Cruise passenger numbers climbed to 37.2 million globally last year, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, even as bizarre incidents and disease outbreaks periodically capture media attention.
That total marks a sharp increase from 14.8 million passengers in 2010 and 29.7 million in 2019, data from the trade group shows.
Bizarre stories routinely surface in the news cycle. A Texas man was arrested after allegedly killing a woman on a Caribbean voyage, while fishers rescued a Royal Caribbean pianist in the Pacific Ocean after he went overboard. Singapore also seized a US-operated ship, the MV Odyssey, leaving retirees stranded in Cambodia when the operator ran out of money due to rising fuel prices.
Fatal misadventures and major disease outbreaks remain rare on modern ocean liners.
“You’re not packing and unpacking; you’re not checking in and out of hotels; and you’re not waking up in the same boring place each day,” said Stewart Chiron, according to The Guardian. “You don’t like a port? Get back on the ship, and you’re off to the next one and waking up in a new place with new adventures.”
The Pandemic Disrupted Global Cruise Market Growth
The global cruise market more than doubled between 2010 and 2019, according to trade group figures. The onset of Covid-19 in early 2020 disrupted that trajectory. The Diamond Princess, owned by Carnival, recorded 14 deaths and 712 confirmed infections after a passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong tested positive, forcing a two-week quarantine for 3,700 passengers and crew. Additional outbreaks affected other vessels, including the Norwegian Pearl, which returned to Miami on January 5, 2022, after just one day at sea following positive tests among crew members.
Other isolated incidents have also occurred outside of viral waves. In April, the MV Hondius departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, for Antarctica before a hantavirus outbreak caused three deaths.
Netflix also released a documentary titled Trainwreck: Poop Cruise regarding a 2013 Carnival Triumph fire that caused a power failure and flooded the ship with sewage. “The confidence that consumers have in cruising is extraordinarily high,” Chiron said. “They know these one-off situations are meaningless.” “Accidents are accidents.”
Cruise Ship Travel Carries No Higher Infectious Disease Risk
Traveling on a cruise ship carries no higher risk of infectious disease than taking a bus tour, boarding an airplane, or simply occupying crowded spaces on land, according to Cindy Prins, an epidemiologist and associate professor in population health sciences at the University of Central Florida.
US ocean cruises hosted 19 million guests in 2024, the trade group reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention documented 18 acute gastroenteritis outbreaks—defined as 3% or more of passengers or crew reporting symptoms like diarrhea or vomiting—affecting 2,041 people on voyages involving US and foreign ports that year. The CDC notes that because crew members must report symptoms immediately, outbreaks are detected faster at sea than on land.
Passengers also observe heightened sanitation protocols.
Brooke Rodriguez, a mother of three from outside Denver who has taken two Disney cruises, described staff distributing sanitizing wipes at restaurant entrances and directing travelers to sinks in buffet areas.
“I know on that ship the number of people that have washed their hands as they walk in,” Rodriguez told The Guardian, noting that her family also received Covid and flu vaccines before departure.
Joyce Lipkind, owner of A&R Block Travel in St Louis, arranges 50 to 75 cruise vacations annually, split evenly between ocean and river voyages. Most clients are seniors who appreciate unpacking just once rather than moving frequently by bus or airplane.
“I think seniors have been there, done that, seen it all,” Lipkind told The Guardian.
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