Cruise Ship Health Inspection System
Understanding The CDC Inspection Numbers
Converting Numbers To The Cruise Bruise Alphabet Rating
DOES "PASSING" MEAN THE SHIP IS SANITARY?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) inspect the vessels that arrive to and leave from a U.S. port. When they inspect the ship, they issue a report and assign a numerical score. The score can be used to compare one ship to another. Major media and other cruise sites, are careful to say after a Norovirus outbreak, that the ship "passed" the last inspection.
What they do not tell you, is a "passing" grade is only 86 points, and the list of infractions that comprise an 86 score are extensive, and border a complete failure at only the minimum passing grade of 86 points. "Passing may be no claim to fame, as the reports clearly show.
Many of us remember from our school days that a score of 86 was a strong B grade, very much above average. But, in this scoring system, an 86 grade is extremely poor.
WHAT IS AN ACCEPTABLE SCORE?
Anything below a 96 is simply unacceptable when it comes to sanitation infractions that are outlined in food preparation and handling areas. These infractions can very easily contribute to wide spread of the Norovirus or other foodbourne illnesses. In any event, they can cause ecoli. Ecoli will result in diarrhea, which then in return can cause a Norovirus infection when hands are not washed properly, thereby being easily passed from human to human. When you see water testing that is not adequate, potable water (water for human consumption) that is not treated properly, food that is stored improperly, food that is not chilled properly, mold in ice machines, filth in the galley, these are all red flags for ecoli and other bacteria that make people ill, and even cause their death. This is why the CDC inspections are so fussy on procedures, and documentation of the procedures the crew followed, as you will note in the reports.
WHAT DO THE LETTER GRADES MEAN?
Restaurants in California using this same letter grade code for sanitation, are undesirable with a B grade or lower. We have assigned the letter grade code, according to suitable standards for restaurants.
Nobody in their right mind would frequent a restaurant on land that had anything less than ' A ' inspection grade. The same should apply to cruise ships. If you are planning to cruise, protect yourself by reviewing the sanitation reports found within this site. Choose your cruise ship carefully to avoid increased risk of foodbourne illnesses, which can, and have resulted in numerous deaths onboard cruise ships, in healthy young adults, as well as senior passengers.
The scale below is our scale. We have divided the scores above 85, which is a failed inspection, resulting in the vessel being held into port, into groups of scores, that make it easier to understand how the scores relate to the restaurant alphabet rating system.
Please note that SEVERE violations may be noted, even at the A/GREEN/EXCELLENT level, such as mold in ice machines. You will also note that with an A/GREEN/EXCELLENT grade, there may be many violations.
We have sorted the reports by month of the year, so that all ships inspected within the same time period can be compared apples to apples. We have also sorted the ships by name, to make easy to follow the inspections of a particular ship. This area of our site is under construction. We are adding reports, working backwards on a daily basis. Recent reports will be added as they become available.
REPORT INFRACTIONS ARE UNEDITED
We have not modified the official CDC inspection reports except for:
- Removal of the item number which has no importance to consumers.
- Highlighting in red those infractions that are serious as they could contribute to widespread illness onboard.
- Highlighting in BOLD RED those infractions that are very serious.
- Removal of inspector recommendations where they are not especially helpful to the consumer, but take up extra space on the pages, hindering page load time.
WHAT OUR ALPHABETICAL SCORES MEAN
96 to 100 = A Excellent
At this level, even at a score of 100, the ship may have a dozen or more sanitary violations. Overall, the ship was clean. The risk factor for disease originating on this ship was very low.
95 to 91 = B Undesirable Sanitation Standards
This is a second class rating, not all what you would expect from a superior ship. The risk to passengers and crew are increased, with as many as 40 violations or more. Think twice before booking a cruise on this ship. The crew are not well trained or are not diligent in performing job duties. Their sloppiness can make you very ill. Problems such as rodent and/or cockroach activity may not have been completely resolved, but steps were taken to begin the correction. This means it is highly likely rodents and cockroaches will still be a problem on cruises booked in the near future.
90 to 86 = C Poor Sanitation Standards
The buck stops at corporate for this sloppy ship. Frequent unannounced visits would have prevented this vessel from falling to the bottom of the barrel with violations that are likely long term. You will see terms in the reports such as "heavy soil" "thick mold" that tell you this problem did not pop up overnight. Problems such as rodent and/or cockroach activity may not have been completely resolved, but steps were taken to begin the correction. This means it is highly likely rodents and cockroaches will still be a problem on cruises booked in the near future. Management onboard this ship should be terminated. Risk factor for disease is considerably higher. This ship is to be avoided, without a doubt.
85 to 81 = D Fail - Ship Held In Port
No responsible inspector would allow this ship to set sail with passengers. Inspectors can prevent a ship from leaving port with only crew onboard, with this rating. Problems such as rodent and/or cockroach activity may not have been completely resolved, but steps were taken to begin the correction. This means it is highly likely rodents and cockroaches will still be a problem on cruises booked in the near future. But, in any event, you have to ask yourself if the ship was this bad, do you really want to sail with crew that have been this lax in the past?
80 Or Lower = F Severe Failure - Ship Held In Port
This ship is an epidemic waiting to happen. Failure at the corporate level, and every level below to ensure passenger and crew health and safety. We call it Noah's Ark, it is only good as a shelter of last resort, not worthy of pleasure travel, without several inspections rating at an A to indicate the problem has really been resolved.
