A passenger contacted Cruise Law News stating several people fell ill on the National Geographic Sea Bird during the ship’s July 15–20 voyage. The passenger, who wishes to remain anonymous, stated they, two people in their party, a crew member, and several others became sick during the voyage.
The passenger reported that people had diarrhea and were vomiting, symptoms typical of a gastrointestinal (GI) illness. One passenger was reportedly so sick he could not travel the day he disembarked and had to stay in a local hotel.
Norovirus has plagued the National Geographic Sea Bird since late May 2026. We previously reported that six of the last ten voyages on the National Geographic Sea Bird likely had norovirus cases. The most recent passenger report brings this total to seven of the last eleven voyages.
Multiple sources have also told Cruise Law News that the ship’s July 5–10 voyage was canceled to clean the ship, although this information has not yet been independently verified.
Did you sail on the National Geographic Sea Bird? We want to hear from you. Contact Cruise Law News anonymously.
The CDC did not report an outbreak on the ship’s recent voyage despite it apparently meeting the reporting threshold of 3% or more of passengers being sick. The National Geographic Sea Bird is a tiny cruise ship with a passenger capacity of around 70, meaning only three passengers have to report being sick to the ship’s medical staff to trigger a reporting requirement.
Lindblad Expeditions, the company that operates the National Geographic Sea Bird, has done little to warn passengers of the risk of getting sick. On July 14, an email was sent to passengers the day before the ship’s July 15–20 voyage. It read:
“Gastrointestinal illness has been heightened across Alaska’s travel season this year. In response, we are continuing our enhanced sanitization protocols, including additional cleaning and prevention measures before and during every voyage to ensure you have the best expedition in Alaska.”
The email makes no mention of the GI illness outbreak on the ship’s previous sailing that sickened 29% of passengers on board. Even worse, the email was sent the day before the cruise, giving passengers practically no time to change their plans especially considering most flew to Alaska for the cruise.
Lindblad Expeditions has shown it cannot contain the outbreak and it will not properly warn its passengers. It’s time for the CDC to step in and issue a no-sail recommendation. The National Geographic Sea Bird is a floating public health risk.
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Photo Credit: Norovirus (Trungkien2014 – Wikimedia Commons); National Geographic Sea Bird (Dankarl -Wikimedia Commons)