The CDC Secretly Inspected These 10 Cruise Ships. One Was Perfect. One Had a Crew Member Handling Food Without Gloves.

A Celebrity Cruises ship just pulled off something remarkably rare: a flawless, perfect score on its unannounced CDC health inspection.

The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) released inspection results for 10 cruise ships examined in August 2026, covering five major cruise lines. Every single ship passed — but one stood in a class of its own.

Celebrity Reflection earned a perfect 100 out of 100, the only ship in the entire August batch to hit the top of the scale. Here’s a full breakdown of all 10 scores, what cost the other ships their points, and what all of this actually means for you before you board.

The Full August 2026 CDC Inspection Scores, Ranked

#	Ship	Cruise Line	Score
1	Celebrity Reflection	Celebrity Cruises	100 ⭐
2	Carnival Sunshine	Carnival Cruise Line	99
2	Symphony of the Seas	Royal Caribbean	99
4	Harmony of the Seas	Royal Caribbean	98
5	Vision of the Seas	Royal Caribbean	97
6	Carnival Horizon	Carnival Cruise Line	96
6	Zaandam	Holland America Line	96
8	Celebrity Beyond	Celebrity Cruises	95
8	Noordam	Holland America Line	95
10	Star Seeker	Windstar Cruises	94

The average score across all 10 ships was an impressive 97 out of 100. The passing threshold is 86 — meaning the lowest ship in this group still cleared it by 8 full points.

How the CDC’s Cruise Ship Inspections Actually Work

Before diving into the details, it helps to understand what these scores actually represent — because they’re more rigorous than most passengers realize.

The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program has been inspecting cruise ships since the 1970s, originally launched after a series of gastrointestinal illness outbreaks at sea. Today, every cruise ship that calls on a U.S. port is subject to the program, and the inspections are completely unannounced — the ship’s crew has no idea when the inspector will show up.

Inspectors go through a comprehensive checklist covering:

• Food preparation and storage — temperatures, labeling, cross-contamination risks, how crew handles ingredients
• Drinking water systems — testing for proper treatment, storage, and distribution
• Swimming pools and hot tubs — chemical levels, filtration, drain safety, disinfection logs
• Medical and illness reporting — how quickly sick crew and passengers are isolated and reported
• Pest control — evidence of insects or rodents in food areas
• Employee hygiene — handwashing stations, glove use, sick crew protocols

Ships receive a score out of 100. A score of 86 or higher is a passing grade. U.S.-based ships are inspected at least twice per year — and because they’re unannounced, ships have no opportunity to prepare or do a quick cleanup before inspectors arrive. What you see is what you get.

The CDC typically takes a few weeks to publish results, which means more August 2026 reports may still be coming.

What Made Celebrity Reflection’s Perfect Score So Special

The Celebrity Reflection is one of Celebrity Cruises’ flagship ships — a 125,366 gross-ton vessel that holds up to 3,046 guests and stretches over 1,000 feet in length. The ship is known for its upscale amenities, including a half-acre of real lawn on its top deck, Chef Daniel Boulud’s Chef’s Table dining experience, and what Celebrity describes as the most awarded wine collection at sea. It currently sails Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries.

During its August 22 inspection, surveyors did note a few minor observations — a stray straw found in a pool drain and a dripping sink handle among them. But both were fixed immediately during the inspection itself, before they could be counted against the score. The result: a flawless 100.

Perfect scores on CDC inspections are genuinely uncommon. With hundreds of inspections conducted each year across the entire U.S.-sailing fleet, a ship scoring 100 represents the best possible outcome — every area reviewed, every system checked, every protocol followed without a single recordable deficiency.

A Closer Look: What Cost the Other Ships Their Points

Even the ships near the bottom of this list are in excellent shape. But the specific deductions are where things get interesting.

Carnival Sunshine — 99 (inspected Aug. 16, Norfolk)
Only one point off a perfect score. Carnival Sunshine lost points for pooling water under beverage stations, a couple of out-of-service galley mixing machines, and a short delay in reporting three sick crew members. Notably, the crew received onboard retraining related to the illness reporting protocol — the kind of corrective action CDC inspectors look for.

Symphony of the Seas — 99 (inspected Aug. 29, Galveston)
Royal Caribbean’s massive Symphony of the Seas also came in at 99. Its deductions included a missing fastener on a spa pool drain, a small delay in isolating a non-food-handling crew member who reported illness, and some cosmetic wear on buffet counter surfaces.

Harmony of the Seas — 98 (inspected Aug. 25)
Harmony’s deductions centered on a delayed update to a gastroenteritis illness report, incomplete records for jetted tub maintenance, and provisions that inspectors found stored on wooden pallets in crew corridor areas — a food safety concern because wood is porous and harder to sanitize than approved shelving.

Vision of the Seas — 97 (inspected Aug. 15, Baltimore)
Vision of the Seas lost points for grout condition in galley areas, grease buildup on fryer hoods, and the presence of small flying insects near bar stations. All three are food safety and pest control concerns inspectors flag regardless of severity.

Carnival Horizon — 96 (inspected Aug. 15, Miami)
Carnival Horizon’s inspection flagged cloudy pool water, a crew member who briefly continued working after falling ill before self-reporting (the crew member was then immediately isolated), ice machine cleanliness, and food items in storage without proper labels.

Zaandam — 96 (inspected Aug. 14, Juneau)
Holland America’s Zaandam was cited for bromine levels that tested too high in the main pool, conflicting records in whirlpool draining logs, and a missed quarterly Legionella bacteria sampling requirement for a stateroom jetted tub — a notable gap, since Legionella is the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease.

Celebrity Beyond — 95 (inspected Aug. 9)
Celebrity’s own second ship in this batch came in 5 points below its fleet-mate Reflection. Deductions included outdoor bar storage concerns, sanitizer mixtures at some bars that tested weaker than required, lighting that was too dim at certain buffet stations, and a missed log entry for jetted tub disinfection.

Noordam — 95 (inspected Aug. 16, Seattle)
Holland America’s Noordam was cited for a late gastroenteritis report (the 24-hour reporting window was missed), missing maintenance log entries for whirlpool pool strainers, and condensation inside the light fixtures of a walk-in cooler — which creates a potential drip contamination risk over food storage.

Star Seeker — 94 (inspected Aug. 28, Juneau)
Windstar’s Star Seeker finished at the bottom of this group with a 94 — still a passing score, but with the most notable individual deductions. Inspectors flagged backflow prevention issues and plumbing drips, missing sneeze guards at buffet stations, inadequate handwashing facilities near an outdoor dining area, and a crew member who handled chives without gloves. None of these are catastrophic, but together they added up to the most points lost in this round.

What Happens When a Ship Actually Fails?

No ship came close to failing in this round, but it does happen — and when it does, the consequences are real.

A ship that scores below 86 receives a failing grade that is immediately published on the CDC’s public website for anyone to see. The ship is required to undergo a re-inspection, typically within 30 days. Crucially, a failed ship can continue to sail while it works to correct deficiencies — it is not automatically pulled from service. However, the public record of a failing score tends to generate significant attention, and cruise lines are strongly motivated to resolve issues quickly and pass their follow-up inspection.

The VSP database goes back years, meaning passengers can look up any ship’s full inspection history — not just its most recent score — before ever booking.

How to Check Your Cruise Ship’s Score Before You Sail

Anyone can look up their ship’s inspection history for free. The CDC maintains a publicly searchable inspection database at the VSP website (search “CDC Vessel Sanitation Program inspection scores”). You can search by ship name, cruise line, or inspection date going back years.

A few things to keep in mind when reading the scores:

• 86 and above is the passing grade. A 91 is a pass just like a 99 — both ships are operating within compliance.
• Context matters. A 94 with five minor paperwork citations is very different from a 94 with repeated illness outbreaks or pest findings.
• Scores change. A ship that scored 88 last year might score 97 this year, and vice versa. Check the most recent inspection, not just the headline number.
• Not all ships are covered. The VSP only covers ships that visit U.S. ports. Ships that sail exclusively in Europe, Asia, or other regions aren’t subject to these inspections.

The Bottom Line

August 2026 was a strong month for cruise ship cleanliness across the board. With an average score of 97 and no failures anywhere in the group, passengers sailing on any of these 10 ships can feel confident the ships are operating at a high standard of food and water safety.

Celebrity Reflection’s perfect 100 is the standout, but the entire fleet performed well. Even Star Seeker’s 94 — the lowest score in the batch — reflects a ship that passed comfortably and is actively working within the CDC’s sanitation standards.

The CDC expects to release additional August 2026 results in the coming weeks as more inspection reports are finalized.

Drop your score cutoff in the comments — would a 94 give you pause, or is anything above 86 good enough for you? 👇