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.
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Bye for now.