Fourth virus outbreak reported on National Geographic Sea Bird, ship cancels July 25-30 trip

More than 60 gastrointestinal illness cases in less than two months on 92-person cruise ship that’s being retired by company at end of season

The National Geographic Sea Bird cruise ship. (Doug Knuth / Wikimedia Commons)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

Four gastrointestinal illness outbreaks aboard a small cruise ship in Southeast Alaska in less than two months have resulted in its owner cancelling a trip scheduled to depart Juneau on Saturday.

The National Geographic Sea Bird has reported four outbreaks since May 26 to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the only vessel reporting more than one outbreak to the agency during 2026. The most recent was during a voyage July 15-20 between Juneau and Ketchikan, following other outbreaks on trips July 10-15, June 25-30 and May 26-21.

Eight of 57 passengers and five of 26 crew were reported ill during the July 15-20 voyage, according to a CDC report published Thursday. The cause is listed as unknown, similar to the July 10-15 outbreak resulting in 18 illnesses, while the other two with a total of 32 illnesses are listed as norovirus.

The Sea Bird was scheduled to depart Ketchikan on Monday, July 20, for a voyage arriving in Juneau on Saturday, according to the tracking site CruiseMapper. However, the site shows the ship still docked in Ketchikan as of Thursday afternoon.

Lindblad Expeditions, in a notice to a passenger booked on a July 25-30 trip that was obtained by the Juneau Independent, states "we have made the difficult decision to cancel the voyage."

"Following reports of gastrointestinal illness on recent sailings, and after consulting experts and partners, we determined that cancelling this voyage is the most responsible course of action," the notice states. "This was not a decision we made lightly. We know how much anticipation goes into a journey like this, and we recognize how disappointing this news will be."

Lindblad Expeditions has not responded to requests from the Juneau Independent for comment about the outbreaks. There was no mention of the outbreak or the cancellation as of early Thursday afternoon at the company’s website.

This company announced last December this is the final season the National Geographic Sea Bird, originally built in 1982 and refurbished in 2014, will be in service.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.