Cruise Ship CDC Scores 2025: Are Your Favorite Lines Clean?
Celebrity Beyond Docked at the Willemstad Cruise Port in Curacao
A perfect day in the Southern Caribbean! The award-winning Celebrity Beyond stands tall against the colorful backdrop of Curacao. As a specialist in Celebrity Cruises, I love seeing this Edge-class ship docked here—it’s a top-tier destination that consistently pairs world-class luxury with the highest standards of cleanliness.
Photo by Bent Van Aeken on Unsplash
A new week is the perfect time to start dreaming of the open ocean. But as a travel advisor, I know that for many travelers, a "luxury" experience starts with peace of mind. While most of us look forward to the sunset toasts and spa specials, a rare announcement about a "sick ship" can quickly dampen the mood.
The good news? For 2025 and 2026, the data shows that the cruise industry is maintaining incredibly high standards. In fact, out of nearly 200 ships inspected last year, only one vessel failed the Villa Vie Odyssey (scoring an 81). This is a specialized residential ship for full-time living, not a ship most casual cruisers would ever book.
For the rest of the fleet, the results were a testament to rigorous hygiene. Here is how those standards are measured and how you can check the "health" of your next ship.
What Exactly Does the CDC Measure?
The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) conducts unannounced, 8-to-10-hour inspections while ships are docked in U.S. ports. To pass, a ship must score an 86 or higher on a 100-point scale. Inspectors evaluate eight critical areas:
Potable Water: Ensuring drinking water is properly sourced, stored, and chlorinated.
Food Safety: Monitoring temperatures and hygiene in every galley and dining room.
Recreational Water: Constant testing of pH and chlorine levels in all pools and hot tubs.
Medical Facilities: Reviewing logs for gastrointestinal illness and ensuring proper supplies.
Child Activity Centers: Verifying strict hand-washing and toy-sanitization protocols.
Housekeeping & Accommodations: General cleanliness of cabins and public areas.
Pest Management: Rigorous inspections to ensure no signs of insects or rodents.
Ventilation Systems: Ensuring air conditioning and heating units are clean and dry.
The "Perfect 100" Club
While any score above 86 is a "pass," achieving a perfect 100 is rare because inspectors evaluate hundreds of tiny details; even a missing hand-washing sign can result in a deduction.
At Bloom & Co. Travel Booking LLC, I specialize in Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, and I am proud to share that both lines consistently lead the pack. In the most recent reports, they dominated the perfect score list:
Cruise Line Ships with Perfect 100 Scores:
Celebrity Cruises: Apex, Eclipse, Silhouette, Solstice
Royal Caribbean: Jewel of the Seas, Utopia of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas
Other top performers included Norwegian Cruise Line (Gem, Encore, Star), Viking (Polaris, Orion, Neptune, Sea), and Oceania (Insignia, Allura, Vista).
How to Check Your Ship Before You Sail
You don’t have to guess about the cleanliness of your next vacation. The CDC makes all sanitation scores public through its Vessel Sanitation Program inspection database.
You can search by ship name or cruise line to see the most recent score and read the full, itemized report. This offers a transparent snapshot of how well a vessel is maintaining public health standards before you even set foot on the gangway.
Plan Your Next Getaway with Confidence
When you book with a specialist, you aren't just getting a cabin; you're getting an advocate who keeps an eye on industry trends for you. I take pride in matching my clients with lines like Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, which don't just talk about excellence but prove it through rigorous inspections every year.
Ready to set sail on a perfectly rated vacation?
Visit www.bloomcotravel.com/contact and let’s start planning your next escape today!
Source: Information for this post was adapted from "These Are the Cleanest and Dirtiest Cruise Ships, According to the CDC" by Jill Schildhouse, published in Reader's Digest on March 18, 2023.