These are the cleanest cruise ships this year, according to the CDC — including 19 with perfect scores

14.10.2024 - 21:18 / insider.com / Royal Caribbean

Cruise ships don't always have a squeaky-clean reputation for being ultra-clean. After all, there's a reason they've been infamously dubbed "floating Petri dishes."

Not all floating resorts are created — or operated — equally.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention randomly conducts sanitary inspections on cruise ships throughout the year. So far in 2024, 19 vessels have received perfect scores.

At the same time, the public health agency has reported 10 bacterial and viral outbreaks — mostly norovirus — on ships since the start of the year.

Half have been on ships from Royal Caribbean Group's main cruise line and its Celebrity Cruises subsidiary. Overall, the number of outbreaks so far is fewer than in 2023, which saw 14 in total.

The highly contagious norovirus, also known as the stomach flu, is the most common virus to afflict cruises. These often-packed floating hotels create the ideal environment for the highly contagious bug to spread fast, typically through contaminated water, food, surfaces, and people.

Just as quickly, it can ruin your vacation — the four predominant symptoms are vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, and stomach pain.

To help mitigate these incidents, the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program regularly inspects cruise liners and scores them from zero to 100.

The review — which includes checking common spaces such as kitchens, pools, and children's activity centers — is random and unannounced.

As expected, vermin and improperly stored foods are a big no-no. But inspectors are also closely watching behind the scenes for smaller, more-nuanced details such as how frequently the hair and lint strainer in the swimming pool is disinfected or the water temperature of the dish washer.

So far, in 2024, the CDC has inspected 119 cruise ships. The majority scored above 95, and 19 (listed below) have received perfect marks:

This time last year, 29 ships had achieved 100. By the end of 2023, 34 vessels racked a perfect score.

Correction — October 10, 2025: An earlier version of this story contained an incorrect photo caption. The causes of outbreaks on Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas ship were norovirus and salmonella, the CDC found.

Also, an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated there are 18 ships that had received perfect scores so far this year. There are 19.