Rankings · last 12 months
Cleanest cruise lines by CDC inspection score
Every cruise line ranked by the average of its CDC sanitation inspection scores from Oct 18, 2025 to Oct 17, 2026.
- Source: CDC public records
- Data checked on October 31, 2026
- Pass mark: 86 out of 100
- Independent site, not the CDC
Ranked by the average of every CDC inspection score from October 18, 2025 to October 17, 2026, the cruise line with the highest score is Disney Cruise Line (99.0 across 11 inspections), followed by Oceania Cruises (98.8) and Regent Seven Seas Cruises (98.6). Among the 14 lines with at least 5 inspections, the lowest average belongs to Princess Cruises (95.0).
What “cleanest” means here. The CDC does not rank cruise lines. This ranking is ours: the plain average of every CDC Vessel Sanitation Program inspection score of each line in the last 12 months of published inspections (274 inspections). It shows how the line’s ships met sanitation standards on inspection days. It is not a safety rating, and a line with few inspections can move a lot with one result.
Cruise lines ranked by average CDC score
Lines with at least 5 CDC inspections from October 18, 2025 to October 17, 2026, from the highest average score to the lowest. Lines with the same average to one decimal share a place.
| Cruise line | Inspections | Ships | Perfect 100s | Lowest | Failed | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Disney Cruise Line | 11 | 7 | 6 | 96 | 0 | 99.0 |
| 2. Oceania Cruises | 10 | 7 | 5 | 97 | 0 | 98.8 |
| 3. Regent Seven Seas Cruises | 5 | 4 | 4 | 93 | 0 | 98.6 |
| 4. Celebrity Cruises | 16 | 11 | 7 | 94 | 0 | 98.3 |
| 5. Virgin Voyages | 8 | 4 | 3 | 94 | 0 | 98.1 |
| 6. Royal Caribbean International | 46 | 28 | 10 | 89 | 0 | 97.4 |
| 7. Holland America Line | 17 | 10 | 4 | 90 | 0 | 97.1 |
| 8. Carnival Cruise Line | 43 | 26 | 6 | 86 | 0 | 97.0 |
| 9. Viking | 6 | 6 | 2 | 93 | 0 | 96.7 |
| 10. Norwegian Cruise Line | 30 | 17 | 8 | 84 | 1 | 96.6 |
| 11. Silversea | 7 | 7 | 1 | 91 | 0 | 96.0 |
| 11. Seabourn | 5 | 4 | 1 | 92 | 0 | 96.0 |
| 13. MSC Cruise Management | 14 | 10 | 2 | 86 | 0 | 95.8 |
| 14. Princess Cruises | 25 | 16 | 1 | 78 | 1 | 95.0 |
Smaller cruise lines
Lines with fewer than 5 inspections in the same 12 months: too few for a fair place in the ranking, shown for reference.
| Cruise line | Inspections | Ships | Perfect 100s | Lowest | Failed | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ResidenSea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 99 | 0 | 99.0 |
| Victory Cruise Lines | 1 | 1 | 0 | 99 | 0 | 99.0 |
| Hapag-Lloyd Cruises | 1 | 1 | 0 | 98 | 0 | 98.0 |
| Crystal | 2 | 2 | 0 | 96 | 0 | 97.5 |
| Azamara | 3 | 3 | 0 | 96 | 0 | 97.0 |
| Margaritaville at Sea | 3 | 2 | 2 | 91 | 0 | 97.0 |
| The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection | 4 | 3 | 0 | 93 | 0 | 96.2 |
| SeaDream Yacht Club | 2 | 2 | 0 | 94 | 0 | 96.0 |
| P&O Cruises | 1 | 1 | 0 | 96 | 0 | 96.0 |
| TUI Cruises | 1 | 1 | 0 | 95 | 0 | 95.0 |
| Windstar Cruises | 2 | 1 | 0 | 94 | 0 | 94.0 |
| Hurtigruten Expeditions | 1 | 1 | 0 | 94 | 0 | 94.0 |
| Carnival UK | 4 | 3 | 1 | 88 | 0 | 93.2 |
| Bernhard Schulte Cruise Services | 1 | 1 | 0 | 89 | 0 | 89.0 |
| Emerald Cruises | 1 | 1 | 0 | 89 | 0 | 89.0 |
| Ferries del Caribe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 86 | 0 | 86.0 |
| Lindblad Expeditions | 1 | 1 | 0 | 86 | 0 | 86.0 |
| Ponant | 1 | 1 | 0 | 83 | 1 | 83.0 |
Ships that scored 100 at every inspection
8 ships had at least two CDC inspections from October 18, 2025 to October 17, 2026 and scored a perfect 100 every time.
- Celebrity ApexCelebrity Cruises · 2 inspections100
- Disney FantasyDisney Cruise Line · 2 inspections100
- Icon of the SeasRoyal Caribbean International · 2 inspections100
- KoningsdamHolland America Line · 2 inspections100
- Norwegian JoyNorwegian Cruise Line · 2 inspections100
- Norwegian LunaNorwegian Cruise Line · 2 inspections100
- Oceania VistaOceania Cruises · 2 inspections100
- Seven Seas GrandeurRegent Seven Seas Cruises · 2 inspections100
Other ways to compare
- Cruise lines by the latest score of each ship (the CDC Green Sheet view)
- 2026 vs 2025: which lines and ships improved
- Lowest scores of 2026 and every failed inspection