Thinking about booking a cruise? You may want to check the ship’s latest sanitation inspection score before you set sail.
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows several cruise ships received scores near the bottom of the agency’s 100-point sanitation scale this year.
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The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program conducts unannounced inspections of cruise ships that call on U.S. ports. Inspectors look at areas including food preparation and dining rooms, medical facilities, drinking water systems, swimming pools and hot tubs, ventilation, housekeeping and child activity centers.
Cruise ships need a score of 86 or higher to pass. A score of 85 or lower is considered unsatisfactory.
The lowest-scoring cruise ships
According to CDC inspection data reviewed by Fox News, these seven ships had the lowest scores among the 2026 inspections:
| Norwegian Dawn | 84 |
| Carnival Breeze | 86 |
| Kydon | 86 |
| National Geographic Sea Lion | 86 |
| Sun Princess | 89 |
| MSC Meraviglia | 89 |
| Amadea | 89 |
The Norwegian Dawn was the only ship on the list to receive a failing score. It received an 84 during a March inspection. Norwegian Cruise Line took corrective action and submitted a report to the CDC following the inspection.
Three ships- Carnival Breeze, Kydon and National Geographic Sea Lion- barely passed with scores of 86.
One of the more notable results involved the Carnival Breeze.
The ship previously received a perfect 100 during an inspection earlier this year, but later received an 86. The CDC notes that inspection scores reflect conditions found on the ship at the time of that particular inspection, so scores can change from one inspection to another.
A low CDC score does not necessarily mean a cruise ship is unsafe.
Instead, the score reflects how well the ship complied with the CDC’s public health standards during the inspection. The inspections are designed to identify sanitation and public health issues that could affect passengers and crew.
The CDC also publishes ships that receive perfect scores. Its rolling 12-month database currently includes vessels that earned a 100 during their inspections, including Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas and Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Destiny.
For cruise passengers, the CDC’s inspection database can be a useful tool to check a ship’s latest inspection before booking or boarding.
And for Houstonians planning a cruise from nearby Galveston, checking the ship’s most recent score could be one more thing to add to the vacation-planning checklist.