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Most cruise ships passed CDC inspections in 2026, reports show
CDC inspections found widespread compliance across the cruise industry, with just one ship receiving a failing score this year.
Nathan Diller
Most cruise ships inspected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this year received passing scores, agency reports show.
Among 153 inspections conducted in 2026, only one resulted in a failing grade so far. Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Dawn received a score of 84 in March.
Cruise ships must receive a score of at least 86 to pass.
Violations onboard Norwegian Dawn included a coffee urn “soiled with a long strand of hair on the food-contact surface inside the urn,” a fly resting on bread during the crew’s lunch service, and an ice machine “excessively soiled with greater than a day’s accumulation of black and pink debris,” according to the inspection report.
The cruise line submitted a subsequent report detailing a range of corrective actions, from rewashing coffee urns to discarding the tray of bread where the fly was found. Norwegian did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cruise ships within the CDC Vessel Sanitation Program’s jurisdiction are usually inspected twice a year while in U.S. ports, according to its website.
“If a ship sails outside of the United States for an extended period, it may not be inspected twice a year, but it will be inspected again when it returns to the United States,” the agency said. The inspections cover a variety of onboard operations and facilities, from the galleys to potable water systems to pest management procedures.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/travel/

