Insignia

74 passengers out of 637 total and one crew member out of 391 staff aboard the 'Insignia' became ill from a norovirus outbreak during a voyage from the United States to Canada from Oct. 16- Oct 27, 2025. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was notified of the outbreak on Oct. 20. Those who became ill experienced diarrhea and vomiting. The crew implemented several measures in response, including enhanced cleaning and disinfection procedures, in accordance with the cruise ship's outbreak prevention and response plan. Staff also collected stool specimens from sick passengers for testing and isolated those who were ill. The ship's operators also spoke with the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program regarding procedures for sanitation, cleaning, and reporting protocols for ill cases. The CDC was monitoring the situation, including reviewing the ship's outbreak response and sanitation procedures.

On June 21, 2024, at around 5.30 a.m. the 'Insignia' arrived at the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife with 67 rescued migrants and the bodies of another six who did not survive the journey on the Canary Islands route aboard a cayuco. Those rescued, among them 61 men, three women and three minors, were of sub-Saharan origin. The rescued people were being cared for by a large health device made up of personnel from the Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC), Primary Care and Red Cross volunteers, with the support of the National Police and the Civil Guard. Up to four tents have been set up to assist survivors. Five of the people have already been transferred to different health centers. One of them has been taken to the Ntra. Sra. de Candelaria University Hospital in serious condition and the rest were in moderate and mild condition. The cruise ship, which was heading from Gambia to the island of Tenerife, had reached the cayuco with five bodies and 68 survivors on June 20 at 12:30 a.m. The bulk carrier 'Philipp Oldendorff', en route from A Coruna to Ponto Ubu, had spotted the canoe drifting 440 nautical miles south of Tenerife and providied first assistance to those affected. The 'Insignia' was diverted to the area and rescued the survivors. The canoe was left adrift with another two deceased whom it could not recovered due to the bad weather conditions in the area. After the 'Insignia' reported that one of those rescued was in critical condition and needed to be medevaced, the Helimer 201 SAR helicopter was mobilized but, later, the doctor on board confirmed that the victim had died. and the helicopter returned to Tenerife South Airport, where it had left. The aritime Rescue requested a definitive count of the rescued people from the ship that carried out the rescue and mobilized the guard ship 'Urania', which first encountered the cruise ship 'Insignia' in case she needed support or assistance. It subsequently proceeded to locate the canoe that carried a searchlight provided by the cruise ship. The weather conditions in the area have been adverse. and the coordination of the emergency has been carried out by the Tenerife MRCC under the direction of the Tenerife Maritime Captaincy. Report with photo: https://mirametv.com/llega-a-tenerife-el-crucero-insignia-con-6-migrantes-fallecidos-y-67-supervivientes

After leaving Bermuda, the 'Insignia' encountered a sailing vessel which was suspected to be abandoned approximately 50 miles off Bermuda on July, 10 at 6:25 p.m. 50 miles North North West of Bermuda. The vessel showed signs of damage and the sails were poorly set, the name s/y 'Uplace' (MMSI: 211795350) was broadcast on AIS. The passing m/v 'Genoa' was tasked with investigating the 'Uplace' further to establish if there is anyone onboard. Further research found the 36 ft German registered sailing vessel had been reported on a few occasions since the crew abandoned to a U.S Coast Guard helicopter in April. A Notice to Mariners was issued regarding the floating hazard.

The "Insignia", originally bound for Bermuda, has docked in Maine to avoid the oncoming Hurricane Florence due to make landfall this week. The vessel docked on Sep 10, 2018, after being forced to change course due to the hurricane. City officials expected more cruise ships to dock this week as Hurricane Florence makes its way toward the eastern U.S. coastline.