80% of Cruise Ships With Perfect Health Scores This Summer Were Royal Caribbean

Twice a 12 months, each cruise ship that sails to or from a U.S. port is topic to an unannounced well being inspection carried out by the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP).

For the summer season of 2025, the CDC has to this point launched the well being inspection scores for 44 cruise ships throughout 16 totally different cruise strains. You will need to notice that well being scores aren’t posted instantly on the CDC’s web site, it’s usually achieved between three to 6 weeks after the inspection takes place.

Out of the 44 ships inspection scores for this summer season, 5 cruise ships scored an ideal 100 with 4 of them being from Royal Caribbean and one from Viking.

The ships that scored an ideal 100 and the dates that they had been inspected are listed beneath.

Journey of the Seas – June 3
Icon of the Seas – June 4
Ovation of the Seas – July 1
Viking Orion – July 12
Utopia of the Seas – July 21

Royal Caribbean additionally had one ship simply missed an ideal rating when Radiance of the Seas obtained a 99 throughout a July 13 shock inspection.

You’ll be able to see a listing of all cruise ships that had an ideal 100 well being rating within the first half of 2025 right here.

The rationale for the unannounced inspections is to assist the cruise trade forestall and management public well being points.

Through the inspections, the VSP inspectors consider the next eight particular areas on cruise ships:

Medical facilities
Consuming water
Galleys and eating rooms
Swimming swimming pools and whirlpools
Housekeeping
Pest and bug administration
Baby exercise facilities
HVAC (heating, air flow, and air-con)

Relying on the ship measurement, one to 5 inspectors conduct these inspections whereas the vessel is at a U.S. port.

The inspections take six to eight hours to finish and are achieved twice a 12 months. If a ship sails outdoors of the U.S. for an prolonged time, it might not be inspected twice a 12 months. Nevertheless, it will likely be inspected once more when it returns to the US.

To learn extra concerning the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program on cruise ships, you’ll be able to go to the CDC’s web site right here.