CDC Reports Alaska Illness Outbreak on National Geographic Sea Bird
After the May 28 report to the Vessel Sanitation Program, National Geographic Sea Bird isolated ill passengers and crew and increased disinfection under its response plan.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted a gastrointestinal illness outbreak aboard Lindblad Expeditions’ National Geographic Sea Bird after 12 people reported symptoms during a May 26-31 Southeast Alaska sailing. The CDC counted nine illnesses among 66 passengers and three among 24 crew members, with vomiting and diarrhea listed as the main symptoms.
The cause remains undetermined. The case is the fifth cruise-ship gastrointestinal outbreak this year to meet the CDC’s public-notification threshold, and the only one so far in Alaska.
CDC monitored the response remotely
The outbreak was reported to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program on May 28, two days after the voyage departed Juneau. The sailing ended in Sitka on May 31.
In response, the ship increased cleaning and disinfection procedures under its outbreak prevention and response plan, isolated ill passengers and crew, and consulted with the Vessel Sanitation Program on sanitation procedures and case reporting. The CDC said VSP remotely monitored the ship’s response and reviewed sanitation procedures during the incident.
VSP-covered cruise ships are required to report gastrointestinal illness quickly so the agency can track potential outbreaks and advise operators on response measures. The CDC also cautions that outbreak totals reflect cumulative cases over the full voyage, not necessarily the number of people ill at the same time.
No stool samples were submitted by affected passengers or crew, according to the CDC notice. In its outbreak guidance, the agency said that while norovirus is often involved in cruise-ship gastrointestinal outbreaks, “finding the agent that caused an outbreak” can take time.
National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions did not immediately provide comment to USA TODAY.
A small ship that stayed in Alaska service
National Geographic Sea Bird is a small expedition vessel with a guest capacity commonly listed at 62. The CDC notice counted 66 passengers aboard the affected voyage.
The U.S.-flagged ship operates Alaska itineraries without the Canada call required for many foreign-flagged cruise ships sailing in the region. After arriving in Sitka, National Geographic Sea Bird departed on its next scheduled Alaska sailing, which CruiseMapper listed as ending in Juneau on June 5.
Norovirus dominates prior CDC cruise notices
Of the five CDC-posted cruise gastrointestinal outbreaks this year, two were attributed to E. coli, two to norovirus and one remains unknown. In 2025, the CDC publicly notified 23 cruise-ship gastrointestinal outbreaks, 18 of them linked to norovirus; in 2024, norovirus accounted for 15 of 18 such outbreaks.
Sarah R. Michaels, an assistant professor at Tulane University’s Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, previously told USA TODAY that outbreaks are “often taking place within the community” without being detected. Close-contact settings such as day care facilities, nursing homes and cruise ships are more likely to have outbreaks diagnosed and reported, she said.
