Hantavirus on Cruise Ships: What They're Not Telling You

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]Right now, a cruise ship is quarantined.

[00:00:02]Three passengers are dead from the Hantavirus, and cruise lines across the industry are saying nothing about it.

[00:00:09]I've been cruising for decades. I've dealt with everything from the norovirus to port shutdowns, and what I can tell you is this. There is a massive gap between what's happening on that ship and what it means to the average cruiser. I'm going to close that gap right now. I'm Gary with Optimal Cruising, bringing you fresh cruise advice, money-saving hacks, [music] and secret strategies the cruise lines don't advertise. Let's get started.

[00:00:34]>> [music] >> One thing I really don't like about watching the news is that everything seems to get sensationalized, and they will have you believing that because a few passengers died from this Hantavirus on a cruise ship, that all cruise ships are at risk. And that's simply not true.

[00:00:52]Here's what really happened. This Hantavirus outbreak occurred on the MV Hondius, which is a small expedition vessel. And that's a major distinction.

[00:01:01]This is not a major cruise line cruise ship. This is a smaller ship that does expeditions in rare areas around the world. This particular one was doing expeditions in Antarctica and going to and from rare places in Argentina. These small expedition ships take a few passengers to remote locations where they can come in contact with wildlife and other things that most of us will never be exposed to, and that's certainly any typical cruise in the Caribbean on Royal Caribbean or Carnival, Norwegian, or any of the major cruise lines will never come in contact with. Now, to date, this ship is being quarantined at sea and not being allowed to dock. However, some passengers have been taken off, and there's a plan to get everybody off and repatriated back to their home country. So far, there's only around six confirmed cases, which three passengers have already died.

[00:01:58]Humans can typically only catch hantavirus through rodent excrement.

[00:02:03]However, in this case, it is a rare strain that has been known to be spread from person to person. But, it's nothing like we experienced in the pandemic.

[00:02:11]Experts say that this particular virus can only be spread person to person through saliva or bodily fluids or being in a confined space with somebody for a extended period of time.

[00:02:29]I've seen every headline in the media covering this story calling this a cruise ship outbreak. And this is the farthest thing from the truth. This is an expedition ship, a ship carrying around 100 people on average, not a cruise ship carrying between 2 and 6,000 people. And this is not the norovirus.

[00:02:48]This does not spread quickly between people. It takes intimate or bodily fluid contact in order to spread. While the norovirus is typically a cruise ship specific virus, the hantavirus is an environment-specific virus. It's not a virus that had an outbreak because these people were on this ship. It's because of the exotic locations that this expedition ship was taking the passengers or picking them up from. So, the real story worth watching here is how well cruise lines are controlling the rodent population in the food storage areas at these ports of call where everything is being loaded on the ship because that is actually a more likely way that somebody's going to pick up this virus. However, there is a lesson to be taken from this story to help better protect ourselves when we are on a cruise ship or when we are at somewhat of an exotic port of call.

[00:03:45]>> [music] >> So, what's the real risk to you? Well, first of all, the hantavirus can be killed by hand sanitizer. So, if you're worried about the more common strains that come from rat or mice excrement, if you just ensure that you always sanitize your hands before you eat or before you put them anywhere near your face. That being said, the areas where you want to be a little bit more concerned is if you're doing a more exotic shore excursion, say in some Caribbean island where you're coming in contact with some wild animals, some sloths, some pigs.

[00:04:23]Maybe you're going to do an excursion where you're going into caves and there might be bats around there. That's where you just want to take a little extra precaution. Always wash your hands thoroughly after coming into contact with any wildlife, especially in a foreign country that your immune system is not used to. And at some of these ports it's popular to hit local markets where they might have open food stands or food that's been sitting out there for a while, or food quality standards that aren't quite up to where they are in the United States. So, be careful if you're going to try something like that.

[00:04:55]It's probably fine, but you are taking a little bit of a risk. The bottom line is always use good hand hygiene. That is your best defense against almost any of these things out there. Remember, while this hantavirus right now is the big unknown scary monster out there, norovirus kills more cruise passengers than anything else. That's really the one you got to be worried about and that's why hand hygiene and washing your hands with soap and water is very important when you're on a cruise. That will keep you healthy more than most things.

[00:05:33]Okay, so there's really three main things that you can do to protect yourself from getting the hantavirus, the norovirus, or any other unknown illness that might be looming out there.

[00:05:43]The first thing is is to research your port excursions before you just jump into a bus and head somewhere and not knowing what you're going to come into contact with. This applies more if you're going to some Central American ports like Costa Rica, Honduras, Belize, Panama, where there could be diseases there that we're not used to. The second thing involves that personal hygiene and I know I've mentioned this several times in this video, but it's even more important when you go on shore excursions, especially if you're dealing with wildlife, nature, anything of that sort. Because you're in a country or an environment you're not used to being in and you're touching things that you don't usually touch and you don't know what's coming back with you. So, as soon as you get a chance when you're done with that excursion, before you get back on the ship if possible, but if not, as soon as you get back to your room, you want to make sure you're cleaning your hands, your wrists, and getting off anything that could pose a threat. Now, this third thing is very important because if you don't check it before you cruise, it could cost you a lot of money. But first, if you would take a minute and hit that subscribe button, hit the like button, it helps our channel grow and we want you part of our cruising family. The third thing is always check your travel insurance before you go. You want to make sure you have a good policy that does not exclude outbreaks or pandemics because many of them do, especially the ones that you typically buy directly with your cruise line. And that means if there's an outbreak, they're not going to cover you for any expenses related to that or for any loss that you have related to that.

[00:07:22]Frankly, this story is not affecting me or how I cruise or when I cruise. I've still got cruises planned and I'm going to go on every single one of them. Three people died on that ship and that's tragic, but the story the media is telling you does not really apply to your cruise unless you're doing one of these expedition ships to the Antarctic or something like that. Now, anything we do in life carries some degree of risk, including going on cruises. But, the kind of cruises that you and I are going on has a much smaller risk of anything like this happening than an expedition type cruise going to the ends of the earth. So, if this story has not scared you away from cruising, let me know in the comments below and click on that deals link in our description and we'll keep you updated with the best cruise deals you can book right now via email.

[00:08:13]So, now that you know some more facts behind this hantavirus story, there are actually a lot more common mistakes that cruisers make that can kind of ruin their cruise. I'll tell you how to avoid those right here.