Royal Caribbean Fans

A few weeks ago we reported that Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas failed its CDC inspection (Center for Disease Control) after health-related issues such as fruit flies and food storage mistakes were spotted.

Last week, Royal Caribbean fixed the problems that were noted and Monarch of the Seas re-took the test, this time passing with flying colours. According to Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez, 'During the January 6 inspection, Monarch of the Seas earned a score of 96 (out of 100). The examination was conducted as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP)'.

Monarch of the Seas has failed its routine CDC Inspection. CDC stands for Center of Disease Control and a ship has 2 inspections every year. A pass is considered a score of 86, however on Monarch's recent inspection, the vessel was issued a score of 85.

The inspection was unannounced and just missed passing the inspection by 1 mark. Fruit flies were mentioned 11 times in the report. Flies were found in bulkheads, by preparation counters, and in and around the buffet during live service.

The ship also came under fire for not maintaining potentially hazardous foods at proper temperatures and/or not logging when said foods were refrigerated. Temperature checks at 8:45 a.m. in one of Monarch's walk-ins found shredded cheese, kidney beans, raw eggs and shredded deli ham all above the required level of 41 degrees F. The staff stated the ambient temperature log for the walk-in was checked at 5:45 a.m. -- but there were no food temperature checks recorded. All these foods were discarded. Soiled plates were also discovered in the clean buffet stack and important safety signage were reported to be missing.

The report further revealed that Monarch had not adopted new standards from the VSP's updated manual, which include carrying a test kit for measuring alkalinity in the swimming pools and posting poolside safety signs warning passengers not to use the facilities if they are "experiencing diarrhea, vomiting, or fever" and encouraging them to shower before entering the facility.

Royal Caribbean International issued a statement in which it said was "extremely disappointed" to learn that Monarch only received an 85 during its last inspection. The line added that it is working closely with the proper authorities to "correct and remedy the deficiencies found aboard Monarch that caused the low score," and that it was "confident that Monarch of the Seas would receive a passing score when the ship was re-inspected."

The last cruise ship to fail an inspection was Cunard's Queen Mary 2, which was given a score of 84 in June 2011. During QM2's pop test, inspectors found a human hair in an ice machine, "extremely dirty" water in a pool, chemicals stored near napkins and paper cups, and even a few errant cockroaches. QM2 received a 92 when it was re-inspected the following month.

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez told Cruise Critic that the re-test has not yet taken place. Royal Caribbean Fans believe the ship will be tested in the next few weeks. We will keep you updated on the matter and will post the score of the re-inspection.

Since January 1 2011, 37 ships have earned a perfect score of 100. These ships include Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, Azamara Journey, Disney Dream, Carnival Liberty, Norwegian Jewel, Silverseas' Silver Spirit, Holland America Line's Amsterdam and Celebrity Constellation.