Passengers expecting outstanding cuisine aboard a luxury Silversea cruise liner spent much of their vacation in the ship's bathrooms with a gastrointestinal virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Monday.
At least 28 passengers and one crew member among the Silver Nova's 633 passengers fell ill during their 16-day Easter-themed cruise that set sail in Callao, Peru, the agency said.
They all reported the same primary symptom: diarrhea.
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The cause of the outbreak is still unknown, but the agency noted that noroviruses are typically caused by eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water.
The Silver Nova, the cruise company's newest liner introduced in 2023, boasts butler service for each suite and a ratio of one crew member for every 1.3 guests.
Workers aboard the ship aim to show guests "outstanding gastronomy," according to the Silversea website. At the end of last year, "Top Chef's" Nina Compton joined its staff, and offered personal cooking lessons to passengers.
Sick passengers were quarantined in their rooms, the CDC said. Other passengers were notified, and crew members "increased cleaning and disinfection procedures."
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"The health and safety of our guests, crew and communities we visit are our top priority," a spokesperson for Silversea Cruises told the New York Post.
Prices for the voyage, which ended on April 16, started at $11,700 for a double-occupancy room, according to CruiseMapper.
The Post reported that the Silversea outbreak was the fourth this year, including one that saw 130 people struck with diarrhea and vomiting and another that saw 104 passengers fall ill on a Holland America liner.
The CDC reported 14 cruise ship outbreaks in 2023.
