2025 Hygiene & CDC Inspection Scores

Worried about catching “cruise cough” or norovirus on your next sailing? A lot of people are. But here’s the surprising part: some cruise ships are actually cleaner than many five-star hotels.

Cruise ships are inspected regularly, and the results are published publicly. Some ships score almost perfectly. Others… not so much.

That’s why I dug into the latest CDC inspection reports to find the ships that perform best when it comes to hygiene and safety.

So which cruise ships come out on top when inspectors are looking closely?

Where Data on Clean Ships Comes From

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) runs a Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) that helps cruise ships to prevent the spread of illness. 

As part of the VSP, cruise ships are inspected regularly, usually about twice a year. The inspections are unannounced and so thorough that they take a team of two to five inspectors between six and eight hours to complete.

The inspections look at medical facilities, drinking water, swimming pools, spas, kitchens, dining rooms, child activity centres, cabins, ventilation systems and common areas of each ship.

During an inspection, each cruise ship is scored on a 100-point scale. Any score of 85 or below is counted as a fail.

List of the Cleanest Cruise Ships

In VSP inspections over the last year, 53 cruise ships scored a perfect 100 for cleanliness. These are shown in the table below, along with links to scores in previous inspections for those ships.

This data is accurate as of 21st August 2026. More ships may have been inspected since then. You can see the latest VSP statistics here.

Cleaning Standards for Cruise Ships

Cruise ships, like any large public space, vary in cleanliness. However, it’s important to note that cruise ships are subject to stringent sanitation standards that are regularly monitored and enforced.

Despite these strict standards and regular inspections, outbreaks of illness can still occur on cruise ships. These are most commonly gastrointestinal illnesses like norovirus. Such outbreaks are usually well-publicised, but relatively rare considering the number of people who take cruises every year.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, cruise lines implemented even more stringent cleaning and sanitation procedures. These included more frequent cleaning of public areas, use of electrostatic sprayers with disinfectant, enhanced air filtration systems, and policies to encourage physical distancing and hand hygiene.

Despite this, people still catch Covid on cruise ships, which is why many crew members still opt to wear masks. I have had Covid twice, and both times I fell ill upon returning from a cruise.

How Long It Takes to Clean a Cruise Ship

Regular daily cleaning includes tasks like tidying up cabins, cleaning public areas and maintaining dining rooms. This is an ongoing process that crew members work on around the clock.

On turnaround day (when one set of passengers disembarks and a new set embarks), a deeper cleaning takes place. This typically includes more thorough cleaning of cabins, including changing linens, vacuuming and deep-cleaning bathrooms.

On turnaround day, public spaces are also cleaned more intensively. For a large cruise ship, this process typically takes several hours and involves a large team of cleaning staff.

After a cruise ship has been in service for a while, it will occasionally undergo a dry dock. This is a period of several weeks when it’s taken out of service for maintenance and deep cleaning.

During this time, everything from the engines to the carpets can be cleaned, repaired or replaced. This could take anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months, depending on the extent of the work being done.

In the case of an outbreak of illness on board, such as norovirus, a ship will undergo an intensive disinfection process. This could take 24 to 48 hours and involves cleaning all surfaces with strong disinfectant.

The Bottom Line

Although these ships scored highest in recent inspections, the vast majority of cruise ships maintain very high sanitation standards.

Cruise lines invest heavily in hygiene, with regular inspections, strict cleaning protocols and crews working around the clock to keep ships clean.

So while some ships top the rankings, passengers can feel confident that cleanliness is taken seriously across the industry.

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