The queen of the seas as far as cleanliness goes is the Carnival Splendor cruise ship. According to government health inspections, the cruise received a perfect score for the sixth time, making it the cleanest cruise ship.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention inspectors gave the over 3,000 passenger ship a perfect score of 100 for cleanliness. This is the sixth time the ship has received a perfect score since it started sailing in 2008. No other cruise ship has had a perfect score six times. Even its imperfect scores are still nothing to be ashamed of. In two surprise inspections, the ship scored a 99 and a 98, according to USA Today.
The CDC conducts surprise inspections of ships in U.S. ports twice a year as part of its Vessel Sanitation Program. The use a 100 point scale to evaluate a vessel with 42 criteria. Some things they look at include proper food handling, preparation and storage procedures; the cleanliness of spas and pools; and overall galley cleanliness.
Carnival Splendor isn't the only ship to get a perfect score, but it is only among a small fraction of inspected ships that score 100. Carnival Cruise Line has a lot to be proud of as the Carnival Pride, Carnival Liberty, Carnival Dream, Carnival Freedom and Carnival Sensation all received perfect cleanliness scores as well.
Carnival's ships are among only a small fraction of inspected ships that get a perfect score for cleanliness. Since the start of 2012, 20 ships scored 100 including the Disney Fantasy, Oceania Marina, Star Princess and Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas.
The cleanest cruise ship, with its sixth perfect score, Splendor currently sails seven-day cruises to the Mexican Riviera from Long Beach, Calif.. However in 2013, it will be making a move to New York City and will make eight-day voyages to the Caribbean and Bahamas.
Many cruise ships strive to create a clean, healthy environment. In order to prevent to prevent the spread of travel illnesses like the norovirus, many ships encourage passengers to practice good hygiene and they provide sanitizer stations all across the ships, especially in dining areas.
