Three Cruise Ships Fail Federal Sanitation Inspection

PHOTO: The Norwegian Star failed a federal sanitation inspection in February, mostly due to record-keeping violations, but passed a re-inspection on April 6 with a score of 95. (Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line)

In the first quarter of 2014, three cruise ships failed the federal sanitation inspections and three scored a perfect 100.

The ships that failed — Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Star (Feb. 16), Princess Cruises’ Ocean Princess (Jan. 27) and SeaDream Yacht Club’s SeaDream I (Jan. 18) — all took action to fix the violations, according to corrective reports filed with the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The three ships that scored a perfect 100 were Holland America Line’s Eurodam (Feb. 22), Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Legend (Feb. 16) and Disney Cruise Lines’ Disney Dream (Jan. 16).

The VSP program evaluates cruise ships twice a year during unannounced inspections. So far this year, 50 ships have been inspected. Ships are scored on a 100-point scale, with scores of 85 and below considered failing. The sanitation program was designed to help prevent and control the introduction, transmission and spread of gastrointestinal illnesses on cruise ships.

The Norwegian Star, which is spending the summer in Northern Europe, has since passed a re-inspection with flying colors. It scored a 95 on April 6, the company said. Last year, the ship scored a 94 and 89 after inspections on Oct. 13 and April 23, respectively.

Most of the violations on the failed inspection had to do with record-keeping when crew members reported gastrointestinal symptoms.

“Norwegian Cruise Line takes pride in maintaining our vessels to meet or exceed all requirements set forth by public health officials. The line has an exemplary record of compliance fleet-wide,” Norwegian said in a statement. “The majority of the noted issues on Norwegian Star’s inspection were record-keeping matters and other technicalities, which have been rectified.”

The 672-passenger Ocean Princess also failed this year’s inspection, but earned a 96 in 2012, 95 in 2011 and a perfect 100 in 2010. Ships that sail outside of the U.S. for extended periods might not be inspected twice a year, but are inspected when they return to the country. The Ocean Princess wanders the world and will operate in Europe this summer and fall.

The Ocean Princess report cited issues such as a lack of screen between the omelet station and waiting passengers, low light levels in certain places in the galley and inaccurate time-control plans for when food should be discarded. Princess did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Travel Pulse.

The SeaDream I likewise received high scores in past years — a 99 on March 17, 2013, and a 98 on Dec. 17, 2012 — and has since passed a re-inspection with a 93, the company said. Violations included improperly stored clean dishes and issues with records and procedures relating to the reverse-osmosis potable water production. “The health of SeaDream Yacht Club’s guests and crew is an utmost priority, and we immediately made all recommended changes in response to the January report,” the company said.

All scores are posted on the VSP website.