Carnival Sunshine Comes Perilously Close to Failing Inspection
Carnival Sunshine has come perilously close to failing her most recent public health inspection from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The inspection was carried out on March 8, less than a month after the ship completed a scheduled two-week dry dock update and renovation in Marseille, France.
While a score of 85 or lower (out of 100) is considered failing the inspection, Carnival Sunshine rated just four points higher – an overall score of 89.
CDC inspections can be notoriously nit-picky and cruise ships can get lower scores for seemingly simple infractions, such as the wattage of light bulbs, a clogged drain, or a spill in the Lido Marketplace buffet.
A total of 26 items of concern were noted in the inspection report, many of which could be corrected immediately.
Some of the simpler items that impacted Carnival Sunshine‘s recent score include such issues as an open ice machine door in the pantry, some debris residue in crew handwashing stations, small drips from equipment creatin puddles on the floor, and a few burned-out lightbulbs in a dishwashing area of the galley.
Of greatest concern may have been the food employee who apparently had “an onset of acute gastroenteritis symptoms” at 1 p.m. on December 13, 2024, but who stayed at their duties until 4:40 p.m. and did not report to the medical center until nearly 6 p.m.
That delay cold have resulted in significant contamination of services, utensils, or even foods, depending on the crew member’s exact duties. Additional training was given to crew members about appropriate protocols when feeling ill or exhibiting any potential symptoms.
Fortunately, no norovirus or other gastrointestinal illness outbreak was reported aboard Carnival Sunshine for December 2024. In fact, the ship has not had any outbreaks reported at all since at least 2019.
The “ickiest” violation of the report to this frequent cruiser is the note that “numerous insects were present throughout multiple food service areas” including the Lido buffet.
Further reading of the details, however, clarifies just two “small” cockroaches (who’s measuring that? There’s no such thing as a small one to me…) and a total of nine fruit flies across five different areas. Maybe I won’t worry too much.
Fortunately, many of the necessary “corrective actions” would be easy to take, such as wiping up spills, discarding broken food trays, closing the ice machine door, and changing light bulbs.
The ship’s crew will take those actions and submit a report on the different tasks, at which point the CDC may either re-inspect the ship or simply monitor for future compliance with health and cleanliness guidelines.
Most Ships Easily Pass CDC Inspections
So far in 2025, Carnival Sunshine‘s score of 89 is the second-lowest of all cruise ship inspection reports.
The lowest honor belongs to Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, which scored just one point above failing – 86 – in early February.
That ship’s violations included similar issues as those aboard Carnival Sunshine, as well as reporting problems with children in the youth programs exhibiting illness symptoms, broken soap dispensers, and improper food storage.
Read Also: 10 Reasons Why Cruise Ships Are Not Floating Petri Dishes
Most ship inspections score in the 90s, but some vessels do exhibit perfect 100 scores. So far in 2025, those accolades belong to the new Disney Treasure, MSC Cruises’ Explora I, and Norwegian Escape.
For the Carnival Cruise Line fleet, four other ships have so far been inspected in 2025, in addition to Carnival Sunshine. Each one has scored well – Carnival Conquest (96), Carnival Elation (96), Carnival Freedom (99), and Carnival Sunrise (99).
Carnival Sunshine Comes Perilously Close to Failing Inspection