Traveling on cruise ships exposes people to new environments and public spaces with large amounts of new people. These conditions can increase the risk of illness from contaminated water, food and person-to-person contact. Because of this, the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, randomly inspects cruise ships to ensure they are providing a healthy and safe environment for their passengers and releases those findings to the public.
The CDC’s inspection includes the medical center, potable water systems, galleys and dining rooms, swimming pools and whirlpools, housekeeping, pest and insect management, child activity center, and the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.
Once the CDC completes its inspection, each cruise ship is given a rating on a scale of 0-100 by the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP). As we are closing out 2024, let’s take a look at how some of the big cruise lines scored. Of the 159 inspections conducted in 2024, 75% of ships scored 95 or greater, with 30 ships receiving a perfect score. The majority of those scores went to ships from Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and MSC Cruises.
Norwegian Cruise Line took the top spot, earning 8 perfect scores with Norwegian Breakaway being inspected twice and receiving a perfect score both times. Royal Caribbean International earned five perfect scores, Celebrity Cruises and MSC Cruises earned three each, Carnival Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, and Viking Ocean Cruises earned two, while Holland America Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn and Windstar Cruises earned one apiece.
The CDC’s scoring system considers anything 85 or lower unsatisfactory. Only two vessels inspected in 2024 were considered unsatisfactory–Margaritaville at Sea Paradise and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises Hanseatic Inspiration, which scored 83 and 62 respectively.
Cruise lines are very aware of the bad publicity surrounding an outbreak on a ship and make every effort to correct the CDC’s findings. The Corrective Report submitted to the CDC is also made public and details the actions taken by the crew onboard the ship to resolve the violations.