Between virus outbreaks, “horrendous smells,” and plumbing issues, cruise ships in 2024 seemed to be plagued by mishaps that resulted in months-long delays and abrupt cancellations in some cases.
Every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) releases their Vessell Sanitation Program list to help “the cruise industry prevent and control public health issues” with inspection scores and reviews.
Ships are assigned scores out of 100. Anything below 85 is “not satisfactory.” Pools, hot tubs, and play areas are inspected, along with the number of handwashing stations and food storage conditions. Findings of vermin and roaches are likely to result in larger deductions than if a ship had fewer handwashing stations than it should.
According to the 2024 report, the average score out of 151 inspections was 95.9. Twenty-three of those vessels were inspected for a second time.
The nine dirtiest ships received scores between 86 and 89. Meanwhile, one ship initially received a rare low score of 62 before it was reviewed again the following month and given an 89.
The nine ships that failed to receive a CDC score of 90 are:
- Hanseatic Inspiration by Hapag-Lloyd Cruises (originally scored 62 in September before it scored 89 in October)
- Carnival Elation by Carnival Cruise Line (scored 89 in March)
- Adventure of the Seas by Royal Caribbean International (scored 89 in January)
- National Geographic Sea Bird by Lindblad Expeditions (scored 88 in July)
- Carnival Miracle by Carnival Cruise Line (scored 88 in April)
- MSC Magnifica by MSC Cruises (scored 86 in May)
- Evrima by Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection (scored 86 in February)
- Carnival Breeze by Carnival Cruise Line (scored 86 in March)
- Caribbean Princess by Princess Cruises (scored 86 in March)
Speaking to Business Insider after Hanseatic Inspirations’ first inspection, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises stated: “We have been consistently meeting strict hygiene requirements worldwide for many years with exemplary results.”
That said, Hapag-Lloyd described receiving a score of 62 for one of their vessels as a “very unfortunate incident.”
The CDC reported 15 virus and illness breakouts over the last 12 months across all cruise liners. The most common “causative agent” was Norovirus.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, Norovirus is “a group of viruses that causes severe vomiting and diarrhea” and is most common in the cold weather season. Norovirus is also highly contagious and the leading cause of foodborne illness within the U.S.
Other agents included salmonella, E. coli, and two labeled “unknown.”
Outbreaks are only reported if symptoms are seen in more than 3 percent of passengers or crew members.
One of the most notable Norovirus outbreaks on a cruise ship this year occurred on the Coral Princess’ month-long charter from Singapore to Los Angeles, with stops in Thailand, Japan, and Hawaii.
The first few illness reports from the Princess Cruise vessel, hosting 1,822 paying travelers and 907 crew members, were confirmed on November 9. In total, 55 passengers and 15 cruise ship employees fell ill amid the outbreak.