World's Cleanest Cruise Lines Revealed in New Sanitation Rankings
For travellers embarking on a cruise holiday, the prospect of sub-par sanitary standards aboard a vessel is a significant concern. Now, a definitive ranking has unveiled the world's cleanest cruise lines, providing crucial guidance for hygiene-conscious passengers. The top honours have been awarded to three distinct companies, each achieving an exceptional average sanitation score of 99 out of 100.
Joint Winners: Viking and Crystal Lead the Pack
Viking Ocean Cruises II Ltd, Viking Expedition Operations, and Crystal Cruises LTD have emerged as joint leaders in the sanitation rankings. With two of its brands securing the top spot, Viking demonstrates a formidable commitment to cleanliness across its operations. Crystal Cruises matches this standard, offering pristine voyages that include popular tours around the Baltic Sea.
Viking Ocean Cruises operates from ports worldwide, including key UK departure points such as Greenwich, Portsmouth, and Tilbury in London. From these hubs, passengers can journey to destinations like Venice, Hong Kong, Montenegro, and Sydney. Meanwhile, Viking Expedition Operations specialises in smaller, adventure-focused cruises to remote locations such as Antarctica, primarily departing from Greenwich and Tilbury, with additional stops often including Lerwick in the Shetland Islands and Aberdeen in Scotland.
Crystal Cruises, renowned for its luxurious offerings, sails globally to regions including the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Alaska. In the UK, it primarily departs from Southampton and Liverpool, as well as Lerwick, Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands, and Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis.
How the Rankings Were Determined
This comprehensive ranking has been published by Squaremouth Travel Insurance, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC conducts annual health and hygiene inspections of passenger cruise ships, assigning a 100-point sanitation score. Scores of 85 or lower are considered failing, making the high marks achieved by the top lines particularly impressive.
Other Top Performers in Cruise Sanitation
In second place is Oceania Cruises, with an average sanitation score of 98.40. This luxury operator, based in the USA, is known for its lavish offerings and recently announced it will exclusively offer adult-only voyages. Last year, the Daily Mail provided a behind-the-scenes look at an Oceania vessel and its kitchens in its Ship Shape documentary.
Joint third place is held by P&O Cruises and Japan Grace, both scoring 98. P&O Cruises, a British line popular among UK travellers, revealed last year it would launch all-inclusive packages for the first time.
Virgin Voyages ranks fourth with a score of 97.67. Dubbed the best cruise for adults-only and parties by the Daily Mail last year, its destinations range from Florida, the Dominican Republic, and Turks and Caicos on shorter cruises, to Tortola, Cartagena, and St Croix on longer holidays.
Rounding out the top five, in joint fifth place, are Norwegian Cruise Lines and Celebrity Cruises, both with a score of 97.13. Notably, Celebrity Apex by Celebrity Cruises was ranked among the 21 cleanest individual cruise ships.
Cleanest Cruise Ships and Corporations
The study also identified the cruise corporations operating the cleanest ships in 2025: Viking, Virgin, and Norwegian. Additionally, it listed the 21 cleanest cruise vessels, with 13 per cent of all inspected ships receiving a perfect sanitation score. Only one ship received a failing score, highlighting overall high standards.
Among the cleanest ships are Celebrity Apex by Celebrity Cruises, which achieved a full 100 sanitation score, Explora I by MSC Cruise Management (UK) Ltd, Holland America Line's Rotterdam, Viking Polaris by Viking Expedition Operations, and Norwegian Encore by Norwegian Cruise Lines.
Full Ranking of Cleanest Cruise Lines
- Viking Ocean Cruises II Ltd, Viking Expedition Operations, Crystal Cruises LTD (joint first)
- Oceania Cruises
- P&O Cruises, Japan Grace (joint third)
- Virgin Voyages
- Norwegian Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises (joint fifth)
- Royal Caribbean International
- Viking Ocean Cruises Ltd, Sea Cloud Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Disney Cruise Lines (joint seventh)
- MSC Cruise Management (UK) Ltd
- Saga Group Limited, Margaritaville at Sea, Lindblad Expeditions (joint ninth)
- Holland America Line
- Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc.
- Windstar Cruises, TUI Cruises GmbH, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises (joint twelfth)
- Princess Cruises
- Silversea
- V. Ships Leisure U.S.A., Azamara Cruises (joint fifteenth)
- Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
- Seabourn Cruise Line
- Cunard Line
- Victory Cruise Lines, Rederij Clipper Stad Amsterdam (joint nineteenth)
This ranking provides valuable insights for travellers prioritising hygiene, ensuring they can choose cruise lines with proven sanitary excellence for their next holiday.
