Key Aspects:

• The 5,600-guest Icon of the Seas shares the title of world’s largest cruise ship with soon-to-launch sister ship Star of the Seas.
• Icon of the Seas’ inspection by the CDC was held on June 4, 2025.
• Adventure of the Seas also garnered a score of 100 during her June inspection.

Since the start of 2025, the cruise industry has seen nearly 20 confirmed viral outbreaks onboard ships operated by multiple cruise lines, so it’s refreshing to learn that the biggest cruise ship sailing the seas today has earned a perfect score during a recent sanitation inspection.

Royal Caribbean’s 5,600-guest Icon of the Seas, which shares the title of world’s largest cruise ship with sister ship Star of the Seas, earned the top score of 100 in its June 4, 2025, inspection by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).

The inspection results play an important role in boosting and maintaining consumer confidence in the vacation product, since viral outbreaks on cruise ships are closely followed by industry and mainstream media — and cruise guests want to know that their ship excels in sanitation measures.

The ship, first in the line’s Icon class, began sailing in January 2024, and the June inspection was her third since launching. Her first two scores were high but not perfect, reaching 96 in November 2024 and 97 in April 2024.

Cruise ships that call at ports in the US are subject to two unannounced inspections each year. During the process, CDC inspectors assess a ship’s water sources, galleys and dining venues, swimming pools and hot tubs, pest control, housekeeping standards, medical centers and medical sanitation practices, and other elements.

A score of 85 or lower is considered a failing grade, and the result of all cruise ship inspections are published on the CDC website. 

Even though Icon of the Seas received the perfect score in June, there were several infractions noted in the inspection report, all minor issues. 

For example, food debris was found inside the hand-washing sink in the galley on Deck 2; a fly was observed in the pantry on Deck 14, and another outside the dishwasher area of the Windjammer Buffet on Deck 15.

Other violations involved a case of gastrointestinal illness in a crew member who did not immediately report to the medical center, and in the swimming pools, flotation devices did not have the required attached rope.

Icon of the Seas is based year-round at PortMiami and sails alternate 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises. 

She was not the only Royal Caribbean ship to recently earn a perfect score of 100: Adventure of the Seas did so when she was inspected on June 3, 2025. Her previous inspection, in February 2025, garnered a score of 94.

The Voyager-class ship entered service in 2001 and accommodates 3,800 guests.

Icon of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas are the line’s only two ships to receive perfect scores in 2025. However, other high scores went to Harmony of the Seas in May 2025, when she earned 99; Oasis of the Seas in January, 98; and Voyager of the Seas in April, 99.

Read Also: Icon of the Seas vs Titanic: A Giant Comparison

Just one Royal Caribbean ship, Symphony of the Seas, came close to a failing score in 2025, when inspectors gave her a score of 86 in February.

New-Build Star of the Seas Also Will Be Subject to Inspections

The new-build Star of the Seas has yet to undergo a CDC inspection since she has just recently left the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland and is on her way to her first North American homeport of Port Canaveral. But she will be subject to the surprise inspections once she begins regular operations.

The 248,663-gross-ton vessel was delivered to the cruise line on July 10, 2025 during a ceremony in Turku. After arriving in Port Canaveral, the ship will operate four preview cruises for travel partners, media, and VIPs. 

The ship’s first regular sailing is set to depart on August 31, 2025. The 7-night Western Caribbean itinerary calls at CocoCay, Roatan, Honduras, and Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico. The ship will sail alternating 7-night Western and Eastern Caribbean cruises.

Cruise ship inspections by the CDC have continued normally even though a restructuring plan that rolled out in April 2025 cut funding and staff at the federal agency. 

Its Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP), which oversees the cruise ship inspections along with tracking and investigating outbreaks of diseases, was not impacted by the funding issues. 

Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas Earns Perfect Score From CDC Inspection