How CDC cruise ship inspections work

Who inspects cruise ships

The Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “helps the cruise industry prevent and control public health issues”. According to the CDC, it does this by inspecting cruise ships, monitoring illness data and responding to outbreaks, reviewing ship design and construction plans, and training cruise ship staff. It covers “cruise ships with international voyages with a stop at a U.S. port” (CDC FAQ).

How often, and how

• Twice a year, unannounced. Cruise ships under the CDC’s jurisdiction “are subject to two unannounced inspections each year”. A ship that sails outside the United States for an extended period may not be inspected twice a year; it is inspected again when it returns (CDC FAQ).
• In a U.S. port, in 6 to 8 hours. Inspections are done while the ship is in a U.S. port and usually take 6 to 8 hours, depending on the number of inspectors, the size of the ship, its time in port and the issues found (CDC). One to five inspectors take part, depending on the size of the ship (CDC).
• The ship owner pays. Owners pay a fee based on the ship’s size for each inspection and reinspection, from $8,073 for ships under 30,000 gross tons to $64,584 for ships over 180,000 gross tons (CDC fee schedule).

The eight areas inspectors check

According to the CDC, inspectors evaluate eight areas:

1. Medical center: records of people who reported diarrhea or vomiting, specimen collection supplies, and interviews to check that no crew member works while sick.
2. Drinking water: halogen (chlorine) and pH logs since the last inspection, the water system itself and water samples.
3. Galleys and dining rooms: how food is stored, prepared and served, dishwashers and other equipment, what food workers know about safe food handling, and their health and hygiene.
4. Swimming pools and whirlpools: logs, water samples, and the staff’s procedure for accidents involving feces or vomit.
5. Housekeeping: the outbreak prevention and response plan, and the disinfection of public areas.
6. Pest and insect management: the ship’s pest management plan and what staff know about it.
7. Child activity centers: diaper-changing, toilet and handwashing facilities, clean toys, and what staff do when a child is sick.
8. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning: that units are clean and that water does not collect inside them.

How the score works

Inspectors use the VSP Environmental Public Health Standards and a 100-point scale. They “deduct points for a single, significant violation or for patterns of similar violations”, and “cruise ships fail inspections when they score 85 or below” (CDC FAQ). The CDC Green Sheet says the same: scores of 85 or lower “are NOT satisfactory”.

• 100Perfect: no points deducted
• 95–99Passed, few problems
• 90–94Passed
• 86–89Passed, close to the line
• 85 or lowerFailed (not satisfactory)

The CDC only says that 85 or lower is “not satisfactory”. The color bands above are ours, to make the list easier to scan.

Each CDC report lists the findings by item number of the standards (for example item 10, “RWF maintenance, safety equipment”, where RWF means recreational water facilities, or item 33, “Decks / bulkheads / deckheads construction, repair, clean”), the place on the ship and what the inspector saw. The CDC summary of the same inspection shows the points deducted for each item, and the score is 100 minus those points. Many findings are written down without a deduction, so even a ship that scored 100 can have findings. On this site every ship page shows both, for the last 3 inspections.

After the inspection

• Cruise ships must correct all violations, and certain critical violations immediately. Each ship then submits a corrective action statement describing how the violations were corrected (CDC FAQ).
• A ship that fails is reinspected “within a reasonable period”. The CDC can recommend that a ship not sail, but says this is “rarely needed” and that it would only do so for imminent public health risks (CDC FAQ).

What a score does not tell you

• It describes one inspection. The CDC inspects ships “to determine how well they are operating and maintaining public health standards” (CDC FAQ), on the day the inspectors are on board. A score does not describe the rest of the year.
• It is not a safety rating. The areas the CDC checks are the eight listed above. Fire safety, navigation and security are not among them, so a CDC score does not tell you whether a ship is safe.
• Outbreaks are posted separately. The CDC posts a gastrointestinal illness outbreak when 3% or more of passengers or crew on a voyage report symptoms to the ship’s medical staff, and may also post other outbreaks of public health significance (CDC). See our list of outbreaks.
• Some ships are missing. Ships outside the CDC’s jurisdiction are not inspected, and ships that sail outside the United States for an extended period do not appear in the CDC database until they return (CDC FAQ).

Staying healthy on board

The CDC’s advice to passengers: tell the ship’s medical center if you are sick, wash your hands often rather than relying on hand sanitizer, drink plenty of water and get plenty of rest, and leave the area if you see someone get sick (CDC FAQ, tips for healthy cruising).

All quotations come from the CDC pages linked above, checked on October 31, 2026.