The Cleanest Cruise Ships You Can Book

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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?

cleanest cruise ship

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.

jacuzzi and pool on a cruise ship

List of the Cleanest Cruise Ships

In VSP inspections over the last year, 30 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 9th April 2026. More ships may have been inspected since then. You can see the latest VSP statistics here.

Cruise ShipCruise LineInspection DateAll VSP Scores
Disney FantasyDisney Cruise Line28 January 2026All scores
Enchantment of the SeasRoyal Caribbean International26 January 2026All scores
Grandeur of the SeasRoyal Caribbean International24 January 2026All scores
Carnival BreezeCarnival Cruise Lines, Inc17 January 2026All scores
KoningsdamHolland America Line6 January 2026All scores
Brilliant LadyVirgin Voyages22 December 2025All scores
Norwegian GemNorwegian Cruise Line12 December 2025All scores
Oceania InsigniaOceania Cruises7 December 2025All scores
Silver RaySilversea Cruises5 December 2025All scores
Oceania VistaOceania Cruises3 December 2025All scores
Seabourn EncoreSeabourn Cruise Line2 December 2025All scores
Celebrity EclipseCelebrity Cruises22 November 2025All scores
Celebrity ApexCelebrity Cruises15 November 2025All scores
Explora IMSC Cruise Management (UK) Ltd12 November 2025All scores
Viking PolarisViking Epedition Operations6 October 2025All scores
Norwegian EncoreNorwegian Cruise Line28 September 2025All scores
Crystal SerenityCrystal Cruises LTD27 September 2025All scores
Jewel of the SeasRoyal Caribbean International12 September 2025All scores
Norwegian StarNorwegian Cruise Line7 August 2025All scores
Utopia of the SeasRoyal Caribbean International21 July 2025All scores
Viking OrionViking Ocean Cruises II Ltd.12 July 2025All scores
Ovation of the SeasRoyal Caribbean International1 July 2025All scores
Icon of the SeasRoyal Caribbean International4 June 2025All scores
Adventure of the SeasRoyal Caribbean International3 June 2025All scores
National Geographic VentureLindblad Expeditions24 May 2025All scores
Celebrity SolsticeCelebrity Cruises22 May 2025All scores
WesterdamHolland America Line18 May 2025All scores
Carnival LuminosaCarnival Cruise Lines, Inc.1 May 2025All scores
Viking NeptuneViking Ocean Cruises II Ltd.22 April 2025All scores
Disney WishDisney Cruise Lines18 April 2025All scores

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.

disinfecting a cruise ship

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.

crew member cleaning air conditioner on a cruise ship

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.

deep clean following norovirus outbreak

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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Jenni with Disney Cruise ship at Castaway Cay


4 thoughts on “The Cleanest Cruise Ships You Can Book”

  1. Diane Boustead

    We were on Sky Princess 31 day cruise to Canada and USA. My husband and I caught Covid, so did people in next door cabin. Not satisfied with cleanliness precautions. Staff were outside eating venues but did not encourage peple to wash there hands until day 24. Too late for us. People were coughing from day 1 so they should have taken more care.

    Reply
  2. Jill

    Princess Cruise Lines are not on your list. Do they not meet standards.

    Reply
  3. Nel

    Not very true-just read an article where Seascape failed and here is top-where is the truth?

    Reply

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