Cruise Ship Sanitation Inspections
The Top Rated Cruise Ships
Ships With The Highest Sanitation Rating
TOP RATED CRUISE SHIP LIST
The ships are rated based soley on their CDC inspection score and the number of infractions they had. The infractions are deducted from their CDC score, to determine a final score. This score is then listed top to bottom, with the highest score being the best ship.
This allows us to really determine the condtion of a ship. Often the CDC will give a ship a grade of 99 to 96, which is excellent, inspite of having 20, 30, 40 violations or more. This is not 'excellent', by any stretch of the imagination. By deducting the violations point per violation, in addtion to the point deductions given by the CDC, we get a better idea of true sanitation standards on the ship, and the system is not swayed by any potential CDC inspectors' personal judgement used on the day of the inspection. Inspectors can use their judgement to give extra points for areas of the ship that were found to be excellent on inspection day. These points offset the points deducted, potentially giving an excellent score to a ship with a very dirty galley. Only the actual violations sighted can give a real picture of conditions on the ship.
If there is more than one ship with the same final score, the ship will be listed in a tie breaker by those with the least infractions getting the higher positions. If there is a tie after the infractions are considered, we will list them alphabetically as a final tie breaker. It is possible, that ships may have a negative score, if their infractions exceed their CDC score.
Examples:
Ship A has a score of 98 with 18 infractions. We deducted 18 from 98 and the final score is 80.
Ship B has a score of 70 with 105 infractions. We deduct 105 from 70 and the final score is -35
Ship scores are the latest USCDC inspection score received as of the last date listed on our site.
Columns are as follows:
Score: This is the final score given by the CDC inspectors
Viol: This is the number of violations the CDC found during the inspection.
Final: This is the final score we give the ship, deducting the violations from the CDC score
GOLD - FINAL SCORE 100 TO 90
99 - 07 = 92 MV Explorer
100 - 09 = 91 Aurora
100 - 09 = 91 Disney Wonder
SILVER - FINAL SCORE 89 TO 80
100 - 11 = 89 Island Princess
100 - 12 = 88 Crown Princess
97 - 11 = 86 Minerva II
98 - 12 = 86 Noordam
98 - 14 = 84 Coral Princess
100 - 16 = 84 Regatta
100 - 16 = 84 Seven Seas Mariner
94 - 11 = 83 Arabella
94 - 11 = 83 Niagra Prince
99 - 16 = 83 Disney Magic
99 - 16 = 83 Golden Princess
99 - 16 = 83 Sun Princess
98 - 16 = 82 Carnival Legend
96 - 14 = 82 Regal Empress
94 - 12 = 82 Arcadia
95 - 14 = 81 Mariner Of The Seas
99 - 19 = 80 Rhapsody Of The Seas
97 - 17 = 80 Paradise
GREEN - FINAL SCORE 79 TO 70
97 - 18 = 79 Fantasy
97 - 18 = 79 Splendour Of The Seas
98 - 19 = 79 Summit
98 - 20 = 78 Norwegian Dream
98 - 20 = 78 Norwegian Jewel
98 - 20 = 78 Norwegian Pearl
94 - 17 = 77 Discovery Sun
96 - 19 = 77 Fascination
96 - 19 = 77 Norwegian Dawn
97 - 20 = 77 Sensation
95 - 19 = 76 Seven Seas Voyager
98 - 21 = 76 Crystal Symphony
97 - 21 = 76 Freedom Of The Seas
98 - 22 = 76 Infinity
91 - 16 = 75 Texas Treasure 1
95 - 20 = 75 MV Alexander von Humboldt
96 - 21 = 75 C. Columbus
98 - 23 = 75 Brilliance Of The Seas
100 - 25 = 75 Caribbean Princess
98 - 24 = 74 Carnival Valor
95 - 22 = 73 Clipper Odyssey
98 - 25 = 73 Voyager Of The Seas
91 - 19 = 72 Constellation
93 - 22 = 71 Sea Bird
94 - 23 = 71 Norwegian Majesty
91 - 21 = 70 Nantucket Clipper
98 - 18 = 70 Carnival Spirit
92 - 22 = 70 Sea Lion
95 - 25 = 70 Galaxy
BLUE - FINAL SCORE 69 TO 60
95 - 26 = 69 Island Adventure
93 - 24 = 69 Jewel Of The Seas
Score Viol Final Ship Name
BLUE - FINAL SCORE 69 TO 60
90 - 22 = 68 Grande Mariner
96 - 28 = 68 Carnival Liberty
96 - 28 = 68 Zaandam
97 - 29 = 68 Elation
90 - 23 = 67 Caribbean Express
91 - 24 = 67 Carnival Pride
94 - 27 = 67 Celebration
95 - 28 = 67 Carnival Destiny
92 - 26 = 66 Palm Beach Princess
89 - 23 = 66 Spirit Of Endeavor
96 - 31 = 65 Vision Of The Seas
89 - 24 = 65 Norwegian Sun
93 - 28 = 65 Holiday
94 - 29 = 65 Volendam
95 - 30 = 65 Spirit Of Oceanus
97 - 32 = 65 Monarch Of The Seas
99 - 34 = 65 Navigator Of The Seas
90 - 26 = 64 Enchantment Of The Seas
93 - 29 = 64 Island Princess
94 - 30 = 64 Carnival Victory
99 - 35 = 64 Queen Mary II
96 - 33 = 63 Norwegian Wind
94 - 31 = 63 Norwegian Star
94 - 31 = 63 Tahitian Princess
97 - 34 = 63 Amsterdam
97 - 34 = 63 Empress Of The Seas
87 - 25 = 62 Yorktown Clipper
90 - 28 = 62 Caribbean Express
92 - 30 = 62 Norwegian Crown
93 - 31 = 62 Carnival Valor
96 - 34 = 62 Inspiration
97 - 35 = 62 Imagination
98 - 36 = 62 Diamond Princess
97 - 37 = 60 Veendam
RED - FINAL SCORE 59 OR LOWER
98 - 39 = 59 Adventure Of The Seas
94 - 35 = 59 Ryndam
87 - 29 = 58 Grande Caribe
92 - 35 = 57 Empress Of The North
93 - 36 = 57 Zuiderdam
96 - 39 = 57 Radiance Of The Seas
93 - 37 = 56 Mercury
92 - 36 = 56 Statendam
96 - 41 = 55 Grandeur Of The Seas
97 - 42 = 55 Sea Princess
93 - 42 = 51 Silver Shadow
94 - 44 = 50 Carnival Conquest
88 - 40 = 48 Oosterdam
93 - 46 = 47 Ecstasy
89 - 43 = 45 Explorer Of The Seas
93 - 48 = 45 Volendam
93 - 49 = 44 Zenith
92 - 50 = 42 Queen Elizabeth II
90 - 52 = 42 Majesty Of The Seas
93 - 58 = 35 Carnival Triumph
83 - 61 = 22 Astor
87 - 65 = 22 Safari Quest
Score Viol Final Ship Name
After viewing the chart below, find the ship report by browsing our inspection reports by ship name. You can click here to find the ship's name in our master list and view their reports.
WHAT OUR ALPHABETICAL SCORES MEAN
96 to 100 = A Excellent
At this level, even at a score of 100, the ship may have a dozen or more sanitary violations. Overall, the ship was clean. The risk factor for disease originating on this ship was very low.
95 to 91 = B Undesirable Sanitation Standards
This is a second class rating, not all what you would expect from a superior ship. The risk to passengers and crew are increased, with as many as 40 violations or more. Think twice before booking a cruise on this ship. The crew are not well trained or are not diligent in performing job duties. Their sloppiness can make you very ill. Problems such as rodent and/or cockroach activity may not have been completely resolved, but steps were taken to begin the correction. This means it is highly likely rodents and cockroaches will still be a problem on cruises booked in the near future.
90 to 86 = C Poor Sanitation Standards
The buck stops at corporate for this sloppy ship. Frequent unannounced visits would have prevented this vessel from falling to the bottom of the barrel with violations that are likely long term. You will see terms in the reports such as "heavy soil" "thick mold" that tell you this problem did not pop up overnight. Problems such as rodent and/or cockroach activity may not have been completely resolved, but steps were taken to begin the correction. This means it is highly likely rodents and cockroaches will still be a problem on cruises booked in the near future. Management onboard this ship should be terminated. Risk factor for disease is considerably higher. This ship is to be avoided, without a doubt.
85 to 81 = D Fail - Ship Held In Port
No responsible inspector would allow this ship to set sail with passengers. Inspectors can prevent a ship from leaving port with only crew onboard, with this rating. Problems such as rodent and/or cockroach activity may not have been completely resolved, but steps were taken to begin the correction. This means it is highly likely rodents and cockroaches will still be a problem on cruises booked in the near future. But, in any event, you have to ask yourself if the ship was this bad, do you really want to sail with crew that have been this lax in the past?
80 Or Lower = F Severe Failure - Ship Held In Port
This ship is an epidemic waiting to happen. Failure at the corporate level, and every level below to ensure passenger and crew health and safety. We call it Noah's Ark, it is only good as a shelter of last resort, not worthy of pleasure travel, without several inspections rating at an A to indicate the problem has really been resolved.
