Carnival Cruise Line is one of the biggest companies in the cruise business. It runs more than twenty ships that go all over the world.
It also has a less impressive record lately: three of its ships have been ranked as among the dirtiest by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC checks ships for cleanliness on a daily basis and gives them grades on a 100-point scale, with 86 being a good score. The latest CDC report says that out of all the ships that were inspected in 2023 and 2024, 13 got scores below 90. Three of those were Carnival ships: the Breeze (86 points), the Elation (89 points), and the Miracle (88 points).
In that group of 13, only one ship from each cruise line was present. Many of Carnival CCL -0.28%’s ships had much better scores, and two of them, the Panorama and the Spirit, had perfect scores of 100. The scores show that even the Carnival ships with lower scores met the CDC’s “satisfactory” standards.
The Hanseatic Inspiration ship from Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, on the other hand, had the worst score on the CDC list—62 points for “unsatisfactory.”
Today, Carnival told MarketWatch that all of their ships got good grades from the CDC in their vessel sanitation program over the past year. Out of 30 inspections, 27 of our ships got scores of 90 or higher…We always try to meet the highest standards for cleanliness and take corrective action right away, often while the CDC inspectors are still on site. Our teams use what they learn from these reviews to improve their work.
A Hapag-Lloyd Cruises representative told MarketWatch that the company “has consistently met the strict hygiene requirements for many years with exemplary results that far exceed the required minimum.” We are very sorry that the Hanseatic idea did not get the score it needed the first time. The outcome of this review doesn’t show how high our standards are. The representative also said that the problems were fixed “immediately.”
‘Cruise ships are breeding grounds for illnesses.’
Jill Schildhouse, travel writer and frequent cruise passenger
On sailing ships, cleanliness is very important. Think about the many cases of norovirus that have been widely reported. The CDC says that this virus can cause severe stomach problems. The CDC didn’t answer right away when asked for feedback on this story.
Editor-in-chief of the website Cruise Critic, Colleen McDaniel, said that cruise users shouldn’t worry if a ship has a lower CDC grade as long as it meets the “satisfactory” standards. She said that ships can get lower grades for small problems that don’t “affect the overall cruise experience.”
Michael Daniell also said that the fact that three Carnival ships got lower scores might be because Carnival has more ships than many other cruise lines.
The CDC’s inspection records for the Carnival ships list a number of health problems. On the Breeze, the CDC said that “the backflow prevention device for a countertop ice machine was broken and the vents were blocked.” The CDC said that waiters on the Elation were not washing their hands when they should have been.
Michelle and Josh Halstead, a married couple from Kalamazoo, Mich., say they think Carnival is a safe cruise line to travel with because it is clean. They share their experiences on their YouTube page, Adventures Ahead. People on the ship said that in 21 trips on Carnival, they’ve never gotten a tummy bug.
“Everyone has a bucket and a towel on them.” Josh said of the Carnival crew, “They’re always wiping things down and cleaning.”
As a travel writer and regular cruise passenger, Jill Schildhouse said she doesn’t think most people pay close attention to the CDC ratings for ships’ cleanliness. She did say that they were there for a reason, though.
“Cruise ships are great places for germs to grow,” Schildhouse said. “You should make a choice about where to spend your time and money if the information is there for you to do so.” There is no one who wants to be sick and unhappy on vacation.
