National Geographic Sea Lion earns minimum satisfactory CDC sanitation score
Inspectors recorded 42 deficiencies aboard the 62-guest expedition vessel, including concerns involving food storage and illness-reporting procedures.
National Geographic Sea Lion received a score of 86 in a newly posted inspection by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vessel Sanitation Program. The result is the lowest score the program classifies as satisfactory; scores of 85 or below are considered not satisfactory.
Inspectors documented 42 deficiencies aboard the vessel. According to the inspection findings, the cited issues included food-storage practices, rusted utensils and procedures for reporting gastrointestinal illness.
The report also found that a crew member who had symptoms did not report them promptly. According to the findings, the employee left isolation after 24 hours and resumed duties that did not involve handling food.
The score continues a pattern for the ship, whose CDC inspections in 2016 and 2017 also resulted in scores of 86.
In April 2025, the CDC reported a gastrointestinal-illness outbreak aboard National Geographic Sea Lion. Five of 43 passengers and two of 37 crew members reported becoming ill during that outbreak. Operated by National Geographic–Lindblad Expeditions, the ship accommodates 62 guests in 31 outside cabins.