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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has listed the 19th outbreak of norovirus on a cruise ship this year.
Royal Caribbean International's Serenade of the Seas cruise ship was hit with a norovirus outbreak that has sickened nearly 100 people. The ship traveled from San Diego to Miami.
The cruise alerted the CDC about the outbreak on Sept. 28, according to the health agency's published report.
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Over 90 passengers and four crew members reported becoming ill at some point during the cruise ship's voyage, according to the CDC.
The predominant symptoms were diarrhea and vomiting.
A Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson told Fox Business that "the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit" are their "top priority."
"To maintain an environment that supports the highest levels of health and safety onboard our ships, we implement rigorous cleaning procedures, many of which far exceed public health guidelines," the spokesperson added.
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Norovirus is sometimes called the "stomach flu" or the "stomach bug," the CDC states on its website, although it is not related to the flu, which is caused by the influenza virus. Norovirus causes acute gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach or intestines.
"If people have acute vomiting, they should avoid public areas, since even if they don't touch anything, the virus can spread through the air."
Scott Weisenberg, M.D., medical director of the NYU Langone Infectious Disease Associates and the NYU Travel Medicine Program, told Fox News Digital that norovirus spreads easily in many settings, including long-term care facilities and cruise ships.
"The virus spreads easily, as surfaces get contaminated by the touch of an infected person or through the air," he said. "Close living environments provide lots of opportunities for spread once a norovirus outbreak has started."
Norovirus can cause illness with only a tiny amount of the virus, and it's able to survive on surfaces for long periods, Weisenberg said.
Any area where people are touching the same surfaces can be a risk, and people can get infected from touching items in those areas.
For prevention, he said that washing hands with soap and water is better than using alcohol hand sanitizers.
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"If people have acute vomiting, they should avoid public areas, since even if they don't touch anything, the virus can spread through the air," said Weisenberg. "Washing surfaces with approved products, such as bleach, can remove the virus from shared surfaces."
A few passengers on the ship spoke with WSVN-TV in Miami, sharing that they may have contracted the virus.
"I started feeling really funny in my stomach, and it only lasted like, I don't know, 36 to 48 hours … I stayed in bed for a whole day; I was quarantined," said Maggie.
Passenger Artur Madej told WSVN that he got sick about four days before they arrived in Miami, saying that he had "watery stool for, like, three or four days nonstop."
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"I talked to a lot of friends, and a lot of them were sick as well, and none of them reported it, because if you report it, they quarantine you," he added.
Fox News Digital's Rachel Wolf contributed reporting.
