What is the Cleanest Cruise Line?

Written By Steven BennaAuthor

Last Updated: February 9, 2026February 9, 2026 — 13 min read

Key Data Points:

• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) conducts annual health and hygiene inspections of passenger cruise ships and assigns a 100-point sanitation score; scores of 85 or lower are considered failing.
• We analyzed the data for each ship, cruise line, and cruise parent company to find that:
  • 13% of all vessels inspected in 2025 received a perfect sanitation score and ranked as the 21 cleanest cruise ships, while only one ship received a failing score. 
  • The top 3 cleanest cruise lines of 2025 were: Viking Expedition Operations, Viking Ocean Cruises II Ltd, & Crystal Cruises LTD, all scoring an average of 99. 
  • The cruise corporations operating the cleanest ships in 2025 were: Viking, Virgin, & Norwegian. 
• The data shows that independent brands tend to score higher than large conglomerates, and, surprisingly, the age of the ship doesn’t appear to influence a cruise line’s ability to achieve a perfect score. 
• Cruise ships are hotbeds for norovirus and other gastrointestinal illnesses, of which the CDC reported 23 onboard outbreaks in 2025, a 28% increase over 2024. 
• The data shows no correlation between the number of onboard viral outbreaks and sanitation scores, proving that viral illness can easily spread on the cleanest of ships.
• Mandatory CDC staffing cuts issued by the Trump Administration are expected to put strain on the VSP program in the coming year. This further highlights the need for travelers to consider the health risks associated with cruises and to protect themselves with cruise medical coverage. 

CDC Cruise Ship Sanitation & Inspection Scores Explained

The CDC conducts annual sanitation and hygiene inspections on passenger cruise ships as part of its Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP). Ships are subject to 2 inspections per year. 

Hygiene and sanitation scores are delivered on a 100-point scale, where scores of 86 and above are considered passing, and scores below 86 are deemed a failing score.

Under the VSP, the CDC inspects ships and delivers their hygiene rating based on cleanliness and compliance with public health standards in the following 8 areas:

1. Galleys and Dining Rooms
2. Medical Centers 
3. Potable Water Systems
4. Heating and Ventilation Systems
5. Onboard Pest Management
6. Swimming Pools and Worldpools
7. Housekeeping
8. Childcare and Activity Centers

Although not all of the world’s cruise ships are inspected, the VSP’s jurisdiction allows it to inspect ships that: 

• Carry 13 passengers or more
• Have international itineraries with stops at U.S. ports. 

The VSP also monitors onboard outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses, reviews ship design plans, and trains cruise staff for compliance with public health standards.

Cleanest Cruise Ships – Ranked

In 2025, 21 ships scored a perfect score of 100 to rank as the cleanest cruise ships passing through American waters. These account for roughly 13% of all ships inspected in 2025.

Notably, Royal Caribbean and Viking had the highest number of ships on the list, at five ships and four ships, respectively. 

Below is a list of the 21 cleanest cruise ships in 2025, ranked by inspection date, starting with the most recent.

Perhaps one of the most surprising trends spotted among these top-scoring ships is that age doesn’t appear to be a factor in cleanliness and sanitation. 

For example, Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas (debuted in 2001) is a 24-year-old ship that sits alongside the Utopia of the Seas (debuted in 2024), with both receiving the top score of 100.

Time and time again, we saw this trend repeated, and over a quarter of the winning ships are at least ten years old. 

Cleanest Cruise Lines – Ranked

Understanding which vessels are among the cleanest ships on the ocean is a great start, but we wanted to shed light on which cruise lines had the cleanest fleets. 

To do this, we took all of the scores from 2025 and grouped them by cruise line to find the average sanitation score per brand. 

Viking Ocean, Viking Expedition, and Crystal Cruises tied for the top spot as the cleanest cruise lines, each receiving an average score of 99 out of 100 for their fleets.  

The data reveals that the top 10 cleanest cruise lines were: 

1. Viking Ocean Cruises II Ltd.
2. Viking Expedition Operations
3. Crystal Cruises LTD
4. Oceania Cruises
5. P&O Cruises
6. Japan Grace
7. Virgin Voyages
8. Norwegian Cruise Lines
9. Celebrity Cruises
10. Royal Caribbean International

Viking stood out for the fact that two of its brands hit the top spots: Viking Ocean and Viking Expedition. 

Notably, cruise lines with larger fleets tend to rank slightly lower than those with smaller fleets; however, Viking was the major exception. 

Here is the full list of each cruise line’s average sanitation rating based on combined scores from its fleet of vessels: 

Similar to how ships are owned by a cruise line, many cruise lines are owned and operated by larger parent companies or cruise conglomerates. 

Read on to see how we reviewed the data and grouped vessels by their parent company or cruise conglomerate to view the average rank for large organizations.

Cleanest Cruise Ships by Corporation

To get a better understanding of how cleanliness and hygiene standards vary from company to company, we reviewed the 2025 sanitation data and grouped the various cruise lines by their parent company or cruise conglomerate to get an average score for each parent company. 

The data shows that the independent brands tend to be cleaner than large conglomerates. 

Cruise ships from Viking and Virgin, both independent brands, received the highest average sanitation scores among large cruise conglomerates. This was followed by a similar trend with Disney, whose ships ranked 4th for the highest average sanitation scores when compared to other cruise parent companies that owned and operated several brands.

Comparatively, Carnival and Royal Caribbean, as parent companies, received the lowest average sanitation scores when factoring in the ships from all of the other cruise lines they operate as conglomerates. 

For reference, here is a look at who owns which cruise lines and the average score they received as a group.

Note: Viking River, Costa, and Aida were not part of the 2025 data report*

It’s important to note that all of these brands score very highly and receive excellent sanitation ratings of 94 and higher. 

2025 Failed Cruise Ship Inspections

In 2025, only one ship failed inspection. The Villa Vie Odyssey received a failing score of 81 out of 100. 

Interestingly, the Villa Vie Odyssey is classified as a luxury round-the-world perpetual cruise ship with passengers paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to live on the ship full-time for a three-year voyage.

This ship failed inspection on multiple fronts, but the most notable failures came from its potable drinking water systems, which had insufficient levels of chlorine, around 100 unapproved plumbing valves, and a direct connection to greywater systems, which increased the risk of contaminating the drinking water on board. 

The inspectors also cited galley cleanliness, food safety risks, pest issues (fruit flies), missing hand soap in restrooms, and unsafe pool drainage systems that risked trapping swimmers. 

This is not the first crisis to plague the vessel. It became famous in 2024 for getting stranded in Belfast, Northern Ireland, due to rudder and gearbox issues, leaving passengers living in hotels for nine months while the ship received repairs. 

Cruise Ships that Nearly Failed Inspection in 2025

Although only one ship failed inspections in 2025, three others came close by, only receiving the lowest passing score of 86 out of 100. 

The Three Cruise Ships that Nearly Failed Inspection in 2025 were:

1. The Victory I 
2. The Carnival Pride
3. The Stad Amsterdam

Although the list of 21 cleanest cruise ships showed that older ships can still receive the top score, it’s worth noting that all of the ships on the list of near failures are around 25 years old. 

The table below shows the ships that received the lowest passing score of 86, ranked by the most recent inspection date.

Understanding Historical Data on Failed Inspections

Though only one ship failed in 2025, inspection results from the past decade show a vast improvement in compliance with the CDC’s public health standards. 

As seen in the table below, 2017 can be considered the low point for cruise hygiene and health standards. That year, 14 vessels failed the sanitation inspections, which prompted the CDC to clamp down on training and safety measures. 

Since then, VSP inspection failures have averaged around one vessel failure per year, with 2021 and 2022 seeing no failures at all. 

The table below shows the number of cruise ships that failed the CDC’s sanitation inspections each year over the past 12 years.

Cruise Ship Inspection Failures in the Past 5 Years

Here is a list of all the cruise ships that received a filing sanitation score over the past 5 years. 

Gastrointestinal Outbreaks on Cruises in 2025

It’s not uncommon for cruise ships to have large outbreaks of illnesses such as COVID-19 or norovirus. The CDC notes that close quarters with hundreds of people can lead to quick transmission of viral illnesses through person-to-person contact.

Apart from the routine health and hygiene inspections, the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program tracks outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses on board. 

More than 3% of a vessel’s onboard population must be infected by the illness for it to appear within the CDC’s reports. 

In 2025, the CDC reported 23 gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships, which was a 28% increase in reported cases versus the previous year.

The most common illness reported is Norovirus, which was responsible for 17 of the 23 reported outbreaks in 2025, or roughly 74% or cases. 

Below is the full list of gastrointestinal illness outbreaks on cruise ships in 2025 as reported by the CDC:

Although this data shows how common gastrointestinal illness outbreaks are on cruise ships, it’s important to note that an outbreak doesn’t necessarily mean a ship is unclean. This is evidenced by there being 23 outbreaks, despite only one failing sanitation score in 2025.

Several of the ships in question had repeat outbreaks; however, when cross-referencing the reported illnesses with the ship’s hygiene score, we can see that all of these ships score excellent ratings for health and hygiene. 

The table below shows a list of ships that had repeated onboard outbreaks in 2025 and their excellent sanitation scores. 

Why Does This Data Matter?

This data reiterates the importance of travelers considering their health and safety when planning a cruise. 

Although sanitation and hygiene standards have improved on cruises since their low point in 2017, cruise ships bring together people from various parts of the world to live in close proximity, which raises the risks of exposure to illnesses spread through human contact. 

Additional factors like enclosed HVAC systems operating in high-humidity environments, mass onboard drinking water systems, and food safety practices raise the risks of viral outbreaks. For example, COVID-19 ran rampant on cruise ships during the pandemic. 

Protecting Your Health on Cruise Vacations

Recent changes by the Trump Administration have cut CDC staff working on the Vessel Sanitation Program, which could impact the health and safety of future cruises. 

Given this news and the frequency of gastrointestinal viral outbreaks on board cruises, as evidenced by this report, it is important to consider having proper travel protection. Cruise travel insurance can help you protect your health if you get sick while away, but also protect your finances if you are forced to alter or cancel your trip due to an outbreak. 

Nowadays, norovirus is one of the most common issues travelers face when taking a cruise. If the cruise before you is infected by norovirus, you likely won’t be able to cancel your trip and still receive a refund unless you have the proper travel insurance in place. Cruisers should consider opting for Cancel For Any Reason insurance, which can allow you to cancel your trip if you are concerned about catching a virus and still receive a refund. 

Medical facilities on cruise ships are equipped as clinics to provide triage and urgent care, but more serious conditions may require treatment at a better-equipped facility on shore. Travel Medical coverage can reimburse you for medical bills and also pay for a Medical Evacuation to shore should your condition warrant it. 

Given the data in this report, it’s also important to consider the sanitation score of the ship you may board. 

If you are concerned about the health and hygiene of your cruise ship’s infirmary, your travel insurance’s 24-hour support team can also assist in helping you access quality medical facilities on shore. 

FAQs: Cleanest Cruise Lines

How clean is Royal Caribbean Cruise Line?

Royal Caribbean International ranks as the 6th cleanest cruise line based on 2025 data from the CDC. Royal Caribbean’s fleet received an average sanitation rating of 97.12 out of 100. That said, Royal Caribbean also had 5 of its vessels on the list of the cleanest cruise ships, all of which received a perfect score. 

How clean is Carnival Cruise Line?

Carnival Cruise Lines ranked as the 11th cleanest cruise line in 2025, and received an average sanitation score of 95.38 based on data from the CDC. Carnival had 1 ship on the list of 2025’s cleanest cruises. The Carnival Luminosa received a perfect score of 100 for meeting the CDC’s health and hygiene standards. 

How clean is Princess Cruise Line?

According to CDC inspection data, Princess Cruises is quite clean and received an average sanitation rating of 94.43 in 2025. Versus other cruise lines, it ranked lower on the list as the 13th cleanest cruise line in 2025.

How clean is Celebrity Cruise Line?

Celebrity Cruises ranks as one of the cleanest cruise lines in 2025 based on data from the CDC. It received an average sanitation score of 97.13, ranking it as the 5th cleanest cruise line. Celebrity tied for 5th with Norwegian Cruise Lines. 

How clean is Norwegian Cruise Line?

As a cruise line, Norwegian received an average sanitation score of 97.13 for its fleet of vessels in 2025. Versus other cruise lines, Norwegian ranks near the top as the 5th cleanest cruise line, based on data from the CDC Vessel Sanitation Program. Norwegian Cruise Lines tied for 5th with Celebrity Cruises. 

How clean is MSC Cruise Line?

MSC cruise lines operate very clean ships. As compared to other cruise lines, it ranks around the middle in terms of cleanliness. In 2025, MSC received an average sanitation score of 96.83 out of 100 for its fleet. 

How clean is Viking Cruise Line?

Viking Ocean and Viking Expeditions tied for first place with Crystal Cruises as the cleanest cruise line in 2025. Both of Viking’s fleets scored an average of 99 out of 100 for sanitation, health, and hygiene based on data from the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program.

How clean is Virgin Cruise Line?

Virgin Voyages is one of the cleanest cruise lines around. In 2025, its vessels received an average sanitation rating of 97.67 out of 100. Virgin Voyages ranked 4th for the cleanest cruise lines in 2025. 

Cleanest Cruises Methodology

Below is a detailed look at the methodology used for the data and analysis behind our study of the cleanest cruises.

Data Collection

This report is based on data from the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program, which provides sanitation reports on cruise ships passing through U.S. ports. Our analysis focused on yearly sanitation inspection reports from 2014 to 2025 for ships carrying 13 or more passengers passing through ports in the United States. Ships are subject to two inspections per year, but not all ships are inspected and included in the reports. 

Data from the CDC’s VSP reports were cross-referenced with data from the VSP’s viral outbreak reports showing gastrointestinal illnesses that affected at least 3% of passengers on board.

Data Analysis

Our team manually analyzed, filtered, grouped, and correlated the CDC data to spot underlying trends highlighted in our report, including:

• Average Sanitation Score by Fleet: We manually aggregated vessel sanitation scores and grouped vessels by their respective cruise line to gain an average sanitation score for each cruise line. 
• Average Sanitation Score by Cruise Conglomerate: To learn how independent cruise lines’ sanitation ratings compared to large conglomerates, we researched and identified the parent company of each cruise line to calculate an average sanitation score across all subsidiaries.
• Correlation of Sanitation Score with Vessel Age: We compared the age of the vessels (based on their year of debut) to their sanitation rating to determine if age impacted the ship’s ability to score highly.
• Correlation of Viral Outbreaks with Sanitation Score: We cross-referenced ships with 2025 viral outbreaks versus their sanitation score to determine if dirtier ships saw more outbreaks. 

Sources

• CDC Vessel Sanitation Program
• Outbreaks on Cruise Ships Within VSP Jurisdiction
• Advanced Cruise Ship Inspection Search
• Ville Vie Oddyssey – Cruise Ship Inspection Report