The 15 Cruise Ships That Have Scored a Perfect CDC Score in First Half of 2025

Fifteen cruise ships have already scored a perfect 100 in their health inspection scores with the CDC this year. 

While 2024 saw 35 ships ace their inspections, ships are being inspected at a higher rate than last year, with 121 vessels being inspected from January through June of 2025.

Here are the 15 cruise ships that scored a perfect 100 in the Vessel Sanitation Program this year.

We recently wrote about the current largest cruise ship in service scoring a perfect 100 with the CDC.   It was the second Royal Caribbean cruise ship to ace the health inspection this year, and these ships were inspected just one day apart from each other.

15 Cruise Ships with Perfect Scores in 2025

Carnival Cruise Line

• Carnival Luminosa (tested on 5/1/25)

Celebrity Cruises

• Celebrity Solstice (tested on 5/22/25)

Disney Cruise Line

• Disney Magic (tested on 3/2/25)
• Disney Treasure (tested on 1/11/25)
• Disney Wish (tested on 4/18/25)

Holland America Line

• Westerdam (tested on 5/18/25)

Lindblad Expeditions

• National Geographic Venture (tested on 5/24/25)

MSC Group

• Explora I (tested on 2/9/25)

Norwegian Cruise Line

• Norwegian Escape (tested on 1/6/25)

Oceania Cruises

• Oceania Vista (tested on 5/1/25)

Royal Caribbean

• Adventure of the Seas (tested on 6/3/25)
• Icon of the Seas (tested on 6/4/25)

Virgin Voyages

• Valiant Lady (tested on 2/28/25)

Viking

• Viking Neptune (tested on 4/22/25)
• Viking Sea (tested on 3/31/25)

Almost Perfect

Sometimes a cruise ship misses the mark by just a hair.  And since a 99 is still a rather exceptional score, I thought I’d give these vessels some credit too. 

Interestingly, 15 cruise ships also scored a 99 in 2025 so far:

Carnival Cruise Line

• Carnival Celebration (tested on 5/4/25)
• Carnival Freedom (tested on 1/13/25)
• Carnival Glory (tested on 2/17/25)
• Carnival Sunrise (tested on 2/13/25)

Disney Cruise Line

• Disney Wonder (tested on 3/21/25)

Holland America Line

• Nieuw Amsterdam (tested on 1/26/25)
• Zuiderdam (tested on 5/9/25)

Norwegian Cruise Line

• Norwegian Gem (tested on 4/13/25)
• Norwegian Getaway (tested on 3/23/25)
• Norwegian Jade (tested on 3/28/25)

Royal Caribbean

• Anthem of the Seas (tested on 5/16/25)
• Harmony of the Seas (tested on 5/18/25)
• Liberty of the Seas (tested on 1/17/25)
• Rhapsody of the Seas (tested on 3/30/25)
• Voyager of the Seas (tested on 4/19/25)

A Few ‘Points’ About the Scoring System

• Scores are on a 100-point scale.
• Any score below 86 is considered a failing
• Points are deducted for various issues, with some carrying more weight than others (e.g., critical items like food temperature or water quality issues).
• Inspections cover multiple areas: galleys, dining rooms, medical facilities, water systems, pools, child activity centers, hotel accommodations, ventilation, and common areas.

More Inspections in 2025

Beyond the impressive individual ship scores, a look at overall inspection numbers reveals an interesting trend. The number of cruise ship inspections is at a higher rate than last year.  After some controversy about budget cuts at the CDC and rumors swirling about ships no longer being inspected, this data should put those theories to bed.

Comparing the inspection pace year-over-year, as of July 28th:

• In 2024, by this date, the CDC had conducted 99 inspections.
• This year, in 2025, there have already been 121 inspections.

These unannounced inspections aim to prevent and control the introduction and spread of gastrointestinal illnesses and other health issues on cruise ships.  And since they are surprise inspections cruise ships are incentivized to maintain their cleanliness at all times.

While no ship is actually perfect in every sense of the word, crew members on these vessels work extremely hard to provide a sanitary environment for everyone on board.