Vacationers go on cruises to enjoy some rest and relaxation, but many ships that travel the world hide dirty secrets.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has revealed the top 10 dirtiest cruise ships of 2024 after health officials randomly inspected 114 different ships.
Inspectors assessed the medical center, drinking water systems, kitchens and dining rooms, swimming pools and hot tubs, household pest and insect control, children’s activity centers and the ships’ heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
Three of the dirtiest ships are Hapag-Lloyd’s ‘Hanseatic Inspiration’, Princess Cruises’ ‘Caribbean Princess’ and Carnival’s ‘Carnival Breeze’.
Cruise ships carry travelers from around the world in a crowded, semi-enclosed vessel, which can facilitate the spread of person-to-person, food- and water-borne illnesses, according to the CDC.
When ships are unsanitary, it can further increase the risk of illness for passengers and even lead to deadly outbreaks.
The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) gave each ship a sanitation score on a 100-point scale, with 100 being a perfect score.
The lowest scoring ship was the ‘Hanseatic Inspiration’, which is operated by Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and received a score of 62
This VSP report is intended to address and prevent cases of acute gastroenteritis (or stomach flu) on board.
There have been 10 outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis on cruise ships so far this year, according to a separate VSP report.
Ten ships received a score of 89 or lower, the lowest of which was a score of 62. The VSP notes that any score of 85 or lower is considered ‘not satisfactory’.
The CDC conducts two surprise inspections of cruise ships each year, evaluating the sanitation of eight different areas on each ship.
The lowest scoring ship was the ‘Hanseatic Inspiration’, operated by Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, which received a score of 62.
The report noted numerous sanitation violations, including a beer tap covered in thick brown residue, live and dead flying insects at the pool bar, and a dead, rotting, maggot-filled bird at the outdoor grill.
In addition, several food products, such as milk, crayfish and raw eggs, were not kept at a sufficiently cool temperature.
Cruise ships carry travelers from around the world in a crowded, semi-enclosed vessel, which can facilitate the spread of human-to-human, food- and water-borne diseases
“Regulators inadequately monitored critical and high-risk food processes, allowing unsafe practices to persist in food preparation areas,” the report said.
The next dirtiest ships on the list were Princess Cruises’ ‘Caribbean Princess’, Carnival’s ‘Carnival Breeze’, the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s ‘Evrima’ and MSC Cruises’ ‘MSC Magnifica’, all of which received a score of 86 .
This score is within the satisfactory range, but the reports still showed some notable violations.
The ‘Caribbean Princess’ report noted flies and crawling insects in galleys and galleys, a passenger deck with buffet that was contaminated by food and debris, and a missing ‘wash hands’ sign at handwashing stations.
The ‘Carnival Breeze’ was docked due to violations such as a rat guard that did not completely prevent outside pests from entering the ship, and large quantities of food (including chili, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese) being left uncovered in the rain and cold.
“In the crew toilet area opposite the dairy refrigerator, waste overflowed from the waste bin and was collected on deck,” the report said.
The ‘Envirma’ inspection found that fruit flies were flying around the commercial juicer when it was moved, that the filter sand for three whirlpools had not been replaced since 2022 and that a rat guard was missing.
The ‘MSC Magnifica’ was cited for violations including clean, sanitized plates stored on a dirty waiter’s station and heavily soiled kitchen equipment, including a bread slicer.
When the inspector asked the housekeeping manager and crew about the outbreak prevention plan for the disease, they were unsure of the procedures. The crew was also unsure whether the room of a passenger who had contracted a gastrointestinal illness had been cleaned and disinfected.
Each cruise line that operated the five lowest-scoring ships submitted correction reports detailing how they resolved or are working to resolve the issues that took points off their scores.
DailyMail.com reached out to these companies for comment, but only MSC Cruises responded immediately.
It said: ‘We are strictly adhering to health and sanitary protocols and whilst this is a satisfactory score, we have since made further improvements on board.’
‘Following the inspection, an improvement program has been implemented in which all changes proposed by the inspector have been fully addressed. Many of these changes required only minor actions and were implemented immediately.”
‘As a result, we are confident that this current score is not a true reflection of the ship as it is today, and we would welcome any future inspection.’
‘The ships in our fleet regularly achieve scores in the 90s, with both MSC Meraviglia and MSC Seashore both achieving a perfect score of 100 when inspected earlier this year.’
Cruising is the only travel industry that regularly reports illnesses to the CDC because it presents a “unique combination of health concerns,” the agency said.
Indeed, cruise ships have a grim history of outbreaks of gastrointestinal diseases such as salmonella and norovirus, as well as other diseases such as hepatitis A, measles and meningococcal disease.
The majority (82 percent) of these outbreaks are among crew members, the CDC says.
The most recent outbreak occurred in September, when more than 180 people contracted salmonella on a Royal Caribbean International cruise.
To reduce the risk of getting sick on your next cruise, look up the ship’s most recent sanitation guidelines using the CDC’s inspection search tool. Make sure the ship has a score of 86 or higher.
Wash your hands regularly on board and keep your distance from passengers or crew members who show symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea or coughing.