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Inspectors caught Carnival crew hiding dirty conditions


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Interesting. Now I'm curious to know how many ships (and which ships) from the other cruise lines (RCL, NCL, Celebrity, etc.) have failed health inspections within the past few months.

 

You can find the scores for all cruise ship inspections on the CDC website: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/InspectionQueryTool/InspectionSearch.aspx

 

Just from a very quick review of the "big" cruise lines (RCCL, NCL, Princess, etc.) I didn't see any other failures other than Carnival's 3 failures, although Freedom of the Seas only passed by one point and MSC had one that barely passed as well.

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Some things that result in 3 points being taken away are somewhat minor and unavoidable. Like a single small fly near an outdoor bar.

 

Other problems point to a failure of management to enforce proper hygiene policies. Something like mold in a walk in that was not removed when first observed. It may also be that staff is fully engaged and cannot perform proper maintenance due to cutbacks. That attitude toward passenger health v. profits is just plain wrong. Senior management needs to consider carefully what steps can be taken to assure compliance with the needs of food and health safety.

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I just finished reviewing the report. And from what I read I don't think there is much to be worried about. A lot of deductions were for on timely paperwork. Then I saw one an issue of dirty cups and a sealed box of cups on the floor. That was listed 4 times. And a report of a food cart that the bowls of food were wrapped in plastic wrapp but the cart wasn't covered. The Vista failed with a 79. Each infraction is worth 3 points. The two for paperwork alone. Which although against the rules set up by the CDC but isn't really an issue that would effect anyone on board. Would turn the falling 79 into a passing 85

 

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I knew about the Breeze's failure, and discussed it on a previous thread. I was not aware of the Vista's.

 

What disturbs me most about the Breeze, since any of those non-conformities could happen on any ship at any time, is the repeated nature of some items (poorly cleaned warewashing machines), and the obvious lack of knowledge of the staff in their duties and procedures under the VSP. This indicates a systemic lack of training and supervision onboard that is far more serious than individual items.

 

With the Vista, this becomes truly disconcerting. The fact that the inspectors called out an "organized effort" to hide things from the inspectors by placing it in crew passageways and cabins. This is very bad, and resembles the case of the Silver Shadow a few years ago, where a similar occurrence happened. In that case, the inspector took the unprecedented action to pour bleach on the potentially hazardous food found, to keep it from being reused.

 

The Vista shows a complete failure by onboard staff to comply with the VSP, and a conscious effort to get around it. This shows a complete lack of respect for passenger health and safety. While in the Breeze case, I didn't feel that "heads would roll", but that senior management onboard needed a reprimand and oversight from corporate for a year or so, the Vista shows that much of senior management onboard the ship, from Captain, Staff Captain, HD, F&B Manager, Sanitation Supervisor, and Executive Chef need to be replaced. This kind of thing could not be going on without all of the above knowing and allowing it to happen. This call out by USPH/CDC inspectors is a disgrace for Carnival.

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This points directly back to cutbacks in staff. The staff are overworked and under trained.

 

I enjoy Carnival but in the last three years you can definitely see that staff cutbacks have caused major issues. Tables in the buffets are not being cleaned in a timely manner, cabins are being cleaned as well, balcony chairs are filthy, dining room staff are rushed and cabin stewards have far too many cabins.

 

Carnival needs to add and train more staff to handle these issues.

 

Take care,

Mike

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This points directly back to cutbacks in staff. The staff are overworked and under trained.

 

I enjoy Carnival but in the last three years you can definitely see that staff cutbacks have caused major issues. Tables in the buffets are not being cleaned in a timely manner, cabins are being cleaned as well, balcony chairs are filthy, dining room staff are rushed and cabin stewards have far too many cabins.

 

Carnival needs to add and train more staff to handle these issues.

 

Take care,

Mike

 

Wow.. I haven't noticed any of the above, but maybe I just don't look for problems. As the old saying goes" if you look for problems you'll probably find problems".

 

Our cabin steward was great, our balcony chairs were always wiped off, and the buffet was always clean and workers were bussing tables all the time. I'm not sure how fast you expect them to clean off a table, but in my eyes they were doing a fantastic job. Maybe my expectations of a cruise differs from others, but I think they do a great job.

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This points directly back to cutbacks in staff. The staff are overworked and under trained.

 

I enjoy Carnival but in the last three years you can definitely see that staff cutbacks have caused major issues. Tables in the buffets are not being cleaned in a timely manner, cabins are being cleaned as well, balcony chairs are filthy, dining room staff are rushed and cabin stewards have far too many cabins.

 

Carnival needs to add and train more staff to handle these issues.

 

Take care,

Mike

 

Agree. Staff cutbacks have become noticeable in areas the passengers see. It's no wonder they also impact those areas we don't see.

 

Thank goodness for these inspections.

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Wow.. I haven't noticed any of the above, but maybe I just don't look for problems. As the old saying goes" if you look for problems you'll probably find problems".

 

Our cabin steward was great, our balcony chairs were always wiped off, and the buffet was always clean and workers were bussing tables all the time. I'm not sure how fast you expect them to clean off a table, but in my eyes they were doing a fantastic job. Maybe my expectations of a cruise differs from others, but I think they do a great job.

 

So if you don’t see something it never happened?

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Wow.. I haven't noticed any of the above, but maybe I just don't look for problems. As the old saying goes" if you look for problems you'll probably find problems".

 

Our cabin steward was great, our balcony chairs were always wiped off, and the buffet was always clean and workers were bussing tables all the time. I'm not sure how fast you expect them to clean off a table, but in my eyes they were doing a fantastic job. Maybe my expectations of a cruise differs from others, but I think they do a great job.

My observations match these.

 

Perhaps the ships involved with these failing grades indeed are slightly understaffed, and it doesn't take much understaffing to start to slip into bad habits.

 

I am interested in Carnival getting their act together in the problem areas, oddly enough, so I am not trying to defend them. The Triumph got a rating of 98 upon re-inspection, so hopefully these ships will get straightened out, and fleet-wide Carnival can learn some lessons. If they don't, eventually it will hit their bottom line - I would start using other cruiselines, and I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one.

 

I do hope they can act on this and not have any failures in the future.

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My observations match these.

 

Perhaps the ships involved with these failing grades indeed are slightly understaffed, and it doesn't take much understaffing to start to slip into bad habits.

 

I am interested in Carnival getting their act together in the problem areas, oddly enough, so I am not trying to defend them. The Triumph got a rating of 98 upon re-inspection, so hopefully these ships will get straightened out, and fleet-wide Carnival can learn some lessons. If they don't, eventually it will hit their bottom line - I would start using other cruiselines, and I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one.

 

I do hope they can act on this and not have any failures in the future.

 

I don't have any factual information regarding crew cutbacks, only anecdotal reports here on CC from pax impressions, and statements from crew who are perhaps not objective. I also don't know if the front of house cutbacks that are visible to passengers is balanced by shifting those crew to back of house functions, or actual crew reductions. Because I don't have any facts, I won't make any conjectures about it.

 

While the Triumph did score well on re-inspection, you have to realize that the inspection score is a "snapshot" of the conditions at that time. The deficiencies that bother me with these three ships are apparent systemic failures of training and instilling of a culture of following the USPH requirements on a daily basis, without conscious effort, i.e. making sanitation second nature. Until the Triumph, Breeze, and Vista have several high score inspections, I can't tell whether the culture has shifted or not, and whether the ships can slip back, to the point where a single day's inspection catches what has become daily routine.

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Nah, I never said that. It's just I haven't noticed it, and I don't look for it either. I'm on vacation, so I don't bother looking for problems.

 

 

 

I never said you did, I simply asked if that’s what you meant given you seemed to be very observant enough to praise staff where you felt it was worthy.

 

I doubt the person you responded too was looking for problems on their vacation either. Maybe it’s down to personal expectations or lack of them?

 

It’s 18 months since I was on Vista. I never saw these issues myself either, but I wouldn’t rubbish someone saying they had especially in view of this report.

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For those saying it's obvious, I'd like to add on my last cruise we saw multiple workers who looked bored out of their minds, wiping down random mirrors, hand railings, and pictures on the wall. If the cost cutting is affecting productivity, it's more to do with managing workers than not having enough of them.

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When I'm on vacation, I am always on the lookout for issues. A little bit of rust on a ship, I can overlook, but on my last Carnival cruise, I had bathroom issues not addressed, and witnessed some food issues that showed a lack of training. Some of the many issues of why I dislike Carnival, but that's just me. My expectations are high. I want a clean bathroom that does not back flow, and food handling per codes.

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