Cruise holidays: Cleanest US cruise ships named in CDC report

Several reports mentioned finding flies on food or near food preparation areas. Photo / 123rf

A sanitation report from America’s National Public Health Agency has revealed the cleanest and dirtiest cruise ships.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s vessel sanitation programme “helps the cruise industry prevent and control the spread of GI illness” by holding random ship inspections, training ship supervisors, and responding to outbreaks.

During inspections, cruise ships are evaluated and scored out of 100 for how well they minimise the risk of gastrointestinal infections. Any score below 85 is “not satisfactory” according to the CDC.

This year, the lowest-scoring vessel was Hapag-Lloyd’s Hanseatic Inspiration, given a 62.

The report cited several violations including an outdoor grill area ‘soiled’ with a dead bird and maggots, a beer tap caked in old beer foam and an ‘excessive’ number of pest management violations. The crew’s mishandling of food and lack of sanitisation processes were also called out.

A Hapag-Lloyd Cruises spokesperson told USA Today the cruise line has “consistently met the strict hygiene requirements for many years” and was investigating the breaches.

“We deeply regret that the Hanseatic inspiration did not achieve the required score for the first time. The result of this inspection in no way reflects our high standards,” said the cruise line’s senior communications manager Karen Schmidt.

Three ships just managed to avoid the ‘not satisfactory’ rating with a score of 86; Princess Cruises’ Caribbean Princess, Carnival’s Carnival Breeze and Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s Evrima.

On board Caribbean Princess, inspectors discovered flies on plates of food and dishwashing areas and an insect near a box of cutlery, the March report read.

Carnival Breeze had a crew bathroom “overflowing” with rubbish and did not do enough to stop pests from stowing away.

The Envirma was marked down for fruit flies found in a juicing machine and missing rat guards.

Surprise inspections take six to eight hours and achieving a high score isn’t easy.

Caribbean Princess was pulled up because the glass wash machine had a 25-second wash cycle, instead of the 40 seconds it was meant to. A crew member caught drinking from a personal drink bottle in the kitchen can also result in docked points.

It also isn’t a cheap exercise; ship owners must pay between $13,300 and $106,400 per vessel, depending on its size.

Top scoring ships

Some ships did manage to have a perfect score.

Carnival Spirit (Carnival Cruise Line), Brilliance of the Seas (Royal Caribbean International), Celebrity Ascent and Celebrity Beyond (Celebrity Cruises) and Disney Fantasy (Disney Cruise Line) all scored 100.

This didn’t mean these ships had no issues noted in their reports, but they were minor.

For example, the Brilliance of the Seas’ report noted it had chipped countertops at a buffet area, making the area difficult to clean.

“Ensure decks, bulkheads, and deckheads in food preparation, ware washing, pantries, and storage areas are maintained in good repair,” the report stated.