14 Cruise Ships Receive Perfect 100 Health Score.
There are often reports of Norovirus breakouts on cruise ships, usually, first thoughts turn to the hygiene and cleanliness on board and the way the ship is managed. This, of course, is a factor in such cases as is the fact that thousands of people descending on one place form various points of origin are bound to carry with them a few bugs and illnesses which can inadvertently spread.
With that in mind, I wanted to share some positive news regarding some cruise ships recent health scores. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 14 cruise ships earned a perfect health score during their surprise inspections in the last year.
All cruise ships that sail to or from the U.S. must undergo a surprise health inspection by the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP). These inspections are random and the ships themselves are not forewarned of any impending visits in advance so it’s fair to say results from such inspections give a fair representation of how well hygiene and sanitation are handled on board.
It’s pleasing to see the ships with perfect scores can be found among 10 different cruise lines and include Celebrity Summit, Rhapsody of the Seas, Norwegian Gem, Disney Wonder, Seabourn Quest, Viking Star, Auroa, Disney Fantasy Noordam, Sea Princess, Disney Dream, Amsterdam, AIDAVITA and Emerald Princess.
Everything from the medical facilities to the swimming pools, portable water systems, child centres, cabins, ventilation systems and common areas of the ship are all rigidly inspected. There are 44 items on the VSP’s checklist, so to get a score of 100, the cruise ships had to receive perfect scores on every single item. A score below 85 is considered a fail so you can see how strict the inspection program is.
So there you go, you can see how thoroughly cruise ships are tested and monitored from a hygiene and sanitation perspective so next time you read of a Norovirus outbreak maybe lets not immediately assume the ship is failing its guests, sometimes given the nature of the environment these things can just happen.
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Bye for now.
5 Comments on “14 Cruise Ships Receive Perfect 100 Health Score.”
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Kevin. We where on Britannia Jan. my partner got what we think was a dose of noro, reported to medics. Confined to cabin until all symptoms been clear 24 hours. Cabin bottomed and disinfected each day plus 2 other visits per day to disinfect. Food served in cabin on paper plates, plastic cutlery, all bedding double bagged before removing as was any foodstuffs left over along with the plates etc and cutlery. No meds given just advised drink plenty water. No charge foe any of these necessities. Brilliant all clear in 3 days.
Just returned from P&O Azura Iberian Cruise. 500 children on board. My 12 year old granddaughter was suffering with some seasickness and we requested some sick bags at 11pm from reception. We had phone call from duty nurse, very nice and helpful. Asked us to phone her if she was sick again. She thought it was more likely a bug or something she eaten.
They had a few children displaying symptoms so next morning all precautions were put in place.
Buffet self service was changed to being served, lifts, hand rails, corridors, pens etc all being regularly disinfected. Staff with hand sanitisers to ensure they were being used.
It appeared that there was a small outbreak of Noro virus that was quickly identified and contained.
Support was excellent and I was impressed with speed and efficiency that it was dealt with.
Hi Sue,
I was on the same cruise and I contracted Norovirus although there was no actual confirmation that this is what it was. I was contained for 48 hours and did not have any medical staff attend. I had to get the deck manager for deck 12 to attend my concerns on the cabin as the cleaning was poor and there were signs of the previous passengers toilet distress within the toilet extremities. Reported this also to the ship doctor in person who found every way he could to blame issues on housekeeping and was not interested in prevention. I could go on but the only positive is that of the attitude of the deck 12 manager and the quick action in cleaning extra areas within the cabin
24 cruises my wife got I’ll confined to cabin I was ok always found they all took it seriously when any signs of trouble.
Not surprised some people catch and cause outbreaks.
seen pasengers who ignore hand washing a hand sterilize even when challenged by staff.
Its o.k. to discuss Norovirus, but what about “flu” being rife on the ship we have returned from Oceania Marina, there were many people on board with this, age group mainly over 60 plus.
We both caught it, my husband was quite ill, mine started a couple of days after his, went to my own G.P. as soon as we docked. It cost $2,000.00 in medical bills. Rather scary in the middle of the night, when you don’t know whom to turn to for help.
We did all the routine cleansing hands, washing etc, but to no no avail.
Has put us off cruising, you don’t pay out all that money to get sick, I know it is no-one’s fault, but still not a good experience in this stage of our lives.