PORTLAND, Maine —
Portland Cruise Control (PCC), a volunteer community group, has secured the first of eight protocols it proposed to the City of Portland in 2025: an
opt-in text-alert that will notify residents, business owners, and others when Portland Public Health receives credible news of an infectious disease outbreak aboard a cruise ship scheduled to dock in the harbor. Its adoption is due in large part to
Councilor Wes Pelletier, who specifically requested the alert system, and to the
Health and Human Services and Public Safety (HHS & PS) Committee, which kept the request on the city's agenda through the summer.
Residents can sign up for notifications, or modify their preferences,
here. Unlike the city's previous approach, which relied on residents checking the Public Health Division's website or social media on their own, the new system proactively notifies anyone who chooses to receive it.
"This service is a strong step toward balancing tourism and public safety, and will help our workers and residents take precautions when necessary," said Councilor Pelletier, who championed the initiative.
PCC is now calling on the city to take up the remaining seven protocols in its original
proposal: mandatory reporting requiring all cruise ships arriving in Portland, domestic and foreign, to report infectious disease cases; published docking thresholds and quarantine procedures for infected ships that do dock; health education addressing pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic transmission; enhanced sanitation standards for public facilities, transportation, and food service; defined response protocols for what triggers a public communication and what it contains; a public resource directory of agencies and emergency contacts; and sanitation standards for motor coaches and the Visit Portland City Loop bus.
“The role of local health departments in preventing the spread of infectious diseases (such as norovirus) from cruise ships to local communities is increasingly important due to the increase in cruise tourism in Portland, and the decreased resources of the U.S. CDC in protecting public health,” said
Professor Lora Fleming, Emerita Professor and Chair of the European Centre for Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter Medical School, and a Portland resident.
PCC first raised these risks in spring 2025, after finding that no city, state, or federal agency had a reporting protocol for cruise ship outbreaks in place. Those gaps became concrete on Oct. 26, 2025, when the Oceania Insignia docked in Portland during a norovirus outbreak the CDC later
confirmed had sickened 88 of its 637 passengers (13.8 percent) — more than four times the CDC's 3 percent outbreak threshold. The city's
public notice at the time cited eight passengers in isolation and said there was "no reason for the public to be alarmed," without mentioning that norovirus can spread before symptoms appear or after a person recovers. PCC says that gap between what residents were told and what they needed to know is exactly what its remaining protocols are meant to close.
“Portland has an opportunity to become a global leader in preventing infectious diseases from spreading from cruise ships into communities by prioritizing public health and transparency,” said Matthew Day, PCC co-founder.
The new alert is a positive first step. PCC will continue working towards bringing the remaining infectious disease protocols forward.
About Portland Cruise Control
Portland Cruise Control is a volunteer advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that cruise tourism operates with accountability, transparency, and respect for the city's environment and public health. All of the initiatives the organization is advancing are designed to preserve the economic benefits of cruise tourism while demanding responsible practices. Currently, the organization does not seek to reduce the number of port calls or cruise passengers but requests public policy that puts the health of residents and the protection of Casco Bay first.
portlandcruisecontrolmaine.org
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photo: The Insignia cruise ship docked in Portland, October 26, 2025.
