chengkp75

I know with NCL, that every behind the scene tour was accompanied by one security officer, and has been for quite a while. As Andy says, different ISPS protocols for different companies.

There are lots of plain saline sprays out there, any one will do. You're not looking for medication, simply moisture.

But, just be aware that a power board (or power strip) that has surge protection is not only prohibited, but actually dangerous to use on a ship.

They are actually sold as "USPH screws", and have hex heads with a rounded edge washer built in, and no recess of the center of the head like most hex head screws have.

No, the VSP agreement is that the ship will adhere to USPH regulations during the entire voyage, if the voyage calls at a US port sometime during the voyage (homeport or port call). In Europe, the EU has a "ShipSan" program similar to the USPH VSP. So, as you say, serious question. Does this code involve how the walls and ceilings are constructed, such as not allowing square inside corners that are hard to clean, but require radiused corners in walls and ceilings? Are the size of any gaps in walls or ceilings regulated? VSP does not allow any gap wider than a credit card is thick. Does this list require those approved manufacturers to not use slotted head fasteners on the outside of equipment? VSP does not allow either slotted or Phillips head screws to be used, as these are difficult to clean. And, how many hospitals, nursing homes, college campuses have noro cases, that are never reported, or never make headlines? How many of them are shut down for this? And, ships are being stopped, when the reported cases reach a certain threshold limit. Do any of the land based close quarters living centers I mentioned above have to make a report to the CDC of GI illness, every week, even if that number is zero? My nephew just went to the hospital last week to get stitches, and came home with impetigo. Even the doctors acknowledged where it came from. Any repercussions there? And, from the complaint form you posted, the use of bamboo steamers would not be allowed for either storage or cooking, as they are difficult to clean. VSP doesn't even allow wooden "flights" to hold drink glasses, as these are difficult to clean.

This makes me laugh, as a "real dry dock" has absolutely nothing to do with furnishings at all. The only reason a ship goes into dry dock is for technical inspections and maintenance of the ship's structure and engineering equipment, and is statutory. Now, a "real" "refurbishment" would include new furnishings in the hotel, but that does not require a dry dock, or even a shipyard for that matter. The only reason hotel furnishings are renewed in a dry dock period is because the ship is out of service anyway, due to the statutory dry docking for "real" maintenance. I will add that the Oct 2022 dry docking of Escape was not done to repair damage from grounding. That damage was repaired sufficiently to continue to sail, at the time of the grounding, and further repairs were deferred by DNV (the classification society) to the next scheduled dry dock. That 2022 dry dock was the mid-period exam, which for a ship of less than 15 years old, is normally done in the water by divers, but in this case, since hull repairs were required they did an actual dry docking, and this was credited as the mid-period exam, being within the statutory time constraints. The next scheduled dry docking of Escape is Oct 2025, and since you don't get credit for dry docking outside the statutory time window, I don't see them taking the ship out of service for a refurbishment, until the dry dock is due. I'll stand with a time frame of Sept-Oct 2025, for 2-3 weeks.

This is a bit disingenuous. While it has not happened recently, the USPH does have the authority to stop a cruise ship from operating in US waters, and from boarding passengers in the US. And, remember, the USPH's mandate is not to keep cruise ship passengers healthy, as state and local health inspectors are, it is to prevent the introduction into the US of infectious disease. So, the threshold for stopping a ship is that there has to be a clear and direct threat to public health in order to stop a foreign ship. Further, the USPH/CDC are supposed to make these health inspections every time a ship enters US waters, as they do for cargo ships. Think about a restaurant being inspected weekly. The VSP was set up so that if a ship follows the VSP policies and procedures, they will not be subject to inspection every cruise, but if a ship repeatedly scores poorly, USPH can resort to inspections every cruise. These include health interviews with a selected number of crew and passengers, before anyone can disembark, creating delays for the cruise line and passengers. And, finally, do local or state health codes involve themselves in how the kitchens are constructed, or how the kitchen equipment is manufactured? Because both of those are part of the VSP approval process for new ships, and the operational inspections of the ships.

Pretty disturbing article here in Maritime Executive, where MDOT, USCG, Corps of Engineers, and port authorities were warned 2 decades ago about the danger to the bridge, from a senior Maryland pilot, who persisted for 10 years, until he retired, at which time all discussion of the danger to the bridge from a ship strike stopped. Reasons for not considering upgrades to the bridge were "high cost". As noted in the article, the Delaware Memorial bridge is undergoing upgrades to the bridge dolphins, started 10 years ago, which will cost $92 million, as opposed to the $2 billion estimated cost to replace the Key bridge. This will make it hard for the various government agencies to try to collect the lion's share of the replacement cost from the shipping companies involved. https://maritime-executive.com/article/senior-maryland-pilot-warned-officials-of-risk-of-bridge-strike-for-years

While it is nice to see cruise ships returning to Baltimore, the channel is not cleared. They are still using the narrow "limited use" channel with restrictions on under keel clearance, winds, etc for large ships. Even in the "limited use" channel, the bottom is not 100% cleared.

Yes, the inefficiencies of the steam plant are continued with having a pair of z-drives hanging under the ship, only being used when necessary. Further, as noted in the article, steam plant boilers are not the best at responding to rapid load changes (stopping the paddlewheel), and will tend to belch black smoke at these times, not endearing the ship to environmental causes.

Per ISPS, the engineering spaces are off limits to 90% of crew. When I was with NCL, each entry door to the engineering spaces had a keypad lock (those PINs were limited to certain engineering staff only) or card swipe locks that would only allow engineering or senior officers admittance. But, also with the "graying" of the cruising public, letting folks climb up and down the near vertical "ladders" in the engine room becomes a serious liability issue.

On cruise ships, potentially hazardous food is under one of two regimes, per the USPH/CDC. "Temperature control" or "time control". Temperature control is only allowed when the temperature of the food can be guaranteed to be in the safe zone at all times, so food out on a buffet line is not under "temperature control" (even in steam tables). So, the dairy you see on the buffet line is on "time control", which means that 4 hours maximum, after it is taken out of temperature control (the refrigerator), it must be discarded. Due to the regulated opening hours of places like the ship buffets, many ships use small color coded dot stickers, in inconspicuous places (like the bottom), that show when the product needs to be discarded. Have you seen the pitcher being refilled? If that is so, it is a violation of the VSP, and could get serious deductions on their score. Now, to say that VSP violations never happen is ridiculous, but the better trained lines and ships live every day as if they are being inspected by USPH, so that the required actions become second nature ("muscle memory"). I have worked with the USPH inspectors, most of whom are former state and local health inspectors, and they universally say that they have far more faith in the sanitation of cruise ships than land restaurants.

This is really not a Princess policy, it is part of the USPH/CDC Vessel Sanitation Program, where food quality (time/temperature for potentially hazardous foods) and handling have to be verified for all food sources. Whether or not Princess is seeing a stronger enforcement of this by the USPH inspectors during their inspections, or whether CDC has been getting reports about GI illness on the ship from food brought onboard, I can't say. And, if crew are bringing back cooked food from restaurants, this is a violation, and likely one that becomes obvious to USPH inspectors, so Princess may have been "dinged" on this in past inspections.

Lobster on cruise ships are spiny lobster, not northern lobster (Homarus americanus), it is frozen, and it is broiled. Broiling is fine if you watch it carefully, and don't overcook it, but on the ships it is done in ovens with 10 baking racks with a hundred or so lobsters at a time. I don't bother with it, Maine lobster selling for $6.99/lb this weekend for me to bring home and steam a few.

It most likely is. It most likely is. As Aquahound has posted, the dry AC air dries out your sinus membranes, which are your first and best line of defense against airborne pathogens, which cause respiratory illness. Use of a simple saline nasal spray can mitigate this dryness. For those who recommend wiping down surfaces to prevent coughing, most respiratory pathogens are airborne not picked up from contact with surfaces.