Tourists embark on cruises to enjoy rest and relaxation, but many ships traveling the world hide dirty secrets.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has revealed the 10 dirtiest cruise ships of 2024 after health officials randomly inspected 114 different ships.
Inspectors evaluated the medical center, drinking water systems, kitchens and dining rooms, pools and whirlpools, pest and insect management, children’s activity centers and the ships’ heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
Three of the dirtiest ships include Hapag-Lloyd’s ‘Hanseatic Inspiration’, Princess Cruises’ ‘Caribbean Princess’ and Carnival’s ‘Carnival Breeze’.
Cruise ships pack travelers from around the world into a crowded, semi-enclosed container, which can facilitate the spread of human-to-human illnesses spread through food and water, according to the CDC.
When ships are unsanitary, it can further increase the risk of illness for passengers and even lead to deadly outbreaks.
CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) gave each ship a sanitation score on a 100-point scale, with 100 being a perfect score.
The lowest scoring ship was the ‘Hanseatic Inspiration’, managed by Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and received a score of 62.
This VSP report is designed to help address and prevent cases of acute gastroenteritis (or stomach flu) on board.
So far this year, there have been 10 acute gastroenteritis outbreaks on cruise ships, according to a separate VSP report.
Ten ships received scores of 89 or less, with the lowest being 62. The VSP notes that any score of 85 or less is considered “unsatisfactory.”
The CDC conducts two surprise inspections of cruise ships each year, evaluating the sanitation of eight different areas on each ship.
The lowest scoring ship was the ‘Hanseatic Inspiration’, operated by Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and receiving a score of 62.
The report listed numerous health violations, including a beer tap covered in thick brown residue, live and dead flying insects at the pool bar and a dead, decomposing and maggot-ridden bird on the outdoor grill.
Additionally, several foods, such as milk, crayfish, and raw eggs, were not stored at a cold enough temperature.
Cruise ships pack travelers from around the world into a crowded, semi-enclosed container, which can facilitate the spread of human-to-human illnesses spread through food and water.
“Supervisors were inadequately monitoring critical and high-risk food processes, allowing unsafe practices to continue in food preparation areas,” the report states.
The second dirtiest ships on the list were Princess Cruises’ ‘Caribbean Princess’, Carnival’s ‘Carnival Breeze’, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s ‘Evrima’ and MSC Cruises’ ‘MSC Magnifica’, all of which received scores of 86.
This score is within the satisfactory range, but the reports still show some surprising violations.
The ‘Caribbean Princess’ report cited flies and crawling insects in galleys and galleys, a buffet on the passenger deck stained with food and debris, and the lack of a ‘wash your hands frequently’ sign at car wash stations. hands.
The ‘Carnival Breeze’ had points docked for violations such as a rat guard that did not completely prevent outside pests from entering the ship, and trays of food (including chili, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese) that were left uncovered in the rain and weather. cold.
“In the crew bathroom, in front of the dairy refrigerator, garbage was overflowing from the waste container and being collected on deck,” the report reads.
Envirma’s inspection revealed that fruit flies ‘were flying around the commercial juice machine when it was moved, the filter sand in three hot tubs had not been changed since 2022, and a rat guard was missing.’
The ‘MSC Magnifica’ was cited for violations such as clean and disinfected dishes stored in a dirty waiter’s station and very dirty kitchen equipment, including a bread slicer.
When the inspector asked the housekeeping manager and staff about the Disease Outbreak Prevention Response Plan, they were unsure of the procedures. The crew was also unsure whether the room of a passenger who had contracted a gastrointestinal illness had been cleaned and disinfected.
Each cruise line that operated the five lowest-scoring ships has submitted correction reports detailing how they have fixed or are working to fix the issues that deducted points from their scores.
DailyMail.com contacted these companies for comment, but only MSC Cruises responded immediately.
It says: “We rigorously adhered to health and sanitation protocols and, although this is a satisfactory score, we have since made further improvements on board.”
“Following the inspection, an improvement program was implemented that fully addressed all changes suggested by the inspector; many of these changes required only minor actions and were implemented immediately.”
“As a result, we firmly believe that this current score is not a true reflection of the ship as it is today, and we would welcome any future inspections.”
“Ships in our fleet regularly achieve scores of 90, while both MSC Meraviglia and MSC Seashore achieved perfect scores of 100 when they were inspected earlier this year.”
Cruise ships are the only travel sector that regularly reports illnesses to the CDC, as they present a “unique combination of health problems,” according to the agency.
In fact, cruise ships have a tough history of outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses like salmonella and norovirus, as well as other illnesses like hepatitis A, measles, and meningococcal disease.
The majority (82 percent) of these outbreaks occur among crew members, the CDC says.
The most recent outbreak occurred in September, when more than 180 people contracted salmonella on a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship.
To reduce the risk of getting sick on your next cruise, you can look up the ship’s most recent health score using the CDC page. inspection search tool. Make sure the ship has a score of 86 or higher.
While on board, wash your hands frequently and stay away from any passengers or crew exhibiting symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea or coughing.