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Going on a cruise has become one of the most popular vacations for travelers wanting to enjoy the best of both surf and turf — but some cruise lines fare better than others when it comes to cleanliness.
Data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined the cleanest cruise lines in the world — and one cruise line tops the list for highest number of norovirus outbreaks on board.
The CDC conducts annual health and hygiene inspections ranking cruise ships and lines on a 100-point scale, with a score of 85 or below to be considered ‘failing,’ according to Travel + Leisure.
Scores are determined by inspecting reports collected between 2014 and 2025, and analyzing cleanliness conditions in places like the galleys and dining rooms, medical centers, activity centers and swimming pools.
Health insurance provider, Squaremouth, conducted a recent study to break down the data to help eager travelers determine which ships hitting the seas are the cleanest — and which ones to avoid.
Viking Ocean, Viking Expedition and Crystal Cruises tied for the cleanest cruise lines in U.S. waters — scoring an impressive average cleanliness score of 99 out of 100 throughout their entire fleets.
Companies with larger fleets seemed to rank lower than lines with more ships in their rotation — however cruise giant Viking was the exception to this rule, scoring top marks with about a dozen ships in its fleet.
Recently converted adults-only luxury cruise line, Oceania Cruise scored a silver medal for cleanest cruise line, with a total of eight ships in its fleet.
Third place was tied between P&O Cruises and Japan Grace; Virgin Voyages came in at fourth on the list; and Norwegian Cruise Line and Celebrity Cruises rounded out the top five, tying for fifth place.
On the other end of the scale, Rederij Clipper Stad Amsterdam and Victory Cruise Lines tied for last place with a score of 86 — barely scraping the barrel being one point away from a failing score.
Only one cruise ship failed the 2025 inspection, with the Villa Vie Odyssey ship falling short of passing with a measly score of 81 — though that hasn’t deterred a retired teacher, who moved onto the Villa Vie Odyssey for a 15 year cruise after working out it was cheaper than living in her home state of California for the same time.
While passengers may be worried about the low-scoring ships, the data demonstrates that the cruise industry across the board is improving their health and hygiene standards — with an astounding 14 ships failing to pass inspection less than 10 years ago in 2017.
Despite many cruise lines scoring highly for cleanliness in 2025, passengers should be aware that germs can travel fast in close quarters making cruise lines notorious breeding grounds for gastrointestinal illnesses.
Last year alone, the CDC recorded 23 outbreaks of illnesses on board, a whopping 28 percent increase compared to 2024.
Norovirus — the leading virus for vomiting, diarrhea and foodborne illness in the U.S. — was responsible for 74% of outbreaks on cruise lines, with 17 of the 23 outbreaks being linked to the gastrointestinal illness.
The highly contagious virus can spread like wildfire on board by passengers coming into contact with a contaminated surface or infected person — but it doesn’t necessarily mean the ship itself isn’t clean.
While it may sound counterintuitive, some cruise lines who recorded multiple illness outbreaks also scored top marks for cleanliness.
Holland America achieved an impressive 95.44 cleanliness score overall — but the cruise line was linked to five norovirus outbreaks in 2025, the most of any other cruise line last year.
One of their most popular lines, the Rotterdam, boasts an impressive perfect score for cleanliness but had three reported norovirus outbreaks on board last year.
Despite all this, the data shows that health and hygiene standards have improved across the cruising board and passengers should be confident to book their next adventure sailing the seas.
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