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More than 240 people on board the luxury Queen Mary 2 cruise ship have fallen ill with the highly contagious norovirus stomach bug.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) reported the outbreak just as the Cunard cruise liner was nearing the end of a four-week-long return voyage from the U.K. to the Caribbean.Queen Mary 2 regularly sails transatlantic crossings. It鈥檚 a journey 鈥� and a ship 鈥� designed to hark back to the golden age of luxury ocean liners. Cunard is owned by Carnival CorporationThe vessel set sail on March 8 from Southampton and is due to return to the English port on April 6. During the voyage, 224 of the 2,538 passengers have fallen sick with the gastrointestinal virus, while 17 of the 1,232 crew members have also became unwell, according to CDC data.鈥楾he cruise ship virus鈥橧nfectious disease expert Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told CNN Travel earlier this year that norovirus is 鈥渒nown obviously as the cruise ship virus.鈥漀orovirus is notoriously contagious, and therefore people in close quarters 鈥� such as a cruise ship 鈥� may be more likely to spread the disease.The CDC also notes the virus鈥� spread among travelers in other similarly confined spaces such as camps, dormitories and hotels.鈥淭his is a virus that can infect you with very few viral particles. In other words, the infectious dose is very small,鈥� said Schaffner. 鈥淚t can persist for days or even a week on environmental surfaces, which means that if you put your fingers on a contaminated surface, you can pick up a few viral particles, touch your mouth and then initiate an infection.鈥漃redominant symptoms on board the Queen Mary 2 are diarrhea and vomiting. The CDC said that Cunard Line increased cleaning and disinfection on board the ship following the recent confirmed outbreak. Infected passengers have also been quarantined from others on board and stools are being tested.The CDC鈥檚 Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) which keeps track of outbreaks at sea, also confirmed it鈥檚 鈥渞emotely monitoring the situation, including review of the ship鈥檚 outbreak response and sanitation procedures.鈥漈he VSP also confirmed that Cunard Line had consulted with the program about cleaning procedures on Queen Mary 2, and reporting illness on board.Cunard told CNN Travel that the cruise line is 鈥渃ontinuing to closely monitor鈥� guests with gastrointestinal symptoms.The cruise line also highlighted the 鈥渃omprehensive deep clean of the ship鈥� and said its swift activation of health and safety protocols were proving to be effective, adding that 鈥渨e are already seeing a reduction in reported cases.鈥滱 rise in illness at sea?The outbreak comes on the heels of the worst year for cruise ship-based gastrointestinal outbreaks in over a decade, according to CDC data. The majority of these record-breaking 2024 gastrointestinal outbreaks at sea were norovirus-related.The CDC reported a total of 16 gastrointestinal cruise outbreaks across 2024, the highest in over a decade, while in 2023, there were a total of 14 reported outbreaks.Speaking to CNN Travel in January, a CDC spokesperson said that 鈥渨hile 2023 and 2024 both had higher numbers of cruise ship outbreaks than in years prior to the pandemic, we do not yet know if this represents a new trend.鈥漈here were fewer reports in the 2020-2022 period, during which time the cruise industry shut down 鈥� and then slowly restarted 鈥� in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. Back in 2019, there were 10 reported outbreaks, according to CDC data.鈥淐ruise ship travel during the COVID-19 pandemic was limited, and prior to that, we saw that the rates of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships decreased (during 2006-2019),鈥� said the CDC spokesperson.CDC data only covers ships under the agency鈥檚 jurisdiction 鈥� meaning the ship鈥檚 voyage must include a U.S. port, a foreign itinerary and be carrying more than 13 passengers. While this criteria counts for a lot of the world鈥檚 cruise ship fleet, it doesn鈥檛 cover every vessel traversing the world鈥檚 oceans.In a statement provided to CNN Travel in January, industry organization Cruise Lines International Association said: 鈥淚ncidents of illness onboard cruise ships are extremely rare.鈥漈he CDC also notes that 鈥渙utbreaks are found and reported more quickly on a cruise ship than on land,鈥� thanks to reporting protocols. On average, some 19-21 million instances of norovirus illness occur in the U.S. every year, according to the CDC.So far in 2025, the CDC has reported 11 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on board cruise ships, including the Queen Mary 2 infection. Of these instances, nine were caused by norovirus.Staying healthy on boardCruise passengers who present stomach bug symptoms can help limit the spread of infection by 鈥減romptly reporting their illness if they are sick and following medical staff recommendations,鈥� according to the CDC spokesperson who advised CNN Travel earlier this year.Passengers are also instructed to practice 鈥渨ashing their hands often, especially after using the toilet and before eating or drinking.鈥滳ruise ships also pride themselves on taking steps to control outbreaks, as Queen Mary 2 recently demonstrated. Measures include quarantining passengers and crew with symptoms, and increasing cleaning and disinfection of impacted vessels.Still, infectious disease expert Schaffner said that due to the supremely infectious nature of norovirus, 鈥渋t is likely to go beyond all those barriers and interventions that have been put in place鈥� by cruise lines.Schaffner鈥檚 advice to prospective cruise passengers is 鈥渘umber one, if you鈥檙e feeling at all ill, stay home, rebook for a later cruise.鈥淣umber two, pay meticulous attention to all the hygienic instructions that you are given on the cruise ship, and pay particular attention to hand hygiene. And in this circumstance, soap and water is actually better than using the sanitary hand wipes or lotions that we use, because norovirus is not very affected by the alcohol that鈥檚 in the hand wipes and the lotions.鈥�