This cruise line had 3 ships ranked near the bottom of the CDC’s ‘vessel sanitation’ list
The Carnival cruise ships Liberty and Elation are seen in Nassau, Bahamas, in April 2019. The Elation recently received a sanitation rating of 89 points from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making it among the lower-ranked ships across the cruise industry. – AFP via Getty Images
Carnival Cruise Line is one of the industry’s behemoths, operating more than two dozen ships that sail across the globe.
But it also has a more dubious distinction of late, with three of its ships landing on the lowest end of the cleanliness spectrum, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The CDC regularly inspects ships for sanitation, grading them on a 100-point scale, with 86 or higher being considered a satisfactory score. Of the all the ships inspected in 2023 and 2024, 13 scored below 90 points — and three of those were Carnival ones: the Breeze (86 points), Elation (89) and Miracle (88), according to the current CDC report.
No other cruise line in that group of 13 had more than a single ship represented.
Carnival CCL had many ships with considerably higher ratings, including two — the Panorama and Spirit — with perfect scores of 100. And as the scores indicate, even the lower-ranked Carnival ships met the CDC’s “satisfactory” criteria.
That’s in marked contrast to Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Hanseatic Inspiration ship, which had the lowest score on the CDC list — an “unsatisfactory” rating of 62 points.
In a statement to MarketWatch, Carnival said: “In the last year, all ships in the Carnival fleet received passing scores from the CDC in their vessel sanitation program. Out of 30 inspections conducted, our ships received 27 scores of 90 or above…We continually strive for the highest sanitation standards and implement immediate corrective action, often while the CDC inspectors are still on board, and use the outcomes of these inspections as learnings for our teams.”
A spokesperson for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises told MarketWatch the line “has consistently met the strict hygiene requirements for many years with exemplary results that far exceed the required minimum. We deeply regret that the Hanseatic inspiration did not achieve the required score for the first time. The result of this inspection in no way reflects our high standards.” The spokesperson added that the issues were “immediately rectified.”
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Sanitation is a major issue for cruise ships. Consider the many widely reported outbreaks of norovirus, a virus that, according to the CDC, can result in extreme gastrointestinal issues. The CDC didn’t respond immediately to a request for comment for this story.
Colleen McDaniel, editor-in-chief of the Cruise Critic site, said cruise passengers shouldn’t be worried if a ship is on the lower end of the CDC rating spectrum, so long as it meets the “satisfactory” criteria. She noted that ships can receive lower marks for minor issues that don’t “impact the cruise experience overall.”
McDaniel also said the fact that three Carnival ships had lower ratings could be partly attributable to the fact Carnival has more ships than many other cruise lines.
The CDC’s inspection reports for the Carnival ships cite a range of sanitation issues. On the Breeze, the CDC noted that “the backflow prevention device for [a] countertop ice machine was in disrepair with the vents blocked.” On the Elation, the CDC pointed to the fact that servers were not washing their hands at the requisite times.
Michelle and Josh Halstead, a married couple from Kalamazoo, Mich., who cruise with Carnival frequently and share their experiences on their Adventures Ahead YouTube channel, said they consider the cruise line safe to travel with from a sanitation standpoint. They noted they’ve never gotten sick with a stomach bug during their 21 Carnival sailings.
“You always see people with a bucket and towel. They’re constantly wiping stuff down and cleaning,” Josh said of the Carnival crew.
Jill Schildhouse, a travel writer and frequent cruise passenger, said she doubts most passengers pay close attention to the CDC sanitation ratings for ships. But she said they’re there for a reason.
“Cruise ships are breeding grounds for illnesses,” Schildhouse said. “And if the information is available for you to make a decision about where to spend your time and money, you should do so. Nobody wants to spend their vacation sick and miserable.”
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