All 33 of the cruise lines that scored 100 during their 2017 United States Public Health inspections, conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) members.
CLIA is the world’s largest cruise industry trade association, representing ocean, river, and specialty cruise lines. CLIA members service more than 25 million passengers annually.
American cruise lines work with the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program. Program members receive crew training from CDC public health officers and voluntarily submit to at least two unannounced health inspections annually.
Program members also collaborate with the CDC to establish operational standards and design and construction guidelines.
“CLIA is proud of its lines’ strong commitment to public health and their record of excellence with VSP ship inspections,” Donnie Brown, CLIA vice president of maritime policy, said. “Our cruise line’s ships are graded in dozens of areas including hygiene and sanitation of food, galley cleanliness, water, shipboard personnel and the ship overall. These scores are a testament to cruise line efforts to provide passengers with the highest level of service.”
CLIA members’ cabins are cleaned once daily, and common areas are cleaned throughout the day. After each cruise, the vessel is sanitized using designated cleaning supplies.