If you’re a cruise line and want to make front-page news, just have some people get sick on your ship. Outbreaks of illness garner instant attention, though not the kind that of flattering headlines that cruise lines want.
That’s why whenever you cruise, you’ll constantly see crew members cleaning around the ship. In addition, there’s much more that goes on behind the scenes in galleys, pool areas, HVAC equipment and more to keep things clean that most passengers will never get to see.
But cruise lines aren’t just on their own when it comes to cleanliness. There is government oversight in the form of regular health inspections.
CDC Inspections of Cruise Ships Usually Earn High Scores
Many people don’t realize it, but the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) operates something called the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP).
This program is essentially a health inspection for cruise ships. Just like a restaurant in your town would be checked by a health inspector, ships sailing from the United States are also checked out on a regular basis. These inspections are done without prior knowledge by the cruise line.
In particular, the CDC inspections focus on eight areas:
- Medical facilities
- Water systems
- Swimming pools and whirlpools
- Galleys and dining rooms
- Child activity centers
- Housekeeping
- Ventilation systems (HVAC)
- Pest and insect management
These inspections are to happen twice a year on ships sailing from the United States.
These reports are then scored and posted publicly on the CDC website, along with the complete reports of any violations found.
In general, cruise ships score well on these inspections. Scores are on a 100-point scale, and tallies in the high-90s and above are common.
Multiple Ships Score a Perfect 100. Even More Are Near Perfect
In fact, a total of five ships have already scored perfect 100 scores this year alone. This doesn’t mean there was simply nothing to report. However, the items that were found were sufficiently small to not mean a lower score.
These 100 point scores came from a number of different lines:
- Carnival Breeze
- Disney Fantasy
- Enchantment of the Seas (Royal Caribbean)
- Grandeur of the Seas (Royal Caribbean)
- Koningsdam (Holland America)
In addition, many other ships scored near-perfect scores of 98 or 99. These include:
- Adventure of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) (98)
- Carnival Firenze (98)
- Carnival Miracle (98)
- Carnival Panorama (99)
- Carnival Venezia (98)
- Celebrity Ascent (98)
- Celebrity Xcel (99)
- Disney Dream (99)
- Norwegian Getaway (98)
- Norwegian Jewel (99)
In fact, of all the scores shown so far this year, they come out to an average of 96.5. In other words, cruise ships have scoring well on health inspections seemingly down to a science.
There was one ship, however, that didn’t do near as well on its check.
One Cruise Ship Recently Failed its Inspection
According to the CDC, any score of 85 or below is considered failing. It’s relatively rare for a ship to fail inspection, but it does happen from time to time.
Most recently, Norwegian Dawn scored an 84 on its latest inspection, dated March 29, 2026. According to the report, there were a number of violations.
For instance, inspectors took issue with some areas related to food service. This included refrigerators measuring above the required temperature, “ice machine food-contact surfaces were excessively soiled with black debris,” and “fruit fly contaminated food out for service in the crew mess.”
The inspection report also mentioned fruit flies in the buffet, cheese and milk stored at improper temperatures, and “greater than a day’s accumulation of pooled water with a mold-like growth soiled the bottom of the soda cabinet where soda syrups and carbonation equipment were stored.”
You can read the entire report here.
This score comes as somewhat of a surprise. On its prior inspection in November 2025 — just four months earlier — the ship scored a strong 96.
If a ship scores an 85 or below, then they are still allowed to keep sailing in most cases. “While VSP [Vessel Sanitation Program] can recommend a cruise ship stop sailing, this is rarely needed,” says the CDC website.
All ships (failing or otherwise) are required to correct violations and then submit a corrective action report. As of now, a corrective report hasn’t been uploaded to the CDC database for Norwegian Dawn.
If you have an upcoming cruise, you can check the latest health inspection score and report for your ship here.
