Empress of the Seas Fails the CDC Sanitation Inspection
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report indicates that Royal Caribbean’s Empress of the Seas might have failed a surprise sanitation inspection conducted in early June. The Empress of the Seas scored a failing score of only 80. A score of 85 or lower is considered a failure.
The Empress of the Seas underwent an extended period of renovations in Spain. Later, in Freeport, Bahamas, the ship was transferred back from Pullmantur. Royal Caribbean canceled a total of thirteen cruises scheduled for earlier this year.
Report highlights:
The first sanitation violation related to the renovation and involved a bathroom for the medical staff which could be used only for storage and was “heavily soiled.” Royal Caribbean told the Miami Herald that “as work has progressed, we learned that more significant infrastructure and physical improvements across the ship’s multiple galleys and provisioning areas were needed to meet our high standards.”
The crew members, during the renovation period, complained of unsanitary conditions on the ship. There was talk that the CDC had inspected the ship and initially had not given the ship a passing score, although there was nothing officially posted on the CDC website. Several crew members said that the ship had fallen substantially in disrepair while operated by Pullmantur and had a major problem with pests.
The Empress failed to meet high standards. The report regarding the June inspection details forty four CDC violations, ranging from improper procedures to monitor acute gastrointestinal illness cases to incorrect potable water and swimming pool/whirlpool testing.
Numerous references were made about live and dead flies and cockroaches around refrigerators, buffet lines and other areas used for food storage. The ships were also in violation of the CDC’s requirement to use rat guards, and was utilizing rat guards on only one out of six mooring lines while the ship was in port.
A crew member states that the Empress was re-inspected earlier this month, on July 10th, and received a score of 97. If such an inspection took place, the CDC has not posted that inspection yet.
Royal Caribbean, including its Celebrity brand, has failed other inspections in the past. In 2013, the Celebrity Century scored only a 78. The same year, the Celebrity Summit scored only a 81. The Monarch of the Seas scored a 85 in 2011.
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Photo Credit: By Jsausley – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Source: Cruise Law News
