Ships That Got The Best (and Worst) CDC Sanitation Scores

Above, the Norwegian Sky scored a perfect 100 for sanitation in May. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It is nice to know that a ship I took a cruise on scored well in the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vessel Sanitation Program.

Maybe that's why I didn't contract any illness during the cruise. 

USA Today reported:

Gastrointestinal illnesses like norovirus can be unfortunate anywhere, but they can be especially miserable on cruise ships, where they can easily spread without proper sanitation. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vessel Sanitation Program is specifically designed to help keep GI illnesses from spreading on cruises by inspecting vessels, responding to outbreaks, training ship supervisors, and more.  

So far, this year, only two cruise ships have failed inspection, but several others have been close to the edge. Here’s how to find the sanitation reports for any ship sailing to the U.S.  

How are ships scored?  

Ships are scored on a scale of 100 for how well they’re keeping standards set in the VSP Operations Manual and given recommendations for addressing any issues.  

A score of 86 or above is considered satisfactory. Anything below that is considered failing.  

The ship I took on a cruise to the Bahamas in August had scored a perfect 100:

•  Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Sky in May 

It was one of twenty ships that scored 100. 

To read more, go here.