Cruise ship with highest number of virus cases of 2025 to dock in Portland Sunday; residents wary
PORTLAND, Oct. 25, 2025 - The city finally conceded to citizens pressure Friday to warn residents of the arrival of a cruise ship Sunday with the highest levels of norovirus this year tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The City of Portland is informing the public that the Oceania Insignia cruise ship, which will dock at the City’s Ocean Gateway terminal on Sunday, October 26, has recently been dealing with an outbreak of norovirus,” read the statement posted by the city on Friday at 2:45 p.m.
“Number of passengers who reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 74 of 637 (11.6%),” the city reported. “Number of crew who reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 1 of 391 (0.3%).
“Ahead of the ship arriving in Portland, the City of Portland’s Health & Human Services Department consulted with both the Federal and State CDC, neither of which recommended that the ship be prevented from docking here.
“The U.S. CDC has confirmed that the ship’s staff are effectively responding to the onboard outbreak and that cases have been declining daily. At this time, only eight (8) passengers are in required isolation.”
Earlier Friday citizens posted concerns on social media with some urging the city not to allow passengers to disembark.
“The issue with norovirus is that it is so contagious,” said JoAnn Locktov of Portland Cruise Control. “You can have recovered and still be contagious. You can be asymptomatic and still be contagious.”
Her group submitted a proposal to the city in May for an official communications protocol to deal with norovirus passengers instead of the current ad hoc approach.
“All we are asking is to give us the information so we can decide whether we want to go into the Old Port when the cruise ships are here,” Locktov told the Portland Press Herald.
According to Miami lawyer Jim Walker, there have been 20 gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships in 2025, the most ever reported.
“This year started with an incredible 16 outbreaks in the first 4 months, almost guaranteeing a record year,” Walker posted on Friday. The pace of outbreaks has slowed to 4 since April. The most recent GI outbreak prior to the Oceania Insignia was on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas when 135 passengers and crew fell sick with Norovirus.”
Oceania Insignia departed Montreal on Oct. 16 for an 11-night itinerary scheduled to end in Boston on Monday.
Its port calls included Quebec City, Saguenay, Sept-Îles, Corner Brook, Sydney, Halifax and Saint John before Portland and Boston.
In another high-profile outbreak this year, Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2, sailing out of England, reported 266 of its 2,538 passengers, or 10.6 percent, were stricken with the norovirus, as well as 19 of its crew of 1,232.
Like other port towns, Portland has a history of friction between businesses and citizens over cruise ship visits. It is one of three ports in Maine allowed to received foreign flagged ships. Bar Harbor and Eastport are the others.
Thank you for covering this alarming development. The more cruise ships/passengers we have in Portland (increasing every year), the more we are at risk for these kinds of illnesses.
"... the highest levels of norovirus this year tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
... tracked by the CDC? Oh are they still doing that? Not for long when RFKJR has his way. To create herd immunity by having us all get sick. And to cull the herd through death of the unfit. Folks, this is the Republican Reign of Terror.