World’s dirtiest cruise ships teeming with maggots, slime and disease

Vacationers embark on cruises to enjoy rest and relaxation, but many vessels that travel the world are hiding dirty secrets.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has revealed the top 10 filthiest cruise ships of 2024 after health officials randomly inspected 114 different ships. 

Inspectors evaluated the ships’ the medical center, potable water systems, galleys and dining rooms, swimming pools and whirlpools, housekeeping pest and insect management, child activity centers, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. 

Three of the dirtiest ships include Hapag-Lloyd’s  ‘Hanseatic Inspiration,’ Princess Cruises’ ‘Caribbean Princess,’ and Carnival’s ‘Carnival Breeze.

Cruise ships pack travelers from all over the world into a crowded, semi-enclosed vessel, which can facilitate the spread of person-to-person, foodborne and waterborne diseases, according the CDC.

When ships are unsanitary, it can further increase passengers’ disease risk and even lead to deadly outbreaks. 

The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) gave each ship received a sanitation score on a 100-point scale, with 100 being a perfect score. 

This VSP report is designed to help address and prevent cases of acute gastroenteritis – or the stomach flu – on board.

So far this year, there have been 10 outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis on cruise ships, according to a separate VSP report.

Ten ships received scores of 89 or below – with the lowest being 62. The VSP notes that any score of 85 or lower is considered ‘not satisfactory.’

The CDC performs two surprise cruise ship inspections every year, evaluating the sanitation of eight different areas on each ship.

The lowest scoring ship was the ‘Hanseatic Inspiration,’ which is run by Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and received a score of 62. 

The report listed numerous sanitation violations, including a beer tap coated in thick brown residue, live and dead flying insects at the pool bar, and a dead, decaying, maggot-filled bird at the outdoor grill. 

Additionally, several food items, such as milk, crayfish and raw eggs, were not being stored at a cool enough temperature. 

‘Supervisors were inadequately monitoring critical and high-risk food processes, permitting unsafe practices to continue in food preparation areas,’ the report stated.

The second 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 scores of 86.

This score is within the satisfactory range, but the reports still showed some startling violations.

The ‘Caribbean Princess’ report cited flies and crawling insects in galleys and kitchens, a buffet passenger deck soiled by food and debris, and a missing ‘wash hands often’ sign at handwashing stations.

The ‘Carnival Breeze’ was docked points for violations such as a rat guard that did not fully prevent outside pests from entering the ship, and treys of food (including chili, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese) left uncovered in the rain and cold.

‘The crew toilet room across from the dairy refrigerator had garbage overflowing from the waste receptacle and collected on deck,’ the report reads.

The ‘Envirma’ inspection revealed fruit flies ‘flew out from around the commercial juicer machine when it was moved, the filter sand for three whirlpools had not been changed since 2022, and a missing rat guard.

The ‘MSC Magnifica’ was cited for violations such as clean, sanitized plates stored on a dirty waiter station and heavily soiled kitchen equipment including a bread slicer.

When the inspector asked the housekeeping manager and crew about the disease Outbreak Prevention Response Plan, they were unsure of the procedures. The crew was also unsure whether the room of one passenger who had contracted a GI illness had been cleaned and disinfected.

Each cruise line that ran the five lowest-scoring vessels has submitted corrections reports detailing how they have fixed or are working to fix the issues that docked points from their scores.

DailyMail.com reached out to these companies for comment, but only MSC Cruises immediately responded.

It reads: ‘We rigorously adhere to health and sanitation protocols and although this is a satisfactory score, we have since made further improvements on board.’

‘Following the inspection, an improvement program was implemented which fully addressed all the changes suggested by the inspector, many of these changes required only minor action and were implemented immediately.’

‘As a result, we firmly believe that this current score is not a true reflection of the ship as it is today, and we would welcome any future inspection.’

‘The vessels in our fleet regularly achieve scores in the 90s, while both MSC Meraviglia and MSC Seashore both achieved perfect scores of 100 when they were inspected earlier this year.’

Cruising is the only travel sector that regularly reports illnesses to the CDC, as it presents a ‘unique combination of health concerns,’ according to the agency.

Indeed, cruise vessels have a stark history of outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses such as salmonella and norovirus, as well as other diseases including hepatitis A, measles and meningococcal disease.

The majority (82 percent) of these outbreaks occur among crew members, the CDC states.

The most recent outbreak occurred in September, when more than 180 people contracted salmonella on a Royal Caribbean International cruise. 

To reduce your risk of getting sick on your next cruise, you can look up the ship’s most recent sanitation score using the CDC’s inspection search tool. Make sure that the ship has a score of 86 or higher.

While aboard, wash your hands frequently and keep your distance from any passengers or crew exhibiting symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea or coughing.