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Cruise ship outbreaks fail to scare off travelers ahead of busy summer season

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Recent outbreaks of hantavirus and norovirus aboard cruise ships have been drawing a great deal of attention, but many travelers do not appear to be changing their vacation plans as a result.

Cruise industry experts say demand remains strong heading into the busy summer travel season, despite recent illness cases reported on several ships.

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) recently projected that more than 38 million people worldwide will take ocean cruises this year, up from a record 37.2 million passengers last year, according to The Associated Press.

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Some travelers say the health concerns are not enough to deter them from booking future trips.

“I have eight cruises booked, and I’ll absolutely be booking another,” cruise blogger Jenni Fielding told the AP.

Fielding said cruise vacations remain as safe as other types of travel when passengers follow health guidance and stay aware of official updates.

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The continued demand comes even after three passengers aboard the MV Hondius died following a hantavirus outbreak connected to a stop in Argentina.

Fox News Digital also recently reported on a norovirus outbreak aboard the Caribbean Princess that sickened more than 100 passengers and crew members.

CruiseCompete CEO Bob Levinstein told the AP that bookings through the company increased by more than 30% during the first half of May, compared to the same period last year.

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“I can categorically say that we have not seen any drop in demand,” Levinstein said.

Experts say norovirus cases often receive heightened attention because cruise ships are required to publicly report illnesses affecting a certain percentage of passengers.

Many cruises are also booked months in advance — making recent health concerns less likely to immediately affect travel plans.

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On Reddit, many cruise passengers said they were not changing their plans because of the recent outbreaks.

“I’m leaving … next week. It hasn’t even occurred to me to be worried about the hantavirus,” one user wrote.

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Going to Alaska next month, not the least bit concerned,” another commenter added. “[Norovirus] is more likely, and that risk is understood.”

“Never crosses my mind at all. Cruise on!” one person wrote.

Fox News Digital previously reported that some cruise passengers have raised questions about what protections they have during health emergencies and outbreaks at sea.

Industry experts said that while cruise lines have voluntary passenger protections in place, policies can vary depending on the situation and the cruise operator involved.

Brittany Miller and Jessica Mekles of Fox News Digital, along with The Associated Press, contributed reporting.

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Spencer Pratt vows to leave LA and find ‘last American Dream’ in another city if mayoral bid fails

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Spencer Pratt’s love for Los Angeles may only extend through the primaries.

Pratt, 42, admitted that his time in the City of Angels may come to a close if the exit polls don’t align with his mayoral bid.

During a chat with fellow Los Angeleno Adam Carolla from his burned-out lot in the Pacific Palisades, the reality star said that he’s only interested in rebuilding his home if he wins the race.

“I’m going to win the lawsuit against Gavin Newsom’s state park, and with that money, if I’m the mayor of Los Angeles, I will rebuild,” Pratt confessed.

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“If Karen Bass gets re-elected or Nithya [Raman] gets elected, I will be done with trying to live in LA.”

Pratt doubled down on his threat, and said when he wins the lawsuit, he’s packing up to find a new American Dream.

“I’ll take that money from the Newsom state park and the LADWP, and I’ll go somewhere that my kids will not have to see naked zombies, and I can have the last American dream somewhere,” Pratt said.

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“But I will not rebuild if these people are in charge, because what would I be putting money into?”

Pratt’s representatives did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Pratt, wife Heidi Montag and more than a dozen additional property owners, blamed the city of Los Angeles and the Department of Water and Power for causing damages to their homes in a lawsuit filed earlier this year.

Plaintiffs accused LADWP of making “the conscious decision to operate the water supply system with the reservoir drained and unusable as a ‘cost-saving’ measure,” in the lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital.

The “Hills” star has been a vocal champion for LA residents since losing his home during the deadly Palisades wildfire, and launched his mayoral campaign in January with a focus on ousting incumbent Karen Bass due to mishandling of the wildfires.

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While Pratt is a registered Republican, the Los Angeles mayoral election is officially nonpartisan. If no candidate tops 50% in the June 2 primary, the top two finishers will face off in November.

Fresh from a star-studded fundraiser hosted by David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Pratt admitted a “mind-blowing” list of influential names back his campaign to save his city.

“The list of mind-blowing movie stars, directors, studio presidents, these are my supporters,” Pratt told the “Ruthless Podcast” earlier this month. “I understand why they aren’t public-facing yet. Once I’m mayor, the support I’ll have for the industry to bring it back. It’s all there.”

In the wake of the devastating 2025 fires, Pratt became a leading advocate for the victims.

“My goal was just for these people to go to jail,” Pratt said. “And then when they didn’t go to jail, and I saw that it was just business as usual, that’s when I decided the only way to stop these people is to take their power from them.”

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Pratt grew up around Democrats, but did not consider himself a political figure before the devastating fires.

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“I haven’t posted a single political thing in my entire life,” the former star of The Hills said. “The only thing I’ve ever done, politics-wise, is back in the day I did a paparazzi set-up photo with a Sarah Palin shirt on, and then the next day I did a paparazzi photo with an Obama shirt on just to get multiple tabloid photos.”

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On April 21, Pratt joined Carolla on his “The Adam Carolla Show” podcast for an episode titled “Spencer Pratt Gets Adam Carolla’s Endorsement for LA Mayor!”

During the episode, Pratt and Carolla discussed homelessness, crime and what they described as failed leadership in Los Angeles, while Pratt outlined his plans to “bring back common sense” to City Hall.

“We have a bunch of Marxist, socialist f—ing r—-ds who are tearing this city down,” Carolla said.

Carolla later shared a photo of himself with Pratt on Instagram writing, “This man is going to save LA. @spencerprat. has my full endorsement for mayor!”

Fox News Digital’s Janelle Ash and the Ruthless Podcast Staff contributed to this report.

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