Cruise Ship Publications

At a glance

Explore our cruise ship publications, including our standards and tools, educational resources, reports on specific outbreaks and outbreak trends, and more.

Photo of a cruise ship on a magazine

Key resources

VSP standards and tools

VSP 2018 Operations Manual (manual)

VSP 2018 Construction Guidelines (manual)

Submitting AGE reports (infographic)

Educational resources

Resources for healthy cruising (article about our program)

Illness rates on passenger cruise ships (research highlights)

More VSP resources for public health and information for the public

Reports on specific outbreaks

Two Outbreaks of Legionnaires Disease Associated with Outdoor Hot Tubs for Private Use — Two Cruise Ships, November 2022–July 2024
MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report / Vol. 73 / No. 42 / P. 950–954
Notes from the field: cruise ship norovirus outbreak associated with person-to-person transmission — United States jurisdiction, January 2023
MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report / Vol. 72 / No. 30 / P. 833–834
Notes from the field: Multiple cruise ship outbreaks of norovirus associated with frozen fruits and berries—United States, 2019
MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report / Vol. 69 / No. 16 / P. 501–502

Reports on outbreak trends

Acute gastroenteritis on cruise ships — Maritime Illness Database and Reporting System, United States, 2006–2019
MMWR. Surveillance Summaries / Vol. 70 / No. 6 / P. 1–19
Acute gastroenteritis on cruise ships—United States, 2008–2014
MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report / Vol. 65 / No. 1 / P. 1–5
Epidemiology of gastroenteritis on cruise ships, 2001-2004: the impact of noroviruses
Diarrheal disease on cruise ships, 1990–2000: the impact of environmental health programs
Outbreaks of diarrhoeal illness on passenger cruise ships, 1975-85

Inspection scores and more

Keeping You Healthy on the High Seas
Learn about the eight areas VSP inspects on cruise ships.
Cruise ship inspection reports
Shipshape: Sanitation inspections on cruise ships, 1990–2005, Vessel Sanitation Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diarrheal disease on cruise ships, 1990–2000: the impact of environmental health programs
CrAssphage as a novel tool to detect human fecal contamination on environmental surfaces and hands
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Content Source:
National Center for Environmental Health