Poor scores for Volendam

Am very disappointed to see a score of 90 for the Volendam on their recent inspection. After reading that the ship has been "refurbished" during recent wet dock, I expected better. Any recent passenger input would be greatly appreciated. We're booked for a 10 day on 11/6. HELP!!!!

Thank you SO much!

Where are the scores and what do they mean?

We will be on the Volendam on July 28

I did read a great review back before the boards were changed from someone that had just got off the ship.They seemed to Love it.

Actually, any score above an 80 is probably close to immaculate. I forget the URL, but if you check the CDC ship reports and see what the inspectors are looking for, you will see that the checklist is so remarkably severe that the best restaurant in your town would probably fail miserably. Don't worry about a 90. Don't even worry about the occasional 85. The inspectors take points off for a missing tile in the galley, for a drain hose that might not be easy to clean, etc.

Thanks Tom

I wasnt worried .

The ship would have to be rat infested or filling with water to ruin my time.

I have never cruised before and even though its only my parents with me as a chaperone I plan on having a wonderful time

I have to agree with Tomc. I don't know about the CDC, but I've looked at online reports of local restaurants. Many of the things where points are lost, although important, do not directly affect our safety.

I've seen points lost because of labelling of foods not meeting standards or a worker not being familiar with a safety procedure. I wouldn't let a score of 90 worry you. If there were serious issues the CDC can, and will, shut them down.

Coincidentally, HAL has its new "Signature of Excellence" program and I understand they have only the finest of rats. Not your common wharf trash, but specially imported from Ratterdam. They are very cultured and, occasionally, you will find the staff walking them on a leash at night after the passengers are in bed. All very high-class, you know.

Well if what I hear is true and most of the passengers are retired for the night by 11 , I may find myself out rat walking with the staff.

This is becoming a perpetual topic on these boards I see!

A VSP score of 90 is not poor. According to the CDC there are two kinds of scores: passing (86 or higher) and failing (85 or lower). There seems to be a misconception that just passing is not enough.

In real life, any passing score is much more than enough, and even if a ship fails an inspection here or there, it is certainly nothing to be concerned about. (Most ships do fail once in a while. No major cruise line has never had a ship fail a VSP inspection.) A VSP inspector who had previously worked as a health inspector on land once stated that he had never seen a restaurant on land that would not have vailed a VSP inspection miserably and looking at some of the inspection results I'm not at all surprised.

I've seen ships lose major points for, among other things:

• flower bouquet stored in walk-in cooler (storing of food and non-food items together)
  
• a burnt light bulb in the galley (lighting not bright enough)
  
• loose caulking around tiles in galley/food prep areas (difficult-to-clean materials)
  
• a broken appliance in the galley, even if not being used
  

And so on and so forth.

The plain fact is that these inspections are extremely difficult and while I think we can all be thankful for the peace of mind that ships are held up to such high standards, in some cases they are probably rather excessive.

As for the recent drydock - if anything, this will make the ship more like to get a lower score, as some bugs may not be worked out yet or minor items may be overlooked (see loose caulking example above, for instance).

Now granted I've not looked at this particular inspection report yet but I seriously doubt that there is anything on there that should be noticed. The bottom line is that 90 is a very good score, more than acceptable by any standards, and there's absolutely nothing to be disappointed or concerned about.

Anyhow, don't worry about the inspection, go and enjoy your cruise and have a great time!

Tomc

Love your sense of humor. You're a riot & a half!

Host Doug

Your comments are accurate & right on target. Prior to sailing on the Volendam in March of last year, I checked the CDC rating for her most recent inspection (98) and the violations had nothing to do with safety or sanitary issues. We found her to be spotless and in tip-top shape, and are looking forward to sailing her again.

Here's a link to the CDC report on the Volendam for her May 14, 2004 surprise inspection, performed in Juneau.

CDC Volendam Report

Looking at the report, here are some observations.

FOR 34 DAYS SINCE 2/1/2004, POTABLE WATER PRODUCTION RECORDS INDICATED THAT THE EVAPORATORS WERE BEING OPERATED IN POLLUTED OR HARBOR AREAS.

:eek: For this they lost 5 whole points.

They lost another 2 points for:

THE HALOGEN ANALYZER-CHART RECORDER DAILY CALIBRATION WAS NOT RECORDED FOR NUMEROUS DAYS SINCE THE LAST INSPECTION.

They lost a point for:

THE DAILY CALIBRATION OF THE HALOGEN ANALYZER-CHART RECORDERS WAS NOT RECORDED ON THE CHART OR IN A LOG BOOK.

And a final 2 points for:

THE ICE MACHINES IN PANTRIES SP 16, SP 22, AND SP 29 HAD LARGE GAPS BETWEEN THE BIN AND CUBER DUE TO PEELING SOFT SEALANT. LIGHT FROM OUTSIDE OF THE ICE BIN COULD BE SEEN ON THE BACK INTERIOR SEAM OF THE BIN. ONE OF THE ICE BINS HAD A 1/2 INCH GAP BETWEEN THE BIN AND CUBER.

 

SOFT PEELING SEALANT WAS NOTED ON THE BACK BLADE GUARD OF THE SLICER in LIDO PREPARATION and the COLD GALLEY.

 

THE WALK-IN AND UNDER-COUNTER REFRIGERATION UNITS IN THE COLD GALLEY WERE IN USE AND DID NOT MAINTAIN CORRECT TEMPERATURES. THE ENGINEER STATED THIS WAS DUE TO LEAKS IN THE REFRIGERATION LINES AND THAT THESE UNITS ARE SCHEDULED FOR REPAIR.

And there you have it.

If the CDC were to come into the kitchen in my rectory the score would be a minus 278. :D :eek: :p

Mrswynn:

Don't fret over that report -- I was on the Volendam last month and it's in very good shape indeed.

If interested you can read my review at:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=4829

Enjoy your upcoming cruise!

Greg: Nice to see you back -- hope the fish were biting ... great new set of cruise critic boards for us, eh?

Dave

Greg: Nice to see you back -- hope the fish were biting ... great new set of cruise critic boards for us, eh?

Yes, they were ... though not as well as I would have liked. We had severe thunderstorms Monday night and the Mountain Fork river flooded to 10 feet above normal. We lost a trot line and a full day of fishing (since we couldn't get on the water until Wednesday). We got 8 LARGE cat fish and several bass, etc. Couldn't do any fly-fishing since the river's water was so cloudy.

We'll probably go back in July.

Revneal,

Thank you for posting the CDC findings. Hey, I bet that those high class rats that TomC spoke about would really enjoy those fine catfish you caught.:D

:) CDC report

So the Volendam lost 5 points just because they were making water when they weren't at sea?????

If true, that ridiculous!

:confused:

Coincidentally, HAL has its new "Signature of Excellence" program and I understand they have only the finest of rats. Not your common wharf trash, but specially imported from Ratterdam. They are very cultured and, occasionally, you will find the staff walking them on a leash at night after the passengers are in bed. All very high-class, you know.

Gee.. maybe they weren't paying attention to the signs...

A score of 90 is just fine.

I have a "thing about clean" and most would think my house/kitchen to be as clean as most anyone elses' and more so than many.

That being said, I'd be thrilled if USPH put my kitchen to the sort of inspection these ships undergo and it scored a 90. I do not think every knife would pass the "gunk" at the blade/handle test; my dishwasher may be running 3 degrees lower than prescribed; there might even be some speck of whatever under the blade of my power canopener. What does your cutting board look like? Any slits from previous cuttings? Have you had it sanded and smoothed to keep the surface immaculate? Do you think your kitchen /baths could get a 90?

So the Volendam lost 5 points just because they were making water when they weren't at sea?

Well, that kinda-sorta depends upon how one defines the phrase "making water." When my mother talks about "making water" she means peeing ... so, the first thing that came into my mind when I read your remark was of the crew peeing off the side of the ship. :D :eek: :D

As for your clear meaning ... yes, indeed, she lost 5 points for that. Probably, someone (new) forgot to turn off the evaporators when they entered port. Brilliantly STUPID.

As I said before, I'd hate to see the CDC report on the kitchen in my rectory. :eek:

I would like to thank each of you for responding to my concern. You've not only put my mind at ease, I thoroughly enjoyed reading each of your responses. Thank you for taking the time to respond to me.

ADONIA 5/12/2003 99

ADVENTURE OF THE SEAS 5/3/2004 95

AIDAAura 11/18/2003 99

AIDAvita 11/14/2002 98

ALBATROSS 9/14/2002 96

AMSTERDAM 5/23/2004 97

ARABELLA 1/18/2004 91

ASTOR 5/9/2003 79

ASUKA 12/30/2003 93

AURORA 1/31/2004 100

BRAEMAR 10/7/2002 95

BREMEN 9/2/2003 95

BRILLIANCE OF THE SEAS 3/29/2004 99

C. COLUMBUS 10/26/2002 95

CARIBBEAN EXPRESS 6/11/2004 91

CARIBBEAN PRINCESS 5/4/2004 100

CARNIVAL CONQUEST 5/23/2004 99

CARNIVAL DESTINY 1/19/2004 90

CARNIVAL GLORY 2/21/2004 100

CARNIVAL LEGEND 4/13/2004 99

CARNIVAL MIRACLE 3/6/2004 97

CARNIVAL PRIDE 2/1/2004 91

CARNIVAL SPIRIT 2/11/2004 91

CARNIVAL TRIUMPH 6/8/2004 95

CARNIVAL VICTORY 2/22/2004 99

CARONIA 1/22/2004 96

CELEBRATION 1/12/2004 93

CENTURY 12/16/2003 97

CLIPPER ADVENTURER 9/16/2003 99

CLIPPER ODYSSEY 7/22/2003 90

CLUB MED 2 4/12/2004 94

CONSTELLATION 11/21/2003 95

CORAL PRINCESS 2/21/2004 98

COSTA ATLANTICA 4/6/2004 98

COSTA CLASSICA 12/12/2003 99

COSTA MEDITERRANEA 4/4/2004 100

COSTA VICTORIA 4/2/2003 96

CRYSTAL HARMONY 12/10/2003 92

CRYSTAL SERENITY 5/2/2004 96

CRYSTAL SYMPHONY 3/22/2004 95

DAWN PRINCESS 12/15/2003 90

DEUTSCHLAND 1/5/2004 94

DIAMOND PRINCESS 4/17/2004 99

DISCOVERY SUN 2/10/2004 98

DISNEY MAGIC 6/5/2004 97

DISNEY WONDER 1/15/2004 94

ECSTASY 5/10/2004 89

ELATION 12/21/2003 94

EMPRESS OF THE NORTH 4/4/2004 91

EMPRESS OF THE SEAS 10/5/2003 92

ENCHANTED CAPRI 4/2/2003 81

ENCHANTMENT OF THE SEAS 1/10/2004 99

EUROPA 6/28/2003 97

EXPLORER OF THE SEAS 5/30/2004 94

FANTASY 5/27/2004 96

FASCINATION 12/19/2003 96

GALAXY 3/12/2004 94

GOLDEN PRINCESS 5/2/2004 97

GRAND PRINCESS 1/11/2004 97

GRANDE CARIBE 5/23/2004 92

GRANDE MARINER 5/25/2004 92

GRANDEUR OF THE SEAS 4/17/2004 96

HANSEATIC 10/7/2003 92

HOLIDAY 5/22/2004 86

HORIZON 3/26/2004 90

IMAGINATION 1/24/2004 92

INFINITY 5/18/2004 95

INSPIRATION 6/6/2004 97

ISLAND ADVENTURE 1/27/2004 90

ISLAND PRINCESS 12/16/2003 100

JUBILEE 12/14/2003 93

LE LEVANT 12/17/2003 98

LEGACY 3/13/2004 98

LEGEND OF THE SEAS 4/15/2004 93

LOGOS II 5/18/2003 79

MAASDAM 5/5/2004 89

MAJESTY OF THE SEAS 2/2/2004 96

MARINER OF THE SEAS 6/6/2004 100

MAXIM GORKIY 3/18/2004 87

MELODY 2/4/2003 96

MERCURY 1/19/2004 93

MILLENNIUM 3/25/2004 94

MILLENNIUM EXPRESS 2/10/2003 91

MINERVA II 4/8/2004 97

MIRAGE 9/3/2003 98

MONARCH OF THE SEAS 5/11/2004 94

MSC LIRICA 5/15/2004 95

MV DISCOVERY 3/18/2004 92

NANTUCKET CLIPPER 3/31/2004 95

NAUTILUS EXPLORER 7/12/2002 74

NAVIGATOR OF THE SEAS 1/21/2004 98

NIAGRA PRINCE 4/18/2004 92

NIPPON MARU 12/31/2003 97

NOORDAM 3/28/2004 93

NORWAY 5/8/2003 95

NORWEGIAN CROWN 4/9/2004 94

NORWEGIAN DAWN 2/18/2004 100

NORWEGIAN DREAM 2/8/2004 97

NORWEGIAN MAJESTY 4/17/2004 97

NORWEGIAN SEA 1/10/2004 96

NORWEGIAN SKY 4/5/2004 95

NORWEGIAN SPIRIT 5/22/2004 92

NORWEGIAN STAR 3/21/2004 99

NORWEGIAN SUN 1/25/2004 100

NORWEGIAN WIND 1/24/2004 99

OCEAN BREEZE 1/29/2003 93

OCEANA 3/23/2004 96

OLYMPIA VOYAGER 11/29/2003 97

OLYMPIC EXPLORER 11/26/2003 97

OOSTERDAM 12/11/2003 97

ORIANA 3/13/2004 100

ORION 5/24/2004 92

PACIFIC 2/21/2004 90

PACIFIC PRINCESS 5/17/2004 98

PACIFIC VENUS 6/19/2003 90

PALM BEACH PRINCESS 1/14/2004 94

PARADISE 6/10/2004 98

PRINSENDAM 1/20/2004 90

QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 4/25/2004 91

QUEEN MARY 2 3/16/2004 89

RADIANCE OF THE SEAS 12/9/2003 96

RADISSON DIAMOND 3/24/2004 95

REGAL EMPRESS 2/19/2004 91

REGAL PRINCESS 1/21/2004 95

REGATTA 3/15/2004 97

RHAPSODY OF THE SEAS 12/7/2003 99

ROTTERDAM 5/16/2004 95

ROYAL PRINCESS 3/25/2004 92

RYNDAM 3/13/2004 94

SAFARI QUEST 5/29/2004 87

SCOTIA PRINCE 8/1/2003 96

SEA BIRD 5/26/2004 94

SEA DREAM I 4/11/2004 96

SEA DREAM II 4/11/2004 94

SEA LION 5/25/2004 80

SEABOURN LEGEND 3/13/2004 97

SEABOURN PRIDE 1/3/2004 93

SEABOURN SPIRIT 8/9/2002 98

SENSATION 2/7/2004 93

SERENADE OF THE SEAS 2/22/2004 91

SEVEN SEAS MARINER 2/24/2004 99

SEVEN SEAS NAVIGATOR 3/30/2004 98

SEVEN SEAS VOYAGER 4/13/2004 100

SILVER CLOUD 3/18/2003 91

SILVER SHADOW 9/18/2002 99

SILVER WHISPER 1/19/2004 100

SILVER WIND 2/10/2004 95

SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS 2/20/2004 95

SPIRIT OF COLUMBIA 4/24/2004 88

SPIRIT OF ENDEAVOR 8/8/2002 87

SPIRIT OF OCEANUS 5/15/2004 93

SPLENDOUR OF THE SEAS 4/12/2004 90

ST. TROPEZ 2/20/2004 95

STAR PRINCESS 8/28/2003 100

STATENDAM 10/16/2003 99

SUMMIT 10/17/2003 98

SUN PRINCESS 3/10/2004 93

SUNBIRD 11/18/2003 92

SUNDREAM 12/20/2002 86

TEXAS TREASURE 1 1/10/2004 91

TEXAS TREASURE II 7/18/2003 94

THE TOPAZ 3/20/2004 94

THE WORLD 2/24/2004 92

UNIVERSE EXPLORER 4/26/2004 93

VEENDAM 1/17/2004 99

VISION OF THE SEAS 12/21/2003 91

VISTAMAR 2/20/2004 86

VOLENDAM 5/14/2004 90

VOYAGER OF THE SEAS 1/25/2004 97

WIND SPIRIT 3/13/2004 97

WIND SURF 3/21/2004 98

WORLD DISCOVERER 7/7/2002 89

YORKTOWN CLIPPER 5/29/2004 92

ZAANDAM 4/3/2004 98

ZENITH 2/19/2004 95

ZUIDERDAM 5/1/2004 98

For a moment, I thought that was your signature, except I have the sigs turned off. Was thinking, "Wow -- this person has been on a LOT of cruises and is a world-class show-off." Then I saw the CDC numbers.

I thought exactly the same thing -- wow, this person has really been on a lot of cruises! But, it was interesting seeing how the ships compare. It looks like most are above 90 and that seems pretty good.

We like a clean house, but based on the actual reports, we'd be lucky to rate a '2' if the CDC were to stop in!

A few interesting bits of information about VSP scores:

The dubious prize for worst score ever on a VSP inspection, according to the VSP database, went to the small German-market cruise ship VISTAMAR, marketed by Plantours & Partner on January 29, 2000. She got a whopping 33 out of 100 points. According to the VSP:

"This was the second consecutive failure of a routine inspection by the VISTAMAR, and none of the deficiencies noted in the 1993 inspection had been addressed. We believe that a failure to address the sanitation deficiencies on this ship significantly increases the risk of a disease outbreak among both crew and passengers. CDC strongly recommends that the deficiencies documented during the January 2000 inspection be corrected prior to the VISTAMAR returning to a U.S. port. We expect all of the deficiencies to be addressed with special priority given to the critical areas related to: contamination and or lack of halogenation of the potable water systems; inadequate facilities for maintaining potentially hazardous food temperatures; inadequate facilities for cleaning and sanitizing of equipment. Failure to implement corrective action presents a threat of introduction of communicable diseases into the United States, and CDC will take whatever action deemed necessary, including detention of the ship, to prevent this threat."

And interestingly enough, no infestation (e.g. rodents or insects) was noted on this inspection. I guess that was about the only positive thing about it as I have never before read a VSP inspection with such a (by CDC standards) threatening statement at the end!

VISTAMAR's third inspection, in 2001, netted a score of 83 - meaning that at that time she had failed three of three inspections. However, despite the failing score, the CDC noted that "There have been many improvements made since the last US public health service inspection. The critical items noted in that inspection have been addressed." Luckily for VISTAMAR, her next three inspections (one each in 2002, 2003, and 2004) received passing scores, two scores of 90 and one 86.

Second prize for worst score goes to the Japanese NIPPON MARU, of Mitsui OSK Passenger Line which got a 36 on July 4, 1998. This ship has a particularly interesting story because she was designed entirely to Japanese regulations on sanitation, not American ones (almost all modern cruise ships are designed with the VSP guidelines in mind). On her first inspection (in 1995) she got a 48, the 1998 inspection was her second. After failing two inspections in a row, by incredible margins, her galleys etc. were modified to meet the VSP guidelines and she has passed no less than seven inspections since, scoring between a 96 and 99 on all of them.

The lowest score ever acheived by a major US-based cruise line was on Royal Caribbean's NORDIC EMPRESS (now EMPRESS OF THE SEAS) on July 13, 1990. She received a score of 70. Interestingly enough this was her second inspection and on her first inspection she received a 100 - only the second time any ship had ever received a perfect score. Since then she has been inspected 27 times and has failed only one other time, in 1992.

The lowest ever score for a HAL ship was an 81, which was achieved by NOORDAM in 1997 and twice by MAASDAM, in 1994 and again in 1997. It has now been over seven years since an HAL ship has failed a VSP inspection. Only once has an HAL ship acheived a perfect score, on Windstar's WIND SURF in 2003, but they have routinely gotten scores in the high 90s including scores of 99 on numerous occasions.

5/14/2004------90

10/18/2003-----97

5/16/2003------94

11/26/2002-----97

3/13/2002------99

10/6/2001------99

4/3/2001-------98

10/23/2000-----98

4/11/2000------94

1/5/2000-------96

The Volendam's average score, over her lifetime, has been 96.2. However, over half of her scores have been 97 or higher, and none have been lower than 90. There are two each inspection scores in the 99s, 98s, and 97s

Not bad at all. :)

I thought an improvement would be noted in subsequent inspections.

The Volendam's score in Novemeber declined, and is barely above passing. We are booked on the Volendam in May. I hope the situation is corrected by then. However, a corrective action plan has not been posted.