Cruise Ships and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Thousands of passengers aboard the Queen Victoria (Cunard) may not be allowed to disembark in New York on Tuesday if the gastrointestinal illness onboard reaches epidemic proportions. So far only people infected with the illness have been asked to remain in their cabins and a major cleaning of handrails, dining rooms and other public areas has begun.
Sick Cruising is No FunWith my cruise aboard the Caribbean Princess only 34 days away, I am worried about illness. When I sailed with Royal Caribbean, I was obsessive about hand washing. But is that enough?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention operates a Vessel Sanitization Program, regularly inspecting ships, informing travelers and training cruise ship employees. The program has been in operation since the 1970's and all information is public.
You can search the Vessel Sanitation Program for scores based on cruise line, ship and date. A score less than 85 is considered a fail and can do more than dock a ship - it can destroy confidence in the entire line. When a ship fails an inspection, a warning is issued. If it fails a second time, the ship is docked until all violations have been corrected.
I searched the Caribbean Princess and it's never scored less than 100. Reading through each inspection, I saw the CDC's recommendations.
I'll be watching the CDC website as my cruise draws closer.
Green Sheet Report - most recent inspection scores
Passengers aboard the Queen Victoria have my sympathies. We all do our best to avoid the stomach flu, but being onboard an infected ship must feel a little like being stuck on a floating petri dish.
Check out our
Post new comment