According to the CDC, “The Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) assists the cruise ship industry to prevent and control the introduction, transmission, and spread of gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses on cruise ships.” Inspection reports for cruise ships are released to the public monthly and cruise ship inspections are done periodically and are unannounced.
What does the Heebie-Jeebies media team do with this information? We share it with you of course! Please note, The VSP inspection scores of 100 to 86 are satisfactory and 85 or lower are NOT satisfactory to the CDC.
June 2017 Summary
The VSP released inspection results for 14 cruise ships. A total of 3 cruise ships were found with scores less than 85 and NOT satisfactory.
The Victory 1 scored a horrible 78. Known as an “elegant small ship” sailing the Great Lakes, the VSP inspection report details 53 violations, highlighted by the ship’s crew having issues with documentation. This included no Acute Gastroenteritis (AGE) Surveillance Logs (say that three times) and no records for their annual water testing. Inspectors did have a slight issue with mold and provided a recommendation to “Ensure food is safe and unadulterated.” Just so we are clear – we like safe food.
The Carnival Paradise scored 83. The Paradise departs Tampa Bay and sails round trip to the Caribbean and Cuba. Our review of the VSP inspection report found that while the Paradise is one fun ship, with 59 violations, the crew may want to party less and meet code more. What caught our attention? As the late, great, Houston TV news personality Marvin Zindler would say, “Slime in the ice machine!”
Well, not really slime, but several violations where ice machines had “soiled” or “corroded” items. Also, the medical staff was found in violation for “dispensed anti-diarrheal medication” to non-Acute Gastroenteritis passengers and not logging the dispensing properly. I mean hey, I’m sure the crew had to quickly dispense because those folks had to go – if you know what we mean! The Paradise was also dinged for flies. Yes, flies. Fly on the deck oven. A fly in the deli. Fly in the omelet station and near the ice machine. Holy cow – flies in Paradise!
The Norwegian Sky scored 83. This is proof that even a beautiful ship can have issues. With 59 violations noted in the inspection report, the Miami based cruise ship had their work cut out for them. We found 14% of their violations had to do with insect control. Yes, more flies! Also, the Norwegian Sky had handwashing issues. Several handwashing stations did not have paper towels or simply were not working. How did these people wash their hands during the month of June?
One of the most serious issues found was an Assistant Cook experiencing Acute Gastroenteritis (AGE) symptoms didn’t follow policy and wasn’t immediately isolated. To be fair to the medical staff, the employee didn’t notify them until 9 hours after the first symptom onset. The inspector was told “disciplinary action was to be taken upon discharge from the medical unit.” But, it was also noted a similar situation happened on this ship in a previous report. Sounds like more training is needed!
Overall, corrective reports have been completed and submitted by each cruise ship. And we are thankful for the effort.
Congratulations to Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas! This ship had the highest score for the month of June with 99! Nice job!
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