the cruise ship industry for on-board sanitation practices.

Chandris Celebrity Cruises' Horizon scored 98 in the survey conducted by the US Centres for Disease Control. The only other vessel higher was Zenith which came in at 99.

With the exception of two untested vessels, all cruise ships visiting Bermuda this year passed the sanitation standards set by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The industry-wide survey measured 123 vessels, leaving out two Bermuda callers: Black Sea Cruise's Kazakhstan which visits for one day on April 15, and the brand new Statendam just launched by Holland America.

Statendam visits once in April and once in October.

The survey rates ships twice yearly for water quality, food preparation and holding, and general cleanliness, storage and repair procedures.

A score of 86 or higher is considered "an accepted standard of sanitation'' while a score of 85 or lower is deemed unsatisfactory.

Bermuda's regular visiting vessels scored relatively well on the survey.

Horizon , which is contracted to visit the Island on a weekly basis through to the end of the decade, was matched only by the Royal Viking Queen .

Chandris' second Bermuda ship, the Meridian , was right behind Horizon with a score of 96.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines' Song of America was rated at 95, while RCCL's Nordic Prince , which ended her eight-year Bermuda run last year, scored 89.

Kloster Cruises' new local entry, the Dreamward , scored lowest of the four regular callers with 89.