You wouldn’t buy a car without checking the safety ratings. You wouldn’t eat at a restaurant with a C health grade in the window. So why are you booking a floating hotel where you’ll eat, sleep, and breathe recycled air for seven days without checking its report card?
Yeah. That’s what we thought.
The Problem With Cruise Ship Research
Right now, if you want to know whether a cruise ship is clean, safe, and well-maintained, you have to become a part-time detective. CDC inspection scores are buried on a government website. Environmental ratings are scattered across NGO reports. Outbreak history requires digging through old press releases. And the cruise lines themselves? They’ll happily show you glamorous photos of the infinity pool but somehow never mention that the kitchen got flagged for improper food temperatures last March.
We built our Ship Report Card tool because nobody should need a research degree to figure out if their vacation ship is up to code.
What Goes Into the Grade
Our report card doesn’t just parrot one number at you. It pulls together multiple data sources into a single, honest letter grade from A+ to F. Here’s what we look at:
CDC Hygiene Score
The Centers for Disease Control inspects cruise ships under their Vessel Sanitation Program. Ships need to score 86 or above to pass. Most ships score in the high 90s, but there are some… interesting outliers. You can see every ship’s history in our CDC Rankings.
Food Safety Sub-Score
We go deeper than the overall CDC score. We extract the 13 food-specific inspection items (employee hygiene, temperature control, cross-contamination prevention) and calculate a separate kitchen grade. Because “the ship passed inspection” and “the kitchen is spotless” are two very different statements. Our Food Safety Rankings have the full breakdown.
Environmental Rating
How’s the ship treating the ocean it’s sailing on? We combine Friends of the Earth assessments with port state inspection environmental data to calculate a Green Score. Some ships are genuinely trying. Others are… less so. Check the Environmental Rankings for the receipts.
Crew Treatment Score
Happy crew = better service = better vacation for you. We analyze port state inspection data related to working conditions, safety equipment, and labor compliance. Because the person making your bed deserves decent working conditions, and that also affects the quality of your experience. See the Crew Treatment Rankings.
Outbreak History
Has the ship had norovirus or other illness outbreaks? How recently? How severe? The Outbreak Tracker has every reported cruise ship outbreak, and yes, some ships appear on that list more often than you’d like.
ShipTea Editorial Verdict
On top of the data, some ships have earned our editorial commentary. Think of it as the teacher’s notes on the report card. Sometimes the numbers need context, and we’re happy to provide it with our signature lack of sugarcoating.
163 Ships. No Favorites. No Sponsors.
We track 163 cruise ships across every major cruise line. Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, Celebrity, MSC, Disney, Princess, Holland America, Virgin Voyages, Viking, and more. Nobody’s paying us to make their ship look good, which is why we’re comfortable telling you when a ship looks… not good.
Every ship profile includes the full inspection history, not just the latest score. Because a ship that scored a 98 last month but a 78 the year before tells a very different story than one that’s been consistently excellent.
How to Use the Report Card
It takes literally five seconds:
- Go to the Ship Report Card
- Type your ship name (or browse the full list)
- Get an instant letter grade with a full breakdown
That’s it. No signup. No email required. No “download our app first.” Just the data, served straight.
When to Check the Report Card
Before You Book
The obvious one. If you’re choosing between two ships in a similar price range, let the report card be the tiebreaker. Why gamble when you have data?
After You Book (But Before You Panic)
Already booked and now anxiety-scrolling? The report card will either confirm you made a great choice (most ships score well!) or give you specific things to watch for. Knowledge is power. Anxious knowledge is still power, just sweatier.
When Comparing Cruise Lines
Trying to decide between cruise lines? Look up a few ships from each line and compare. Patterns emerge. Some cruise lines consistently score high across their fleet. Others are more of a mixed bag.
The Bottom Line
Your cruise ship is your hotel, your restaurant, your transportation, and your entertainment venue all wrapped in one steel hull. Spending thirty seconds checking its safety grades is the bare minimum of due diligence. And we made it embarrassingly easy.
Look up your ship’s report card now — because “I didn’t know” stopped being a valid excuse about three paragraphs ago.
Dive deeper into the data:
- CDC Hygiene Rankings
- Food Safety Rankings
- Environmental Rankings
- Crew Treatment Rankings
- Outbreak Tracker
While you're here, try our free cruise tools:
Explore real CDC inspection scores and outbreak data for every cruise ship.