking Ocean Cruises: Viking Mars (1/10–1/24/2025) – Unknown
• Holland America Line: Volendam (1/4–1/25/2025) – Norovirus
• Silversea Cruises: Silver Ray (1/4–1/20/2025) – E. coli
• Sea Cloud Cruises: Sea Cloud Spirit (1/4–1/10/2025) – Presumed Ciguatera
In contrast, 18 outbreaks on cruise ships were reported to the CDC in 2024. Although norovirus is often called the “cruise ship disease,” only 1% of reported outbreaks are associated with cruise ships. Outbreaks are more common on college campuses, hospitals, and nursing homes where people are living in close quarters.
What is Royal Caribbean’s protocol?
All cruise lines are required to have robust protocols to address illness outbreaks. Royal Caribbean’s health protocols are enacted once a certain percentage of guests report symptoms.
In a statement to USA Today, Royal Caribbean stated, “Enhanced measures have been implemented onboard in an abundance of caution to protect the health and comfort of all our guests and crew.”
These protocols include the following:
- Stopping self-service in buffets if the onboard rate exceeds 1.5%
- Enhanced acute GI training for onboard medical teams
- Switching to PDI SaniCloth Prime hospital-grade disinfectant wipes
- Enhanced crew training on what to do when experiencing acute GI symptoms and how to avoid cross-contamination in food and beverage service areas
