Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) cruise lines finished 2017 with all 33 of the perfect scores of 100, during United States Public Health (USPH) inspections conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Cruise lines work closely with the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) in a comprehensive effort to employ preventative practices to achieve the highest standards of public health onboard cruise ships. As part of this program, cruise lines voluntarily submit to health inspections and crew training with CDC public health officers making at least two unannounced inspections each year on cruise ships calling on U.S. ports.
“CLIA is proud of its lines’ strong commitment to public health and their record of excellence with VSP ship inspections. Our cruise lines’ ships are graded in dozens of areas including hygiene and sanitation of food, galley cleanliness, water, shipboard personnel and the ship overall,” said Donnie Brown, vice president of maritime policy, CLIA. “These scores are a testament to cruise line efforts to provide passengers with the highest level of service.”
To earn these high scores, trained crewmembers regularly clean and sanitize the ship. Cabins are cleaned at least once a day and common areas such as restaurants, snack areas, pools and elevators are cleaned throughout the day. At the end of every cruise, the ship’s crew clean the ship from top to bottom using designated cleaning supplies and sanitation procedures.
VSP and the cruise industry work hand-in-hand to establish design and construction guidelines (VSP Construction Guidelines) and operational standards (VSP Operations Manual) that assist cruise lines in keeping passengers healthy. In collaborating with the VSP, cruise lines go above and beyond regulatory requirements to meet the highest public health standards through rigorous design and operational inspections.
After extensive review and collaboration with CLIA and its cruise lines, the VSP is expected to release its new Operations Manual and Construction Guidelines in early 2018.
To learn more about how cruise ships are equipped for health, visit: https://www.cruising.org/cruise-vacationer/industry-facts/health.
Source: Cruise Lines International Association
