ROTTERDAM

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

119 people on cruise ship suffered from norovirus

The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program has identified the 'Rotterdam' as the latest vessel to experience an outbreak this year. The ship is currently on a 12-night Panama Canal cruise that departed from Port Everglades on Feb 2, 2025, and is set to return on Feb 14. 107 of 2,614 passengers (4.1%) and 12 of 969 crew members (1.2%) have reported symptoms of illness since the first case was identified on Feb 7. These numbers represent cumulative cases throughout the cruise and did not indicate that all individuals were sick at the same time. Reported symptoms included diarrhea and vomiting. In response, the ship’s crew has ramped up cleaning and disinfection procedures in accordance with the cruise line’s outbreak prevention plan. Specimens from both passengers and crew have been collected for testing, and the CDC is remotely monitoring the situation while consulting with the cruise line.

95 people affected by norovirus

An outbreak of norovirus has affected 83 passengers and 12 crew members of the 'Rotterdam' during its current voyage that started on Dec 8, 2024, and lasts unti Dec 20, The ship departed on its 12-night roundtrip cruise from Fort Lauderdale with calls at Curacao, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, and Jamaica. The vessel also transited through the Panama Canal and spent a day at the newly renamed and private RelaxAway at Half Moon Cay, jointly operated by Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Line, both owned by Carnival Corporation. While calling in Montego Bay on Dec 18, the medical team aboard the ship reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that it was experiencing an outbreak of suspected norovirus. The ship with 2,192 passengers and 953 crew on board was now under close observation by the CDC. Holland America Line has taken immediate steps to contain the outbreak by intensifying cleaning and disinfection procedures as outlined in its outbreak prevention and response plan.

Medevac off Bermuda

The 'Rotterdam', while bound for the Azores made a detour to Bermuda after a passenger encountered medical difficulties. The RCC Bermuda was contacted by the ship on April 14 at around noon, while it was sailing from Fort Lauderdale to Ponta Delgada. It had diverted to the island to disembark a 75-year-old passenger to receive medical care. In the late afternoon of April 15 the ship arrived offshore, and the patient was transferred to the pilot rescue boat 'St David' along with a member of the ships medical team. The patient was transferred to an ambulance at Ordnance Island along with the ships nurse allowing the cruise ship to continue her passage to the Azores with an ETA at Ponta Delgada as of April 20.