Europa: Sanitation Record & Health Report

Look, we do not hand out gold stars on this blog without at least a little side-eye, but the Europa has genuinely earned some applause. A CDC score of 98 puts her comfortably above the fleet average of around 95, and she pulled that off as recently as April 2025 — meaning this is not some dusty legacy reputation coasting on ancient goodwill. The inspectors showed up, poked around the galley, and apparently found nothing to complain about. A perfect 100 on food safety, which earns her the Spotless Galley grade, is the kind of result that makes other ships look bad at dinner parties.

The full 100 on food safety is worth dwelling on for a moment, because that almost never happens. Health inspectors are not in the business of handing out perfect scores the way cruise lines hand out free drink coupons on embarkation day. Getting there requires serious operational discipline — the kind that keeps norovirus outbreaks off the incident log and keeps the ship tea firmly in the cup rather than splashing across the internet. The Europa, to its considerable credit, has nothing embarrassing to report on that front.

Who it's for: Anyone who treats food safety as a non-negotiable vacation requirement, not a fun gamble. Germaphobes, immunocompromised travelers, people who have heard one too many buffet horror stories, and frankly anyone who just likes knowing the health inspector left impressed. Who should skip it: Chaos tourists who only read this site for the disaster coverage — the Europa is going to bore you. There are no cautionary tales here, no dramatic inspection failures to cackle over. If you need drama, it will have to come from the shore excursions.